Overview
It's almost time for River City cinephiles to spend 11 days viewing the latest and greatest movies, aka watching their way through 2024's Brisbane International Film Festival. The cinema celebration is returning to end October and kick off November, and it's already dropping lineup details to get movie lovers excited. After advising that backstage comedy Saturday Night will open the fest and documentary Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story will close it, organisers have now revealed the next five flicks on the event's program.
One newly announced film will hit BIFF between Thursday, October 24–Sunday, November 3 with one of the best ticks of approval there is: Anora, the latest feature from Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket filmmaker Sean Baker, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It tells of a sex worker from Brooklyn who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, a move that doesn't go down well with his family — and it gives Better Things and Lady in the Lake's Mikey Madison a silver-screen lead breakout role.
Also boasting big names: Nightbitch and Sasquatch Sunset. The first premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival; hails from The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood filmmaker Marielle Heller; and stars Amy Adams (Dear Evan Hansen) as a stay-at-home mum who turns canine. The second is directed by the Zellner brothers (Damsel), and gets Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & the Six) and Jesse Eisenberg (Fleishman Is in Trouble) playing a sasquatch family.
Adding a dose of Aussie horror to the lineup, The Red will have its world premiere at BIFF, setting a giant zombie kangaroo loose on the big screen — on Dendy Powerhouse's outdoor big screen, in fact. In the flick, the task of battling the creature named Rippy falls to The Terminator and Aliens alum Michael Biehn, Mystery Road and High Country's Aaron Pedersen and Last King of the Cross' Tess Haubrich.
Rounding out the new additions is Tatami, following a female Iranian judo athlete played by Arienne Mandi (The L Word: Generation Q), with Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Zar Amir Ebrahimi (last seen on-screen in Shayda, and also co-starring here) co-directing.
The full 2024 BIFF program will drop on Thursday, September 26, unveiling the complete lineup of titles that'll play at Palace Barracks, Dendy Coorparoo, Reading Newmarket, Five Star Cinemas New Farm and Angelika Film Centre, as well as the aforementioned Dendy Powerhouse.
The 2o24 Brisbane International Film Festival runs between Thursday, October 24–Sunday, November 3 at Palace Barracks, Dendy Coorparoo, Dendy Powerhouse, Reading Newmarket, Five Star Cinemas New Farm and Angelika Film Centre. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to the festival website — and check back here on Thursday, September 26 for the full program.