This summer, Melbourne Zoo's animals will share the spotlight with a handful of local and international artists. Outdoor music event, Zoo Twilights, will return with a line-up that tops previous years — and they've previously been pretty solid line-ups. This time around there will be sunset performances from Cut Copy, The Preatures, Grizzly Bear, Kate Miller-Heidke, Neil and Liam Finn, Jet and more, so we recommend booking a place soon to ensure you get a place at this summer must-do event — shows are already selling out. And there's more fantastic news: it's all for a good cause. All ticket proceeds go to Zoos Victoria and their programs which help fight the extinction of 21 of Victoria's most at-risk animal species, including the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, which once thrived in Victoria and Tasmania, but is now extinct on Australia's mainland. Along with performances, there will also be food trucks and a bar set up at each event. MELBOURNE ZOO TWILIGHTS 2018 LINE-UP THE TESKEY BROTHERS - Friday, January 26 CUT COPY - Saturday, January 27 SUNNYBOYS - Friday, February 2 THE CAT EMPIRE - Saturday, February 3 THE CAT EMPIRE - Sunday, February 4 THE PREATURES - Friday, February 9 ROCKWIZ LIVE! - Saturday, February 10 BEN FOLDS - Friday, February 16 BEN FOLDS - Saturday, February 17 NEIL & LIAM FINN - Friday, February 23 NEIL & LIAM FINN - Saturday, February 24 LIAM & NEIL FINN - Sunday, February 25 HIATUS KAIYOTE and HARVEY SUTHERLAND - Friday, March 2 JET - Saturday, March 3 GRIZZLY BEAR - Friday, March 9 KATE MILLER-HEIDKE with STRING QUARTET - Saturday, March 10
You can now recreate a little of that Fancy Hank's magic at home, as the flavour masters behind Bourke Street's beloved barbecue joint unveil their very own line of house-made, small-batch sauces. Launching just in time for the season of backyard barbies and park picnics, the new range features five concoctions, including two barbecue sauces and three styles of hot sauce, packaged in nifty 200mL or 375mL bottles and made using all-Aussie ingredients. And they're already award-winners, having each nabbed a medal at this year's Australian Food Awards. You'll have encountered some of these American-style creations before — the Original BBQ is Fancy Hanks' signature sauce, best teamed with a pile of smoky pulled pork, while the Coffee & Molasses number is the go-to accompaniment for the restaurant's famed beef brisket. The trio of hot sauces dial up the flavour even more, with the gutsiest variety, Habanero & Carrot, best used sparingly in a chicken marinade or a stew. The mild and fruity Cayenne & Watermelon sauce is the entry-level option, while the Jalapeño & Peach kicks a little bit harder, boasting a sweet, tangy finish. You can pick up a bottle — or hey, why not get fancy with the whole collection? — from Fancy Hank's CBD restaurant, the online shop, Spring Street Grocer, Meatsmith (in Fitzroy and St Kilda), and three of the city's McCoppins Food Stores.
If yoga is a thing you like to do with your body on your weekends but negronis are also a thing you like to do with your body on weekends, fear not — there are ways of ticking both boxes. Howler is holding a yoga and negronis session on Sunday, September 16, proving that you can have it all, and that Sundays are for doing things good for the soul and the stomach. With yoga by yoga expert Rosie from I Live In Balance and DJ Zev Tropp on soundtrack duties, you'll be downward dogging your way to weekend bliss and whispering "shavasana" as your get-you-through-the-week mantra. The yoga class itself will be more of a fun, accessible-for-all vibe than a difficult sweaty time, and there'll be a guided full body relaxation included at the end. Tickets are $30 and include a negroni each.
It's no secret that we live in a beautiful country. Our rugged coastlines, tropical rainforests and sweeping desert plains give us plenty to brag about. But, to keep it looking so damn gorgeous, we all have to play a part in looking after the environment. And now, one way to do that is by sipping on a delicious drink. Enter C.A.N — a fresh new vodka and soda pre-mix that is committed to quenching your thirst while donating 10% of its profits to supporting conservation efforts in Australia. How good is that? C.A.N — which stands for Create Action Now — has linked up with Wild Ark and Conservation Volunteers Australia to ensure it's doing its bit to aid land, water and air conservation efforts while keeping you refreshed. To put its money where its mouth is, C.A.N has already donated $5000 to support the #SeatoSource project run by Conservation Volunteers Australia. There are two tasty flavours to try — ruby grapefruit and pineapple passionfruit — both of which are low in sugar but high in deliciousness. Want to add a lil feel good moment to the next time you crack a tin? Well, now you C.A.N. To celebrate its launch, C.A.N is giving away a prize pack to one lucky CP reader consisting of some tasty C.A.Ns and $500 cash. Plus, you'll get to choose one of C.A.N's conservation partners to cop an additional $500. Sound like something you want to support? To be in the running, tell us in 25 words or less what you're doing to help the environment during lockdown. For more information on C.A,N's initiatives, visit the website. Then, grab yourself some C.A.Ns via BoozeBud or at your local bottle shop. [competition]822930[/competition]
With another summer break over and a new year of work begun, you're likely feeling all nostalgic about those endless summers you enjoyed as a kid. So what better time for a jaunt down memory lane, courtesy of photographer Matthew Sleeth's new summer-inspired exhibition? Launching on January 20 at the Hawthorn Arts Centre, the Rosebud series captures the romance of those hot, salty summer days spent camping by the beach. Sleeth snapped these candid beauties between 2002 and 2006 during visits to the beach town of Rosebud, painting a familiar scene for any Melburnian who's ever spent a balmy January day on the Mornington Peninsula foreshore. Shot on a medium format camera and bathed in that unmistakable Aussie sunlight, the brightly-hued images are bound to stir up childhood memories aplenty. And if Rosebud was also your summer stomping ground, who knows — you might even see a few familiar faces caught on film.
Moving from the world of fashion into the pizza biz might seem a stretch, but for husband and wife duo Candice and Nick Hirons, it's simply natural progression. Once the exclusive retail licensees for G-Star in Australia and New Zealand, the pair has shifted their focus to food — and they're out to share their serious passion for pizza with Melbourne. Their latest venture is Hungry Bear pizza bar, which launches on November 24 on Menzies Alley in the CBD. Inspired by the owners' love of camping and the great outdoors, it's a cosy haunt, decked out with lots of timber logs and sporting a healthy serve of forest green. The 15-strong pizza menu is simple, seasonal and a little less naughty than others around town. Here, you'll chow down on the likes of the Paul Hogan, with marinated prawns, red peppers and chickpeas; or the Bear-saola, featuring asparagus, caramelised onion and bresaola. There's even one dubbed Holy Cheeses, made with nine different kinds of cheese, plus a dessert pizza with peanut butter, banana, strawberries, coconut, pistachio and chocolate salted caramel sauce. It's all very budget-friendly too, with pizzas starting at just $9. To wash it down, there's an all-Aussie drinks offering of boutique wines, craft beers and artisan sodas, while a hole-in-the-wall coffee bar will be slinging two exclusive blends (the Polar and the Grizzly) from 7am each weekday. Find Hungry Bear in Menzies Alley at 211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne (enter via Little Lonsdale St), open daily.
This November, the bustling Night Noodle Markets will return to Birrarung Marr for 18 nights of tasty things on sticks, bowls of noodles, bao and extravagant frozen desserts. Taking over the riverside inner city park from November 7–24, the latest iteration of the fairy light-lit markets will see a slew of Australia's favourite food stalls set up shop to serve a wide variety of street snacks. Crowd favourites — and NNM regulars — Hoy Pinoy will be back with its Filipino barbecue, and will Wonderbao's fluffy buns and Puffle's cheesy cone waffles. You can also expect to find dumplings, okonomiyaki and soba noodles, right through to pancakes and Korean-style shaved ice desserts. [caption id="attachment_645205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The puffle by Kimberley May Moore[/caption] Gelato Messina will be back, too — its 2019 Sydney NNM menu includes Thai-style sweets like a milk tea banana cheesecake sandwich, a layered condensed milk pudding, and banana fritters with caramelised banana gelato and peanut crumble. Let's hope these make their way down here, too. Naturally, there will be plenty of booze stations as well, including a Jacobs Creek tipi wine bar, a beer garden and a 20s-inspired diner serving beer floats and spiders. So start scheduling your visits the market — and cross your fingers for good weather. The Night Noodle Markets run from November 7–24 at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. They'll be open from 5–9pm Monday and Tuesday, 5–10pm Wednesday and Thursday, 5–11pm Friday, 4–10pm Saturday and 4–9pm Sunday. Image: Kimberley May Moore.
Melburnians will have two outdoor electronica festivals to choose from come January 1, 2019. This year, joining Werribee Park's Let Them Eat Cake is Sidney Myer Music Bowl's The First — a multi-stage music festival dedicated to live electronic, hip hop, house and techno that'll take over the Kings Domain this New Year's Day. Run by Montreal-based festival host Piknic Électronik and Australia's electronic music guru Hardware Group, the festival is a hangover party you don't need to travel out of town for. Among the festival's stages is one dedicated to Piknic Électronic and it'll kick off the brand's fifth season of weekly-mini festivals in Melbourne (the dates of which have not yet been released). The headliners for the inaugural NYD festival include heavy-hitting rap queen M.I.A, Australian dance royalty The Presets and New York hip-hop artist Action Bronson, along with Banoffee, Bloody Mary, Bob Moses, KiNK, Krystal Klear, Max Cooper, Nastia and SG Lewis. The full lineup of local and international acts hasn't been announced just yet, so stay tuned for more. While you're there, visual art, food trucks and booze-a-plenty will be on the docket, too.
