For the past five years, Qantas has been promising to eradicate one of the worst things about international long-haul air travel to and from Australia: the dreaded stopover. First, it announced and then implemented non-stop 17-hour flights from Perth to London; however if you live on the east coast, you still have to get to Western Australia. So, the airline revealed that it was exploring direct routes from Sydney, not only to London but to New York as well, with a launch date of 2022. Since then, Qantas has been pursuing the idea enthusiastically, widening their plan to also include departures to and from Melbourne and Brisbane. This weekend, the Aussie carrier is taking the next step by piloting its first ultra long-haul research flight from New York to Sydney. Initially announced a couple of months back, it's the first trial as part of the airline's Project Sunrise scheme. It's also the first flight by a commercial airline to ever make the huge 19.5-hour journey — and will use a Boeing 787-9 to soar the 16,200 kilometres, all with 50 passengers and crew on board. While the Boeing 787-9 hasn't been designed for such a mammoth trek, when it departs New York's John F Kennedy Airport at 9pm on Friday, October 18 New York time (midday in Sydney on Saturday, October 19), it'll do so with a maximum fuel contingent, a restricted passenger and baggage load, and no cargo. Indeed, almost half of the flight's weight will be fuel, and it's expected to use all but 6000 kilograms of its 101,000 kilogram load during the trip. No members of the public are making the voyage, though, with the flight's passengers comprised of crew and Qantas employees. Given that the aim of the journey is to gather data about inflight passenger and crew health and wellbeing, they'll be fitted with wearable technology devices to monitor their monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, physical movement and use of the entertainment system during the flights. The results will then be assessed by scientists and medical experts from the Charles Perkins Centre, with minimising jetlag, and helping identify optimum crew rest and work patterns part of their research. The flight's four pilots will also take part in studies, working with CRC for Alertness, Safety and Productivity researchers to record their melatonin levels before, during and after the flights, as well as their brain wave patterns and alertness — again, to help ascertain the best work and rest routine when they're commanding those long-haul services. While spending nearly a day on one single plane to get to the USA or Europe is definitely better than jumping on and off different vessels multiple times, it's still a seriously long slog. Yes, you'll avoid the sometimes long, always painful stopovers, but the lengthy journey isn't without its physical, mental and emotional toll — as anyone who has made the Perth to London trip knows — which is what makes this testing so important. Two more trail flights are planned in November and December, including one that'll travel direct between London and Sydney. That trek has actually been made before; however the last time the latter happened was back in 1989, when Qantas made the journey on a Boeing 747-400 with just 23 people onboard. Qantas is expected to announce whether Project Sunrise will progress to making commercial flights, rather than just trial flights, by the end of December 2019. If it proceeds, it'll eclipse the current record for the world's longest direct flight — which clocks in at over 19 hours on Singapore Airlines' 15,322-kilometre Singapore-to-New York route. Image: Qantas.
You, yes you. Put down that burger. First we told you where all the great new burger joints are, then we told you how to get fit for free, and now we're telling you how to amp up your nutrition. Who needs a life coach when you have us to balance you out? Brisbane’s first raw organic vegan cafe, Orawgi, is moving up and out of Woolloongabba and into bigger and better headquarters at Hamilton. Jamie Louise and the team have closed the small store on Ipswich Rd to put love and energy into the new headquarters. With the new cafe and wellness space set to open on September 30, expect to find a new menu using seasonal organic ingredients, with everything made 99% raw. The new store will be open six days a week from 7am–7pm, giving all of those who live and work full-time outside the Gabba a chance to finally try Orawgi's creations. If the idea of committing to an entirely raw meal makes you feel like a rabbit, then perhaps give the new Sol Natural Foods in Fortitude Valley a guernsey. Open two weeks under the new Alpha Mosaic Hotel, the venue offers organic pizza, salads, raw sweets, cooked breakfasts and craft beer to keep everyone happy. Cheers! Also on our radar is a juice trend sweeping the city. Teneriffe has just welcomed an organic cold-pressed juice cafe, Press'd, to its streets. All the while, the Liquify brand have been busy securing six sites across the city to open hole-in-the-wall type juice bars and cafes in. The Liquify team are opening Australia's first 24hr juice and superfood outlet in Mt Gravatt, so early morning runs and late night stumble homes can be equally health-conscious. Did we mention that they all serve kale? Go forth to eat your #superfoods. Images: Orawgi.
With small businesses relying so heavily on the vaccine rollout to get Australians out of lockdown, many are encouraging everyone to go out and get their first jab with freebies and discounts. Marrickville brewery Hawke's supplied 250 free slabs to freshly vaccinated Sydneysiders, while the Bald Rock Hotel is offering anyone who's received both shots free pints. Bondi sneaker brand Von-Routte is joining the drive to encourage vaccination by offering anyone who has been vaccinated 20 percent off its sneakers. The promotion is valid on all full-priced items from Friday, July 30 until the end of Sydney's lockdown and is open to all Australians. All you have to do is DM the brand on Instagram with your proof of vaccination and you'll receive a personalised coupon to use online. Von-Routte is imploring other businesses to join the charge and offer vaccinated Aussies discounts. "The more people are vaccinated, the faster we can be back to "normal". If every business copies this idea — which they are welcome to — we could, significantly, motivate people to accelerate the vaccination rate. It's better for everyone: businesses, people and the economy," Von-Routte Co-Founders Gus Agra and Marina Tokarski said. The Bondi brand prides itself on creating ethical sneakers that last and offers customers the opportunity to bring their shoes in for a complimentary clean to give sneakers a refresh. You can browse its selection at the Von-Routte website.
Planning to listen to the Hottest 100 on January 26? Aren't we all. Planning to pair the music countdown with a smorgasbord of seafood? Well, you should be now. Newstead's Gasworks Precinct isn't just throwing a listening party — they're putting on a seafood festival as well. While you're tuning into the top tunes of the last year, you can wander between pop-up bars serving drinks, glorious drinks, plus the ocean's finest bounty. And if you're looking for some extra mid-song fun, why not enter one of the fest's competitions dedicated to peeling prawns, eating watermelon and lamingtons.
Rise up, Hamilton fans — especially if you're a Brisbanite who's thrilled that the biggest musical of the past decade is finally heading our way. We know you're excited. You've probably streamed the filmed version on Disney+ while you've been waiting. Maybe you've been in the room where it happens in Sydney or Melbourne, too. Whichever category you fall into, here's something else to add to your diary: The Brightside's On Repeat: Hamilton Party. You won't want to throw away your shot to spend a night celebrating Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed creation. You don't need to be young, scrappy and hungry to go along, either. And, you don't need to have seen oceans rise and empires fall — but you will want to be a huge Hamilton fan, of course. Get some skin in the game from 11pm on Saturday, September 17, with DJs spinning tunes from the musical, plus other theatre favourites, until 3am. Also set to get a whirl: tracks spanning everything from Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, In the Heights, Matilda and High School Musical through to Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Dear Evan Hansen, West Side Story and Heathers. Tickets to attend cost $15.30 in the first release, going up to $20 for the final batch. And if you need a refresher on all things Hamilton, check out the Disney+ trailer below: Top image: Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+. Updated September 13.
They're the TV equivalent of page-turners: the shows that have you hanging on every twist and revelation, and that you just want to keep watching when each episode comes to an end. You know the type. They're filled with mystery and intrigue, as well as wild plot developments that constantly keep you guessing. And they're exactly the thing to watch when you've had a long and busy day and just feel like immersing yourself in someone else's ups and downs. Perhaps you want to jump into a moody supernatural thriller. Maybe an involving crime drama is more your style — or you could prefer the ins and outs of a marriage rocked by scandal, the trials and tribulations of a hitman who really just wants to be an actor, or to see what happens when a flight attendant comes under suspicion for murder. They're all on offer on Binge, and we've teamed up with the streaming service to explain why you'll want to add them all to your must-watch list — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
When Saturday, February 5, 2022 hits, Australia was going to welcome a situation that it hasn't experienced in almost two years: open state borders with Western Australia. But the country's current Omicron outbreak has seen the WA Government announce that it's delaying its reopening to the rest of the nation — and to the world — as Premier Mark McGowan revealed in a late-night press conference on Thursday, January 20. If you're wondering when WA will now allow vaccinated folks from other Aussie states to visit without quarantining — and WA residents to take getaways somewhere other than your home state and then return home easily, too — the Premier hasn't yet set a new date, postponing the planned reopening indefinitely. In a statement, the WA Government advised that "the updated plan means the full border opening will be delayed given the full impacts of Omicron in Australia are still unknown, with peak infections not yet reached in jurisdictions with widespread transmission" — and that "further reviews of border controls will be considered over the course of the next month". The change means that Western Australia's hard border policy that it's had in place throughout the pandemic will remain in effect for now, as now covered by the state's updated safe transition plan. There are a few amendments that'll kick in, though, with the list of people allowed to bypass the hard border expanding to include compassionate reasons — but still with a 14-day quarantine period. In light of what has occurred across the country, having closely assessed the situation over east and listening to the latest health advice, we have reworked WA's Safe Transition Plan to fit the environment that now confronts us. pic.twitter.com/o7Qb2vRrMU — Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) January 20, 2022 Here's how it'll work: from Saturday, February 5, to get into WA from interstate you'll need to meet specific exemption criteria, have had either two of three doses of a COVID-19 vaccination — three if you're eligible for them all, two if you're not yet eligible for your third jab — and have returned a negative rapid antigen test within 24 hours of departure. You also need to get one of WA's border passes, the G2G Pass, then undertake 14 days quarantine upon arrival. And, there's a PCR testing requirement within 48 hours of getting there, and on day 12 afterwards. Exemption categories will include returning Western Australians who have strong recent connections or direct legitimate family connections with WA; compassionate grounds, which covers funerals, plus palliative care or terminally ill visits; if you're a family member of an approved traveller; and entering for urgent and essential medical treatment. Also on the list: reasons of national and state security; commonwealth and state officials, members of parliament and diplomats; people providing specialist skills that aren't available in WA, plus health services and emergency service workers; those who have to attend court matters, judicial officers and staff of court, tribunals and commissions; and special considerations and extraordinary circumstances as determined by the State Emergency Coordinator or Chief Health Officer. For international travellers, you'll have to meet the federal requirements to come to Australia under the nation's arrivals cap, and go into 14 days of quarantine — which includes seven days in hotel quarantine and seven days of self-quarantine if you have somewhere suitable for the latter. There's also PCR testing on days one, six, nine and 12 after your arrival, and mandatory use of G2G Now. This applies if you're coming to WA directly from overseas; if you're arriving via another state or territory first, you'll fall under the same rules as interstate visitors. Announcing the reopening delay, the Premier said that "it would be irresponsible and reckless for the State Government to ignore the facts, and ignore the reality of the situation playing out on the east coast". McGowan continued: "it is expected that they will be reaching the peak of this current wave in the coming weeks. At that point, after the peak, I hope we can have a better understanding of Omicron and what it means for Western Australia." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Western Australia, and the state's corresponding restrictions, visit its online COVID-19 hub.
