Brisbane International Film Festival Has Announced Its First 2019 Films

When the Gallery of Modern Art hosts the Brisbane International Film Festival for the second time this October, it's shaping up to be spectacular spectacular. Announcing the event's first titles for 2019, GOMA has revealed that it'll be focusing on the work of Baz Luhrmann, who is one of this year's festival patrons alongside four-time Oscar-winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin.

Together, the duo has worked on all of Luhrmann's on-screen projects, from early films such as Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge! through to his Netflix TV series The Get Down. Those two flicks will get a big-screen showing at this year's festival, while BIFF will also program a number of movies by other filmmakers that Luhrmann loves — such as Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (which is also showing in cinemas at the moment), Federico Fellini's 8½ and a recently restored version of Sergei Bondarchuk's seven-hour adaptation of War and Peace.

Brisbane cinephiles can also look forward to opening night's Judy & Punch, starring Mia Wasikowska and Damien Herriman; Pedro Almodovar's Cannes Best Actor-winning Pain and Glory, featuring a sublime performance by Antonio Banderas; Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die, which boasts everyone from Bill Murray to Adam Driver to Iggy Pop among its cast; and seeing Tilda Swinton act opposite her talented daughter Honor Swinton Byrne in The Souvenir.

While the rest of the 100-plus film lineup won't be unveiled until Thursday, August 22, BIFF will also span workshops, conversation sessions, panels, events with food and live music, as well as the festival's new Short Film Awards and an exhibition at GOMA called Setting the Stage.

If you're wondering just where you'll be watching its program of features, shorts and documentaries, the fest's venues have been announced as well. In addition to GOMA's own Australian Cinematheque, the fest will screen at Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo, The Elizabeth Picture Theatre, New Farm Cinemas, Reading Cinemas Newmarket and the State Library of Queensland

The 2019 Brisbane International Film Festival runs from Thursday, October 3 to Sunday, October 13 at a variety of Brisbane venues. The full program will release on Thursday, August 22 — head to the festival website for further details.