Friday nights are looking a little different these days, with stage four stay-at-home orders making after-work beers at the pub a distant memory. But if moping on the couch has become your new pre-weekend ritual, this Friday, August 7, you can blow off some of that pent up steam the dramatic way — with a huge, communal screaming session. Melbourne local Tessethia Von Tessle Roberts has created a Facebook event simply titled Stand On Your Front Porch And Scream. And irate Melburnians are invited to do just that, kicking off at 7pm on Friday. Miffed about the five-kilometre exercise rule? Fed up with working from home? Ticked off about the colossal mess that is 2020 in general? Go on and release all those pandemic-induced frustrations with a big ol' holler, in unison with a few thousand other Melbourne folk. Yep, currently more than 34,000 people have either RSVPd to join in the fun, or confirmed they're interested in attending. Start limbering up those vocal chords, channel your emotions and prepare to give Jimmy Barnes a run for his money in the screaming stakes. Here's some inspo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvrZJ5C_Nwg
The global beer industry is set to descend upon Melbourne this month as two veritable talents take over the taps at Footscray's Mr West Bar & Bottleshop. New York's acclaimed hazy beer masters Other Half Brewing Company will be joined by the UK's Cloudwater Brew Co, both of which have never been showcased in Australia before. It'll all kick off at 1pm on Saturday, March 30 and go into the wee hours of Sunday. Other Half will take over 12 of the bar's taps, while Cloudwater is sending seven kegs and plenty of tinnies. Though the brews are coming from the other side of the world, all beers are being cold air freighted straight to Mr West to ensure some surprisingly fresh pours. The founders from both breweries will be in the house to chat over the brews, too. From Other Half, expect a Bagel and Schmear IPA, a Mexican Hot Chocolate stout and a collab brew with New Zealand's Garage Project — it's inspired by the banana split croissants served at New York's Supermoon Bakehouse. There will also be plenty of the brewery's signature double dry hopped brews on offer, including an 8.3-percent oat cream IIPA. Cloudwater, on the other hand, will be slinging heaps of easy-drinking brews, including a hoppy lager, pale ale and all-season IPA. Plus a märzan (strong dark Bavarian lager), a single hop Ekuanot IPA and a quadruple dry-hopped pale ale collaboration brew. The tap takeover is the second round of the Mr West's Worldwide to Westside Aviation Project. Keep an eye on this space for the next collab in the series.
Three studio albums in and tUnE-yArDs (real name Merrill Garbus) is still showing no signs of creative predictability. She might have proclaimed to have become "bored with herself" following the 2011 release of breakthrough record Whokill, but listening to new full-length Nikki Nack (released in May) you'd never guess it. Rousing tribal beats and vocal gymnastics of Olympic proportions rub shoulders with lazy Sunday afternoon reggae grooves and no-holds-barred, politicised lyrics. "I don't want to just say, 'Let's dance all night', as if there's nothing wrong with the world," Garbus told The Guardian in a recent interview. "Because that's a big old lie." She certainly doesn't preach, but she does write about things that matter: Western culpability in developing world poverty, racism and disintegrating American neighbourhoods. At the same time, she's all about seeing some serious "arse shaking" at her shows. Winging our way to play Splendour, she'll also treat us to two servings on the side: one at Melbourne's Howler on July 24 and the other at Sydney's OAF on July 28. https://youtube.com/watch?v=jbiFcPhccu8
Come 2021, you'll have one very convincing reason to book a trip to Sydney (or a Sydney staycation) — the city will be home to the first very Australian outpost of trendy US chain Ace Hotel. Founded in 1999, the boutique chain currently has its signature luxe-vintage hotels in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland and Seattle. Its first international location opened in London in 2013, and its next is slated to open in Kyoto in spring next year. Known for their great bars, pools, cool branding and merch, and quirky locations — such as a converted Denny's and a historic YMCA building — each Ace Hotel is individually designed to reflect its surroundings. The Ace Hotel in Downtown LA is in a 13-storey 1920s former movie theatre, and has art deco furnishings, a rooftop pool and three bars, while the Palm Springs outpost is swathed in white, and has swim club and an attached diner. For the local outpost, Ace's in-house design team — Atelier Ace — will be working alongside an Australian firm to design the hyper-local hotel. While exactly what that will look like both inside and out is still under wraps, it'll take inspiration from the food, art, architecture, design and culture of Surry Hills when it opens in an 18-storey building (formerly Tyne House) on Wentworth Avenue. [caption id="attachment_745633" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Render of Ace Hotel's proposed Surry Hills facade.[/caption] The Ace Hotel site was purchased two years ago by Australian property development group, Golden Age Group, who will also have a hand in the hotel. As well as 264 rooms, guests can look forward to a ground-floor lobby bar, a gym, restaurant, cafe, and rooftop bar and eatery. We'll keep our fingers crossed for a potential rooftop pool, too. It's just the latest boutique hotel to open in Surry Hills, which has seen the hyper-local Paramount House Hotel — complete with rooftop wellness centre — launch in March last year, and the 35-room Little Albion House (which you can book through Airbnb) follow in July. Real estate developer Cienna Group also has plans in the works to open a 12-storey laneway hotel on the corner of Riley and Campbell Streets. The Ace Hotel Sydney is slated to open at 49–53 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney in 2021. We'll update you with a specific launch date when one is announced. Top images: Ace Hotel London / Ace Hotel Downtown LA.
In the most mathematical news since boffins discovered a pattern in prime numbers, the cast and crew behind of Adventure Time, the show that straddles generational gaps like it ain't no thing, are coming to town next March. It's going to be live, it's going to be loud and it's gonna be so flippin' awesome. Making quick trips to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, Adventure Time Live will be an interactive, audio-visual festival that includes Q&As with cast and crew, cosplay competitions, live reads of classic episodes and much more to be announced. It's not a show, it's an experience, man. The event hits Australia between March 10 and March 12 next year, which will probably coincide with the largest gathering of adults pretending to be children pretending to be adults that this country has ever seen.
It's no surprise that foodies make very deliberate lifestyle choices. They want to learn and care about every aspect of their meal. They advocate for organic produce and healthy eating. Even TV chefs like Jamie Oliver are always tending to a sprawling herb garden and reassuringly tousling the hair of pudgy middle-school kids. But Ben Shewry and his team at Attica, Australia's best restaurant, are about to take this well-meaning philosophising to the extreme. Launching in just over a month, Shewry and co. have created a two-day 'anti-festival' designed to "inspire, energise and help people in the food community and beyond". From October 2–6, What a Wonderful World (WAW, the other W is silent?) will see some of the world's most influential chefs descend on Melbourne for a series of free public forums and a $500 a plate charity lunch that will make your mouth water in pre-emptive jealousy. Featuring LA-based Korean taco king Roy Choi, Parisian legend Inaki Aizpitarte, Bangkok's Bo Songvisava, London's Margot Henderson and San Francisco's Daniel Patterson, WAW is set to be a who's who of contemporary global cuisine. And, whether you know any of those names or not, it's a big get for the Melbourne foodie scene. Even if you don't have $500 to splash around at their no-doubt stunning charity lunch, it's going to be well worth heading along to see them talk. The free talks will take place on Saturday, October 4 and will feature an even broader array of talent from home and abroad. Non-chef types include Lucky Peach editor Chris Ying, enviro-pioneer Joost Baker and comedian Tom Gleeson. From 10am–5pm, 20 speakers will get on their soapbox at Spink St Warehouse in Brighton. The entire day will be free of charge although you will have to book a seat via the WAW website. Of course, if you do have the money to splurge, the charity lunch is a must. Hosted at Rippon Lea Estate, the feast will be prepared by a team of 30 famous chefs and all proceeds raised will go towards youth charity Helping Hoops. Shewry hopes the event will be a source of inspiration for both those in the industry and those with a simple passion for food. "[It's] a celebration of being alive," he told Good Food. "A reminder of the value of life, of the power of staying open, and the courage it takes to not only stand by your own convictions but remain open to those of others." Sure, the cause may sound a little huge and overwhelming, but it's certainly noble all the same. A touch more gourmet than the tired cry of peace, love and brown rice. For more information on the event head to the WAW website. Both the talks on October 4 and the lunch on October 5 are not yet available to book. Keep an eye on their website or Facebook page for release dates. Be warned: tickets will go fast. Via Good Food and Gourmet Traveller.
To help brighten up your newsfeed a little, Sydney's Sea Life Aquarium is live-streaming playtime with its resident dugong, the adorably named Pig. Who, yes, likes to eat a lot. Pig was found and rescued as a baby dugong in north Queensland after he'd been separated from his family. While the aquarium tried to release him back into the wild, Pig washed up on shore (again) and they decided to keep him. He's now one of only two dugongs in human care, globally. At 10.45am AEDT on Friday, March 20, you can watch Pig splash around, play with toys and hang out and with his keepers Emma and Kerrie via Sea Life Aquarium's Facebook page. It's the feel-good content we need right now. Thankfully, this isn't the only live-stream the aquarium is planning. Keep an eye on future cute (and maybe slightly scary) content, including possible shark feedings, penguin hangs and tropical fish tours. [caption id="attachment_762120" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sea Life Sydney[/caption] Live Stream: Playtime with Pig the Dugong is taking place at 10.45am via Sea Life Aquarium's Facebook page.