If jungle vibes inside a Brisbane warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, December 1. It's the second greenery-filled Brissie market from The Jungle Collective, a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Yes, its trucking its way up north again for another Queensland venture. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. At a yet-to-be-revealed secret location, you can be inspired by greenery aplenty and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces, all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Best get in quick though — these markets are always popular, with more than 150 different species usually on offer. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on both days (8-10am, 10am-noon, 12-2pm and 2-4pm), and attendees will need to register for free tickets from noon on Monday, November 26. Plus, given that it's timed right in the lead up to Christmas, if you dress up like Aussie Santa — however you choose to interpret it — you'll get $5 off your purchase.
Since Pixar first hit the big screen with 1995's Toy Story, the animation studio's films have all shared a few traits. They're each gorgeously animated, of course; however they also layer their eye-catching imagery over a shared existential question. Pondering toys, bugs, monsters, fish, superheroes, cars, rats, robots, dinosaurs and emotions with feelings, Pixar's flicks ask what it means to be alive — even the now Disney-owned outfit is spinning stories about traditionally inanimate objects. As you might've noticed, the animation powerhouse has been leaning into this idea with even more force of late. Inside Out focused its attention on the emotions warring inside the heart and mind of a young girl, guiding her every thought, feeling and decision, while Coco drew upon the Mexican Day of the Dead, following a young boy as he wandered through the world beyond the mortal coil. Now, with Soul, the studio looks to be borrowing from and combining parts of those two movies. It hones in on a school teacher who dreams of becoming a jazz musician, then falls down an open manhole and into a dark realm that looks rather like the afterlife. His titular essence is detached from his body, comes across a far more cynical counterpart and, in the process, starts wondering what it really means to have a soul. Jamie Foxx voices jazz-lover Joe Gardner, who is already musing on life's important questions — why is he here, what is he meant to be doing and what existence is all about — before his accident. Once he has tumbled down the manhole, he spends his time bantering with 22, voiced by Tina Fey. As well as whipping out a nifty cowboy dance, 22 doesn't think that life on earth is all that great. Soul's just-released first trailer sets the scene for Joe's metaphysical journey, and gives a glimpse of Foxx and Fey's comedic double act. The film also features the vocal talents of Questlove, Phylicia Rashad and Daveed Diggs, and will boast a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And if you're wondering where the movie's central idea comes from (other than Pixar's back catalogue), writer/director Pete Docter started thinking about the origin of our personalities when his son was born 23 years ago. Docter also helmed two of Pixar's big hits — and big emotional heavy hitters — in Up and Inside Out, nabbing Oscars for Best Animated Feature for both. Check out Soul's trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TojlZYqPUo Soul releases in Australian cinemas on June 18, 2020.
Mere days in and 2023 is already starting off in an exciting — and extremely delicious — fashion. Each month, Melbourne and Brisbane's Lune Croissanterie unleashes a fresh range of menu specials, spanning new and beloved creations. To kick off the new year, that means the return of quite the Frankenstein's monster of baked goods: the Iced Vovo cruffin. Back in 2022, the cult-favourite bakery began the year with lamington cruffins. 2023's choice is clearly just as tasty. The words you're looking for? Yum and yum. It's exactly what it sounds like, stuffing a cruffin with coconut custard and raspberry jam, dipping it in raspberry glaze, sprinkling coconut on top and adding another button of jam as well. Fans of Kate Reid's pastry haven can pick up a pink-hued treat at Lune's Fitzroy and Armadale stores in Melbourne, as well as at its South Brisbane digs in Brisbane — and you can order them online in Brissie, too. In the tastebud-tempting stakes, it also has company, spanning both sweet and savoury dishes. Also on the menu: a coconut rough pain au chocolat, the OG Lune twice-baked pain au chocolat. It includes a chocolate coconut frangipane filling, plus large coconut flakes and drizzled chocolate on top — and it's on offer at all Lune locations, and online from South Brisbane and Burnett Lane. The January specials list also boasts twice-baked almond frangipane and vanilla crème croissants, which are topped with a slice of raw honey; mixed berry danishes, highlighting summer fruits; and pineapple upside down cakes, for a retro bite. And, the savoury special is spanakopita as an escargot, as filled with a spinach, ricotta and feta mix, then seasoned with lemon and herbs. Different specials are on offer at different stores, and only the Queensland venues also do pre-orders. Lune's January specials menu runs from Tuesday, January 31, with different specials on offer at Fitzroy and the CBD in Melbourne, and South Brisbane in Brisbane. In Brisbane only, you can also order them online. Images: Peter Dillon.
Brisbanites, if you haven't yet clocked Big Ben with your own eyes, stood before the Arc de Triomphe or checked out the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you're not going to be able to in the near future. But, while Australia's closed borders means that holidaying overseas and seeing the world's most stunning sights is currently off the cards, you can still mosey over to Queensland Museum and scope out their Lego counterparts. At the Brickman Wonders of the World exhibition, more than 50 structures have been recreated using plastic bricks — because Lego definitely isn't just for kids. This is a family-friendly showcase, so expect to have more than a little pint-sized company. You're never too old to take a peek at a four-metre-tall Lego space shuttle, see a 120-kilogram replica of the Titanic or check out a 4.65-metre-long map of Tokyo's subway system, though. That's all on offer until Sunday, January 30 — with more than 1.3 million bricks used to create everything from the Pyramids of Giza to the Great Wall of China. And yes, the exhibition was due to end at the beginning of October; however, it has been updated due to demand. Updated September 30.
Film techniques are always evolving and now a Canadian duo have explored what will likely become a staple of film festivals in future years — filming entirely on the screens of our devices. It is unlike anything you have seen before, yet like everything you see every day. Ryerson University film students Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg used the innovative technique to explore the sincerity of online identity, privacy and connections in this digital age. The 17-minute-long film, titled Noah, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this week and has made waves online since. The film opens with Noah typing in his computer password, and his successful login reveals a desktop wallpaper of his girlfriend and himself, immediately providing context. It then proceeds to tell the story of their break-up, which occurs after Noah overanalyses some of her Facebook updates. All the time you cannot help saying to yourself, 'no you fool, don't do it.' This is because it succeeds in being surprisingly compelling for a work that involves watching people Skype, Facebook, text and Chatroulette. We can connect as we have all used these mediums (or are at least familiar with them) and we thus appreciate the multitasking that brings about Noah's seeming disconnection and insincerity. The immensely intricate details of the film, including the online profiles created (and cleverly employed to promote the film) and the 'Cuddle Jams' playlist, allow you to immerse yourself in the film. However, the truly compelling message of the film resonates when it distracts you. The Facebook notification noises will make you wonder if it is yours or Noah's that is receiving messages, driving home the concern that we are too connected and concerned with our digital self and the fallacies associated with it. Be warned, you will see unexpected and unwanted penis thanks to Chatroulette, so it's NSFW, but this film is a must-watch exploration of our online presence and how making connections online is no substitute for real-world conversation.
Back in early May, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said that when interstate travel was allowed once again, flights could drop as low as $19. Today, Friday, June 19, he's delivered on his promise. Qantas and Jetstar have just announced a huge tourism recovery sale with 200,000 discounted fares across the two airlines — including 10,000 flights on Jetstar for just $19. The domestic flight sale kicks off at 9am today and runs until midnight on Monday, June 22, or sold out. In the sale, you'll find cheap flights on more than 35 routes to 15 destinations across NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the NT and Queensland — but, before you book, we suggest you check in on when interstate borders are opening. Travel between NSW, Victoria and the ACT is currently allowed, but Queensland is working towards reopening to visitors from other states on July 10, although that hasn't been officially confirmed as yet, while the Northern Territory announced it'll reopen on July 17 — and South Australia is slated to do the same on July 20. Neither WA nor Tasmania have yet to announce reopening dates — but flight deals to these destinations are expected to be added when they are. Regional travel within your state is allowed, too, and you'll also find cheap flights from Sydney to Byron Bay (for $19), and Brisbane to Mackay (for $49). Other discounted flight routes include Sydney to Hamilton Island ($79), Brisbane to Darwin ($79) and $19 one-way flights on 22 routes, such as Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to Gold Coast, Melbourne to Byron Bay, Brisbane to Whitsunday Coast and Adelaide to Cairns. Flights are available between July 14 and October 31. [caption id="attachment_743607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whitsunday Beach by Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] With Australian borders likely to remain closed to international travel until 2021, the Government has been telling Aussies to get out and explore their own backyards, which Joyce hopes this sale will also encourage. "We know that these low fares will encourage even more people to get on a flight to take a short holiday or visit family and friends. We've already seen our flights from Sydney to Cairns fill up on the days after the proposed Queensland border opening date of 10 July 2020, so we're adding more," Joyce said in a statement. "This is a great opportunity to go to the amazing places in our own backyard that you haven't got around to seeing like the Barossa Valley or the Great Barrier Reef." As we are still in the middle of a pandemic, flying will be a little different to normal. Qantas and Jetstar have introduced a range of safety measures, including hand sanitisation stations, contactless check-in and masks provided to all passengers (but wearing them is not mandatory). Qantas and Jetstar's domestic sale runs from 9am on Friday, June 19 until 11.59pm on Monday, June 22 or sold out.
I hear the word organ and think of church and layered hymns that get the congregation singing badly, or perhaps leave them falling asleep. The world of organs has changed though, with the introduction of Barry Morgan! Appearing on Spicks and Specks not so long ago, Barry Morgan shot to fame with his infectious passion for organ music, and his amazing organ stylings. His favourite organ is the 1981 Hammond Aurora Classic, on which he will blow your mind when he rocks out playing bossa novas, tangos, 70s grooves and lounging classics. From the Adelaide suburb of Sunnyside, Morgan has long held a passion for the organ. In the local mall Barry has the world famous Barry Morgan’s World of Organs superstore, for all your organ needs. He really is just a walking, talking organ enthusiast. For two nights only he will perform his brand of beautiful, wholesome organ music at the Powerhouse - a journey into the 70s and 80s era of organ popularity. Described by Adam Hills as “a cross between Dennis Lillee and Bob Downe”, this is a show not to be missed.
