Art, Politics & Protest

Overview

Art and politics collide in incendiary fashion as part of the film program at this year's Melbourne Festival. Curated by Richard Moore, the former director of both the Melbourne and Brisbane International Film Festivals, this special screening series, entitled Art, Politics & Protest, showcases eight documentaries from all around the world, whose makers dared to upset the status quo.

Hosted at ACMI, the series begins with !Women Art Revolution, about the feminist art movement during the latter half of last century. In a similar vein, Through a Lens Darkly chronicles the role of black photographers throughout American history, while from India, Salma tells the remarkable story of one of that country's most predominant poets and activists, a Tamil women whose family locked her away for more than 25 years.

Unsurprisingly, a number of the films in the program shine a light on the Middle East. Playing with Fire follows the resistance faced by Greek director Anneta Papathanassiou, who travelled to Kabul to teach theatre to aspiring Afghani actresses. The US-UAE co-production The Sheik and I provides a satirical look at free speech in the Muslim world, while The Noise of Cairo highlights the work of 12 Egyptian artists in the wake of the Arab Spring.

For the full Art, Politics & Protest lineup, visit the Melbourne Festival website.