If you're on a sugar free diet, close out of this window right now. Trust us when we say you do not want to know what's going down at the Food Truck Park in Preston this weekend. If, on the other hand, you're ready to embrace your diabetic destiny, then by all means read on. Kicking off at 5pm on Friday, July 29 before continuing from midday on Saturday and Sunday, the Sweet Tooth Truck Festival is bringing together all of Melbourne's best mobile food vendors for a chocolate-filled, sugar-glazed, ice-cream and crushed Oreo-topped dessert extravaganza. Crepe de L'ile, Manny's Doughnuts, Nuts-About-Tella, Von's Vegan Bake House, Waffle Bar and Nee's High Apple Pies are just a few of the enablers who'll be on hand, wooing you with sweet treats left and right. Look, it's not exactly the healthiest way to spend a weekend — but there's no way we're missing out on this feast.
Girls to the front — Bikini Kill are coming to Australia. The iconic Kathleen Hanna-fronted, Washington-formed band instigated the Riot Grrrl movement, and will perform their first Australian shows in more than 25 years on a seven-date 2023 tour. On top of already-announced appearances at Mona Foma and Golden Plains, the trailblazing trio have now dropped the dates for a series of headline shows, appearing in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney throughout March. The solo shows will kick off at Brisbane's The Tivoli on Friday, March 3, before moving onto Lion Arts Factory in Adelaide on Sunday, March 5. They, they'll hit up The Forum in Melbourne on Wednesday, March 8, and the Sydney Opera House on Monday, March 13. In good news for the next generation of riot grrrls and underage rockers, all four of these headline shows will be all ages. Plus, Bikini Kill have also been added to the Perth Festival lineup, where they'll perform previously announced headliners Bon Iver and Björk — with the latter bringing her Cornucopia tour to Western Australia for the 2023 festival. [caption id="attachment_874299" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debi Del Grande[/caption] "The quintessential band that blends activism and extreme fun, Bikini Kill, will take their rightful place on the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall stage for one of the most anticipated shows of the year," Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music Ben Marshall said. "Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Tobi Vail are feminist performance-art punks whose moment never went away and are arguably needed now more than ever. Mesmerising, clever and surreal, this is a rare chance to see this legendary, razor-sharp live band that will blow you away, while revealing the constant struggle that animates them." Tickets for the Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne gigs will all go on sale at 9am local time on Monday, October 31. As for the Sydney show, tickets will be available for Sydney Opera House Insiders from 9am on Tuesday, November 1, followed by a What's On pre-sale at midday on Wednesday, November 2, and a general sale at 9am on Friday, November 4. Yes, either watching or rewatching the exceptional documentary The Punk Singer, about Hanna, should be on your must-do list right now. Fun fact: when Hanna spray-painted "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" across her pal Mr Cobain's wall, the name of a certain grunge anthem was born. And, if you're in Sydney in any point leading up to the tour, drop into the Powerhouse Museum Ultimo, where Bikini Kill is currently being featured in the exhibition UNPOPULAR. The exhibition dips into the musical archive of entrepreneur Stephen 'Pav' Pavlovic to unveil never-before-seen photographs and footage of legendary and beloved musicians taking to Australian stages. Hanna, Wilcox and Vail appear alongside other decade-defining artists like Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Hole. [caption id="attachment_875372" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Unpopular exhibition view featuring Video, No Alternative Girls, directed by Tamra Davis, 1994. Courtesy of Tamra Davis, credit Zan Wimberley[/caption] BIKINI KILL 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES: Sunday, February 26 — Mona Foma, Hobart Wednesday, March 1 — Perth Festival Friday, March 3 — The Tivoli, Brisbane Sunday, March 5 — Lions Arts Factory, Adelaide Wednesday, March 8 — The Forum, Melbourne Saturday, March 11 — Golden Plains Festival, Victoria Monday, March 13 — Sydney Opera House Bikini Kill will tour Australia between Sunday, February 26–Monday, March 13. For all the details on when tickets go on sale in each city, head to the band's website. Top image: Debi Del Grande
It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Thanks to Black Mirror, it's about to become the bleakest. A release date for the fourth season of Charlie Brooker's dystopian TV show hasn't yet been announced, but it is expected to drop on Netflix sometime this month. In the interim, the streaming platform has been ramping up the excitement by revealing episode-specific trailers. With each approximately hour-long instalment of Black Mirror standing alone in the story department — while always tying into the anthology series' satirical musings about humanity's relationship with technology — the individual sneak peeks offer a glimpse of just what's in store. Four have been released so far, stepping into areas such as the evolution of surveillance, high-tech misdeeds and dating apps. The clips join the previously revealed whole-of-season trailer, and once again, things look grim. It's likely two more will follow, given that full season will consist of six episodes: 'Arkangel', 'Black Museum', 'Crocodile', 'Hang the DJ', 'Metalhead' and 'USS Callister'. Brooker himself wrote every new instalment, while the likes of Jodie Foster, Australian filmmaker John Hillcoat (The Road, Triple 9), Peaky Blinders' Colm McCarthy and American Gods' David Slade are sitting in the helmer's chair. On screen, expect a cast that includes La La Land's Rosemarie DeWitt, Nocturnal Animals' Andrea Riseborough and Fargo's Jesse Plemons getting up to the kind of sci-fi antics that no one wants to dream of. Check out latest trailers below, and prepare for more bleak thrills before the year is out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5N_Tq1EtRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV0J3Bq3BIc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-NCySETRIc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yef_HfQoBd8
Love and life are two areas in which many artists can't help exploring throughout their career within their medium of choice — and Dagmar Cyrulla’s no exception. Paintings featured in her latest exhibition, Amour de Vie, delve into these themes with a quiet intimacy that is both visually stunning and emotionally arresting. Cyrulla’s portraits may place her characters in ordinary situations, but she's able to convey shared experiences effectively in subtle ways. Cyrulla has recently experienced important shifts within her own family dynamic that lead her to create work that explores relationships and the emotions they stir. “My aim is to open an opportunity for self-questioning by viewers,” she explains. “Each painting reflects my love of people and their stories, including father-daughter relationships, power relationships, relationships to parents, being and having a role model, and sibling rivalry.” Along with Cyrulla’s paintings, the exhibition will feature a new song inspired by her painting A New Day, written by songwriting duo Drew Schapper and Chris Pattenden, aka Artist Proof.
When October rolls around, movie lovers turn their attention to one thing: films of the spookiest, eeriest, most terrifying and frightening variety. When Halloween is upon us, 'tis the season for bumps, jumps, screams, creepy celluloid dreams and getting scared while sitting in a cinema — but there are Halloween marathons, and then there's the Astor Theatre all-night movie-watching extravaganza. The Astor's annual Spooktacular knows how it wants you to feel while you're watching — and this year's event from 8pm on Saturday, October 28 knows that one filmmaker has been responsible for plenty of shocks and frights. So, 2023's festivities have been dubbed The Carpenter-Thon, with the program dedicated to the one and only master of horror John Carpenter. This is the director that gave the world the perfect movie for this very occasion, after all. The OG Halloween is on the bill of course, aka the film that kickstarted both Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis' careers. As well as spending time with Michael Myers, The Carpenter-Thon has a 40th-anniversary celebration of Christine on its lineup, plus They Live, The Fog, Escape from New York, Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness. The Astor doesn't ever give away its full Spooktacular bill, however, so expect some surprises on the program. Fingers crossed that more Kurt Russell is among the late additions, because The Thing is also ideal Halloween viewing.
Time flies when you slurping up mussels and listening to the sounds of jazz, as the folks at South Melbourne Market well and truly know. That's apt description of how quickly two days of seafood and tunes can seem to fly by, and recognition that Coventry and Cecil corner mainstays have been celebrating both for five years now. The latest will take place on March 10 and 11, with the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival returning to serve up a mollusc-focused street party. Oh, and six tonnes of mussels. It's free, it'll fill your stomach with locally sourced seafood, and it'll offer up a feast of other treats, including sweets, tipples and dance-worthy tunes. When it comes to enjoying the tasty sea creatures, Claypots, Köy, Paco y Lola, Simply Spanish and Bambu are just some of the eateries popping up — and whipping up an array of different styles. For seafood lovers who want to expand their range, Aptus Seafood will have more of the ocean's bounty. And as for other delicious delights, there'll be raclette poured over potatoes, ice cream, fruit salad and doughnuts. Drinks-wise, expect local wines, craft beer, cider and sangria. Taking care of the entertainment is Margie Lou Dyer and the Paul Williamson Hammond Combo, plus the massive inclusion that is the Melbourne Singers of Gospel. They're the City of Port Phillip's own 100-voice ensemble, taking on Gospel and Motown with a jazz-blues sound. Image: Simon Shiff.
