One of Australia's leading hip hop dance artists will present a bold and explosive new work at Art Centre Melbourne's Playhouse Rehearsal Room this weekend. Sydney-based dancer and choreographer Nick Power has helped nurture young and emerging dancers from all around the country. In Cypher, audiences will get the chance to get up close and personal with Power's craft, as they form the circle, or 'cipher', in which four world-class dancers including former Australia's Got Talent grand finalist Stephen Gow battle for supremacy. Backed by a booming soundtrack from electronic music specialist Jack Prest aka Future Love Hangover, the hour-long show promises to explore "the raw energy and culture" of a unique style of dance.
As part of a tour of thirty-five shows spanning five capital cities that will see them play each of their six albums in full, Melbourne legends The Living End are playing a hometown show, with support from The Medics. The Retrospective Tour is a tour for the fans. As a thank you for fifteen years of loyalty the band are moving from their normal stadium sized stages, to smaller, more intimate venues, where fans will get a chance to see The Living End pull off their most memorable, fiery live shows ever. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Living End will be playing their 2000 platinum album, Roll On, with classics like Triple J favourites Pictures In The Mirror and Roll On, and Dirty Men and Carry Me Home. The Medics are from Cairns. Their debut album, Foundations, is out now.
Take a tour of the TARDIS, or meet the man who matched wits with Walter White. The stars of pop culture will light up the Melbourne Showgrounds at the Armageddon Expo this weekend. With faces from film, television and comic books, it's the ultimate ticket for lovers of sci-fi and fantasy, as well as one of the few places where you won't get strange looks for dressing up like Optimus Prime. From wrestling matches to Quidditch tournaments and cosplay competitions for kids and adults alike, Armageddon is the perfect place for anyone looking to let their geek flag fly. Think you can do a pretty good Kamehameha? Then take to the stage and unleash your inner Super Saiyan in front of the man who voiced Goku himself. There's also plenty of fun to be had just walking the con floor. Visit the booths, check out the merchandise, and maybe pick up a couple of autographs. Names on the guest list this year include Doctor Who's current companion Jenna Coleman, Los Pollos Hermanos kingpin Giancarlo Esposito and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator Kevin Eastman.
If your love for Shania Twain is, shall we say, still going strong, then you're in for one hell of a September. Not only is the hard-to-impress singer dropping her long-awaited fifth studio album, she's also being honoured right here on Australian soil, by the Melbourne Fringe Festival's so-called Shania Choir. Featuring a team of vocal talent from across the country and coming off the back of a successful run at Perth Fringe World Festival, the show is an immersive musical celebration of the life, times, and music of Twain, as delivered through an almost indescribable mix of song, dance, and drag over two nights. Expect plenty of energy and a sprinkling of signature Shania sass, as country-pop meets a capella harmonies across all your favourite Twain tunes, from 'That Don't Impress Me Much' and 'From This Moment', through to 'Man, I Feel Like A Woman'.
If you've already covered your dining table with jigsaw puzzles, spent hours live streaming koalas and are looking for something else to do with your house mate, why don't you organise a night of friendly competition and whip out some board games. Helping you do just that is Deliveroo. The food delivery service has teamed up with games shop Winning Moves to launch Bored? Games, a boredom-busting delivery service bringing board games to your table — in just 30 minutes. You can choose from 30 different games including the likes of Friends Monopoly, Rick and Morty Trivial Pursuit and Harry Potter Cluedo, as well as Game of Thrones games and Disney-themed Top Trumps. Games start at as little as $9.99 for Top Trumps, go up to $30 for Trivial Pursuit and $55 for Cluedo, and can be delivered to houses within five kilometres of Deliveroo's Melbourne Editions kitchens in Collingwood and Windsor. To celebrate the launch of the new board games delivery, Deliveroo and Winning Moves are giving away 5000 Melbourne-themed Top Trumps sets to the first 5000 people to order a Deliveroo Editions meal this week, starting Monday, May 11. If you're sick of being on your screen — sliding down endless Twitter holes and glued to live streams — this may be the perfect antidote. If you can't get enough of your screen, however, check out our round up of the best virtual events. Bored? Games are now available to purchase for delivery via Deliveroo.
Some folks like to celebrate the big 1-8 by hitting a bar for some birthday bevs. But for long-running fish and chip joint Hunky Dory, that 18th birthday is set to be all about the chippies. Crisp, golden, free chippies, in fact. On Wednesday, December 7, the fish and chipper is clocking up 18 years of life, and it's marking the occasion with a food giveaway of hefty proportions. It's shouting customers free chips at every single one of its 16 Aussie stores, 14 of which are located right here in Melbourne. Simply head into your local Hunky Dory outpost from 11am on the day and you can nab yourself a free mini bucket of their freshly cooked, signature hot chips, as long as stocks last. No catch (pun intended). Of course, while you're there, we won't blame you if you're tempted to explore the rest of the menu, packed full of fresh seafood options, nourishing bowls, and classic fish and chip packs. Find Hunky Dory's Victorian stores in Balaclava, Bentleigh, Epping, Highett, Moonee Ponds, Oakleigh, Richmond, Eastland, South Melbourne, South Yarra, Templestowe, Port Melbourne, Watergardens and Broadmeadows.
Over the past 65 years, the Melbourne International Film Festival has screened thousands of films, new and old, spanning an array of styles, genres, themes and topics. Still, even though the fest has been living long and prospering, there's one thing the city's major annual cinema showcase hasn't done: they've never featured a science fiction retrospective. Great Scott. Until now, that is. In the words of Keanu: whoa. The 2017 fest is happily casting its eyes back through a wealth of sci-fi greats, so prepare to take quite the trip to a plethora of other worlds. The full program won't be revealed until July 11, but Jules Verne adaptation Invention for Destruction, the Kubrick-influencing Czechoslovak effort Ikarie XB-1, Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress in sci-spy The 10th Victim and genetic engineering thriller These Are the Damned are all on the bill. Elsewhere, the lineup also includes a special Hear My Eyes session of Fantastic Planet, which comes complete with a reimagined live soundscape provided by prog-rock/jazz fusion act Krakatau. And, get ready to spend all night soaking in some sci-fi goodness during a Saturday night movie marathon at The Astor Theatre. Who doesn't want to spend an entire evening in a cinema watching beloved, controversial and under-appreciated faves? That's what film festivals are made for.
From juicy roast pork to honey-glazed ham to cups overflowing with eggnog, the festive season isn't usually the easiest time of year for people who don't eat animal products. Fortunately, the team at Serotonin Eatery have got vegans and vegos covered. After the success of their first vegan dinner party last month, the Burnley restaurant is hosting a three-course feast just in time for Christmas. Service starts at 6pm this Thursday, December 22, with a $49 ticket covering entrée, main and yuletide-themed dessert plus beverages both hot and cold. The menu is being kept under wraps for the time being, but rest assured it will make use of organic, local and fair trade ingredients, and will be 100 percent gluten-, sugar-, dairy- and cruelty-free. Best of all, 10 percent of all proceeds will be donated to Beyond Blue. 'Tis the giving season, after all.
Arts House and Melbourne Festival present YOUARENOWHERE, the new one-man show from Brooklyn-based artist Andrew Schneider. One of two works by the acclaimed creative on this year's Melbourne Festival program, the work could be described as part lecture, part light show. Or, to put it another way, "a fucked up TED talk on love and physics." Taking the stage at Arts House for five nights only starting on Thursday, October 15, Schneider will speak on everything from parallel universes to quantum mechanics to AA recovery steps. All the while, he'll compete with crackling audio and bombastic lighting effects controlled both by his voice and by sensors all over his body. The desired effect is total sensory overload — and if the trailer below is anything to go by, it appears to have been achieved.
How do you make it in the theatre when you're neurologically incapable of sticking to a script? That was the challenge faced by Jess Thom, whose Tourette's compels her to shout out words like "hedgehog" and "biscuit" thousands of times each day. A comedic exploration of a misunderstood psychological condition, by its nature no two performances of Backstage in Biscuit Land are the same. Making its Australian premiere at this year's Melbourne Festival, the performances will be "relaxed", welcoming audience members with learning disabilities, movement disorders and other physical and neurological conditions that might otherwise prevent them from enjoying a night out at the theatre.
