Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival Reveals 2016 Program

Adam Driver driving a bus. Kristen Stewart trying to talk to ghosts. Casey Affleck confronting past trauma in his home town. They're just three things in the 2016 Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival program — and yes, each of the movies they're in hails from outside of the fest's titular region. This year, BAPFF is veering ever-so-slightly into broader territory.

That means New Jersey-set Cannes hit Paterson, French director Oliver Assayas' Personal Shopper and the Oscar-tipped Manchester by the Sea will all screen at the cinema showcase from November 23 to December 4, alongside an array of efforts from the Asia Pacific area. It's a move anyone who has missed the kind of big-name arthouse flicks the now-defunct Brisbane International Film Festival used to schedule should be excited about. Ten international selections, including German comedy Toni Erdmann, the Dardennes brothers' The Unknown Girl and Bulgarian-made Locarno Film Festival winner Godless among them, will feature.

Of course, looking closer to home still remains the name of the game, as the bulk of the 82 films in the event's third-ever lineup demonstrate. And, just like last year, BAPFF will unleash a few titles upon the city's cinephiles before the main fest, which is great news for anyone who wants their fix as soon as possible. One of the pre-screenings is Lav Diaz's eight-hour epic A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, with the ticket price including a light lunch during intermission. And, for those keen on outdoor viewing rather than an in-cinema marathon, 1953 classic Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing will play at a one-night-only deckchair cinema in King George Square.

From opening night's sexual politics-focused Parched to closing night's upbeat road trip El Clásico, there's still more on offer: 31 Australian premieres and 33 Queensland premieres over 12 days at Palace Barracks and Palace Centro, in fact, as well as 31 of the 39 films just announced as nominees for this year's Asia Pacific Screen Awards. On the Australian front, MIFF's opening night pick The Death and Life of Otto Bloom makes its way to Queensland, while recent Venice success Hounds of Love — starring The Castle's Stephen Curry as you've never seen him before, and taking audiences into a Snowtown-like suburban horror — will make its debut on home soil.

The eagerly anticipated Queen of Katwe, directed by Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and starring Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo, also ranks among the highlights. So does Train to Busan's animated zombie companion piece Seoul Station, woman-with-a-tail drama Zoology, culinary documentary Ants on a Shrimp, and Cannes Best Actress recipient Ma'Rosa from Filipino director Brillante Mendoza. His compatriot, Lav Diaz, pops up again, this time with the more modest, just under four-hour Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner The Woman Who Left. Still, you'll want a comfy seat.

Elsewhere, the talent keeps on coming, particularly as far as established names are involved. Fans of Iranian legend Abbas Kiarostami can watch his last-ever finished film, the short Take Me Home, alongside a personal documentary about his passing from one of his long-term collaborators. No Home Movie provides another cinematic goodbye, this time for feminist director Chantal Akerman. And it wouldn't be a BAPFF without the latest soju-soaked Hong Sang-soo movie, Yourself and Yours.

The 2016 Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival runs from November 23 to December 4 at Palace Barracks and Palace Centro, with pre-festival screenings taking place on November 12, 15 and 18. To view the program and buy tickets, visit the BAPFF website.