Author: James Curnow
Interview: Stefan Bugryn discusses War Mothers
The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival is screening the works of many exceptional filmmakers this year, but one of the standouts is War Mothers, directed by Melbourne-based filmmaker Stefan Bugryn. War Mothers takes us to frontlines of the War in Donbass, a conflict that has waged in Ukraine since the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-14. But whilst…
Anjelica Huston on James Joyce: A Shout in the Street
Mention the name James Joyce to most people, and they’ll be able to tell you that he was a brilliant Irish writer. There’s even a good chance they’ll be able to point to a copy of his much-revered masterpiece Ulysses on their bookshelf. But it’s also likely that they’ve never worked up the courage to…
Ten top picks at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival this July
Two years ago I was lucky enough to attend the first annual Melbourne Documentary Film Festival as a media partner. Looking at the vast array of high-quality Australian and international documentaries they had on offer, I knew that I was seeing the beginning of something special. Last year my good fortune continued when I was offered…
Why good sequels are bad sequels: Blade Runner 2049 and the building of worlds
After recently watching Blade Runner 2049, I found myself in a conflicted state. On the one hand, I felt that Denis Villeneuve had done an outstanding job of embracing the spirit of Ridley Scott’s original whilst finding a way to express his own unique vision – one that was undoubtedly beautiful, intelligent and often awe…
The Disaster Artist is a true gift for fans of The Room
I’ve rarely seen an audience respond to a film as raucously as I did at a recent preview screening of James Franco’s new film, The Disaster Artist. And it’s hard to blame them. This comedic account of the making of The Room by Tommy Wiseau, the most celebrated bad film to grace the silver screen…