The most talked-about band Australia's seen in recent times since The Jezabels, The Preatures have unveiled their latest single 'Two-Tone Melody' and have announced their highly-anticipated upcoming debut album with accompanying national tour. Sounding more like Jefferson Airplane than their usual Fleetwood Mac association, the new single is a chilled out ballad of sorts — a departure from the band's explosive debut single, 'Is This How You Feel?'. With just two EPs and four singles under their belt, The Preatures have seen huge applause (and national airplay) from a fairly limited catalogue until now. The Preatures have been hanging out in the US of late, playing SxSW and Coachella and recording with the dudes from Spoon in Austin — in particular Britt Daniel and Jim Eno. The fivesome told triple j's Doctor they recorded in Eno's garage-conversion studio, finishing the album taping in three weeks. Signing to Mercury Records in 2012 with a whopping five album deal, the Sydney fivesome's success snowballed in 2013 after the release of their second EP and ultra-catchy single 'Is This How You Feel?', prompting international touring and national high-fivery. The easily replayable single nabbed an ARIA nomination for Best Pop Release, number nine in the triple j Hottest 100 and just today nabbed a top five nomination for APRA|AMCOS Song of The Year. But it's not just fans interested in The Preatures — when the quintet played at New York's 2013 CMJ showcase, almost the entire audience was made up of industry representatives. Often compared to Fleetwood Mac and the Bee Gees, The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi, Gideon Bensen, Jack Moffitt, Thomas Champion and Luke Davison have garnered a significantly loyal fanbase in just a few short years. The Preatures will tour the US and Canada during June, make their way over to festivals in Europe and the UK before venturing back home for an Australian tour, stopping by Splendour In The Grass this July alongside fellow Sydneysiders RÜFÜS, The Jezabels and Sticky Fingers. The Preatures will be supported on their Australian tour by Adelaide's Bad//Dreems and Perth's Gunns. https://youtube.com/watch?v=M8XmoroZ3zo
Forget about the Queen's birthday — come Sunday, June 10, Evie's Disco Diner will be celebrating a couple of true 'kweens' instead, namely the hilarious Abbi and Ilana of cult show Broad City. The Gertrude Street bar's teaming up with local drag legend Lazy Susan to host a one-off, interactive Broad City trivia session, helping you all cruise into the public holiday in style. Expect a gag-filled afternoon of questions, screenings and general Broad City banter, with $5 happy hour schooners and wines up for grabs while you play. A pretty sweet haul of prizes includes Lido Cinema passes, free bar tabs and the odd piece of show merchandise. And you'll get extra kudos if you dress up in homage to one of Broad City's iconic costumes — time to start digging through the wardrobe for that long-lost blue bodycon dress. If you're a diehard fan, it won't have escaped you that this little trivia session coincides with Ilana Glazer's debut Melbourne visit, happening the day after her live stand-up show at Hamer Hall. We're not making any promises, but the event organisers are angling hard for a cameo appearance and that's not something you want to miss.
Introducing a must-do for dog owners who can't bear to be parted from their pooches: the Doggy Drive-In. The Village Cinemas in Coburg is welcoming all doggos for a chill night out at the movies on Sunday, June 9. Alright, so we can almost guarantee it won't be relaxing — no doubt the pups will run everywhere, sniff, snuffle, make friends, leave presents — and you won't have much time to sit and watch the movie. But dammit, there'll be so many pats to deliver. So for those of you who love dogs and movies and solid date ideas, this could be your perfect outing. They'll be showing an advance screening of The Secret Life of Pets 2 for extra cute points and there'll also be a photobooth (for dogs and their humans), doggy stalls, a pet farm (for more patting) and a heap of food trucks. The Canine Wellness Kitchen will also be there so even your pooch can enjoy some tasty snacks. Doors will open at 4.30pm — for plenty of pats and snacks — with the film commencing at 6.30pm.
The Arab Film Festival in Australia is back for another year of features, docos and award-winning shorts from across the Arab world. It will first hit the Riverside Theatres in Sydney from August 17 through 20, then Cinema Nova in Melbourne from August 25 through 27. The festival will kick off in both cities with an opening night screening of Mahbas, a Lebanese culture clash comedy from first time filmmaker Sophie Boutros. Other standouts across the 11-film repertoire include Gaza Surf Club, a documentary from Palestine about surfers on the beaches in Gaza, and Ali, The Goat and Ibrahim, an Egyptian road movie about two friends (and a goat). Audiences in Sydney will also get the chance to catch a screening of Ali's Wedding, the critically acclaimed comedy from writer/star Osamah Sami, ahead of its nationwide release on August 31. After Melbourne, the festival will head to Canberra from September 1 through 2, then wrap up at Perth on September 9. To see the full program and schedule, head over here.
When it comes to books, not everyone wants to completely embrace the digital age. The texture and smell of a book is something that no iPad or Kindle can copy. To help you embrace your love of books without breaking the bank this year, the Queen Victoria Market is bringing back its huge regular book market. If you ever visited Fed Square's packed book market, you'll know what to expect: this one's run by the same people. More than 5000 pre-loved and new books on every topic under the sun — from history to gardening, travel to art and literature — and a heap of secondhand vinyls will fill the market every Saturday and Sunday. This should make for some very happy browsing and even happier reading later on. Melbourne Book Market will make its home at the Queen Victoria Market again until the end of March. That means that you can head by from 10am–4pm every Saturday and Sunday until March 28 — other than March 13, because there's no market on that date.
If your music tastes are a little more James Brown than James Blunt, Northside is the place to go. Carving out their musical niche in the genres of hip hop, soul and funk, this is the perfect spot to hunt down that old record you were after, or stop in while waiting for Trippy Taco to make your nachos. With a big focus on new and second-hand vinyl, Northside is a big hangout for DJs and industry types; owner Chris Gill even runs his own local record label. Head over with a group of friends for the free in-store gigs or chill out by yourself while spinning some old funk at the listening station.
Victoria's strict rules around social distancing and public gathering could be wound back in two weeks, Premier Daniel Andrews revealed in a press conference this morning, Monday, April 27. In the meantime, though, the state wants to test 100,000 Victorians for COVID-19, which would be the "biggest ever testing program in the state's history". While the number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped in Victoria and the country — with only one new case reported locally and ten nationwide in the past 24 hours — the Premier has said "we will not be easing any restrictions before May 11", which is when the second four-week state of emergency ends. Before they look at easing restrictions, the Premier says the the government wants data from the testing blitz to "double check" and "absolutely make sure" it has a handle on COVID-19. "With that data, with those test results, we'll have options to ease some of the restrictions that I know are frustrating and challenging and difficult, but restrictions that are working," the Premier said this morning. Exactly what restrictions could be relaxed come May 11 is still unknown, but the Premier has confirmed they'll be proceeding "carefully and cautiously". "It won't be a situation where we wind all the way back to before stage 1 [restrictions], but there will be options," the Premier said. The Premier and Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton both urged any one with symptoms — even mild symptoms, such as a runny nose or scratchy throat — to come forward and get tested over the next two weeks. If you have symptoms and want to get tested, you can call the 24-hour hotline on 1800 675 398 or see what testing clinics are closest to you via the Victorian Government's website. There are currently 43 specialist testing sites across Victoria, but the government will also be launching new drive-through and walk-up clinics in the coming week, as well as new mobile screening clinics, which will head to homes and workplaces. https://twitter.com/VicGovtNews/status/1254576086957977606 Increased testing is one of the conditions outlined by Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this month under which COVID-19 restrictions could be eased. Another one was a contact tracing app, which launched last night. With restrictions looking to remain in place until at least May 11, the Premier is telling Victorians in the meantime to "keep following the rules" and "get tested". To find out more about COVID-19 testing and find you local clinic, head to the Victoria Government's website. To find out more about the status of COVID–19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Kate Shanasy
Whatever kind of workout gets your blood pumping and pulse racing, it does your own health and wellness a big favour. Exercise: it's a wonder, and it's always recommended by doctors and health experts for a good reason. Your next stint of getting sweaty could assist others in need, too, however — and you can drop in to bend and stretch all day and night. 24-Hour Pilates for Mental Health makes its case right there in its name. Accordingly, KX in Richmond is hosting pilates classes for 24 hours to raise money for Lifeline's 24/7 support services. The sessions kick off at 7am on Saturday, July 22, and run in 50-minute blocks — with ten-minute breaks between each — all the way through to the next morning. Whether you're keen on the initial class, eager to join in on a Saturday night, wondering about 2am pilates or curious what the last session at 6am on Sunday, July 23 will be like, you've got options. Also, you don't need to be a pilates expert — all sessions are set at the beginner level, and cater to first-timers, casual attendees and seasoned pros alike. You'll pay $39 to head along, 100-percent of which will go to Lifeline. And why that fee? Because that's the average cost to fund one call to the organisation's support lines.
