Author: James Curnow
Matt Wechsler’s Sustainable: Changing the American food system
As the world deals with the ever increasing challenges that come with maintaining the lives of a growing human population (around 7.4 billion people by recent estimates) at the same time that many of the planet’s most populace nations are lifting literally hundred of millions of people out of poverty, the need to find new…
The Unknown Stuntman Talks Ozploitation
I’ve long been a fan of Australian exploitation or “ozploitation” cinema, so I’m always excited when this under-appreciated segment of Aussie film history gets a little recognition. The idea that new audiences might be exposed to our long history of low-budget horror classics, genre mash-ups, comedies, sex romps and so-bad-its-goodies gives me a vicarious thrill…
You Better Take Cover: Men at Work Down Under
There was once a time when many Australians believed that the 1981 song Down Under by Men at Work should be the national anthem. Come to think of it, they probably still do. Which is why I’m quite sure that You Better Take Cover, Harry Hayes’ new documentary account of the song’s history, is likely…
Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople
What is it about the New Zealanders? There is a consistent effortlessness in the cinematic output of this small nation that I can’t help but admire. While Australian filmmakers often find themselves (either deliberately or unconsciously) producing works that strive for international acceptance, New Zealanders seem entirely indifferent to such things. And so it is…
Interview: Em Baker hits the road in ‘Spoke’
For most of us, travelling across the United States would likely involve a lot of flying, tour buses, and train travel. Not so for Em Baker, whose film Spoke will soon screen at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. Baker filmed herself and her companions as they rode 5600 kilometres from one side of the United…