There's nothing quite like a Saturday spent quaffing top-notch wine and gorging on cheese. Throw the spotlight on local produce and you've got something even better. As part of this year's MFWF, the locally focused Wine and Cheese Fest takes over Williamstown's Seaworks for one gooey, cheesy day by the bay, celebrating some of the state's finest cheese, wine and artisan goodies. Chat to producers as you indulge in a parade of free tastings, sit in on a couple of cheese masterclasses or even hone your squishing skills in the day's grape stomping competition. And there'll be DJ sets and live jazz providing the soundtrack to your epicurean adventures. Up for some extra indulgence? Splash out on a VIP ticket to score your fill of free-flowing local wine and cheese platters. Wine and Cheese Fest is part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Check out more of the festival's events here.
Melbourne winters mightn't be known for their ice and snow (just yet, anyway), but that doesn't mean you can't slide across a frozen surface in the centre of the city. From June 22 to July 15, a spot along the Yarra will become a winter wonderland thanks to the return of the Skating At Melbourne Festival. With the event heading to Southbank for the first time, the CBD is getting a good dose of frosty fabulousness: ice skating, obviously, but also ice sliding, bouncing, rides, music, food and more. It's the next best thing to heading to Europe when Melbourne's at its iciest. Last year, the food offerings included German sausages and glühwein, so prepare to really feel like you're abroad. Entry to the area is free, but you'll have to pay for all of the fun stuff, with the fest open from 10am–9pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am–11pm on Thursday and Friday, 9am–11pm on Saturday and 9am–10pm on Sunday. The lineup of events includes not only regular ice skating, but a romance-themed 'date and skate' night each Tuesday, plus an 'Ice Ice Baby' disco evening every Thursday. And if you're over St Kilda way, you're in luck — a skating rink is popping up there too.
Melissa McCarthy is now three-for-three in collaborations with Paul Feig. The actor-director team chase down Bridesmaids and The Heat with a goofy espionage comedy that serves as a showreel for their respective talents. In Feig’s case, that means cementing his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most rock-solid comic-directors, extracting hilarious turns from a more-than-willing cast while demonstrating a surprising amount of confidence with action scenes, which bodes well for his Ghostbusters sequel next year. For McCarthy, it means delivering one of the best performances of her career, nailing both the verbal and physical comedy while steering almost entirely clear of lazy jokes about her gender or her size. McCarthy stars as analyst Susan Cooper, a desk jockey working in the CIA basement funnelling instructions via an earpiece to operatives around the world. Her primary charge, and the subject of her unrequited affections, is the revoltingly narcissistic Bond-wannabe Agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law). But things suddenly change after Fine is gunned down by a devious arms heiress (Rose Byrne), who has somehow gained access to the identity of every active spy. With their best assets compromised, the agency has no choice but to throw the untested Cooper into the field. It’s a pretty standard comedic premise, in a similar vein to other recent spy spoofs such as Johnny English and Get Smart — the one major difference being that Cooper is actually fairly good at her new job. Feig, who wrote the film as well as directing, pokes fun at all the typical spy movie cliches, from the megalomaniacal villain all the way down to the gadgets, here disguised as everyday items such as fungal cream and laxatives. For the most part the humour is fairly broad and sweary — this is, after all, the same director who had McCarthy shit in a sink. Still, as with Feig’s previous films, the material is elevated considerably by the performances. After proving the MVP in both Bridesmaids and Bad Neighbours, Rose Byrne could well consider giving up dramatic roles altogether. Her villainous turn here is a delightful caricature of upper-crust snobbery, and many of the film’s best scenes are the ones that she and McCarthy share. Law is likewise wonderfully hammy as Fine, while Jason Statham sends up his typical screen persona as a 'rogue' CIA agent a little too convinced of his own brilliance. But it’s McCarthy who’s the real hero here, throwing herself into every scene with absolute commitment. Together, she and Feig not only deliver big laughs but also manage to skewer our expectations of what someone who looks like her is capable of. Yes, there are plenty of jokes at Cooper’s expense, but more often than not they’re the result of people underestimating her. As it turns out, that’s a pretty big mistake.
Now that house parties are back on the cards — and going out isn't quite back to what it once was — it's time to get your home bar set-up in good shape. Yes, you need to stock up on liquor, nab some good-looking (but easily replaceable) glasses and work on your bartending skills, but you should also make sure your bar offering stands out above the rest. How? Well, you could add a tap machine that keeps your booze nice and chilled, for one. Lucky for you, we've partnered up with Jägermeister to give away just that, so you can save your money for the party snacks. The compact, OTT house party accessory holds one bottle and is perfect for when you want to serve up well-poured, ice-cold shots of Jäger — whether that's as your mates arrive or late into the night when you're cutting shapes on your makeshift living room dance floor. Yep, you'll be sipping the stuff at a cool -18 degrees celsius, which is apparently the ideal way to drink it. Oh, and we're throwing in three bottles of Jägermeister to help get the party started, too. Keen to take your next house party to great new heights? See details below to enter. [competition]799776[/competition]
There's a big, white container sitting in Federation Square. It looks innocent enough at first, but, like most shipping containers in the city, it's not being used to transport furniture. And the fact that the word 'séance' is written on the side in black makes it seem kind of ominous. But Séance is actually a new installation where participants take a seat inside the tiny space, put on a headset and place their hands flat on the table in front of them. The lights go out and the container enters complete darkness. For the next 15 minutes, participants are fed 'suggestible information' through their headsets. You're probably thinking that there's something dark or supernatural about the whole thing — and going by the name, we don't blame you. But the installation's organiser assures us that 'séance' is simply a French word meaning 'session' or 'sitting'. And so Séance is a sensory experience that looks at the psychology of a group sitting together. Despite not being a horror or supernatural-themed piece, it's a scary indicator of how easy it is for confusion, information overload and the people siting right next to us to affect our judgment. Artists David Rosenberg and Glen Neath (who have collaborated in other sensory deprivation projects before) are the creative masterminds behind the project, which has been described as 'disorienting' and 'deeply unsettling'. It's not recommended for the claustrophobic or the easily frightened. Séance is open daily, three times an hour between 12pm and 10pm until November 12. After its Melbourne residence, the installation will head to Sydney (November 22 to December 10) and Brisbane (dates to be confirmed) so they, too, can experience this madness.
We don't know what you have to do to be considered a 'beach expert', but after Australia's best beaches were revealed this week, we're sure we need to become one. The 2018 list details 101 of the country's most stunning beaches, but the one that's come out on top isn't Bondi or Jervis Bay — it's Nudey Beach. So where the bloody hell is that? It's located on Fitzroy Island, just off the far north Queensland coast. Now, the 'best' beach is obviously a hard one to quantify, but Brad Farmer has done a pretty thorough research job. He's the aforementioned beach expert, and for the release of the 2018 edition of 101 Best Beaches he visited, documented and rated a whole heap of beaches alongside coastal geomorphologist Professor Andy Short, who has personally visited every single beach in Oz (there's 11,761 of them, by the way). Eventually the pair landed on the tropical Nudey as number one. It's obviously insanely beautiful, and the pair have noted it as the best beach of them all due to its surrounding lush rainforest and views of the Cairns hinterland. Plus, for somewhere so special and secluded, it's super accessible — you can get there in 45 minutes on a catamaran from Cairns. Other top beaches are ones you probably haven't heard too much about either — Horrocks Beach north of Perth in WA, Dreamtime Beach at Tweed Heads on the NSW–Queensland border and Dolly Beach on Christmas Island all make the list. Tourist spots Burleigh Heads and Tassie's Bay of Fires get a look in as well. Have a look at the top ten below. BRAD FARMER'S BEST BEACHES IN AUSTRALIA 2018 Nudey Beach, Far North Queensland Horrocks Beach, WA Dreamtime Beach, NSW Cossies Beach, Cocos Keeling Islands Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast, Queensland Seal Rocks, NSW Bay of Fires, Tasmania Quobba, Red Bluff, WA Dolly Beach, Christmas Island Second Valley, SA Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island Image: Chris McLennan/Tourism and Events Queensland.
This pandemic sure hasn't dampened our appetite for booze, but it has left some of us feeling a little iffy about enclosed spaces filled with other shoppers. So, now seems like the ideal time to welcome Richmond's newest purveyor of alcoholic delights, drive-through craft bottle shop The Burnley. Launching this Friday, August 14, the venue is the work of Liquor Masters and clocks in at a hefty 1500 square metres. The site boasts a boutique bottle shop stocked with an expansive range of goodies, heroing lots of local, independent producers. There's a drive-through space for the grab-and-go crowd, as well as a tasting room that'll play host to a year-round calendar of booze-focused events, post-COVID-19. Think, cocktail making masterclasses, spirit appreciation sessions, weekend Meet The Maker tastings and more. Once gatherings are back on the menu, you'll be able to hire out this space for your own events, too. And there's plenty more to look forward to, with an onsite pizzeria and beer garden bar also in the planning stages. The Burnley is positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for all kinds of drinkers, from the craft beer aficionado hunting this season's must-try NEIPA to the novice wino looking for that reasonably priced local chardonnay. On the shelves, you'll find a diverse mix of familiar local names and international drops — beers from the likes of Boatrocker, Stomping Ground and Hop Nation; vinous treats from the Yarra Valley's Rob Dolan and low-intervention label Minimum Wines; and a spirits collection showcasing everything from some Guatemalan Ron Botran rum through to small-batch gin from Hobart distillery Taylor & Smith. Under current stage four restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne, you can only travel up to five kilometres from your home for shopping and exercise. So, if you're don't live near Richmond, you'll need to wait to visit The Burnley post-lockdown. Find The Burnley by the Liquor Masters at 161 Burnley St, Richmond, from August 14. It'll be open from 10am–8pm daily.