Has lockdown zapped you of your usual stylish spirit? Or perhaps you're just keen to prepare for the most fabulously fashionable re-entry to society once lockdown ends. Either way, DC is here to help with some timely wardrobe resuscitation. The fashion vlogger — and ever-stylish problem-solver — is known for his YouTube series The DC Style Fylez, in which he cleverly resolves various fashion dilemmas posted in by viewers. And as part of this year's lockdown-friendly Melbourne Fringe program, he'll be live-streaming some fresh episodes on Friday, October 8 and Friday, October 15. Submit your own sartorial quandary, or settle in to watch the master at work helping others live up to their highest fashionable potential, all as he unleashes his DIY skills on some pre-loved threads. Each 40-minute episode of DCTV features quirky style segments, creative fashion solutions, special guests and outfit inspo galore, plus viewers will have special access to a live chat room. Watching along via YouTube is free; however, if you'd like to engage in the chat, you'll need a Google account.
Everyone knows it's cool to be a nerd again. Thick-rimmed glasses, bulky knits and fully-buttoned shirts are basically the Melbourne uniform at this point, and more and more people are wishing they paid better attention at high school or uni. Enter The Brainery Store: a smart and fashionable group of creatives bringing innovation and inspiration to the masses (via the less than popular medium of the lecture). The Brainery Store is known for offering unique hour-long sessions with some of Australia's best. Designers such as Sibling and Stephanie Somebody, publishers like Nick and Caroline Shelton of Broadsheet, and musicians such as Lisa Mitchell have all graced the Brainery stage. But in The Saturday Edition, we're being treated to a one-off smorgasbord of talent. From 11am-4.30pm, Dumbo Feather HQ in St Kilda will be filled with the ideas of Koori elder, musician and actor Uncle Jack Charles, author Kate Holden, journalist and teacher Jacqueline Lesage, and famed illustrator Oslo Davis. Symptomatic of their constant support of local business, The Brainery Store will also be providing a big lunch from Fig&Salt, drinks from Little Creatures and Cake Wines and a goodie bag filled with beautiful surprises. Good food, gorgeous company and great ideas? It's official: learning is cool again. For more information including speaker bios, see The Brainery Store website.
When a composer pens music, it's the tune that they want the world to enjoy, not the marks on a page scribbling it into existence. When a conductor oversees an orchestra, the performance echoing rather than their own with baton in hand and arms waving is their gift. In Maestro, Bradley Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) is seen as Leonard Bernstein in both modes. His portrayal, especially in an unbroken take as the American great conducts Mahler's Resurrection Symphony at England's Ely Cathedral in 1973, is so richly textured and deeply complex that it's the career-best kind of astonishing. But Cooper as this movie's helmer, co-writer and one of its producers wants Maestro's audience to revel in the end result, not just in his exceptional on-screen contribution to bringing this virtuoso feature to fruition. And if he wants the love showered anyone's way first, it's towards Carey Mulligan (Saltburn), who the second-time director (and second-time director of a music-fuelled film, since his debut behind the lens was A Star Is Born) gives top billing for stepping so astoundingly into Felicia Montealegre Bernstein's shoes. Symphonies should erupt for Mulligan's awards-worthy turn, which deserves to claim her third Oscar nomination (after 2010's for An Education and 2021's for Promising Young Woman) at a minimum. As the Costa Rican actor — a talent herself, of the stage and small screen — hers is similarly a never-better performance. It's a chalk-and-cheese partner to Cooper's, too; his is all about playing someone whose entire reason for earning a biopic is his effort and what it wrought, while she makes everything from the screwball-esque early sparks of connection to soul-aching pain feel natural. When she says "you don't even know how much you need me, do you?", the words melt, and the moment with it. When she beams by Cooper's side during a TV interview about his achievements, the practicalities of spending your life with someone have rarely felt as giddying. When Maestro's main pair quarrel on Thanksgiving, away from their family and as the parade trots along outside the window, each word is a cut. Every scene with Mulligan lays its emotions bare so thoroughly, yet never forcefully or showily, that she virtually spirits the audience into Felicia's footwear with her. No matter who else receives Leonard's affections — clarinettist David Oppenheimer (Matt Bomer, Magic Mike's Last Dance) is one of the first — Maestro sees its story as a duet between him and Felicia, its key stars singing their parts accordingly. The crooning isn't literal, but the marital melodrama double act is perfectly attuned. The Bernsteins were harmonious in their love for each other, yet often in different ditties, bands and genres otherwise, which Cooper and Mulligan ensure hums as the baseline across the entire movie. Their relationship is as much the narrative's throughline as music, plus the clashing constantly pulsing inside Leonard. Indeed, the conflicts and contradictions that comprise a man who needs to be introverted to compose but extroverted to conduct — who can light up a room and descend into his own dark recesses — are all the more palpable and resonant because they're reflected through Felicia. Maestro examines not merely what it meant to be one Bernstein, but two. Cooper's screenplay with Spotlight, The Post and First Man's Josh Singer isn't a strict birth-to-death tale, ignoring Leonard's childhood. It starts with another television chat as an elderly man at the piano, smoking and swooning about Felicia, before zipping back to when perhaps his existence truly began: November 14, 1943. On that day, the then-assistant conductor discovered he'd be guiding the New York Philharmonic for the first time that evening. Charted from the call that got the 25-year-old Leonard out of bed, and initially framed against a black rectangle with a white border — the light endeavouring to sneak in from behind a blind — this sequence, the film's second, says everything about Cooper's approach. The elated Leonard runs from his room to Carnegie Hall's balcony as if only a corridor links them, a technique to be repeated aesthetically and emotionally. Maestro skips from beat to beat like there's no pause in-between, and like it can't get from instant to instant fast enough. Some biopics serve up a slice of life as a symbol for the whole, such as fellow 2023–24 awards contender Ferrari. Maestro hands around several plates, each dishing up a vignette that helps paint its overall portrait. As it leaps across five decades, it flits from heady thrills, buzzing parties and professional heights to complicated choices, heartbreak and loss. So swirls Leonard and Felicia meeting at his sister Shirley's (Sarah Silverman, The Bob's Burgers Movie) cocktail soiree, him marvelling at her acting, her questioning advice given to him to change his name and attitude, wedded bliss, domestic disharmony, children (Asteroid City's Maya Hawke plays their eldest Jamie), affairs, rumours, arguments, illness, hard conversations and tougher realisations. So dances a sweepingly dynamic feature that takes the concept of basing its style on its subject, and using that style to do its subject's intricacies justice, to its core. With its jumps from black and white to colour as well, and between the 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 aspect rations — A Star Is Born returnee Matthew Libatique's 35-millimetre-shot cinematography is ravishing — Cooper's handling of Maestro in look, format, air and atmosphere isn't new. But it couldn't feel more fitting for someone who put his all into track after track, composition after composition and conducting performance after conducting performance, each of which said something about Leonard. Cooper lets the maestro's music do ample talking, his soundtrack filled with it. Cue the symphonic suite from On the Waterfront; pieces from Fancy Free, On the Town, Trouble in Tahiti and Mass; and the prologue to West Side Story. Each is deployed precisely and powerfully, whether in turning courtship into a fantasy ballet that also demonstrates the push and pull of Leonard's bisexuality, or getting tension dancing when romantic discontent can only lead to confrontation. That said, some of the movie's best music moments are set to other tunes, and not just Mozart and Mahler's works that Leonard led orchestras to perform. (Yes, this is 2023's second film Down Under to unpack a baton-wielding figure who adores the Austro-Bohemian icon, after Tár; that picture's fictional Lydia was a Bernstein protégée, it advised.) Shirley Ellis' 'The Clapping Song' bounces with bittersweetness, with the inherently upbeat track arriving when there's little to be cheerful about in the Bernstein household except appreciating what time you can with those you cherish. With Tears for Fears' 'Shout' late in the piece, catharsis and release thumps as heavily as the song itself. Donning his filmmaker's cap, Cooper arranges every inch of Maestro this meticulously, and with a monumentally moving and meaningful viewing experience in mind. Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) produce the film after each originally planning to helm it — and holding its own with the idea of a Scorsese- or Spielberg-directed Leonard Bernstein movie is another of Maestro's resounding triumphs. Maestro screens in cinemas from Thursday, December 7 and streams via Netflix from Wednesday, December 20.