If Mohammed won't come to the mountain, as the old adage goes, the mountain will just have to come to Mohammed's apartment block. In this instance, the role of Mohammed is played by eccentric and visionary doctor of Chinese medicine Zhang Biqing, and the mountain is literally a mountain, albeit a monumental $130,000, two-storey Eden/monstrosity that Zhang has painstakingly spent the last six years building atop his 26-storey residential building in Beijing's fancy Haidian district. Is it legal to build a mountain on your apartment building? No. Will Zhang get away with it? No. Do we love it anyway and want one of our own? Yes. In keeping with the zeitgeisty theme of greening urban spaces, what with all the recent edible green walls, adorable terraria, city farms and electric scooters born from plants, Zhang was obviously seeking to create an idyllic haven from polluted and chaotic city life. Rumours abound that the wealthy founder of acupuncture clinics hosts glamorous soirees with celebrities at his lofty lair. What started out as your average, non-Alpine 340 square-metre penthouse eventually became a 1000 square-metre wilderness through the introduction of countless artificial rocks, wooden panels and real grass and trees (which, according to Zhang's bitter neighbours, have been clogging the service elevator for years). After constant complaints from residents of the building, who are justifiably concerned about safety issues posed by all the construction and the hassle of noisy renovations and water leaks, last week local government officials finally issued Zhang an order to dismantle his hanging gardens of Babylon within 15 days. Zhang has said he will comply. Just another round in the epic battle waged between mankind and nature since the dawn of our race. Nature appears to have lost this time. Conceptually at least though, we can hope that Zhang's mad genius inspires someone to start building mountains in a somewhat more legal fashion. Via This is Colossal.
In a week where homosexual rights are in the spotlight, The Laramie Project shines bright for Moises Kaufman and the members of local theatre group, The Tectonic Theatre Project. If you're not familiar with the Laramie tale, then do brace yourself for a emotional, confronting and shocking theatrical journey. Following the heart wrenching death of twenty one year old University student Matthew Shepard, The Laramie Project explores the homophobic hate crimes of Wyoming in 1988. After conducting more than 200 interviews from townspeople on the kidnapping, assault and murder, the performance explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the highest of compassion of which they can reach. The importance of The Laramie Project is that it addresses community issues from a community forum. Although the horrific acts of humanity are easy to shadow, it's bringing issues to light that truly make them fade. For a performance that is informing, entertaining, educating and inspiring, don't miss The Laramie Project.
2024 marks seven years since Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy) last featured on the big screen Down Under. Playing at this year's Queer Screen Film Fest, Close to You brings his absence from local cinemas to an end. The film boasts the actor's first male movie role, as a trans man heading home to his family for the first time since transitioning. It's also the Sydney-based cinema showcase's first-ever narrative centrepiece pick in its 11 year history. Close to You sits on the just-announced in-person lineup alongside opening night's Buenos Aires-set The Astronaut Lovers, plus closing night's dialogue-free Gondola — the former about two men crossing paths over a summer, the second about female cable-car conductors expressing their emotions in the sky. In total, QSFF 2024 will show 35 titles, with the fest running from Wednesday, August 28–Sunday, September 1 at Event Cinemas George Street, then sharing the love online nationally with a week of movies streaming from Monday, September 2–Sunday, September 8. Hailing from Queer Screen, which also runs the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of each year, this celebration of LGBTQIA+ flicks has other recognisable names gracing its frames alongside Page. Evan Rachel Wood (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) plays a cheerleading coach in Backspot, with Devery Jacobs (Echo) as the squad's newcomer. In the gay shorts package, both Lukas Gage (Road House) and Keiynan Lonsdale (Swift Street) make appearances via the bite-sized Stay Lost. Elsewhere on the program, other highlights include the world-premiering Strange Creatures, which heads on a road trip to Narrabri with fighting siblings; fellow Aussie effort Videoland, about a video-store clerk; and Frameline Outstanding Documentary Feature-winner Fragments of a Life Loved, a journey through former lovers with filmmaker Chloé Barreau. For both of the two Australian titles, the filmmakers will be in attendance. Or, Sydneysiders can catch Baby, about the connection between a São Paolo sex worker and an 18-year-old man just out of juvenile detention — and Hong Kong's All Shall Be Well, the recipient of this year's Berlinale Teddy Award and Frameline Audience Award for Narrative. Online, as well as Gondola, and the gay, sapphic and trans and gender-diverse shorts strands, viewers have American Parent, about a lesbian couple raising a toddler during the pandemic; Big Boys, focusing on a teen with a crush; All Shall Be Well director Ray Yeung's 2019 film Twilight's Kiss; and The Judgment, about US-based Egyptian boyfriends returning home and dealing with the supernatural, among the choices. Queer Screen Film Fest 2024 runs from Wednesday, August 28–Sunday, September 1 at Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney — and online nationally from Monday, September 2–Sunday, September 8. For more information, visit the festival's website.
Killing It starts with a pitch. It's the first of many because that's just life these days, the show posits. Adding another sitcom to his resume after The Office, Ghosted and his beloved Brooklyn Nine-Nine guest spots, Craig Robinson keeps his first name as a Miami bank security guard with big aspirations — if he can rustle up some startup funds. His vision: owning a saw palmetto farm and living the American dream, because he believed his dad back when he was told as a kid that hard work and perseverance always pay off in the USA. For $20,000, he plans to buy land in the Everglades, then sell the fruit to pharmaceutical companies, who'll use it in prostate medicines for the lucrative health market. First, Craig needs to convince his branch manager to give him a loan. So, when this new satirical series from B99 co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici kicks off its ten-part first season, its lead is honing his spiel, certain he'll soon be rewarded for his efforts. But rejection comes quickly, bluntly and amid racist comments, all while someone who thwarts the rules waltzes in and nabs a rich payday. That's a contrast that Killing It repeats over and over, just like its slick speeches from ordinary people attempting to seize opportunities. The dreams seen are modest — not having to work nine different jobs is another — but there's always someone above them scheming or stealing their way to success, and being celebrated for it. Striving for a better life, styling yourself to meet society's expectations, getting brutally trampled down: that's Killing It. It's a perceptive and savvily funny series about aiming for a shiny future to escape the swampy present, but getting stuck slithering in a circle no matter what you try. Or, as Craig's low-level criminal brother Isaiah (Rell Battle, Superior Donuts) puts it after seeing his sibling's legitimate endeavours flail again and again, it's about how the world is "nothing but snakes all the way down". Capitalism breeds serpents eating each other's tales if they're lucky, and devouring their own if they're not, the show suggests. That said, Killing It is still very much a comedy, and sees kindness and camaraderie as the antidote to the reptilian status quo. If The Good Place was wholly set in Florida and followed down-on-their luck folks chasing glory by slaying pythons, this'd be the end result. What it takes to be a good person — and what the point of even trying is in a world that stacks the odds against most — is a question that working on B99 has inspired twice now, given that The Good Place also sprang from one of the cop-focused sitcom's co-creators. That shouldn't be surprising when the power afforded law enforcement in America has become a key subject of debate recently. For eight seasons, Goor helped conjure up warm-hearted laughs via the antics of likeable characters who belong to a highly privileged profession. Now, he's unfurling US society's stratifications by honing in on everyday people who sometimes find themselves on the other side of the line, and rarely by choice. Killing It's snakes are indeed literal, too, and a ladder to cash. After getting knocked back for the loan, Craig winds up in an Uber driven by Jillian (Claudia O'Doherty, Our Flag Means Death), a chatty Australian who makes a pitstop to casually swing a hammer at a python. It's a profitable business, she reveals. Also, there's a contest awarding $20,000 to whoever kills the most. Craig is reluctant to join in, but as more misfortune slinks his way, he soon has few other choices. Giving up on his dream isn't an option — and he's also desperate to show his ex-wife Camille (Stephanie Nogueras, Switched at Birth) and daughter Vanessa (Jet Miller, Young Dylan) that he's someone they can count on and be proud of. Clubbing critters and cutting into class inequalities mightn't seem an intuitive duo, but Killing It proves otherwise. Another of the series' crucial questions: what drives someone to spend their days wielding a nail gun at reptiles, or earning pittance for helping the ultra-rich avoid tax, or filming their snake-hunting exploits? The latter comes courtesy of fellow competition entrant Brock (Scott MacArthur, The Mick), who makes videos with his teen son Corby (Wyatt Walter, NCIS: New Orleans), has amassed a YouTube following of 150,000 viewers, and yearns for social-media stardom. He's Killing It's most cartoonish underdog, but also distills its essence perfectly. In a world where one-percenters and influencers reign supreme — getting away with their grifts scot-free, fetishising manual labour without dreaming of doing it, and treating the less financial as jokes, marks or pets — he's unashamed about diving in head first, but he's also constantly battling. Of course, Killing It doesn't offer up any insights that haven't been covered in other 'eat the rich' fare of late, such as The White Lotus, Squid Game and Succession. But staring clear-eyed at the divides that have become an accepted part of western existence, recognising the struggle for anyone who wasn't born wealthy or faked it till they made it, and giving the whole situation an astutely comic spin works devilishly well here nonetheless. It helps that the series knows when to lean into absurdity, when to let its tender heart beat loudly, and how much cynicism to wind into its tale. There's ludicrousness, kindness and bleakness in each and every episode, even if setting the show around the 2016 US election feels unnecessary. Robinson was bound to thrive in a comedy like this, and unpacks the swagger that's long been baked into his on-screen persona in the process. Always a delight to watch, Aussie comedian O'Doherty (Love, Sarah's Channel) is just as well-cast as the tireless but beleaguered Jillian, and gets most of the show's best lines and deepest moments along the way. They're an odd-couple duo, because Killing It eagerly draws upon a familiar formula, but their performances have plenty to say — and skewer — about simply trying to get by in unforgiving climes. It's no wonder, then, that it's easy to slide through and laugh along with the sitcom's snake-filled first season in one sitting, and to buy everything it's pitching. Check out the trailer for Killing It below: Killing It's first season is available to stream in Australia via Stan. Images: Alan Markfield/Skip Bolen/Peacock.
When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows dropped its last terrible three words on us at the close of the book, all was not well. It would never be well without Harry, Ron, Hermione fighting the Dark Lord in a series of fantastical and wholly engrossing scenarios. But, little did we know, this would not be the end of the Age of Harry Potter. Thanks to the internet and the sheer demand for all things HP, Harry has lived on through new books, fan website Pottermore, the Fantastic Beasts film spinoff series and all manner of events dedicated to the franchise. One of the biggest things to come of the post-Harry Potter era has been Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, of course — aka the West End play that's essentially the eighth book in the series. It first arrived in Australia in February 2019, hitting up Melbourne's Princess Theatre, and proved unsurprisingly popular. Now, after closing down during the Victorian capital's 2020 lockdowns, then returning early in 2021, the production has announced that it's sticking around until the end of the year. Muggles, rejoice. Harry Potter fandom aside, this is also something that all theatre-goers can get excited about. Since debuting in London in July 2016, the production has won a swathe of awards and has proven a repeated sell-out — in the West End, on Broadway and in San Francisco, too. Melburnians — and other Australian Harry Potter and/or theatre aficionados — will be able to access tickets for the new dates from 9am on Thursday, April 29. You'll be able to book right through until Sunday, December 12. So yes, if you feel like a pre-festive date with all things Potter, that's on the cards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gp6ekBcNYY&feature=emb_logo So what exactly is The Cursed Child about? Well, it picks up 19 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and that abominably cheery epilogue on Platform 9 3/4. Harry is now an overworked Ministry of Magic employee, and the play focuses on both him and his youngest son Albus Severus Potter as they grapple with the past and future. The production is presented in two parts, so you'll have to book into two performances, either on the same day (matinee and evening) or on consecutive evenings. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is playing at Melbourne's Princess theatre until December 12, 2021, with tickets for the newly extended season on sale from 9am on Thursday, April 29. Top image: Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made.