Heads up, Mother's Day is just around the corner. (It's happening on Sunday, May 12, in case you temporarily forgot.) You can frantically message your siblings later, there's pressie planning afoot, and we've found quite the showstopper for your dear ol' mumsie this year thanks to Gelato Messina. Never one to miss an opportunity to experiment with new ways to inhale gelato, Messina has been cooking up quite the delicate novelty dessert for Mum: a Italian-inspired chocolate box of gelato-filled nibbles. These brownie point-winners launched in 2015 — and selling out every year since — are sure to bring it home again this year. Each box comes with nine handmade, handpainted chocolate and gelato bon bons — best enjoyed with opera blaring in the background, with a strong, black cup of coffee and a shoulder massage. Go on, your mum put up with you through puberty, you owe her one massage. So which crazy tell-your-friends flavours have Messina come up with for their bitty bon bons? There are nine in total, each more decadent than the last. Ready? There's lamington, black forest, dark choc honey, banoffee pie, cremino — with Italian meringe, amaretti and that salted caramel gelato — tequila sunrise, strawberry and cream, and tea and bikkies. Yep. If you can find us something that says 'perfect Mother's Day gift' better than fragrant earl grey tea gelato and shortbread crammed into a fragile little choc-house of caramel, we'll eat this empty bon bon box. The Messina gelato bon bon boxes are going for $49 a box, and are available to order from Wednesday, April 17. They're available for collection from Bondi, Newtown, Tramsheds, Darlinghurst, Rosebery, Miranda, Parramatta and Penrith in NSW; Fitzroy in Victoria; and South Brisbane and Fortitude Valley in Queensland. Gelato Messina's Mother's Day Bon Bons area available to pre-order from Wednesday, April 17 and to pick-up between Friday, May 10 and Sunday, May 12 (Mother's Day).
Thanks to Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, Isaiah, Jessica Mauboy, Montaigne, Sheldon Riley, Voyager and Electric Fields, Australia is no stranger to heading to Eurovision. In November 2024, the iconic song contest is coming to us instead. For the first time ever since beginning in 1956, Eurovision is touring, with Aussie shows now locked in for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney before spring is out. London, Paris, Stockholm, Madrid, Warsaw and Amsterdam are also on the itinerary before and after Eurovision on Tour's Down Under gigs, but its visit to Australia is different. This is the only country receiving multiple concerts, spreading Europop across the nation's east coast. Italian African pop star Senhit is not only on the lineup but is also the tour's spokesperson. "Eurovision has always been about bringing people together through music, no matter where in the world you are. Taking Eurovision on Tour to Australia is incredibly exciting for me because it means sharing this celebration of diversity and creativity with even more fans," she explains. "Australia has such a passionate Eurovision community, and I can't wait to experience that energy firsthand." The concept dates back to 2019, but the pandemic initially got in the way. After that, it took two years of negotiating to lock in the setup. Now that Eurovision on Tour is officially happening, it'll play The Tivoli in Brisbane on Wednesday, November 13, then The Palais in Melbourne on Friday, November 15 and The Enmore in Sydney on Sunday, November 17 with 18 performers. On the lineup: Australia's own Im and Silia Kapsis, with the latter competing for Cyprus this year. Attendees can also look forward to 1991 winner Carola from Sweden, 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest from Denmark, and everyone from the UK's Nicki French, Portugal's Suzy and Malta's Destiny to Efendi from Azerbaijan, Ovi & Ilinca Bacila from Romania, and both Rosa López and Soraya from Spain. Eurovision on Tour Australian Dates 2024 Wednesday, November 13 — The Tivoli, Brisbane Friday, November 15 — The Palais, Melbourne Sunday, November 17 — The Enmore, Sydney Eurovision on Tour Australian Lineup 2024 Senhit (San Marino) Dami Im (Australia) Carola (Sweden) Destiny (Malta) Efendi (Azerbaijan) Emmelie de Forest (Denmark) Esther Hart (Netherlands) Jalisse (Italy) Linda Martin (Ireland) Nicki French (United Kingdom) Ovi & Ilinca Bacila (Romania) Rosa López (Spain) Silia Kapsis (Cyprus) Soraya (Spain) Sunstroke Project (Moldova) Suzy (Portugal) The Roop (Lithuania) Theo Evan (Cyprus) Eurovision on Tour Australia is playing Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in November 2024. Head to the event's website for further details and tickets.
Some actors have all the luck — or, in the case of Matthew Fox, they seem to navigate all of the on-screen quests for survival. After riding Lost's many, many ups and downs between 2004–10, the actor is returning to the small screen for the first time in 12 years in new five-part miniseries Last Light. And although he isn't stranded on a mysterious island here, and no one seems to be spouting a set pattern of numbers in the show's just-dropped first trailer, things look mighty tense and chaotic anyway. The OG Party of Five star plays Andy Yeats, a petro-chemist who gets stuck in the fallout from a problem with the world's oil supply. Actually, to be exact, the entire planet faces the same struggle, with transport stopping, deliveries ceasing as well, and law and order disintegrating fast. If the tale sounds familiar, and not just in a general apocalyptic way, that's because Last Light is based on Andy Scarrow's 2007 book of the same name. The page-to-streaming adaptation is due to hit Stan from Thursday, September 8, and shot everywhere from Prague and Abu Dhabi to Paris. Alongside Fox, the series stars Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey: A New Era) as Andy's wife Elena — plus Alyth Ross (Traces) as his teenage daughter Laura and TV first-timer Taylor Foy as his son Sam. Last Light focuses on the entire family's story, as Andy tries to return home from the Middle East just as his worst fears are coming true, Elena and Sam are in Paris, and Laura is home alone in London. The cast also spans Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli (Belfast) and Hakeem Jomah (Rashash), as well as Tom Wlaschiha — aka Dmitri in the fourth season of Stranger Things, and Jaqen H'ghar in Game of Thrones. Behind the camera, director Dennie Gordon (Hunters, Jack Ryan) does the honours across all five episodes. And if it feels like it's been quite some time since you've seen Fox on-screen, you're right. He only has five films to his name since Lost wrapped up — the last in 2015. Check out the trailer for Last Light below: Last Light will be available to stream via Stan from Thursday, September 8.
It's been just over six months since Melbourne scored its last offering from renowned chef Jessi Singh. Last June, he opened colourful, unconventional Indian joint Daughter In Law and, the year before that, his eatery Don't Tell Aunty landed in Sydney's Surry Hills. Now, the restaurateur — who originally co-founded other hits including Horn Please, Kyneton's Dhaba at The Mill and Babu Ji in Melbourne and NYC — has opened a new wine bar and boutique booze store on Flinders Lane. Sticking with the family theme, this latest venue has been named Mrs Singh. It feels a little more grown up than its siblings — but it just as playful. Sporting a mix of textures and colours, diners are met with a heady vision of orange panelling, blue marbled flooring, rich reds, green velvet, a terrazzo-topped bar and striking gold accents throughout the 65-seat space. Singh fans will be familiar with the soundtrack of party jams and rotation of retro Bollywood flicks projected on the wall. [caption id="attachment_759088" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Coco Bunny[/caption] Drinks are the main game here, led by a 300-strong wine list from award-winning sommelier Dheeraj Bhatia (Sydney's Est.). A produce-driven cocktail lineup stars sips like the signature Mrs Singh — a fusion of mezcal, beetroot, Aperol, agave, lime and black salt — and the Coco Bunny which, with carrot juice, turmeric, ginger and gin, is basically boozy breakfast juice. A roving champagne trolley amps up the luxury and there's even a retail selection of beers and wines available to take home, complete with suggested picks. On weekdays, the bar is open for lunch, serving a simple menu of two $25 thalis: one vegetarian and one with butter chicken, rogan josh and goat curry. After work, though, the menu opens up to a longer list of drinking-optimised plates after-hours. You might find yourself tucking into flaky paratha bread with mango, chilli and 15-month comté, a lobster roll teamed with curry chips, or some sweet and spicy cauliflower. Scallop ceviche is done with lashings of coconut and chilli, and the tandoor oven pumps out serves of chicken, prawn and paneer. Or you can always settle in with the chef's selection menu for an easy $75 per person and free up more time to spend on that drinks list. Find Mrs Singh at 88 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. It's open 11.30am–2.30pm Monday–Friday for lunch, and 5–11pm Sunday–Wednesday and 5pm–1am Thursday–Saturday for dinner and drinks. The wine shop is open from 10.30am–11pm Monday–Wednesday, 10.30–1am Thursday andFriday, 4pm–1am Saturday and 4–11pm Sunday. Images: Peter Tarasiuk.
If you like your wild creatures as much as you like your wild wines, then do we have a Queen's Birthday weekend adventure for you. Healesville Sanctuary and Yarra Valley Icons are teaming up to host Wine and Wildlife, a three day mini-festival that lets you hang about in the Sanctuary grounds, sampling local drops and tasty treats, while zookeepers casually pass by with slithery, scaly and soft creatures in hand. The event will take over five spaces between 11am and 4pm each day between June 10 and 12. And, when you're not meeting wildlife, you'll be warming up beside open fires and checking out local musical talent. Plus, if you can get there on Saturday, you'll find a Four Pillars gin pop-up on the Tassie Devils boardwalk. The Wine and Wildlife experience, including tastings, is covered by any general admission ticket, which can be booked online in advance.