The way the festival scene is going, the summer of 2016/17 is going to be epic. The latest in the series of boutique festivals to join the summer calendar is Tell No Tales, a one-day techno bonanza inspired by the hedonism of the European summer festival scene. The lineup gets on board with the European theme too. They've released the first round of artists (yeah, you read right — this is only the first round) including Ricardo Villalobos, a Chilean-born and Berlin-based minimalist techno god who's been dominating the scene for nearly 20 years; Pan-Pot, another Berlin-based outfit; Audion, a techno mainstay who's just dropped his first album in ten years; Agents of Time, an Italian trio who stick strictly to analogue; and Nastia, a Ukrainian DJ who's rocketed to fame in the last few years. The festival will kick things off at The Nursery at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, December 3, before heading up to Sydney the next day. The first release of tickets have sold out already, so keep your eyes peeled for a second round. Image: Stephen Arnold.
Part of Next Wave's Blak Wave program, this work by Megan Cope tells the true story of the artist obtaining her 'Certificate of Aboriginality' and the concerns which this process raised. “After discussing with an Elder about the procedure, the thought of being legitimately certified suddenly cast a dark shadow of doubt across my mind and left me wondering if I was Aboriginal enough,” said the artist. This seven-minute film screening daily at Screen Space expounds that journey through satire and wit, and questions the relevance of such bureaucracy. Through caricatures of Australian racism and tradition, Cope interrogates the frameworks of power and assimilation that still lay in place today. This event originally appeared as one of our top picks for the 2014 Next Wave Festival. See the full list here.
Excellent news, marshmallows. In fact, if you're a Veronica Mars fan, this past year just keeps delivering. First, we found out that the beloved series was coming back for a fourth season. Then, not one, not two, but three teasers and trailers showed us just what kind of sleuthing fun we were in for. Now, Australian streaming platform Stan has announced that it'll become Ms Mars' new home for the fictional private eye's upcoming run of episodes. This news isn't minor — until now, just when and where Aussie were going to be able to watch Veronica Mars' fourth season was unknown. And if you've got a long-enough memory, and can recall how poorly the original first three seasons were treated by local TV back in the mid 2000s, you might've been worried. With the show launching on Friday, July 26 in the US, it'll hit Stan here on Saturday, July 27 — at the same time, thanks to the time difference. In America, it appears that all eight new episodes are dropping at once, so expect that to be the case here as well. Story-wise, the fourth season sees Veronica (Kristen Bell) back in her hometown of Neptune, still in the P.I. game with her dad Keith (Enrico Colantoni) and still solving mysteries. This time, a series of bombings and a shady ex-con turned businessman (JK Simmons) are on her radar. As well as plenty of twists and turns to follow, expect a heap of other familiar faces in the form of Jason Dohring as Veronica's on-again, off-again love interest Logan, Percy Daggs III as her bestie Wallace and Ryan Hansen as her sleazy ex-classmate Dick. Check out the full trailer, from US network Hulu, below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt0QuaQ0huk Veronica Mars will hit Stan on Saturday, July 27, with an exact launch time yet-to-be announced. We'll update you when it is.
Brunswick’s one-day fiesta has returned once more to celebrate the culture and community surrounding the good people of Moreland. A cheeky 800 meters of Sydney Road, between Union Street and Victoria Street, will be taken over for the day to make room for the best in local music, dance, food, and craft stalls. Moreland’s strong migrant history and its current influx of creative residents makes this part of Melbourne an exciting, expressive and multicultural pocket of the city. There will be over nine separate music stages and venues open throughout the day to host the musical festivities. Acts like Empat Lima, Horns of Leroy, Byron and the Gypsy Cats and Manglewurzle are just a few of the musical gems performing on the day. For those looking to see a bit of movement as well as music, we recommend Indigenous Hip Hop Projects, Westside Circus and Real Hot Bitches. Sydney Road Street Party is part of Brunswick Music Festival, which is on from March 1 to 15.
Some of the biggest names in Australian comedy are coming together in Melbourne for a one-off benefit gig in support of a worthy cause. Tripod, Anne Edmonds, Cal Wilson and Lawrence Mooney are just a few of the comedians who'll front the stage at Howler in Brunswick on the evening of Sunday November 29, with proceeds going to the aid of asylum seeker children currently being held in detention. Described by event organisers as "a funny fundraiser for an unfunny cause," the show is being facilitated by charity group ChilOut, an organisation dedicated to the protection of minors detained in Australian immigration facilities. In addition to those already mentioned, the comic lineup will include Greg Fleet, Josh Earl, Dave O'Neil, Dave Thornton, Tom Gleeson, Geraldine Hickey, Luke McGregor, Denise Scott and Harley Breen, plus a number of other guests who have yet to be announced. Tickets to the gig come to $43.50 per person, including booking fee. "ChilOut is a small, community organisation running on the smell of an oily rag but doing heaps through education, advocacy and lobbying to raise public awareness of the plight of asylum-seeking children held in immigration detention facilities by the Australian Government," said a statement that accompanied the gig's announcement. "ChilOut is not-for-profit and relies on generous donations to act on behalf of the almost 200 children currently imprisoned in environments that undermine and threaten their mental and physical safety and well-being every day that they’re there. Nobody wants to see these children go through this. Please come along and help us help them." To grab your ticket to Stand Up for ChilOut, head on over to Moshtix. And to learn more about the work being done by ChilOut, visit their website.