June 2022 marked 30 years since the High Court of Australia's groundbreaking Mabo decision, which confirmed native title and traditional ownership by Indigenous Australians. That's a milestone well worth commemorating, so the State Library of Queensland is spending a few months doing just that — and celebrating Eddie Koiki Mabo, the man behind it, in the process. Running until Saturday, October 8, Legacy: Reflections on Mabo features work by 24 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, all in the spirit of reconciliation. As co-curated by Mabo's daughter Gail Mabo with Dr Jonathan McBurnie and Kellie Williams, the showcase highlights both established and emerging creatives, with a particular focus on North Queensland talents. The lineup of artists with pieces on display is impressive — starting with 2022 Archibald Prize-winner Blak Douglas plus Adam Geczy, and also including Elisa Jane Carmichael and Sonja Carmichael, Toby Cedar, Dian Darmansjah, Katina Davidson, Hayley Megan French, Marion Gaemers and Patricia Hoffie, among others. Free to attend at the South Brisbane cultural institution, Legacy: Reflections on Mabo does exactly what its moniker promises — and, yes, that's a broad-ranging mission. So, expect to peer at works that cover Mabo's life, activism and politics alike. Visitors can head by from 10am–5pm daily. Images: Lewis James Media, 2022.
UPDATE, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25: Since releasing its initial list of places visited by positive COVID-19 cases connected to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, Queensland Health has issued an update, adding further locations. The below article and list has been amended to reflect this. Sneezing into our elbows, maintaining a 1.5-metre distance from other people, and washing our hands thoroughly and often: they're just some of the practices that Australians have adopted in 2020 in response to COVID-19. So is paying particular attention to where we've all been, which links into ongoing contact-tracing efforts — because naming locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited is a crucial part of the country's containment strategy. That includes in Queensland, where state authorities have been issuing health alerts outlining places that residents should note. By now, it has become a familiar routine: if you've visited these spots on the dates and during the times outlined, you should monitor your health, and self-isolate and get a test for COVID-19 if you start suffering from even the mildest of symptoms. Today, Sunday, August 23, Queensland Health has released its latest list, in response to a growing number of cases it is calling the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre cluster. Spanning places in Brisbane's west and southeast, and dating between Sunday, August 9–Friday, August 21, it's a lengthy rundown. The big ones: IKEA in Slacks Creek, covering anyone who went looking for affordable Swedish furniture between 11am–2pm on Friday, August 14; various stores at Browns Plains Grand Plaza, spanning different dates and times; a number of shops at Forest Lake Shopping Centre, again at varying dates and times; and a selection of retailers at Westfield Carindale on Wednesday, August 19. But again, this is a very comprehensive list — with places in Birkdale, Browns Plains, Camp Hill, Carina Heights, Carindale, Crestmead, Forest Lake, Greenbank, Greenslopes, Marsden, Mt Gravatt, Slacks Creek and Wacol all named. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1297328838536437761 Check out the full list of places, dates and times below: Sunday, August 9, from around 6.30–6.40am: IGA Express, Forest Lake Sunday, August 9, 11am–12.10pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Sunday, August 9, 11am–12pm: Woolworths, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 9.30–9.45am: Spotlight, Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 10–10.15am: Coles, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Monday, August 10, 10.15–11.25am: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 11am–12.30pm: Woolworths, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Monday, August 10, 5.30–5.40pm: Greenbank Takeaway, Greenbank Monday, August 10, times unknown: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Tuesday, August 11, from around 6–6.15am: BP Wacol (Corner of Boundary and Progress roads), Wacol Tuesday, August 11, from around 10.30–11.45am: Mt Gravatt Swimming Pool, Mt Gravatt Tuesday, August 11, from around 12pm until an unknown time: Dami Japanese Restaurant, Mt Gravatt Wednesday, August 12, from around 4.30–5pm: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Wednesday, August 12, 6–6.15pm: Thai Antique, Carina Heights Wednesday, August 12, from around 7.15pm until an unknown time: Coles, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Thursday, August 13, 11am until around 12am: Australian Nails, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, 11am–3pm: Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, from 12pm until an unknown time: Fig Tree Bakehouse, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, from after 12pm until an unknown time: Nandos, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 14, from around 10–10.10am: Officeworks, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from after 10am until before 11am: Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, 11am–2pm: Ikea, Slacks Creek Friday, August 14, from around 11.15–11.30am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Friday, August 14, 2.20–3.30pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from around 2.30–3pm: Bunnings, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from around 4–4.30pm: Aldi, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 14, from around 4–4.30pm: Coles, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Saturday, August 15, from around 9.30–9.45am: K-Mart, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Saturday, August 15, 10.25–11.35am: Anytime Fitness, Village Square Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, from around 10–10.15am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Sunday, August 16, from around 10.30–11am: Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, 12.10–12.15pm: 7-11 service station, Springfield Sunday, August 16, 1.20–2.30pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: Riverlink Shopping Centre, Ipswich Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: The Reject Shop, Ipswich Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: Jamaica Blue coffee shop, Ipswich Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: BUPA, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: Origin Kebabs, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11.30–2pm: Calamvale Shopping Centre, Calamvale Monday, August 17, from around 6.30–6.40pm: Greenbank Takeaway, Greenbank Monday, August 17, at an unknown time in the afternoon: Costco Bundamba self-service fuel station, Bundamba Tuesday, August 18, from around 12.30–1pm: BCF, Greenslopes Tuesday, August 18, from 1pm until an unknown time in the afternoon: Rock and Roll Butcher (formerly Brisbane Bulk Meats), Logan Road, Greenslopes Tuesday, August 18, at an unknown time in the afternoon: Chemist Warehouse (on Waratah Drive), Crestmead Tuesday, August 18, 5.45–6.15pm: Uncle Bill's Takeaway, Brassall Tuesday, August 18, 6.05–6.12pm: United Fuels, Springfield Tuesday, August 18, at an unknown time in the evening: BP Wacol (Corner of Boundary and Progress roads), Wacol Wednesday, August 19, 8–9.30am: 12 RND Fitness, Birkdale Wednesday, August 19, from around 9.30am until an unknown time: Woolworths, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Wednesday, August 19, 10.30–11.45am: The Jam Pantry, Greenslopes Wednesday, August 19, 11–11.10am: Officeworks, Ipswich Wednesday, August 19, 12.30pm until around 1pm: Red Cross Op Shop, Sherwood Road, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, 12.30–1pm: Sherwood Transport and Main Roads Customer Service Centre, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Bras 'n' Things, Westfield Carindale, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Ghanda clothing, Westfield Carindale, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Myer, Westfield Carindale Carindale Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Myer, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: David Jones, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Touch of Indian, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Sweets from Heaven, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1.10pm until around 1.20pm: Newsagent on Sherwood Road, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, from around 5.30–5.40pm: Baskin Robbins, Camp Hill Market Place, Camp Hill Wednesday, August 19, from around 5.30–5.40pm: Pho Inn, Camp Hill Market Place, Camp Hill Wednesday, August 19, 7.30–7.35pm: 7-11, Springfield Wednesday, August 19–Thursday, August 20, 11pm–6.19am: Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department, Ipswich Thursday, August 20, from around 10–10.15am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Thursday, August 20, 12.05–12.13pm: USQ Campus Cafe, Springfield Thursday, August 20, 3.15–4pm: Coles, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.30–10.45am: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.45–11.15am: The Chop Shop, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.45–11.15am: Best & Less, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, 4.15–5pm: Orion Shopping Centre Springfield, Springfield Qld Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. You can find a rundown of testing clinic locations online as well. Today's alert follows the announcement yesterday, Saturday, August 22, of reinstated social gathering restrictions in the Greater Brisbane area — capping visitors to homes at 10 people, and limiting groups amassing in public to the same number. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. Top image: IKEA; Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.
Already in 2023, Cate Blanchett has scored her seventh Oscar nomination. Thanks to her phenomenal performance in conductor drama Tár, she's likely to win her third Academy Award, in fact. However her luck pans out on Hollywood's night of nights in March, she'll be towering over Melbourne in June regardless — in a historic space built in 1867, across a film installation spanning an array of huge screens, and in one mighty impressive 360-degree display. The first event announced for this year's RISING, Melbourne's major annual arts festival, will feature Blanchett in her latest starring role for artist and filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt. The duo reteams for Euphoria after working on 2015's stunning installation Manifesto together. Set to take over Melbourne Town Hall from Friday, June 2–Sunday, June 18, their new multichannel work doesn't just focus on the acclaimed Australian actor playing multiple parts, however, instead honing in on the weighty topic that is capitalism. The Berlin-based Rosefeldt tackles his current topic — aka two thousand years of greed and the effect that unlimited economic growth has — via a spiral of screens that'll sit throughout the venue. On the ground floor, 24 screens will showcase a life-sized choir of Brooklyn Youth Chorus singers, while five jazz drummers will duel on the screens above them. And, there'll also be five theatrical vignettes looping above, too, which is where Blanchett playing an anthropomorphic tiger stalking supermarket aisles comes in. Those drummers? They include Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer Antonio Sánchez, who also composed the score for 2014 film Birdman. And those vignettes? They'll also feature Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul favourite — and recent Kaleidoscope star — Giancarlo Esposito among a cast that'll speaking thoughts penned by economists, writers and thinkers like Warren Buffett, Ayn Rand, Angela Davis and Snoop Dogg. As well as Blanchett as a jungle cat, RISING's first major international commission — which hits this year's fest as an Australian exclusive, and enjoyed its world premiere at the Park Armory in New York back in November 2022 — features homeless men chatting about economics, executives getting acrobatic in a bank lobby, and an all-round unpacking of capitalism via its own excess. Paired with it, Euphoria's original score by Canadian composer Samy Moussa and British saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi goes big on jazz, the tunes sung by the children's choir and those uttered ideas. Befitting the theme, the installation will run with a pay-as-you-can pricing model, and welcome in visitors for free on Fridays during its season. 2023 is turning out to be a stellar year for spectacular takeovers of town halls by citywide arts fests, after Sydney Festival turned Sydney Town Hall into an indoor beach — temporarily, of course — for an opera performance back in January. Check out the trailer for Euphoria below: RISING 2023 will take place across Melbourne from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18, with Euphoria displaying at the Melbourne Town Hall on from Friday, June 2–Sunday, June 18. Tickets for Euphoria go on sale to RISING subscribers from 12pm on Tuesday, February 14, with general sales from Friday, February 17. First top image: Katja Illner.