When you're Australia's oldest film festival and you screen hundreds of movies each and every year, how else do you keep standing out after notching up seven decades of cinema celebrations? If you're the Melbourne International Film Festival, you start your own major accolade. That was MIFF's approach in 2022, when it announced the new $140,000 Bright Horizons Award. Adding the gong to its lineup annually, the Victorian capital's major film fest has just revealed its 2023 winner: Senegalese-French love story Banel & Adama. When you're such a long-running event and you show so many flicks year in and year out, how do you highlight newcomers worth knowing about? That's the Bright Horizons Awards' remit. In 2023, 11 titles were chosen to compete again as part of the festival's full lineup, but only one could emerge victorious. That winner hit Melbourne fresh from playing in-competition at Cannes, and marks the feature debut of Franco-Senegalese writer/director Ramata-Toulaye Sy. Banel & Adama follows it titular characters (Khady Mane and Mamadou Diallo), who are happily in love in a rural village in Senegal's north. But when Adama shies away from being the future chief, their romance — which has already been complicated by Banel being married off to Adama's older brother Yero first — sparks repercussions. Sy cast her star-cross'd lovers-focused film not only with first-time actors, but with non-professionals hailing from the region she uses as her setting. She also shot her movie entirely in the Pulaar language, a variant of Fulah from the area. To take out the 2023 Bright Horizons Award, Banel & Adama competed against features such Australian efforts Shayda (MIFF's opening-night film) and The Rooster (starring Hugo Weaving, Love Me); 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner How to Have Sex, about three British teen girls on a boozy getaway; Earth Mama, an A24 release by Grammy-nominated music video veteran Savanah Leaf; and Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which follows a musical journey across the Vietnamese countryside. Also, Disco Boy stars German talent Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom) and Animalia explores an alien invasion in Morocco. Fellow contender Tótem, which spends a single day with a seven-year-old, earned a Special Jury Mention for Mexican actor-turned-director Lila Avilés (The Chambermaid). Picking Banel & Adama as the winner, and showing Tótem some love: co-jury presidents Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, who directed 2022's Bright Horizons-winner Neptune Frost; documentarian Alexandre O Philippe (Lynch/Oz, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist); former Cannes Camera d'Or-recipient Anthony Chen (Wet Season); and Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini (Yuni). Announcing their selections, the jury said that Banel & Adama "is a film that speaks directly to the times with a cinematic language and landscape that challenges and confronts while drawing you into its immense beauty. A mysterious and strong first film from a young filmmaker with bright horizons". And about Tótem, it advised that "the rich subtleties and nuance of this circular story draws us in and makes us a part of its family". The MIFF jury also gives out another of fest's prizes: the $70,000 Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award. Also first arriving in 2022, it recognises an outstanding Australian creative from one of the festival's movies, and can span span a large number of roles, including the winning flick's director, technical or creative lead, or other craft positions. This year's recipients: Soda Jerk for their latest clip-based satire Hello Dankness, which the jury called "a clear-eyed, sharply satirical take on one of America's most troubling chapters, transformative use of existing footage, and groundbreaking manipulation thereof". The winner of 2023's brand-new First Nations Film Creative Award was also unveiled at the festival's closing night, with directors Adrian Russell Wills and Gillian Moody winning for autobiographical documentary Kindred. And, scoring 2023's MIFF Audience Award: This Is Going to Be Big, about Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School in Bullengarook staging a John Farnham-themed musical. The 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival runs until Sunday, August 20 in-person, and until Sunday, August 27 via MIFF Play, the fest's online platform.
Everyone's favourite 'candy man' hit Aussie shores in January, with the smash-hit musical production of Charlie And the Chocolate Factory hitting the stage in Sydney. And now, it's Melbourne's turn, with the announcement that the show will do a season at Her Majesty's Theatre from this August. Roald Dahl's classic sugar-dusted tale is being brought to life in its Australian debut by a collaboration between theatre producers John Frost, Craig Donnell, Langley Park Productions, Neal Street Productions and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures. Following the worldwide popularity of both the original book and the 1971 Gene Wilder film of the same name, the musical has been confirmed a sweet success internationally, scoring rave reviews during its stint on Broadway last year and selling out a heap of shows in Sydney. With original songs like The Candy Man and I've Got a Golden Ticket featured alongside new tunes from the songwriters of Hairspray, this confection of a show promises to lure audiences of all ages into, shall we say, a land of pure imagination. It's directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, with music by Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Marc Shaiman, lyrics courtesy of Grammy and Tony Award winners Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, and choreography by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Sydney season will kick off on August 9, 2019, with performances running on Wednesday to Sunday. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, March 15 at charliethemusical.com.au. Top image: Joan Marcus, the original Broadway cast 2017.
A staple for Melbourne comedy lovers, Quick Bites Comedy is the go-to night for checking out some of the best local, interstate and international comedians around – and it's free. Taking turns in a rapid-fire night of laughs, each comic delivers five-to-seven minutes of their funniest material, guaranteeing an evening crammed full of both up-and-coming and established performers across a variety of acts, styles and topics. Personalities and writers from many of Australia's most-loved TV shows are regularly in attendance and you're bound to discover someone who cracks you up. Held on Monday evenings at popular late-night spot Boney, the Little Collins location is perfect for getting some belly laughs in at the start of the week, ensuring the rest of your working week is just a little bit easier.
In the United States, Deadpool is officially the second highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, coming in just behind The Passion of the Christ. It's a point made directly to the audience during one of Deadpool 2's many fourth-wall-shattering moments, at once justifying the movie's own existence and letting us know that it knows that sequels usually suck. This particular follow-up, however, is definitely one fans were clamouring for. And they'll be delighted to find it once again delivers an outlandish blend of deeply meta comedy and ultra-violent action. Returning to don the Deadpool mask/burn victim makeup is Canadian newcomer and former Corrs percussionist Ryan Reynolds, whose talent for switching between dry sarcasm and affecting sincerity makes him perhaps uniquely qualified to steer such an unconventional character and film. This time round his alter-ego Wade Wilson finds himself on the cusp of parenthood, only to have the chance tragically wrenched away during the film's unexpected opening scenes (a surprise neatly reflected in the James Bond-style titles sequence featuring credits such as: 'Written By: the real villains of this film' and 'Starring: someone who clearly doesn't like sharing the limelight'). Seeking redemption, Wade first tries (and fails) to join the X-Men Who Aren't Popular Enough To Be Official X-Men, before finding himself tasked with protecting a troubled orphan named Russell (Julian Dennison) from the time-travelling assassin Cable (Josh Brolin). On paper, at least, it's a fairly conventional plot for a franchise that altogether mocks convention – to say nothing of the fact it also largely mirrors the storyline from last year's critically-acclaimed and patently better Logan (starring the unforgettable Hugh Jackman). But Deadpool 2 navigates this issue by peppering its script with literally hundreds of in-jokes, 80s references and endless winks to the audience. Admittedly they don't all land, but as the Inuit saying goes: swing at every pitch and you'll at least hit a few out of the park. Alongside Reynolds are most of the original film's key cast members, including Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin and T.J. Miller. Opposite them, Marvel's current villain-du-jour Josh Brolin delivers the same reserved menace as Cable that he did as Infinity War's Thanos, albeit without the chin scars that make it look like he fell asleep on Roger Federer's racquet. Zazie Beetz of Atlanta fame also joins the team as the scene-stealing Domino, whose superpower is pizzas delivered fresh within 30 minutes or your money back, guaranteed. The challenge for director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, John Wick) is to make fun of comic-book movies while still delivering one worth watching. As an exercise in subversion Deadpool 2 doesn't quite achieve the same level of success as the first film, opting too often to undermine its genre staples by prefacing them with glib one-liners. More successful are the jokes that take place during those sequences, or – even better – the darker twists this film puts on them without an accompanying gag. At one point, for example, Deadpool blocks a gun shot with his hand, only to then slide his now-gaping wound along the barrel and turn it on its handler to shoot him in the head. It's the kind of shocking violence you'll never see in a conventional Marvel movie and yet perfectly conforms to this character's unique, twisted style of problem solving. Thankfully, there are more than enough examples of this kind of gory comedy to keep Deadpool 2 comfortably in the successful column, right down to the closing credits scenes that sit amongst the movie's funniest moments. It may not be the romcom we deserve, but it's the one we need right now, and it's definitely worth your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D86RtevtfrA
There's a Woi-wurrung phrase that we all ought to know: Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo, or "what is good for the Yarra is good for all." Those words guide the Birrarung Riverfest, a cultural and environmental showcase that has grown leaps and bounds since it launched three years ago. Now offering over 60 events spread across 23 days, these mostly free experiences are held along the entire stretch of the life-giving Birrarung, also known as the Yarra River. Running from Saturday, September 6–Sunday, September 28, there's no shortage of encounters that make the most of the Birrarung. Think platypus spotting and sunset paddles, upbeat live music and artist-led sensory walks. Plus, a host of family-friendly activities that bring everyone closer to nature. Presented by the Yarra Riverkeeper Association (YRKA), it's all about shaping a healthy, protected and loved river. In 2025, visitors are invited to attend numerous Wurundjeri-led events focused on First Nations knowledge and culture, like finding bush food and bush medicine at Collingwood Children's Farm. You can also plant habitat for critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater birds or gather for a morning stroll through Healesville's Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area. Plus, Birrarung Riverfest culminates with a massive party at Fed Square, featuring a boat floatilla, live music and cultural ceremonies. "After a cold Melbourne winter, Riverfest comes at the perfect time to spring us back to life," says Janet Bolitho, President of the YRKA. "From educational and cultural events to outdoor adventures, the Riverfest program has something for everyone".
