Container Is the New Brisbane Film Society Screening Ace and Experimental Movies Every Fortnight

Cinema lovers of Brisbane, if you've been hanging out to see some of the past year's most significant international, art and experimental movies, your wait is about to come to an end. While the latest iteration of the city's annual major film festival, the Brisbane International Film Festival, won't return until October and and November, a new Brisbane film society is about to start screening flicks that've wowed overseas fests every fortnight.

Meet Container, which'll welcome in cinephiles every second Tuesday from July 12. Generally screening at the CBD's Elizabeth Picture Theatre — with potential jaunts elsewhere to screen 3D, 35-millimetre and other film formats — it's a curated program delivered in single-screening servings. As well as offering an alternative to the usual festival rush, where cramming in as many movies as your eyes and body can handle is always the name of the game, it's giving Brisbane a fortnightly substitute for the standard multiplex and arthouse programming.

On the bill: primarily movies that aren't likely to screen in Brisbane cinemas otherwise, spanning everything from acclaimed titles from festivals such Cannes, Venice and Berlin through to experimental showcases and live expanded cinema performances. The program kicks off with Peter Strickland's Flux Gourmet, the latest from the inimitable Berberian Sound Studio, The Duke of Burgundy and In Fabric filmmaker, and will also include Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós' Dry Ground Burning, Rhayne Vermette's Ste. Anne, Lucile Hadžihalilović's Earwig, João Pedro Rodrigues' Will o the Wisp and Gasper Noé's Lux Æterna before the end of September.

If you're a Brisbane-based movie buff, you'll know the type of flicks that Container will be showcasing — aka the kinds of festival fare that, if BIFF doesn't screen them, don't enjoy a local big-screen showing. If that idea sounds familiar, that's because Container has taken a few cues from Victoria's long-running Melbourne Cinematheque. Also, it's guided by the same idea behind Queensland Film Festival, albeit via an annual film fest rather than a year-round lineup.

Brissie film fans with decent memories will recall that when Brisbane's film festival scene found itself lacking a place for such movies back when BIFF was temporarily replaced by the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival in 2014, QFF arrived to fill that gap. Now, the latter has spawned Container, which has been dubbed QFF's cousin. Behind both is curator and programmer John Edmond, Container's director.

"We are delighted to reveal our plans for Container and its initial lineup," said Edmond. "Strong support, particularly from The Elizabeth Picture House, New Farm Cinemas, as well as conversations and feedback from our city's cinephiles, art and movie lovers, have helped make this society happen."

"What we heard from people was a desire to see amazing and important films that they would otherwise not be able to see, and in a way that would help create a community through regular catchups," Edmond continued. "It also allows people to see new festival-circuit films without the crush and mad rush of watching innumerous films at a festival.

Container also has Michelangelo Frammartino's Il Buco, Qiu Jiongjiong's A New Old Play, Albert Serra's Pacifiction and Ben Rivers' Urthworks on its upcoming list, plus Thai Memoria director Apichatpong Weerasethakul as well.

"With our programming and curation, we wanted to do three things. We wanted to show the breadth of film happening now. We wanted to present striking and singular films that let you know why they stand out. And we wanted to respect Brisbane and our audience's intelligence; to not be cynical or second guess the public but use our knowledge and research to present important films being talked about," Edmond advised.

Entry is via membership, either paying for six- ($60 full/$30 concession) or 12-month ($100/$50) access in advance. Plus, there's also a $250 solidarity membership, which includes three single-use guest passes as well, and helps Container make its screenings more available to the rest of the community.

Container: Brisbane Film Society kicks off its monthly screenings at 7pm on Tuesday, July 12 at The Elizabeth Picture Theatre, and will run fortnightly afterwards. For more information or to join, head to the Container website.