October is made for weird, wild and wonderful movies filled with shocks and scares. 'Tis Halloween season, after all. So, the world obliges, including on screens big and small — and, in 2023, via the return of Australia's genre film festival Monster Fest, which is dedicated to flicks of the spooky, dark, twisted, offbeat and out-there variety. Monster Fest doesn't always pop up in the month when everyone is worshipping pumpkins and thinking about costumes; however, the timing obviously couldn't be more perfect. As it always does, it'll run long in Melbourne, where the fest was born back in 2011, then head to Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide for a shorter season in each city all on the same weekend. Melburnians, mark Thursday, October 12–Sunday, October 22 in your calendar for this showcase of strange, surreal, thrilling and chilling pictures at Cinema Nova. Everyone else, you'll want to make a date with Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney, Event Cinemas Uptown in Brisbane, Event Cinemas Marion in Adelaide and Event Cinemas Innaloo in Perth between Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29. On the lineup: the latest and greatest in genre filmmaking, spanning horror, sci-fi, comedies with elements of either and all-round unnerving movies. Standouts titles on the 2023 program include Suitable Flesh, which stars Heather Graham (Extrapolations) as a doctor going mad, takes its inspiration from HP Lovecraft and boasts Joe Lynch (Creepshow) behind the lens; The Last Video Store, a horror-comedy set, yes, in one of the last video stores; and Norwegian flick There's Something in the Barn, about a gnome uprising that plagues an American family (including Party Down's Martin Starr) who've relocated to Scandinavia. Or, there's also sci-fi comedy Time Addicts, Australian slasher Bloodmoon getting a 4K restoration 33 years after its OG release and Trim Season's nightmarish trip to a weed farm. All of the above titles are doing the rounds nationally; however, with its extra days, Melbourne scores a few more highlights. When Evil Lurks and its demonic infection will launch the Victorian capital's leg of the fest. From there, that's also where Red Rooms, which recently won Best Feature at the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, joins the program. And, so does the kung fu-filled The Invisible Fright, a 4K restoration of Jim Jarmusch's (The Dead Don't Die) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and a 30th-anniversary session of ninth Friday the 13th entry Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (screening on the appropriate date, of course). On the doco front, erotic thrillers are thrust into the spotlight in We Kill for Love, Satan Wants You looks back at 80s-era satanic panic and Enter the Clones of Bruce surveys the talents that endeavoured to replicate Bruce Lee after his death. Going all in on Bruceploitation, Monster Fest is also putting on a double of The Dragon Lives Again and Challenge of the Tiger, where Dracula and James Bond are among Bruce's foes. MONSTER FEST 2023 DATES: Thursday, October 12–Sunday, October 22 — Cinema Nova, Melbourne Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Uptown, Brisbane Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Marion, Adelaide Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Innaloo, Perth Monster Fest 2023 runs throughout October around Australia. Head to the festival's website for further details.
If there weren't already enough reasons to visit France, the nation has just erected a ten-level superstructure dedicated entirely to life's magnum opus: wine. Located in the heart of Bordeaux wine country, La Cité du Vin (translating to The City of Wine) is more than just a museum about squashed grapes. From the outside the building is a masterpiece in its own right, the architecture charging its glass to the curvature of the infamous vineyard-bordered Garonne River, knotted vine stocks and the swirl of wine in a glass. Indoors, there are both temporary and permanent features, including a self-guided tour through 20 themed spaces showcasing wine from across the world, across the ages, across all cultures and all civilisations. The immersive experience kicks off in a wooden vault moonlighting as the hull of a wine-trading ship before taking visitors through several other multi-sensory areas. The final phase leads up to the top floor to take in 360 degree views of the city and for the most eagerly anticipated section of the tour: wine tasting. All that wine knowledge can be put to use in one of two restaurants, together sharing a wine cellar with upwards of 14,000 bottles from more than 80 wine producing countries. To top it all off the entrance hall doubles as the departure point for wine tasting excursions via boat along the Garonne or down the road to the plentiful Bordeaux vineyards.
He may be young, but Ed Sheeran is turning heads all around the world for all the right reasons. After writing and recording his own EP at the tender age of 14, Ed Sheeran has taken the world by storm and gained legions of supporters, including Grime maestro Example and Jamie Foxx. The talented red-head is a great singer-songwriter known for his compositions containing guitar loops and beat-boxing creating a superbly unique brand of hip-hop. With more than a million likes on Facebook and countless more fans around the world, the 21 year old sensation is bringing his talents to South Bank for an intimate performace at the QPAC Concert Hall.
James Bond is a fictional character. If literature and cinema's super-suave spy was real, however, he might be interested in a new bar that's set to start pouring cocktails in Melbourne from April. At Le Martini, one drink is in the spotlight. That cocktail can come in an array of varieties, though — yes, including shaken, not stirred — as patrons here will be able to enjoy. This 33-seat watering hole on the ground floor at Crown Melbourne won't just hero one kind of tipple. It'll also be all about one variety of vodka, too. Operating from 5pm–late Thursday–Sunday, the intimate Le Martini is the world's first-ever Grey Goose martini bar, so you know what'll be in each martini. Exactly what kinds of martinis will be on offer hasn't been revealed as yet, but they'll also change thanks to guest bartenders from overseas who'll whip up their own menus. One such person: New York's Dale DeGroff, whose career dates back to the Rainbow Room in the 80s. He's in charge of the opening martini lineup. Whatever the range of curators opt for, you can probably look forward to the alcohol brand's signature martini, which combines its own vodka, Noilly Prat dry vermouth and a dash of orange bitters. French bites to eat will be paired with the beverages, with Bistro Guillaume at Crown Melbourne responsible for the culinary range. "Here, we are creating a place where guests can sip on the very best expertly crafted Grey Goose martinis while immersed in exquisite surrounds," said the brand's Marketing Manager Sander Janmaat, announcing Le Martini. Find Le Martini on the ground floor at Crown Melbourne, Southbank from sometime in April, open from 5pm–late Thursday–Sunday — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's returning to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which was originally slated to deliver its fifth annual program between Friday, April 3–Sunday, April 12 — but, after delaying its 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now do so between Friday, September 11–Sunday, September 20. The move marks the fest's temporary return to the latter half of the calendar, following a shift to an earlier autumn timeslot in 2019 — which attracted a record crowd of 25,000 attendees. Regardless of this year's coronavirus-inspired change of dates, the fest will continue its free ten-day public celebration of Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling — and its focus on dazzling light installations — in the CBD's Alice Springs Todd Mall, as well as at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct just out of town. On the bill: the festival's signature installations, new luminous displays, live music and other performances, all falling under the theme 'lifting our spirits'. The 2020 fest is particularly enthusiastic about "lifting the spirits from the work of artists, old and new, to the spirit of this year's audience". While an initial 2020 program was released earlier this year, just how much of it will make the leap to September is yet to be revealed. [caption id="attachment_715721" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lighting the Ranges, Parrtjima festival, Alice Springs, Australia.5/4/2019. Images courtesy Parrtjima / NTMEC[/caption] That said, as it always does, the Alice Springs Desert Park will come alive with the festival's main attraction. Once again, a huge artwork will transform a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival. Just what it'll feature this year hasn't been unveiled, but it's always spectacular — and it always highlights stories, symbols and knowledge of Aboriginal culture.Another returning favourite is Ahelhe Itethe – Living Sands (Grounded), where installations are projected onto the earth accompanied by a striking soundscape. Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2020, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from September 11–20, 2020 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: James Horan.
While some social distancing and public gathering rules are still in place across the country — and Melbourne it preparing to go into lockdown again — some festivals are starting to look to the less-restricted future. Falls Festival has announced it's powering ahead with plans for its New Year's festival and, today, Wednesday, July 8, Bluesfest has just announced the first 50 acts for its 2021 festival. The festival's biggest-ever first lineup announcement, it features many artists who were set to perform at the 2020 festival, which was cancelled — like many — because of COVID-19. Famed American singer and repeat Bluesfest offender Patti Smith and Her Band, as well as the multi Grammy Award-winning George Benson and British trip-hop band Morcheeba are all set to headline the fest once again. Some of the artists new to the lineup include Aussie icon and the human scream Jimmy Barnes, Justin Vernon-led American indie folk band Bon Iver and blues-rock quintet The Teskey Brothers. https://www.facebook.com/bluesfestbyronbay/photos/a.154558221251307/4356464721060615/?type=3&theater The festival is set to return to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm — just outside Byron Bay — for its usual Easter time slot, from Thursday, April 1 to Monday, April 5. This is dependent, however, on the continued relaxing of public gatherings restrictions. Under NSW's current laws, music festivals are prohibited. When the festival was cancelled earlier this year, it was the first time in 30 years it had not run, but the second year in a row it had come under threat. In 2019, the Festival Director threatened to move the festival to a spot outside of NSW because of the State Government's strict music festival licensing regime. Here's hoping it goes ahead — if save to do so — as planned in 2021, because tickets are already on sale. Time to start making Easter plans. Anyway, here's the full lineup (so far). BLUESFEST 2021 LINEUP Bon Iver Patti Smith and Her Band Jimmy Barnes George Benson The Teskey Brothers John Butler Xavier Rudd The Cat Empire Kool & The Gang The Gipsy Kings Kasey Chambers The Waifs Troy Cassar-Daley Michael Franti & Spearhead The Wailers Perform Songs from 'Legend' LP Morcheeba The Black Sorrows Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Tori Kelly Buffy Sainte-Marie The Marcus King Band Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Jimmie Vaughan John Mayall Melbourne Ska Orchestra Chain Larkin Poe Weddings. Parties. Anything Backsliders Harts Play Hendrix Ash Grunwald The Wars & Treaty Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles Walter Trout The Bamboos Mick Thomas' Roving Commission Dami Im Pierce Brothers Emily Wurramara Roshani Ray Beadle Henry Wagons Hussy Hicks Pacey, King & Doley Daniel Champagne Nathan Cavaleri Little Georgia Byron Busking Competitions & Winners + more to come Bluesfest 2021 will run Thursday, April 1–Monday, April 5 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.