The Virgin Australian Melbourne Fashion Festival returns this March for 19 days of whirlwind of fashion, art and creative endeavours. So where to start? First there are the runways — this year there will be seven premium shows featuring Australian talent like Romance Was Born, Christopher Esber and Dion Lee, as well as a special dedication to Camilla and Marc, a graduate showcase, several off-site runways and David Jones hosting the largest designer lineup at the Royal Exhibition Building. Next, there's the art, culture and ideas as VAMFF takes the festival off the catwalk with a film series, workshops, exhibits, live performances, styling sessions and even a fashion hub with a wine garden and sparkling bar. Event highlights include a screening of the best fashion films of the year, a guided tour of the VAMFF arts program and A Good Evening discussing how fashion can empower women. And, finally, there are the events where you can get your hands dirty: the shopping exclusives. Activations will pop up across this city with Myer's runway and VIP event, a full weekend dedicated to shopping and runways over in South Yarra and Prahran, plus the option to shop the runways instantly from VAMFF's website. VAMFF runs from Wednesday, March 1 to Sunday, March 19. Tickets are on sale now — you can explore all the festival events and snag tickets here.
Summer may be over, but that's no reason to stop having pool parties. And Melbourne's Pool Deck, located atop Rydges in Carlton, is ringing in autumn with a poolside Sunday session. On Sunday, March 4 the rooftop venue will be open for six hours of drinks, eats and beats. From 3pm, you'll be able to sip on frosé, Aperol spritzes and summer lagers and snack on hearty eats — including a whole pig on a spit, popcorn cauliflower and spicy chicken ribs — while floating in the sun-kissed pool. Meanwhile, a host of local DJs will be on the decks, spinning hip-hop and RnB as the sun goes down. Tickets, go one of two ways: $10 or $89. Ten dollars is standard entry (and includes two free drinks) and $89 per person will get you the five-hour VIP catering package. For a minimum of five people, it includes bottomless spritzes, frosé, lager and snacks to keep you going all day.
Since 2016, Bruce Munro's spectacular Field of Light has been illuminating Uluru, giving the already-stunning Northern Territory sight an ocean of colour via 50,000 glass lights spread across a 62,500-square-metre area. The glowing multi-hued installation unsurprisingly proved popular, and instantly, first getting extended until 2020 and then being locked in indefinitely — and now the Red Centre is scoring Light-Towers, another dazzling work by the acclaimed artist. Add Light-Towers to your must-see list, and make a date with Kings Canyon to bathe in its radiance. Up and shining since April 2023, it's part of Discovery Resorts, and turns both light and sound into an immersive piece. Like Field of Light, it's also sticking around permanently. This time, Munro has constructed a heap of two-metre towers that change colour, swapping their tones in response to music that echoes from inside each structure. There's a whopping 69 towers spread across a circular pattern, all with Kings Canyon as a backdrop — giving visitors quite the visual and aural experience. Light-Towers' soundscape hails from Orlando Gough, while the work helps mark 40 years since Munro's first visit to the Red Centre. If you're keen to drop by, you can pick between three different types of sessions spanning sunrise, sunset and evening. The first two feature a local guide hosting your visit, plus a food and beverage package. For those attending by night, the Luritja Lookout will have somewhere for you to eat and drink before and after you peer at Munro's latest luminous expanse. The British-born Munro first came up with the idea for Field of Light while visiting Uluru back in 1992. When that artwork was earmarked to become one of the area's ongoing feature, he said that he is "truly honoured that the Field of Light will remain at Uluru". He continued, "the ancient landscape of the Red Centre continues to inspire my thoughts, feelings and ideas that shape my life and work." Since then, Munro has displayed large-scale installations in Darwin and in Albany in Western Australia, and has two more pieces on their way to the New South Wales–Victorian border from late 2023. Find Light-Towers at Discovery Resorts – Kings Canyon, Luritja Road, Petermann, Northern Territory — and head to the resort company's website for bookings and further details. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
For almost a decade, it's boasted one of the most unique locations of any Melbourne bar, nestled between footpath and river, halfway along the Evan Walker Bridge. And soon, Ponyfish Island will have a sleek new look befitting that quirky address, as it undergoes a dramatic makeover. While the venue is closed under COVID-19 restrictions, Owners Jerome Borazio (Laneway Festival, Back Alley Sally's), DJ Grant Smillie (Melbourne City Brewing Co, and LA's EP & LP) and Andrew Mackinnon (from marketing communication agency The Taboo Group) have kicked off a hefty raft of renovations that'll see it transformed into a chic over-water drinking destination. Adelaide's Studio Gram (whose work includes the likes of Africola and Surry Hills' Hotel Harry) is heading up a total overhaul of the space, reimagining every last corner but for the original frame of the bar. When doors open in late spring, expect a refined mix of colours, textures and curves, with additional lounge areas, new lighting, and Palm Springs-inspired custom-made shades. The front sculpture has also been given the boot, leaving room for extra seating and a bigger kitchen. Putting the latter to good use, a revamped food and drink offering is also in the works. A seafood-centric menu will feature dishes like a prawn roll, matched by crafty cocktails including a barrel-aged rum negroni. It seems the beer-line gods have also smiled down from above and the bar's set to feature draught beer for the first time ever. Ponyfish Island's makeover plans have actually been in the works for a good five years. Though, with that location in the middle of the Yarra proving challenging even for day-to-day bar operations, you can only imagine the headaches in store for any full-blown construction. Powering appliances have the potential to black-out half of nearby Southbank, flooding is all too common, and someone has to lug the entire ice supply in by hand. During the rebuild, demolition required a barge to be sent in via the river, while the current City of Melbourne works on the footbridge above have presented hurdles of their own. Ponyfish Island is slated to reopen by the end of November 2020, in time for its tenth birthday celebrations in December. We'll keep you posted with more details closer to the launch.
Gather your friends and make tracks to your favourite local green space this summer. With weather this fine, it makes sense to enjoy lunch al fresco. And you don't need to spend hours in the kitchen preparing, either — Melbourne's retail scene offers opportunity a-plenty. Curate your own gourmet picnic hampers from scratch, or, pay someone to do it for you. Here's our guide to the what's what of Melbourne's picnic-packing scene. CURED MEATS, MEATSMITH Meatsmith prides itself on sourcing the highest quality meat from dedicated, ethical farmers and specialises in skilled butchery and on-site dry-aging. The selection is what you'd expect from restaurant stalwart Andrew McConnell and butcher Troy Wheeler, whose shared insight ensures consistent quality and lots of options. Cured meats and charcuterie marry well with a wide selection of pantry items, including chutneys, relishes, sauces, olives and pickled goods. Pair some slices of wagyu pastrami and a pot of pork rillette with some house-made chermoula or sriracha, for example. Guests can also browse the wine selection, thoughtfully chosen by Leanne Altmann, sommelier and wine buyer for McConnell's Supernormal. Meatsmith has stores in Fitzroy and St Kilda. CHEESE, THE CHEESE SHOP DELI This South Yarra staple sits pretty within Prahran Market, serving a hearty selection of cheese from all over the world, as well as an impressive local assortment. The Il Forteto, a Tuscan pecorino stuffed with shaved truffle, is a best-seller, while the washed-rind L'Artisan Mountain Man raises the flag for local Victorian produce. If you like a side of conversation with your cheese, you won't be disappointed. Angelo and Diane Polidoras prefer to serve with a smile and are on a first name basis with many of their clientele — "don't brie a stranger", they say. BOOZE, BLACKHEARTS & SPARROWS Food and drink are a social experience in as much as they are a sensory pleasure, and nothing completes a warm afternoon more than a tipple with your close friends. Blackhearts & Sparrows calls itself a "purveyor of unique wine, beer and cider" and was established on the understanding that quality booze shouldn't be intimidating or overpriced. The independent chain now boasts seven stores across Melbourne (Brunswick, East Brunswick, Fitzroy, North Fitzroy, Kensington, Richmond and Windsor), each showcasing weird and wonderful alcoholic produce from local and international makers. THE TRIMMINGS, VARIOUS FARMERS MARKETS Dive headfirst into a world of local produce and pack your picnic with items from some of Victoria's finest farms. There are plenty of farmers' markets across Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs — Carlton, Hawthorn, Abbotsford, St Kilda to name a few. Enjoy fresh fruit and juices, seasonal veggies, fresh bread, artisanal jams and preserves, and sometimes even alcohol. THE WHOLE SHEBANG, THE STABLES OF COMO Settle yourself in the picturesque gardens of Como House and get stuck into a pre-prepared picnic, courtesy of The Stables. For $60 per person, your can enjoy a picnic hamper with all the trimmings — we're talking pastries and quiches, fried chicken, vegetable salads and desserts (and cotton candy). They'll also include picnic rugs, crockery and blankets. For an additional $40, they'll even throw in a bottle of house wine. We'll drink to that. ALL-IN-ONE, FITZROVIA The good folk at St Kilda's Fitzrovia are specialists in the picnic business. If you're pushed for time and can't curate your own hamper, sit back and let Fitzrovia prepare and pack the perfect picnic for you. They'll build a five course gourmet grazing lunch that showcasing items from the current Fitzrovia menu — enjoy pastries, sandwiches, salads, cheese and sweets without a hint of stress. Your hamper will also come equipped with cutlery, crockery, napkins and glassware, as well as soft drinks and sparkling water. All you have to do is return the basket the following day. Hampers cost $150 (enough for two hungry people) and it's suggested you order 24 hours in advance.