Get a little taste of Thailand in Federation Square this Sunday, with the return of the annual Thai Culture and Food Festival. Now in its twelve year, this annual event celebrates the best of traditional and contemporary Thai culture, through a mix of activities, performances and some of the best Thai green curry you've ever had. This year's festival program includes an array of live entertainment, from music to martial arts. There'll be a Buddhist drum ceremony on Fed Square's main stage, exhibition kickboxing matches at Deakin Edge, and hours of live music at the Singha Beer Garden down by the Yarra. You’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy a traditional Thai massage, lest the exertion of the day become too much for you. Catering, meanwhile, comes courtesy of some of the best Thai chefs in Melbourne; with more than 15 different restaurants operating stalls throughout the day. There's even going to be a cooking demonstration, hosted by TV Chef Duncan Robertson from Duncan's Thai Kitchen. It's enough to have you booking an airfare immediately. Here's last year's trailer, to give you an idea:
Prefer a sophisticated sort of Sunday session to basic brews at the pub? Well, you're in luck because Poodle Bar & Bistro is here to elevate your weekend with a fresh edition of its ever-popular bottomless brunch. The Fitzroy eatery will be serving up the goods once again this Sunday, July 3. Across one of two sittings (11.30am and 2pm), you'll tuck into a parade of swanky brunch plates courtesy of legendary chef Josh Fry — think, house-made chicken liver parfait, delicate vol au vents crowned with Yarra Valley caviar, roast lamb rump with shallot jus, and a silky fig leaf panna cotta. While you feast, the drinks will be flowing just as easily — and with just as much style. Your $85 ticket pairs those eats with two hours of bottomless bevs, from bubbly and bellinis, to white wine spritzes and blood orange seltzers. [caption id="attachment_774766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Poodle Bar & Bistro[/caption]
First it was the Cheese Festival, then the Sausage Fest, and now Prahran Market is completing the holy trio of meats, cheese and chocolate with — you guessed it — a chocolate festival. The Wicked Chocolate Festival will be held at Prahran Market on Saturday, May 7. As well as on-stage talks about the stuff, a kitchen where you can see how it's made and tasting events, Melbourne's finest will be pulling out their best chocolate creations at the Pop-Up Chocolate Precinct. This will include — are you ready for this? — chocolate doughnuts from Doughboys, chocolate cookie sandwiches by Butterbing, Nutella pizzas from A25 Pizzeria, as well as treats from Burch & Purchese, Bibelot, Fritz Gelato and Pana Chocolate. There'll be everything from hot chocolate to cold chocolate (read: ice cream), and rich chocolate mousse to raw vegan Snickers bars. The market is known for their decidedly delicious events, and this one is set to be just as epic and coma-inducing — especially if you enter the chocolate eating competition. More details to come on how you can enter that one, but we suggest you start practicing with a some blocks of Cadbury Dairy Milk and a few rounds of The Chocolate Game. Fingers crossed you roll a few sixes. The Wicked Chocolate will be held at Prahran Market on Saturday, May 7 from 10.30am. For more info, visit their website.
There’s nothing the Oscars love more than an inspiring true story. Every year in the lead-up to Hollywood’s most self-congratulatory night, our theatres with filled with biographical dramas: handsome, well-acted and totally inoffensive. This year’s crop includes The Imitation Game, American Sniper and The Theory of Everything, all of which attempt to rouse us with their stories of courage in the face of adversity. And yes, sure, their protagonists are all white guys. But hey, at least Alan Turing was gay. Also on the list of this year’s would-be contenders is Unbroken, the sophomore directorial effort from one Angelina Jolie. The film is a wartime biopic (of course) about Olympic marathon runner and WWII bombardier Louie Zamperini, whose B-24 aircraft crashed down in the North Pacific and who spent the last two years of the conflict as a prisoner of war in Japan. The film is based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. With a title like that, it’s hardly surprising that the story leans towards hero worship. As depicted by Jolie and actor Jack O’Connell, Zamperini is less a man as he is a pillar of bravery and virtue; a genetically engineered combination of Jesse Owens and Captain America. Flashbacks to before the war come complete with stock-standard motivational quotes. “A moment of pain,” we’re told, “is worth a lifetime of glory.” I’m not trying to diminish Zamperini’s sacrifice. But while he may have been a hero, he’s not an interesting protagonist. Tales of wartime valour have been done to death, and frankly Unbroken brings nothing new to the table. Jolie portrays America’s enemies with about as much dimension as the Nazis in Hogan’s Heroes, although admittedly they’re not nearly as funny. The only Japanese character they bother naming is the sadistic Corporal Watanabe (played by musician Miyavi), whose cartoonish villainy prevents any exploration of the psychology behind wartime abuse. And yes, atrocities were committed in POW camps, and it’s important that we continue to remember that. At the same time, this story has already been covered. Instead, why not make a movie about the 100,000 Japanese Americans forced into prison camps by President Roosevelt? Where’s the film about the moral quandary behind dropping the atomic bomb? Hell, what about telling the story of Zamperini’s life after the war, when post-traumatic stress disorder drove him to alcoholism until he became a born-again motivation speaker? Those would be interesting stories. But I guess they’re not to Oscar’s tastes. Unbroken is by no means a terrible film. Jolie is a solid director, her cast does good work and the narrative – shallow and conventional as it is – isn’t necessarily unengaging. It is, however, disappointingly safe; the sort of adequate time killer you won’t necessarily regret seeing, assuming you remember seeing it at all.
Considering a foray into yoga, but feeling a little overwhelmed about where to start? Well, the folks at I Am That Yoga in Collingwood are here to make the whole thing way less daunting and a lot more fun, with their open day on Thursday, June 14. The new Emma Street studio will be throwing open its doors to host a range of free classes, giving you the chance to roadtest a few to see which styles take your fancy. Perhaps you'll give the morning Power Flow class a whirl, or maybe the yin-yasa hybrid session is just what your muscles have been looking for. All seven of the day's classes will be offered for free, including a 12.15pm guided meditation, though you'll have to book in advance to secure your spot. Studio founders Victoria Csarmann and Sébastien Nicolas will also be on hand to help you out with finding your ideal yoga style, and there'll be a pop-up wellness market from 5pm, with a range of goodies to sample and buy.
With International Margarita Day landing on Wednesday, February 22, bars and tequila brands across the country have received the memo that it's time to celebrate everyone's favourite salt-rimmed cocktail and run with it. In fact, they've been marking the whole of February as Margarita Month. From free margs to multi-venue festivals celebrating the drinks, there are plenty of ways patrons can get in on the action. One of the more tongue-in-cheek promotions is a cocktail giveaway popping up at two of Australia's most beloved bars, Tio's Cerveceria in Sydney and Los Amantes in Melbourne. The pair of tequila-loving venues have teamed up with El Jimador to give away free margaritas, but only to a select few. Playing on the longstanding tequila maker's name, anyone named El or Jimmy can claim one free cocktail. Just show your ID and you'll be presented with a margarita on the house. The promotion does extend to anyone with Jimmy- and El-adjacent names including James, Jim, Elle, Ella and Ellie. El Jimador has also populated a helpful map on its website to make sure you can always find a margarita around the corner. The venue finder shows partnered venues that you can hit up during Margarita Month for the cocktail of the moment. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Rarely seen and utterly breathtaking, the ambitious contemporary ballet Kunstkamer is arriving in Melbourne for a two-week run of performances by The Australian Ballet. Created by pioneering Dutch dance company Nederlands Dan Theater (NDT), the ballet had never been performed by another theatre company until the Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House on Friday, April 29. Now it's Melbourne's turn. The work of NDT House Choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, and Associate Choreographers Marco Goecke and Crystal Pite, Kunstkamer is an eclectic, hugely entertaining and boundary-pushing two-part ballet that draws its inspiration from the 1734 book The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and collector Albertus Seba. The Australian Ballet Artistic Director David Hallberg calls this ballet "truly an immersive experience" and has even come out of retirement to perform as part of the run of shows including the Melbourne premiere. "Sol León, who's one of the four choreographers, asked me to come on board in this role," Hallberg told Concrete Playground. "It took a little enticing because obviously I have said goodbye to the stage and I wasn't looking for opportunities to return to the stage, but I found that in this role, in this experience, in this opportunity with the dancers, in this work, it was the right time." Hallberg is not the only special guest dancer to be taking part in The Australian Ballet's Kunstkamer. The ensemble has also been joined by NDT member Jorge Nozal, who is reprising his role from the 2019 world premiere season in the Netherlands for the full run of shows down under. "Jorge is the first guest artist of my directorship, and I am really excited that it will be someone unexpected for the audience and enriching for the company," explains Hallberg. "Jorge is admired by our dancers and artistic team and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce him to our audience, alongside the dancers of The Australian Ballet, in the role that was created for him by Sol León." You can catch the performance at Arts Centre Melbourne from Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 11. [caption id="attachment_852138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Top image: Daniel Boud
Are you feeling lost amongst the floral dresses and carnival fascinators of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week? Are you a little more Sporty Spice than Posh or Baby? Allow us to introduce you to the world of sports luxe — a recently forged mid-ground that deems it acceptable to wear a hoodie and sneakers while out on the town. If you listen closely, you can women all over the city sighing with relief and pumping their fists. To bring this effortless style to the masses, Nike have set up a cafe, studio and store at 325 Collins Street as part of MSFW. Featuring apparel from their eponymous 2013 collection, the Nike Tech Pack Studio will be a hub of activity for the next two weeks. And better yet: it's all free. Leading local stylists will be on hand to offer intimate style sessions most days, and there will also be a panel-style workshop that bring together thinkers and creators from the realms of sport, design, fashion and music. If you're more interested in the practical elements of the outfits, feel free to join in on the urban run club or free training session. Book your place here before spots run out (pun absolutely intended). The Nike Tech Pack Studio is located at 325 Collins Street from September 1-14. It will be open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 10am-4pm on weekends.