Chances are you already know something about Tonya Harding. Even if you don't know her name off the top of your head, you've probably heard it used as a punchline. Oh yeah, Tonya. She's that figure skater who took a police baton to her arch-rival's leg, right? That Tonya? Well, yes. But also, not quite. The infamous incident that made headlines around the world almost 25 years ago has been the subject of more misinformation than whether or not you can actually swallow chewing gum. In I, Tonya, filmmaker Craig Gillespie does his best to unpack the myth while crafting a darkly humourous and ultimately tragic narrative about a brilliant skating career gone irreversibly awry. Gillespie and screenwriter Steven Rogers want you to know for certain that Tonya Harding is not a joke. Nor is she a violent bludgeoner who schemed to take out her main competition, fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan. The way they tell it – albeit in a film they admit up front is based on "wildly contradictory interviews" – Harding was a troubled skater who perhaps surrounded herself with the wrong type of person, and ended up caught in something she couldn't stop; a fateful scenario which could have been avoided had she made different choices, but which has defined her public image ever since. Margot Robbie offers up an incredible performance, playing Tonya right through from teenage years in all her redneck, tough girl, middle-fingers-up glory. The Australian learnt to skate specifically for the role, and the months she put in certainly paid off. Credit must also be given to stunt doubles Heidi Munger and Anna Malkova. Harding is one of the only female skaters to ever pull off the triple axel – and the editing, stunt work and special effects that go into recreating the notoriously difficult manoeuvre are likewise superb. Also clever is the format of the film itself: we are introduced to Tonya and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan) via documentary-style talking heads. It's years after the fact, and both parties tell a very different story of what happened and who was responsible (Jeff and his friend Shawn Eckhardt were ultimately accused of colluding to hire an assailant to attack Kerrigan; both men served time in prison). We then jump back to the 1970s as a three-year-old Harding is put into skating lessons by her abusive mother LaVona Golden (Allison Janney), and watch as she quickly makes a name for herself on the ice. It isn't long before Harding is a teenager and competing at a national level. But while her technical ability is close to flawless, her image soon proves to be a problem. Not ladylike or sweet enough for the world of skating, she constantly runs up against judges who she sees as not marking her how she deserves. Spectacular choreography sees Harding's routines recreated down to the very last detail. Just as spot on is the film's casting, with Allison Janney particularly brilliant as Golden – complete with fur coat, perpetual cigarette and a bird perched on her shoulder. Where the film stumbles is in its tonally inconsistent depiction of the physical abuse allegedly inflicted on Harding, first by her mother and later by her husband. In a number of stomach-churning scenes, we watch as she is slapped, punched, thrown against a wall and has her head smashed into a mirror. At one point Harding breaks the fourth wall, addressing the abuse as it is happening to her – she thought it was normal, she says rather glibly. But that's all that is said, and there needed to be more. Gillespie and Rogers simply don't give the brutality the time or the serious treatment it deserves, pushing past the shocking violence in order to keep the plot moving forward. In doing so, they fail to explore the way Harding was made to feel everything was her fault – by her mother, by her husband and ultimately by the entire country. I, Tonya seems intent on reversing the popular consensus around its title character. The real Harding appeared at premieres of the film in the US, standing alongside Margot Robbie on the red carpet. But while she might finally have gotten the chance to prove she's not just the butt of a joke, you can't help but feel that the filmmakers – intentionally or not – treat her abuse as exactly that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXZQ5DfSAAc
Last time I went down to Wollongong the driver announced that the last carriage of the train would be a quiet zone. No loud conversations, no chatting on the phone, no music without headphones. This was followed by a loud, automated announcement saying the same thing again, but louder. While a quiet carriage would have to be pretty appealing for the weary reader struggling to beat Game of Thrones to the end of voluminous original A Storm of Swords, you also have to wonder what else you could mandate the end of a train carriage be used for, if only the power was at your command. In places like India and Japan, there are women-only carriages (and there were some calls for that here not long ago) and in Sydney, a group is already taking this idea into its own hands with on-train, flash mob-style music sessions. In the Czech Republic, though, they’re putting space aside for flirting. According to the ABC, commuters in Prague will soon have the option of riding in a dedicated singles carriage. Flirting on the subway in Prague is nothing new — the Prague Frommers guide even has a dedicated guide to the best lines for kissing on — but a dedicated hooking-up space still makes for a first. The planned carriage is part of a drive to convince more locals to abandon their cars for public transport. People whose hooking up is already done won't be asked to leave, nor forced do sit-ups, but it does raise the prospect of Ashley Madison-ing some already committed commuters. Or maybe making for some really awkward rides with home with colleagues during those crowded peak hours. Via ABC / Reuters. Image by Brad Hammonds.
Telstra announced some pretty exciting news yesterday. As part of their $100 million, five-year Wi-Fi Nation plan, the telecommunication giants are transforming 1000 of Australia's shitty old phone boxes from disgusting petri dishes of technological obsoleteness into actually useful free Wi-Fi hotspots. From November 1, you can log onto this glorious free internet while cruising through any of our nation's major cities. If you're a tourist or a cheapskate who's maxed out your iPhone data, it's time to rejoice. For everyone else, you might like to take a better look at the issue first. First off, this isn't a permanent thing. Telstra's gift of free lolcats and Facebooking will only last until the end of the year; after that, those who aren't Telstra fixed-line customers will have to buy passes to access the service. Though a similar phone box system has been implemented in New York and London, Australia's will be the only one that isn't free for all. It's hard to imagine who's going to be paying for Wi-Fi while sitting on the street, when it's cheaper to just go get a coffee and awkwardly ask the barista for the cafe's Wi-Fi password. As long-time supporters of public wi-fi, this is hard for us to write. Seeking to install two million hotspots around the country, the full Wi-Fi Nation plan is exciting; it's everything we've wanted! But with restrictions and mandatory costs in place, it looks a lot more like a giant PR push than something actually useful in the real world. Where broader municipal Wi-Fi networks try to build the economy by giving everyone equal access online, Telstra hotspots attempt to convert you to Telstra. Anything else is just a bonus, really. Of course, city-wide free Wi-Fi is the dream. State governments in both New South Wales and Victoria have been flirting with the idea for years now, but the only city to get it together has been Perth. Launching last year, Perth's blanket free Wi-Fi covers the entire CBD and cost $300,000 to implement. Not too shabby. After dumping plans in 2008, it was reported that Melbourne was to trial a similar program this year, but the news has been disappointingly sparse. Sydney's hopes were also dashed in 2008, though the City of Sydney are currently investigating the introduction of Wi-Fi into the city's parks and public squares. Alternatively, Brisbane are doing pretty well. Brisbane City Council currently offer free internet access in many parks, malls and areas of the CBD. It's safe to assume not many people will be paying Telstra to jump on a hotspot in Brisbane if they can surf for free while they shop. Importantly, all of these free networks are government initiatives. Internet access is, after all, a human right. So, will our governments now be less inclined to fight for a larger system if it seems as though payphones have the problem sorted? They definitely have one less commercial telco to partner with. When Sydney were considering free Wi-Fi in 2008, Telstra were the first to cast doubt anyway. "There's no such thing as a free lunch anymore so it will be interesting to see how it is proposed to be paid for," a decidedly catty spokesperson told SMH. Now, the City of New York hope to make $17.5 million in digital advertising from their phonebooth project. Times have changed. For all its other problems, even Tel Aviv has a better system than us. So, let's just live it up while we can. This two months of free internet will be great. After that, make sure to be nice to your baristas. Photo credit: Indigo Skies Photography via photopin cc.
A quarter-million people have signed a petition calling for the NSW Government to reverse its decision to allow a horse race to be advertised on the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the arts institution that its sails must be lit up with colours, numbers and a trophy to promote the upcoming $13 million Everest horse race — the world's richest race on turf — after a controversial 2BG radio interview between Opera House CEO Louise Herron, Racing NSW CEO Peter V'landys and radio presenter Alan Jones. During the interview, Herron rejected plans to use the World Heritage-listed building to promote the race, saying "it's not a billboard". While she had agreed to V'landys' request of projecting jockeys' colours on the sales, Herron said they would not "put text or videos of horses running or horses' numbers of names or the Everest logo on the Opera House". Jones responded by calling for Herron's resignation, saying that he could be "speaking to Gladys Berejiklian". While Herron did not lose her job, her decision to not project the Everest advertising was overturned by Ms Berejiklian later that day. Concerns have been raised by both Herron and the National Trust that this decision could be in breach of the Heritage Act, and could possibly jeopardise the iconic building's heritage status. It also sets a dangerous precedent for other brands to pay — or pressure the government into allowing — advertising on the Opera House. This morning, Ms Berejiklian did not show up to accept the Change.org petition after being invited to do so by Change.org Executive Director Sally Rugg and Mike Woodcock, who started the petition. Instead the petition was accepted by NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, who said she would deliver it to Ms Berejiklian. At this stage, the promotional light projection will still be going ahead at 8pm tonight, but a light-based protest — dubbed, Defend the Sydney Opera House — has also been organised. It is expected to see over 3000 protesters using torches and camera lights to disrupt the projection. The event organiser has suggested against the use of drones and laser pointers. We'll update if any changes are made during the day. Images: Cole Bennetts
One of Sydney Festival 2017's most Instagrammed events was The Beach, an enormous ball pit inside a human-made cave, as created by Brooklyn-based design studio Snarkitecture. Tonnes of you spent at least some part of January diving, cannonballing and floating about in a sea of plastic bliss. Understandably. If you've been fretting about how this summer could possibly measure up, here's your answer. Another ball pit, this time called The Ballpit!, is on its way. And, like The Beach, it'll be a behemoth, made up of one million balls. However, rather than filling up just a single space, they'll be arranged across several, creating a kind of playground — but for adults. On top of that, the balls are of the glow-in-the-dark variety, illuminated by LED lights that will pulsate to a soundtrack provided by some of Sydney's best DJs. There'll also be an onsite cocktail bar, to let you rest and refuel in between dips and dives. Just when and where The Ballpit! will pop up is yet to be revealed, but expect it in early 2018. Entry will be via ticket, available online. Sessions are likely to sell out pretty quickly, so get in early by registering on The Ballpit!'s website. Image: The Beach, Sydney Festival 2017 by Shannon Connellan.
Anyone who’s spent a frosty morning commuting on the Underground would know that London’s not exactly the world’s friendliest city. Well, not before a beer or five, anyway. In fact, a quarter of city siders report feeling lonely often, if not all the time. But a group of talkative types has decided that it needn’t be this way. They’ve come up with a project called Talk to Me London. The aim is to encourage a friendlier culture by helping strangers to talk to one another. The first assignment is a Kickstarter campaign, raising money for London’s first ever ‘Talk to Me’ day. The initial goal of £6,000 ($10,700) has been reached. So, one day this summer, thousands of Londoners will receive ‘Talk to Me’ badges to wear, indicating that they’re ‘up for a chat’. There’ll also be events held in public spaces, like dinner parties in parks and book discussions on tube carriages, lectures on wellbeing and community, conversation-prompting public art, flash mobs to break awkward silences, ‘talk bars’ on train platforms and busking acts that depend on interaction. Mayor Boris Johnson is a keen supporter. “I love the idea behind Talk to Me London,” he said. “What an innovative and fun way to encourage Londoners to talk to each other. Conversations are a great way to share experiences and stories, increase wellbeing, and bring a greater sense of community in the capital.” Via Springwise.
Remember Stones Corner, that little pocket of weird shoe shops and depressing facades? It's the new West End of the east side — and it's all grown up, looking fine and you're invited to its birthday party. The Stones Corner Festival is happening on May 29 from 12pm to 8pm and entry is free. As always, the focus is on craft beer, cider and wine from a glut of excellent breweries, which makes it completely acceptable to get your day drink on. The festival also puts on live music throughout the day and a wide selection of local market stalls. Of course, all that drinking, dancing and browsing is certain to get your stomach grumbling, which is where the fest's array of food options comes in. As well as helping you get to know the local eateries, this year's event will host a convoy of food trucks courtesy of the World Food Markets.
