APT8 Cinema

Overview

Prefer to consume your art in moving image form? Keen on taking a cinematic trip through the Asia Pacific? If so, you're in luck. The Gallery of Modern Art's Australian Cinémathèque can assist with both via its latest, almost five-month-long lineup.

The movie offshoot of the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, APT8 Cinema ventures into three strands of filmmaking relevant to the region. The Filipino industry earns not one but two programs, showcasing the works of slow cinema master Lav Diaz and surveying independent and experimental digital works. Peering around the rest of the area, a further batch of features considers the topic of Pop Islam, aka representations of Islamic culture in contemporary film, documentary and video art.

Accordingly, you'll find everything from Cannes Film Festival best director winner Kinatay to Oscar winner A Separation among the selections, plus the unmoving frame of gangster effort Still Lives and the autobiographical animation of Persepolis too. And if you like sitting in one place for extended periods of time, Diaz's 13 films represent almost 70 hours of screen time. Now that's the ultimate movie marathon.

Image: Production still from From What Is Before 2014 / Director: Lav Diaz / Image courtesy: the artist and Sine Olivia Filipinas, Manila.