Whether you're keen to sharpen your own culinary skills, or just rub shoulders with a few of your idols, MFWF's House of Food and Wine hub is a must. It's set to whip the Malthouse Theatre into a frenzy of feasts, masterclasses, talks and parties, and a day pass is your all-access ticket to enjoying the best it has to offer. Those venturing in on Day 1 (Saturday, March 9) will catch the likes of Dan Hong (Sydney's Mr Wong, Ms G's) and Jowett Yu (Ho Lee Fook, Hong Kong) in a chef-to-chef onstage chat for the Theatre of Ideas. The series also features insights from Lune Croissanterie's Kate Reid, and a panel discussion on the future of women in food, led by Fully Booked Women's Sharlee Gibb and Maria Kabal of Añada. Culinary tips and tricks will be flying as names like Momofuku Seiobo's Paul Carmichael and dessert queen Kirsten Tibballs whip up their signature dishes during a series of masterclasses. And you'll find a mix of old favourites and one-off creations being plated up by the day's food truck ensemble — a star cast that includes Mamasita, Belles Hot Chicken and Sundae School Ice Creamery, as well as Morgan McGlone and Christian Robertson's low-waste-focused, natural wine-slinging pop-up bar, The Kyoto Protocol. House of Food and Wine is part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Check out more of the festival's events here. Image: Lune CBD, Marcie Raw.
Starting in April, Federation Square will get a little more animated, thanks to a world-first exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image showcasing the work of DreamWorks Animation Studios. Inspired, no doubt, by the success of previous ACMI shows focused on Pixar in 2007 and Disney in 2010, the new exhibit – the centre's biggest ever – will honour the animation company’s rich 20-year history, one defined by imagination, innovation and wise-cracking, pop-culture referencing animals who sound suspiciously like your favourite Hollywood celebrities. With over 400 items from concept drawings and animation tests to interviews with artists and animators, patrons will be taken inside the creative process behind modern day classics including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon, as well as less fondly remembered efforts like Shark Tale and that one where Jerry Seinfeld plays a bee.
After a sold-out season in Sydney last year, Muriel's Wedding The Musical is coming to Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre for a limited season in 2019. A co-production between Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures, the musical adaptation of Muriel's Wedding is like a perfect high school reunion — maximum 80s nostalgia without having to tell any of your old friends you're in HR now. When Muriel Heslop realises that the small town of Porpoise Spit has nothing in store but grim futures, she decides to take off, with only her parents' chequebook, a couple of ABBA albums memorised note for note and a vague sense that the wider world has something that she is hungry for. PJ Hogan, who wrote and directed Muriel's cinematic adventure, has adapted and updated the script for the stage, while Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall have built the music around ABBA's towering back catalogue. There's a real buzz around Muriel. Sure, it's a chance to re-immerse yourself in the unadulterated joy of Muriel's hijinks, but it's also because Muriel hasn't stopped holding the mirror up to our desperate, fame-hungry society since she first hit the screen. As director Simon Phillips points out: "Muriel's governing delusion is becoming a celebrity and becoming famously married. The world has caught up with Muriel." The Melbourne season comes after the show won a slew of awards at 2018's Helpmann Awards, Australia's annual awards for live entertainment and performing arts. Muriel's Wedding The Musical picked up five gongs across the two nights of awards, including Best Original Score, Best Music Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design and Best Choreography in a Musical. It will run a limited Melbourne season between Tuesday, March 12 and Sunday, May 19 before heading back to Sydney for a month in June. Image: Christine Messinesi.
Aussie art royalty is headed our way this spring, with one of Australia's best-known contemporary art galleries revealing it's opening a Melbourne outpost from October. Founded in Sydney in 2005, Sullivan+Strumpf has earned a huge name for itself both here and internationally, even becoming the first Aussie gallery to establish a permanent presence in Asia when it expanded to Singapore in 2015. Now, it's Melbourne's turn, as Ursula Sullivan and Joanna Strumpf gear up to open a 300-square-metre Flack Studio-designed gallery in Collingwood. It'll launch with a major solo exhibition by renowned multidisciplinary artist Tony Albert, off the back of his smash-hit 2021 show, Conversations with Margaret Preston. Moving forward, the new gallery will be tapping into Sullivan+Strumpf's impressive lineup of contemporary artists from across Australia and the Asia Pacific, showcasing works from names like Lindy Lee, Yvette Coppersmith, Polly Borland, Dawn Ng, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Darren Sylvester. [caption id="attachment_867230" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dawn Ng in her Singapore studio, photo by Sean Lee.[/caption] "We look forward to building on the valued relationships we have established in Melbourne over the years, to developing new ones," the founders said. "And to providing an exciting new platform for our artists and contemporary art in Australia." The Sydney gallery currently hosts over 25 live exhibitions each year and its new Melbourne sibling is set to follow suit, with a year-round program of shows, talks and events on the cards. Last year, Sullivan+Strumpf oversaw the largest single living artist commission in the history of the National Gallery of Australia with Lindy Lee's $14 million sculptural installation Ouroboros, while in 2022 it's facilitating the history-making Art Gallery of NSW commission of Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens. [caption id="attachment_867232" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yvette Coppersmith in her studio working on 'Presage', photo by Mel Savage.[/caption] Find Sullivan+Strumpf's new Melbourne gallery in Collingwood from October. We'll share more details as they drop. Top Image: Sullivan+Strumpf directors Ursula Sullivan & Joanna Strumpf, photo by Anna Kucera.
When Anchovy co-owners Jia-Yen Lee and Thi Le first started slinging khao jee pâté — the Lao cousin of the Vietnamese banh mi — during last year's lockdown, it was never meant to become a permanent venture. But as lockdowns and restrictions continued, and the duo's street food offering earned itself a loyal following, it became clear the Ca Com pop-up was here to stay. Now, it's set to spawn its own standalone shopfront next door. Named after the Vietnamese words for 'anchovy', Ca Com first made an appearance at the front window of Anchovy in May 2020. The restaurateurs were keen to keep busy while Anchovy was closed to dine-ins, and a rotating menu of banh mi was exactly the kind of accessible, lockdown-friendly fare the neighbourhood needed. The pair have been running the pop-up on and off ever since, using a hibachi on the window sill to barbecue proteins and ramping up opening hours whenever Melbourne goes into a snap lockdown. The concise banh mi menu changes regularly depending on the availability of meat cuts and other ingredients, giving the team a chance to flex their creativity and test out new flavour combinations for its dedicated Melbourne fans. Wood-grilled elements are the stars of this show, with recent creations featuring the likes of barbecued turmeric chicken, Manchurian-spiced roast pumpkin, crumbed garfish stuffed with prawn mousse, and a jungle spice pork sausage. [caption id="attachment_526726" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Anchovy Restaurant[/caption] These days, you'll normally find the Ca Com window in action from 11am Wednesdays through Saturdays, though during lockdown that expands to almost daily — keep an eye on Instagram for the most up-to-date details. Ca Com's future home will be a standalone shopfront complete with a massive hearth, set to launch in the coming weeks. If all goes to plan, it'll be grilling up a storm six days a week, serving a lunchtime-friendly offering of banh mi, noodle bowls and salads. For now, find Ca Com at 338 Bridge Road, Richmond. We'll share details about the new store next door at 336 Bridge Road, Richmond, closer to its launch.