Chopsticks may rank among the most popular eating utensils on the planet; however the act of turning their disposable casings into art isn't quite as common. Well, not into something meaningful, and as a gesture of thanks. One Japanese waiter started noticing interestingly shaped pieces of paper left behind after meals, decided they were being left as a token of appreciation and started collecting them. That was in 2012 — and now he has more than 15,000 examples. Meet Japanese Tip, the art project that has flowered from Yuki Tatsumi's time working in restaurants. Flowers feature among his collection, but they're just some of the shapes that feature. From bow ties and birds to seahorses and people, the range is as varied as the colours printed on the paper sleeves, which have been found from a similarly diverse array of bars, izakayas, restaurants, cafes, sushi eateries, diners and ramen joints from around the country. Indeed, in the year leading up to March 2017, Yuki visited 47 prefectures around Japan to collect origami wrappers and enlist eateries happy for him to collect the objects that would otherwise be thrown away. An exhibition of 8000 of his pieces was staged in Tokyo this month, with another to follow in 2018. To view a selection from Japanese Tip's collection, head to the project website. Via Lonely Planet. Image: Japanese Tip.
Wu-Tang Clan are hip hop royalty. Their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang defined the sound of an entire generation and still holds high rotation at dirty house parties and the playlists of every independent vinyl store with a tough music snob behind the counter. Any self-respecting music fan knows the quality and skill of this iconic group, and now, RZA, GZA and Ghostface Killah are collaborating with Cher — the diamante clad diva who believes in life after love and has spent the past few years rambling nonsensically on Twitter. Luckily for Wu-Tang fans (and their much-cherished street cred), the collaboration with Cher only extends as far as contributing vocals on two tracks of the group's upcoming album. But this is no ordinary LP. Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is a 31-track double LP that Wu Tang has been developing in secret over the past six years. Just one copy of the album will be produced, and it will only be available to the public via private listening sessions at museums, galleries and festivals. After this tour, for which dates have not yet been released, the singular copy will go up for sale. It will be encased in a "hand-carved nickel-silver box designed by the British Moroccan artist Yahya," and is expected to reach an auction price "in the millions". Suffice to say, this is an important album. One which RZA has produced in an effort to break down the boundaries between music and art; redefining the nature of our contemporary listening practices. And what's Cher's contribution? "Wu-Tang, baby. They rock the world." In an exclusive preview this week, a journalist from Forbes picked up on this small cameo from the iconic singer. Cher belts out these few words in signature diva style at the end of a song featuring Ghostface Killah. Though the collaboration has been confirmed, apparently Cher didn't have much involvement with the famed hip hop group. "She recorded her parts separately, so I don't believe there was direct interaction," said her representatives. Though unsurprising, it's a little disappointing. Imagine a post-recording afterparty with RZA and GZA blasting 'Protect Ya Neck' while Cher tries to harmonise and pin velvet tassels on everyone. The world isn't ready for it. Via Rolling Stone.
Waiting in slow-moving lines has to be one of the least-loved parts of overseas travelling, but it could soon prove a whole lot less hassle, with Sydney Airport set to start trialling biometric testing from May this year. As The Sydney Morning Herald reports, the trial will be available to those flying internationally with Qantas who've registered their involvement with the Australian Border Force. It'll reduce the usual airport adventure to a breezy six-step process — from checking in, to border processing, to boarding — requiring just one flash of your passport along the way. Instead of the usual fussing around, face and fingerprint scans will be used as verification, as Sydney Airport looks at ways to ease congestion and make travelling easier. Facial-recognition technology is already in place at Australian airports, which has, at Sydney Airport, knocked the average time spent by people passing through customs from around four minutes to a speedy 23 seconds. Exactly what information and data the Border Force will need from individuals is not yet known, but it's likely to be extensive. Sydney Airport told The Sydney Morning Herald it would make sure "relevant privacy issues are managed" and that if the trial's successful, there are plans to roll it out across other international airlines. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
Brisbane-based artist, Alice Lang, has had a pretty impressive career to date. Since graduating from QUT in 2004, Alice has “developed a wide-ranging practice concerned with the emotions and latent memories or meanings imbued in material.” During a residency at RAID Projects in Los Angeles, Alice developed the pieces for her current collection, OM NOM NOM NOM. This series of work focuses heavily on contemporary trends and popular internet culture. The exhibition includes paintings and drawings that draw inspiration popular internet culture domains such as tumblr, and google – incorporating slang from the virtual world and refining it into something more tangible, physical, and less fragmented. The exhibition is currently running at Boxcopy and will finish on the 27th of July.
Since airing a year ago, The Handmaid's Tale has become the most watched series in the history of SBS On Demand, with over 26-million chapter views. It has also nabbed eight Emmy and two Golden Globe awards, including one for Best Television Series and Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. Now, the wildly popular and horribly disturbing series is back for season two. The 13-episode season will premiere on Thursday, April 26 at 8.30pm with a special double episode airing on both SBS and SBS On Demand. Thankfully, this is only hours after season two hits Hulu in the US. For those who somehow managed to avoid binge watching season one, here's a bit of background — but beware, there are spoilers ahead. Created by Bruce Miller (Eureka, The 100), the series is based on the award-winning novel by Margaret Atwood. It follows a dystopian near-future New England where a totalitarian Christian theonomy has overthrown the US government, now called the Gilead. The series centres around the life of Offred (Elisabeth Moss), who, along with the country's few remaining fertile women, is forced into sexual servitude as a 'handmaid' to the ruling elite. The end of season two sees Offred falling pregnant and being dragged off to the back of a van — quite the nail-biting cliffhanger. This season will focus on Offred's pregnancy and her ongoing fight against the Gilead. The provoking and disturbingly relevant series explores themes of women's rights and governmental control, which are all too timely and downright believable for comfort right now. If you haven't managed to watch season one yet, it's currently available to binge on SBS On Demand. Get watching.
783 million people in the world still lack access to clean water. Nearly 2.5 billion live without adequate sanitation. And it’s only going to get worse with continued climate change. So an Italian designer by the name of Arturo Vittori has come up with part of a solution: the WarkaWater tower. By harvesting water from the air, the 9 metre-high construction can collect more than 94 litres per day. Like many ingenious devices, it works incredibly simply. Stalks of bamboo or juncus are bound together to create a semi-rigid shell. Inside, a nylon and polypropylene mesh traps moisture. These form dewdrops and travel downwards, settling in a basin at the tower’s base. The design is inspired by the Warka tree, an Ethiopian native that bears figs and serves as a site for local meetings. Vittori invented the WarkaWater tower after a visit to north-eastern Ethiopia. “There, people live in a beautiful natural environment but often without running water, electricity, a toilet or a shower,” he tells Wired. Women and children walk for hours to collect water from ponds contaminated with human waste and full of worms. Not only does this mean serious exposure to disease and hard labour, it also means that children are kept from school. “WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water as well as ensure long-term environmental, financial and social sustainability,” Vittori explains. “Once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the WarkaWater towers.” Four people can build one in a few days at a cost of US$550. All necessary materials are available locally. Vittori is intending on having two towers built in Ethiopia by 2015. In the meantime, he’s seeking out financial support for their expansion. Another water-harvesting invention was launched in Lima last year. Via Inhabitat.
Even saying Yayoi Kusama’s name makes me happy – try it, I swear it will do it for you too. On top of this we now get to see this highly esteemed and innovative artist’s happy, colourful work on display at GOMA. The new exhibition titled ‘Look Now, See Forever’ is immersed in style, with GOMA being taken over by Kusama’s dramatic sculptures and paintings, as well as film projection and installation. Kusama uses colour, pattern, form and space in a most interesting way, challenging the viewer to see the world completely differently. The artist herself sees the world in a different way – she suffers from severe OCD; dots are her major obsession, and art is her therapy. Kusama lives in Tokyo in a psychiatric hospital, moving each day between the studio and the facility, finding peace in this way of living. Her brilliant 80 year-old mind has created some of the most significant art in the last hundred years. My favourite Kusama work ever is her dotty penis couches: basically couches with stuffed penises all over them and covered with dots (although I’m not sure how relaxing it would be to lie on the couch among a sea of penises). We can only wait with baited breath to see what she has created for this intense exhibition.
Ben Stiller won't be there. None of the exhibits will come to life. But you can still spend a night at the museum at Brisbane's own Queensland Museum in 2024. The South Brisbane venue is currently hosting the Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition, which it knows is popular — so it is staying open late on a heap of dates, largely clustered around weekends. While you won't be sleeping over, you will be able to enter the dinosaur-themed Lego showcase between 5–6.20pm on the relevant days. In January, that includes Friday, January 19–Saturday, January 20. In February, mark Friday, February 2–Saturday, February 3, then Friday, February 23–Saturday, February 24 in your diary. There's also a Valentine's Day session on Wednesday, February 14. March's dates are Friday, March 1–Saturday, March 2 — and April's are Friday, April 5–Saturday, April 6, then Saturday, April 13. From there, options include Friday, May 3–Saturday, May 4, Friday, June 7–Saturday, June 8, Friday, June 28– Saturday, June 29, Friday, July 5–Saturday, July 6 and Saturday, July 13. Although you'll be able to see what happens when more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the Jurassic World movies are fashioned out of the popular plastic bricks — more than six million of them, in fact, making the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps and more — everywhere else at Queensland Museum South Bank will shut at the normal time of 5pm. If it all sounds rather sizeable, that's because Jurassic World by Brickman is the largest Lego exhibition in Australia. It also lets Lego aficionados get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. Images: Anna Kucera.
It's been 14 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes in 2005. Thankfully, Laneway Festival has just confirmed it will be heading back to its collection of unconventional venues for another year, revealing its jam-packed 2019 lineup. Returning to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Fremantle, Auckland and Singapore next January and February, Laneway will raise a plastic cup to the middle of summer with one heck of a lineup. This year's eclectic program is headlined by two huge Aussie names: indie rock group Gang of Youths and acclaimed singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett — while New Zealand audiences will also be treated to UK indie rock band Florence + The Machine and teen sensation Billie Eilish. A few big artists are heading Down Under for the first time, too, including English R&B superstar Jorja Smith, neo-soul singer Rex Orange County and American rapper Denzel Curry. You'll also be able to get down to Camp Cope, Middle Kids and Mitski and sway along to Mansionair, What So Not and Skeggs. If you want to catch Jorja Smith and NYC rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, you'll have to head along to Laneway — they'll both be playing exclusively at the festival, with no sideshows. This year, the Melbourne leg of the festival will be heading to its new location for the first time: Footscray Park. Its a bigger space, but, supposedly, won't have an increased capacity — so, hopefully that'll mean less lines and more room for dancing. But, enough chit-chat — here's the full 2019 lineup. LANEWAY 2019 LINEUP Gang of Youths Courtney Barnett Florence + The Machine** A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (exclusive) Baker Boy Bene** Billie Eilish** Camp Cope Charlie Collins* Clairo Cosmo's Midnight Crooked Colours* Denzel Curry* DJDS G Flip High Beams** Imugi** Jon Hopkins Jorja Smith (exclusive) KIAN Lontalius** Mansionair Masego Methyl Ethel Middle Kids Miss June** Mitski* Parquet Courts Ravyn Lenae Rex Orange County Ruby Fields Skeggs Smino The Dead C** What So Not Yellow Days *East Coast only ** New Zealand only LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2019 DATES Auckland — Monday, January 28 Brisbane — Saturday, February 2 Sydney — Sunday, February 3 Adelaide — Friday, February 8 Melbourne — Saturday, February 9 Fremantle — Sunday, February 10 Singapore — Dates TBC Visa pre-sale tickets go on sale at 9am this Thursday, September 20 — you can register here — and the rest of the tickets going on sale at 9am on Tuesday, September 25 from Laneway Festival. Laneway Image: Anthony Smith; Courtney Barnett: Pooneh Ghan.
Head On Photo Festival is back for its 11th year — but, this time, it's digital. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the (normally) citywide photography festival will be a predominately online event for 2020. The internationally acclaimed festival is running from May 1–17 as planned but with the entire program launching as a digital platform on the Heads On website, including all photography and other interactive events. Overall, there are 110 exhibitions, plus over 80 artists talks, panel discussions and webinars which you can check out for free. As usual, the exhibition features contemporary photography, portraiture and photojournalism. This year, artists from more than 12 countries are exhibiting, including France, Guatemala, Japan, Greece, Germany, South Korea, The Netherlands, the USA, the UK, China, Canada and (of course) Australia. On Friday, May 1, The Head On Photo Awards were announced, with Australian photographer Marcia Macmillan's 'Whimsical Warrior' taking home the landscape award and 'The Gift' by Fiona Wolf-Symeonides awarded the 2020 Portrait Prize. Australian photographers Jon Frank and Nick Moir and international artists Jouk Oosterhof and Paul Carruthers also took home prizes. [caption id="attachment_769244" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marcia Macmillan, 'Whimsical warrior'[/caption] Other highlights include Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Renée C Byer, who travelled across four continents and captured the faces of people living on $1USD per day; mythological imaginings by Guatemalan economist and artist Astrid Blazsek-Ayala; a documentation of Melbourne's violent race rallies between 2014–2018 by photojournalist Jake Nowakowski; images of the Athens's drag queen scene by Greek photographer Nikolaos Menoudarakos; and snaps of Bondi's underwater marine life by Australian photographer Matt Smith. Work by heaps of other award-winning artists will be on display, too, including British photographer Professor Richard Sawdon Smith, German documentarian Robert Harding Pittman and two-time Walkley Award-winner Dave Tacon. As far as catching the festival in person, Head On also plans to launch a scaled-back version across venues in November, so keep an eye on this space. Images: Dave Tacon, 'Cirque le Soir'; Nick Moir, 'Run'; Nikolaos Menoudarakos; Matt Smith, 'The Martian'; ; Janie Barrett; Renée C Byer; and Fiona Wolf-Symeonides, 'The Gift'. All images courtesy of Head On Photo Festival. Updated May 4, 2020.
Surf, sun, sand and ice skating? It's not as far-fetched as it might seem. While most holidaymakers headed for hot climes plan to cool off with a dip in the ocean — and not with a roll around the ice — one Maldives resort is offering a little from column A and a little from column B. Now open at the Jumeirah Vittaveli, it's the Maldives' first ice rink, which is hardly surprising given the South Asian country's year-round 25 to 31-degree weather. When it is warm and sunny every single day, the only glistening white surface you'd expect to see by the sea is made of sand; however even folks in the tropics need a dose of winter fun. Due to launch just before Christmas — aka, in the coming days — the rink is comprised of special artificial ice plates that stay cool regardless of the temperature. Made by a company by the name of Glice, the synthetic surface also functions without water and doesn't use any energy. While Sydney has its own beachside ice-skating rink in Bondi Beach each winter, no one would ever have contemplated going for a dip, strolling across the shore and hitting the ice in the middle of a blazing Australian summer. Of course, that's not the only bright idea the Maldives boasts when it comes to novelty beachside activities; think floating golf courses and a waterslide straight into the ocean.
Every time that the opening riff from 'Seven Nation Army' echoes from speakers — or around football stadiums, where it's frequently chanted by crowds at soccer tournaments — the world partly has Australia to thank. In 2002, The White Stripes were touring the country when Jack White penned the iconic beginning to the anthemic track. Its birthplace: The Corner Hotel in Richmond, giving Melbourne another reason to brag about its status as a haven for live music. Once you know this fact, hitting the Swan Street pub means having 'Seven Nation Army' stuck in your head. See White bust out the tune at the venue that helped spawn it at Always Live 2024, however, and you'll never forget this pop-culture tidbit. On a lineup that's brimming with highlights, this is up there with the must-attend standouts. White is not only doing an intimate gig at The Corner Hotel, but will also be playing Ballarat's Civic Hall, with both shows part of the festival's new effort to celebrate the state's live music venues. Victoria's Always Live debuted in 2022 with an aim that's still relevant now: supporting gigs in what continues to be a tough time for the industry. With government backing, the program has courted huge names over its past two years, including launching with Foo Fighters; welcoming Dua Lipa, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Yothu Yindi and Sampa the Great for its first event; and returning for a second year with Christina Aguilera, Eric Prydz, Jai Paul and Jessie Ware. For its third stint across Friday, November 22–Sunday, December 8, it's keeping the high-profile acts coming, with Aussie-exclusive shows by The Offspring and St Vincent also on the bill. Ready to come out and play, punk icons The Offspring will hit The Forum Theatre for one night only. St Vincent is doing three gigs, also heading to Ballarat — at Her Majesty's Theatre — alongside playing The Palais Theatre in St Kilda and The Aviary at Crown. Equally massive, and literally: Anyma, making his Australian debut fresh from a six-show residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, complete with the largest screen in the southern hemisphere being built just for the Flemington Racecourse show. In total, 289 artists will take to the stage at 65-plus events around the state. Baker Boy leading the First Nations-focused BLAKTIVISM; a 30th-anniversary Tina Arena gig celebrating her Don't Ask album with help from Richard Marx, Daryl Braithwaite and Kate Ceberano; Missy Higgins also in anniversary mode for 20 years since The Sound of White first hit at Sidney Myer Music Bowl: they're on the lineup as well. The new Live at the Gardens series at Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens will see Chet Faker and Tash Sultana join Always Live, too, while the Jamaican Music and Food Festival is back, as is Luliepalooza at Lulie Street Tavern and End of the Line Belgrave. From there, the hefty roster features everyone from Sarah Blasko, Andy Shauf, Bôa and INKABEE x FLEWNT through to Rico Nasty, Bimini and Jaguar — plus Keiynan Lonsdale, Birds of Tokyo, Didirri, Anees and Emma Donovan. "This year's Always Live program not only reinforces our status as the music capital of Australia but brings an extraordinary array of unique and exclusive experiences to audiences across the state," said the event's Chair Matt Gudinski, announcing the bill. "I am incredibly proud to be part of delivering this year's program, and continuing to build the legacy of Always Live. It's a privilege to contribute to Victoria's rich music history and to support our live music sector." [caption id="attachment_969967" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michael Drummond[/caption] Always Live 2024 runs from Friday, November 22–Sunday, December 8. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Top image: David James Swanson.
Kicking off at high noon, triple j's rebranded digital offshoot Double J will start broadcasting today. Heralded by central presenter Myf Warhurst, the rebooted ABC Dig will hit play today on the first track to air — excepting a certain NWA track that's been playing nonstop since Monday. Double J has been on repeat for the last few days, playing the same 'Express Yourself' track in various versions. The stunt, which hit play on Monday, is a throwback to triple j presenters who went on strike in 1989. After a complaint in federal parliament forced LA rap legends NWA's 'F--- Tha Police' off the triple j playlist, disgruntled presenters hit repeat on the 1988 track 'Express Yourself' for 24 hours straight on air. The new station will give 'Express Yourself' a rest at midday when Double J officially begins programming. So what tunes can we expect to wrap our ears around? Myf Warhurst told triple j's Matt and Alex this morning that the first song on Double J has been chosen very carefully. "There'll be a few tears, I think we've nailed it," she said. Triple j station director Meagan Loader told FasterLouder, “Our research showed that people wanted a station that played great new music as well as all the classic triple j tunes they’ve grown up with. We’re not just playing old music, it’s something like 70 percent new music.” "We have wanted to build a station like this for a number of years and now, with your help, we are really proud to deliver Double J," says Triple J manager Chris Scaddan. "While it won’t be a throwback to the music of the original Double J, it will be a station that takes the best elements of triple j’s past - a name, a presenter and the incredible archives, thrown headlong into the future with the best new sounds around." Double J will be available via the ABC Radio App, online at www.doublej.net.au, or on digital radio/TV from midday.
Going into 2024, no one knew that Baby Reindeer was about to become one of the most talked-about new shows of 2024. When Richard Gadd's next series arrives, however, it won't be taking audiences by surprise. In news worth sending to your mates from your iPhone, the Scottish writer, actor and comedian has locked in another drama series, this time with HBO and the BBC behind it. Lions doesn't yet have a release date, but it'll span six episodes and also dive into a complicated relationship. Gadd will be telling the tale of two men in Scotland who reunite at one of the pair's wedding. Niall is getting married. Ruben shows up unexpectedly. Cue violence, and also dive into a connection with ups and downs, plus highs and lows, from the 80s until today. The duo have been called 'brothers' by the official synopsis, but with those quote marks in place — so expect why that's the case to factor into the series as well. Meeting as teens, dropping out of each other's life as adults, how the world is changing around them: they're all set to be covered as well. So is a specific question: what does it mean to be a man? While Gadd is creating Lions, as well as writing and executive producing it, he hasn't been announced as one of its stars. Who'll play Niall and Ruben hasn't yet been revealed, and neither has when viewers can expect to see the show — or, Down Under, where, although plenty of HBO content usually heads to Binge and Neon. But, the series' directors have been unveiled: Alexandra Brodski (Somewhere Boy) and Eshref Reybrouck (Ferry: The Series). "Ordering a HBO boxset of The Sopranos, The Wire or Oz and watching it from start to finish were some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Since then, it has always been a dream of mine to work with HBO and be part of their iconic roster of shows," said Gadd about Lions. "I am so grateful to Francesca Orsi [HBO's Head of HBO Drama Series and Films], Kara Buckley [Senior Vice President HBO Drama Programming] and Clint LaVigne [Vice President, Drama Programming at HBO] for taking this chance on the show and on Ruben and Niall too, who — despite growing up in a dead-end Scottish town — would be absolutely pinching themselves at this! I cannot wait to get started." There's obviously no trailer for Lions yet, but check out the trailer for Baby Reindeer below: Lions doesn't yet have a release date on HBO — or Down Under, where plenty of HBO content usually heads to Binge and Neon — but we'll update you when more details are announced. Read our review of Baby Reindeer. Baby Reindeer images: Ed Miller / Netflix.