No one usually knows what they want to do for their 32nd birthday. For most of us, it isn't a big milestone. But when you're the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and you have a whole new array of LGBTIQA+ movies to show, every go-around is worth celebrating. On the just-announced lineup for 2022's MQFF: Billy Eichner-starring gay Hollywood rom-com Bros, a Pink Flamingos 50th-anniversary showing and a spotlight on Brazil — and that's just the beginning. In total, over its 12-day run from Thursday, November 10–Monday, November 21, the fest will screen 49 features and 12 short film packages, including 35 Australian premieres. Taking place at ACMI, Village Cinemas Jam Factory and Cinema Nova, and with eight screenings taking place on the Victorian Pride Centre rooftop for the first time, the 2022 program arrives after a couple of years of pandemic-fuelled chaos — including back in 2020, its 30th year, when COVID-19 meant that festivities couldn't go as planned. MQFF has has run online and in hybrid formats since, and popped up with a mini fest as well; however, 2022's main event is all in-person. A virtual lineup will follow, but there's nothing like the physical MQFF experience. Other highlights include the Brazilian titles both launching and wrapping up the fest: opening night's Private Desert, about a genderfluid blue-collar worker in an online relationship who goes missing; and closing night's Uýra: The Rising Forest, focusing on trans-indigenous artist Uýra. The latter will take one of the rooftop slots, as will MQFF's official Australian feature of the year The Longest Weekend, about three siblings in Sydney's Inner West. Or, movie lovers can look forward to Blitzed!, about the eponymous London nightclub, with Boy George, Princess Julia and Spandau Ballet sharing their memories; Black as U R, a documentary about the lack of attention paid to the black queer community; and Mini-Zlatan and Uncle Darling, 2022's Rainbow Families session for MQFF-goers of all ages. Plus, Finland's Oscar submission Girl Picture focuses on three young women and Icelandic comedy Cop Secret charts a police officer falling for his partner — while Youtopia explores the inadvertent formation of a hipster cult, In From the Side is about an affair between two members of a fictional South London gay rugby club, and My Emptiness and I hones in on a young trans call-centre worker. And in the retro category, alongside John Waters Divine-starring Pink Flamingos, is iconic 90s flick But I'm a Cheerleader — the director's cut, and one of Natasha Lyonne's (Russian Doll) best-ever roles. The 2022 Melbourne Queer Film Festival runs from Thursday, November 10–Monday, November 21 at ACMI, Village Cinemas Jam Factory, Cinema Nova and the Victorian Pride Centre Rooftop. For more information or to buy tickets — with members tickets on sale from Thursday, October 13 and general sales from Saturday, October 15, head to the festival website.
Hunting for a few spots to wine and dine in Melbourne across the long weekend? Luckily this city has no shortage of cafes, restaurants and bars that are dishing up the goods in celebration of the Queen's birthday. Here are a few spots that are open and ready to whet your whistle and fill your belly. [caption id="attachment_764366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Firebird by Parker Blain[/caption] EATERIES ARBORY Saturday — Monday: 11am-9pm BABY PIZZA Satuday–Monday: 12–10pm BKK Saturday — Monday: 11.30am-1am CHANCERY LANE Saturday: 6pm–until late CHIN CHIN Saturday: 11am-11.30pm, Sunday, Monday: 11am-11pm ESTELLE Saturday, Sunday: 12–65pm and 6pm–until late, Monday: 6pm-11pm FIREBIRD Saturday and Sunday: 12–4pm and 5.30pm–11.30pm GOOD TIMES MILK BAR Saturday, Sunday: 8pm - 4pm, Monday: 8am - 3pm GRILL AMERICANO Saturday, Monday: 12pm-10pm HAWKER HALL Saturday, Sunday: 12pm-11.30pm, Monday: 12pm-10.30pm HER Saturday— Monday: 7am - 3am HELLA GOOD Saturday: 10am-9pm, Sunday: 10am-7pm, Monday: 10am-5.30pm KING & GODFREE Saturday, Sunday: 9am-11pm, Monday: 9am-10pm MAMMOTH ARMADALE Saturday — Monday: 8am-3pm MATILDA Saturday and Sunday: 8.30am–3pm and 6–8pm, Monday: 6pm-10pm MJOLNER Friday: 5–11pm, Saturday and Sunday: 5pm–late NEW QUARTER Saturday: 12pm-11pm, Monday: 12pm-10.30pm REPEAT OFFENDER Saturday, Sunday: 8am-11pm, Monday: 5pm-10pm STALACTITES Saturday: 11am-2pm, Sunday, Monday: 11am-12am STOKEHOUSE Saturday — Monday: 12pm-12am YAKIMONO Saturday — Monday: 12pm-11.30pm [caption id="attachment_744580" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Moon Dog World, Kate Shanasy[/caption] BARS AND PUBS AGOSTINO Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 12pm-10pm ALBERT PARK HOTEL Saturday — Monday: 12pm–late ARBORY AFLOAT Satuday–Monday: 11am–late ARBORY BAR & EATERY Saturday–Monday: 11.30am–late BAR CAROLINA Saturday and Sunday: 11.30am–late BURNLEY BREWING Saturday–Monday: 12pm–late THE EVERLEIGH Saturday, Sunday: 5pm–1am GLAMORAMA Saturday: 7pm–5am, Sunday: 7pm-5am HARLOW Saturday: 12pm–1am, Sunday, Monday: 12–10pm HEMINGWAY'S WINE ROOM Friday and Saturday: 12pm–late JOHNNY'S GREEN ROOM Saturday: 12pm-12am, Sunday, Monday: 12pm-11pm MOON DOG WORLD Saturday: 11.30am–12am, Sunday, Monday: 11.30am–10pm TETTO DI CAROLINA Saturday: 3pm–1am, Sunday: 3pm–11pm WELCOME TO THORNBURY Saturday: 12pm–12am, Sunday: 12pm-10pm [caption id="attachment_801858" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Queen Victoria Market[/caption] MARKETS PRAHRAN MARKET Saturday: 7am–5pm, Sunday: 10am-3pm PRESTON MARKET Saturday, Sunday: 8am–3pm QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET Saturday: 6am–4pm, Sunday: 9am–4pm SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET Saturday and Sunday: 8am–4pm Top image: King & Godfree
Melbourne’s largest free street festival, which has been running for over 30 years, is back once more to celebrate all over the St Kilda precinct. While it is certainly worth checking out the festival over the nine days, the highlight is definitely Festival Sunday, where 5 stages will be set up and the streets will be closed down so punters can freely wander between venues. Here, you can expect to look forward to the likes of Art vs. Science, The Bamboos, Mat McHugh from The Beautiful Girls, Busby Marou and Kingswood all performing on the main stage. Alison Wonderland will be closing the main events with a killer DJ set, so make sure you’re in it for the long haul too. Alternatively, if you want to see some fantastic young guns, check out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Gold Fields, Dustin Tebbutt and Wave Racer, who will be playing at the O’Donnell Gardens Stage. For something a little more chilled out make your way to Bob Evans and Mama Kin on the Alfred Square stage. The lineup is big enough to challenge some of the main festivals this summer, and better yet — it's all free. For more information including the full lineup, check the St Kilda Festival website.
Practise your Cockney accent, rehearse your favourite drunken London tale and prepare for high tea: the British Film Festival has arrived in Australia for the first time ever. There'll be a dozen contemporary features, five 20th-century classics (The Third Man and Lawrence of Arabia among them) and a chance to quiz Eric Bana during a live Q&A session, and a simply smashing closing night party. Here are five of our must-sees: Jump A massive hit at the Toronto International Film Festival and winner of the Palm Springs Festival's Bridging the Borders Award, Jump is a comic thriller set on New Year's Eve in Derry, Northern Ireland. A witty, fast-paced script captures the stories of three troubled individuals, who find themselves entangled by doomed romance, theft and revenge. Good Vibrations This eccentric, unstoppable rock movie comes to the British Film Festival following sold-out sessions at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival. Set against Ireland's Troubles of the 1970s, it follows the story of rebellious, maverick music lover Terri Hooley, Belfast's 'godfather of punk', and his determination to show the world the power of the seven-inch single. Dom Hemingway A gangster film in the style of Sexy Beast, Dom Hemingway stars Jude Law as the outrageous, volatile Dom, and Richard E. Grant as his best friend, Dickie. Following Dom's release after 12 years of imprisonment, the two travel from London to the south of France, encountering all number of misadventures along the way, from a car accident to an inevitable femme fatale. Mission to Lars How far would you go to meet your favourite rockstar? In this quirky documentary, siblings Kate and Will Spicer find out when they take their autistic brother, Tom, to Los Angeles to pursue Metallica's Lars Ulrich. Still Life The latest offering from Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty), Still Life is a drama in the British humanist tradition. A calm, meticulous ex-councillor, John May (Eddie Marsan) enters the lives of a mischievous adventurer, Billy Stoke, and his abandoned daughter, Kelly (Joanne Froggatt). Check out the full program here.
Illustration, beauty, photography and nature come together in Darkness of Noon, a new exhibition and book to launch at this year’s L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week. Photographer Derek Henderson focuses on capturing life in its true essence, whilst illustrator Kelly Thompson showcases her deep understanding of creating the female form, with both artists drawing on the delicate and subtle beauty of model Zippora Seven. The nude likenesses of Zippora are tasteful, natural and have an element of fantasy about them, creating a world that one wants to lose some time in. The exhibition will showcase a portion of what can be found in the coffee table style book designed by Australian based designer Fabio Ongarato, who has worked with the likes of Baker D. Chirico and Country Road. Only 1000 copies will be printed. Image credit Derek Henderson and Kelly Thompson.
Watching a cursor move around a computer screen doesn't sound very exciting, let alone frightening. There's only so much intrigue to be found in basically watching over someone's shoulder as they flick between YouTube, Skype, Facebook, Spotify, Gmail and iMessage — or is there? It depends what they're up to, of course, and in these always-online times, that could be anything. In Unfriended, the MacBook user in question, high schooler Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig), is doing quite a few things. First, she's watching shocking footage of her friend, Laura Barns, committing suicide exactly a year earlier, as well as the embarrassing video that drove her to her death. Next, she's cyber flirting with her boyfriend, Mitch (Moses Jacob Storm). Then they're both video chatting with pals Adam (Will Peltz), Jess (Renee Olstead), Ken (Jacob Wysocki) and Val (Courtney Halverson). They're not the only ones taking part in the conversation, as they soon realise. Their Skype call also includes an unknown party, but hanging up on the unpleasant troll isn't as easy as it should be. At the same time, Blaire starts receiving strange Facebook messages from Laura, despite her dearly departed status. Mitch suggests that their virtual gatecrasher is Laura's ghost in the machine, a prediction that seems laughable at first, but less so as the interloper's taunts get increasingly violent — and personal. Yes, this is a supernatural revenge film. Yes, it swaps a handheld camera for a computer screen in the next evolution of the found footage genre. Yes, that means that the entirety of Unfriended unfolds on a laptop, as scared teens are taunted by an unseen foe. Director Levan Gabriadze, writer Nelson Greaves and producer Timur Bekmambetov — the helmer of Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, as well the most famous name involved with the ultra low-budget production — simply toy with the usual horror narrative in the same way their villain plays with the characters. It's both obvious and ingenious, and it mostly works. Setting the movie within an overlapping cascade of constantly minimised and maximised application windows places the potential victims in an immensely relatable situation — i.e. staring at a computer for hours on end. More than that, it also ramps up the suspense. A couple of bloody set pieces aside, the usual jumps are largely absent, with few scares to be found in pixilated video that keeps the characters' fearful faces on screen as much as possible. However, tension ripples through every typed then deleted message and every mouse move to the wrong place. Blaire and her friends are on the edge of their keyboards, and the audience is inching towards the edge of their seats. Unfriended also offers a critique of online interaction from bullying to shaming, though there's nothing new in its exposé of the awful ways people behave when they think they're anonymous. There's nothing new in the cast's performances as self-absorbed, fighting and terrified teens, either, other than accurately reflecting the right age and behaviour. Innovation doesn't matter here, though; the movie only ever promises a modern update. When it clicks, it clicks. When it doesn't, it's still not enough to make you want to log off.
If you're a vegetarian, keen home cook or worshipper of eggplant, chances are Yotam Ottolenghi has had some impact on your life. Now, it's time to meet him in the flesh. On Friday, February 1 the influential Israeli chef will appear at Melbourne Town Hall for a long chat about food. The date marks the release of Ottolenghi's latest book Simple filled with 130 easy-to-make yet super-tasty dishes, but, he'll be talking about much more than that. Firstly, there are all his other books, like the Middle Eastern-inspired Jerusalem, the vegetarian-friendly Plenty and the dessert bible Sweet, a collaboration with Melbourne pastry chef Helen Goh. Then, there are his documentaries and his regular writing gigs: a weekly column in Feast magazine and a monthly column in The New York Times. Before becoming a world-famous chef, Ottolenghi worked as a journo in Amsterdam. On deciding to delve into food, he trained at the Cordon Bleu, as well as a bunch of Michelin-starred restaurants in London, before taking on the role of Head Pastry Chef at Baker and Spice, where he befriended Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi. The two teamed up to found the Ottolenghi deli in Notting Hill — the first of many, many projects. Image: Prudence Upton, courtesy of the Sydney Opera House.
UPDATE Tuesday, June 14: Cucinetta's parmesan wheel pasta special has proved so popular, it's been extended for another two weeks, now running until Sunday, June 26. The following has been updated to reflect the change. Pasta and parmesan are one of Italian cuisine's perfect pairings. Eat the former without the latter, and your tastebuds will know the difference. And while sprinkling your spaghetti with fine shavings of hard cheese is all well and good (and delicious), that's nothing compared to devouring a bowl of pasta that has been prepared inside a parmesan wheel. If it sounds like all of your culinary dreams come true, that's because it is — and it's the dish in the spotlight at Cucinetta's returning Parmesan Wheel Week. After a swag of successful previous events, the South Yarra restaurant is bringing this cheesy situation back for 2022, once again serving up the Italian specialty pasta cacio e pepe straight out of a wheel of 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano. And, despite the name, the $39.99 special is actually running across four whole weeks, after being extended due to popular demand. Given that cacio e pepe is a pasta concoction made with parmesan and pepper — think fancier, tastier mac 'n' cheese — the results promise quite the cheesy meal. It will be available at Cucinetta for lunch from 12–3pm and dinner from 5–9pm between Tuesday, May 31–Sunday, June 26. We'd tell you to arrive hungry, but we're sure that just thinking about it already has you feeling ravenous.
2020 was especially quiet on the arts and live performance front, but this year's edition of the First Nations Yirramboi Festival is making up for lost time. Returning for its third citywide outing between Thursday, May 6–Sunday, May 16, the multi-disciplinary festival is dishing up a huge program of over 150 different events — and celebrating Indigenous arts and culture in a very big way. Highlights from the genre-tripping lineup include Coconut Woman, a touching celebration of belonging from Maryanne Sam; the Deadly Funny Showcase as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; and rapper Ziggy Ramo playing his debut album Black Thoughts live on the Melbourne Recital Centre stage. Or, you can check out Ronald Edwards Pepper's transformation of the Metro Tunnel; watch Bred, Briefs Factory International's exploration of First Nations history; and see Ngioka Bunda-Heath's new dance piece and photographic exhibition, both of which are called Birrpai. And, there's also Seasons in Black Box, which also forms part of this year's new Rising festival. Running until Saturday, June 5, the multi-part sound work takes over its own sound pavilion in the Royal Botanic Gardens, and explores the important role of plants in the Kulin seasonal calendar. Top image: Teresa Tan.