Everyone should know where their local florist is. And if you're a bayside resident, Elwood Flowers is it. The expert team behind this cute Elwood shop (FKA The Leaf Florist) can put together gorgeous arrangements and installations for any occasion, or help you pick out a fresh, seasonal bunch for your dining table centrepiece. The store also sells a number of flower-adjacent products ideal for gifts and Treat Yourself Days, including indoor plants, terrariums, ceramics, vases, candles and indoor plant care products from the Plant Runner. It does have an easy online store and delivery service, but stopping to smell the roses is half the fun of it. Images: Tracey Ah-kee.
Guillermo Del Toro's original Pacific Rim knew exactly what it was: a modern day creature feature starring giant robots beating the living crap out of even bigger monsters. Everything the movie did, from the characters' backstories to the wacky scientists and even the burgeoning romance, was all there to serve a sole purpose: get us to the next massive monster bash. The entire exercise was big, silly and frequently confusing, but in the end it was all forgivable because Pacific Rim delivered the film it said it would. The sequel, by contrast, made the fatal error of having hardly any robot vs. monster fisticuffs, and – to put things bluntly – it sucked. Sadly, cinemas latest creature feature, The Meg, makes a similar mistake, proving about as big a disappointment as the shark you barely get to see. The setup, as far as sharksploitation films go, is actually pretty solid. A deep sea research project named Mana One discovers the Mariana Trench is actually deeper than first thought, with a dense cloud of hydrogen-sulfide masking a deeper world that's remained untouched since the Jurassic period. It's here the scientists both discover and then accidentally release the proverbial Meg (short for Megalodon), setting the giant shark upon a course of murderous destruction as it explores the oceans above. And wouldn't that have been great to watch! Sadly the film chooses to tell rather than show, mostly sending its cast to survey the aftermath of the Meg's mayhem rather than really showing the toothy beast in action. Much of the fault lies in decision to go for a family (and censor) friendly rating that strips the movie of almost all its gore. Truly, there's more bloody violence in a lamb ad then The Meg, robbing it of any sense of gruesome fun. In the lead human role, action man and former professional diver Jason Statham plays a deep sea rescue expert reluctantly drawn back into the world that abandoned him after a deadly incident some years prior. He's grizzled, cynical and a heavy beer drinker, yet still somehow more ripped than a carcass after a shark attack – not that The Meg would show that kind of thing. Statham, like Dwayne Johnson, is a delight to watch on screen, at once committed to his performance yet unmistakably aware of how ridiculous this movie is. Even he, though, feels underutilised in this film, relegated to delivering bad cliches in even more derivative scenarios. His co-stars don't fare much better, with the likes of Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson and Chinese superstar Li Bingbing all trudging their way through this cheesy affair. In all, there's just not enough Meg in The Meg to justify the price of admission, let alone the title. It's not good enough to be a good film, but also not bad enough to be so bad it's good. Frankly, if it's schlock you're after, you'd be far better served by genuine B-movies like Sharknado. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGYXExfKhmo
Every year, the Japanese Film Festival, presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney, takes over cinema screens across Australia. But, thanks to the global pandemic, the annual cinematic event will look a little different this time around, returning for its 24th year as a digital festival called JFF Plus. So, warm up the popcorn and get ready for ten days of Japanese flicks that you can catch from the comfort of your couch. If there's one thing that Japanese cinema is known for, it's variety. So, expect everything from heartfelt anime to time travel adventures and geisha-inspired musical comedies. Overall, there'll be more than 25 films in this year's online program, covering feature-length flicks, documentaries and shorts, with a mix of new titles and cult classics. Highlights include quirky rom-com Tremble All You Want, family drama One Night, a documentary on the on the world-famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo and legendary director Yasujirō Ozu's 1952 film The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice. Oh and did we mention it's free? [caption id="attachment_788623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Tsukiji Wonderland', 2016 Shochiku Co., Ltd.[/caption] To check out the full program, head to the Japanese Film Festival website. Top images: 'One Night', 2019 'One Night' Film partners; 'The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice', 1952/2017 Shochiku Co., Ltd.; and 'Tremble All You Want', 2017 'Tremble All You Want' Production Committee.
It has been a busy year for Russian incompetence, on-screen at least. After Chernobyl so blisteringly explored 1986's devastating nuclear reactor explosion and its widespread fallout, Kursk jumps forward to 2000's submarine disaster, where 118 sailors lost their lives during the sinking of a nuclear-powered vessel. The arrival of both the HBO mini-series and now this film in such short succession is a clear sign of the times — as Russia's influence, especially of the covert kind, continues to loom over world affairs, interrogating the country's high-profile misfortunes is hardly an unexpected trend. Today's filmmakers can't force certain parties in power to take Russian election meddling seriously, but they can examine how the world's largest nation by area has dealt with its own catastrophes. Kursk, like Chernobyl, doesn't provide a flattering portrait. In August 2000, as part of the first major Russian naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union, Oscar-class K-141 submarine Kursk descended into the ocean's depths. Although it was merely participating in training, it carried live combat weapons, including practice torpedoes — and when one exploded onboard, it set off a chain reaction that would strand the vessel at the bottom of the Barents Sea. Those who survived the initial blast were stuck waiting. First, they waited for Russian authorities to realise what had happened, which took hours. Then, as water seeped in, and supplies and oxygen dwindled, they bided their time as repeated rescue efforts floundered. Ever-protective of their military technology, and just as determined to assert that they could take care of the problem themselves, the Russian Navy even refused international assistance, making the trapped men wait longer still. That's how Thomas Vinterberg tells the tale of the Kursk, with the Danish filmmaker teaming up with Saving Private Ryan screenwriter Robert Rodat to adapt Robert Moore's non-fiction book A Time to Die. For the sake of heightened drama, some facts and timelines have been massaged, however the overall premise — that a Russian submarine sank, the country was poorly equipped to handle it and people paid with their lives — remains. So too does the notion of a nation more concerned with perception than its population; one in which citizens are expected to prove their unflinching patriotism by paying the ultimate price, but where the government won't dare risk its reputation to save them in return. Understandably, this damning truth lingers over every moment of Kursk, making an already sombre story even more so. Indeed, it's as evident on-screen as the grey colour scheme, the oppressive pressure felt in the movie's submarine scenes, and the use of different aspect ratios to send an emotional message. While he's working with a budget far beyond anything he might've dreamed of, or wanted, back when he co-founded the fiercely independent Dogme 95 cinema movement with Lars von Trier, Vinterberg is in comfortable thematic territory. Boasting a resume littered with moral quandaries, including the recent The Hunt and Far from the Madding Crowd, the writer-director has always been a keen observer of folks in a bind. That's what captain-lieutenant Mikhail Averin (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his men find themselves in, to put it mildly, as the clock ticks down and the end we all know is coming inches closer. Meanwhile, Mikhail's wife Tanya (Léa Seydoux) fights for both action and answers back above sea level, numerous admirals (Max von Sydow and Peter Simonischek, primarily) either toe or flout the government line, and offers of British help by Commodore David Russell (Colin Firth) keep falling on stubborn ears. Kursk doesn't spend enough time with any one person to be called a character study, and its broad scope necessitates more than a few shortcuts and cliches. When the movie opens with the sound of gasping breaths, only to show Mikhail timing how long his pre-teen son Misha (Artemiy Spiridonov) can stay underwater in the bathtub, it's an obvious move, for example. Still, in serving up an overview of the disaster's affected parties, and cycling between them as they endeavour to weather the horrific situation, Vinterberg's film is never less than compelling and heartbreaking. While his cast helps considerably, especially Schoenaerts and Seydoux, the director paints a powerful picture of tragedy, courage and (on the part of the Russian officials) sheer arrogance. This is a story of sailors scrambling to wade through life-or-death terror, of their loved ones refusing to kowtow to the authorities, and of the conflict bubbling beneath the rescue attempts — and it's as moving and gripping as the real-life scenario and the men lost to it demands.
The pooches of Melbourne will be on parade at this returning festival for our furriest of friends. On Sunday, May 25, Barkly Square in Brunswick will play host to the fourth Barkly Barks Dog Festival, complete with a doggy mini market, dog-friendly beers, professional trainers and more. The festival will cater to dogs of all shapes and sizes, with tons of activities for participants on both two legs and four. You can buy your pet a treat from Canine Wellness Kitchen, Melbourne's dog-friendly food truck; get some costumed pooch snaps and give your doggo a 'pupparazzi' moment; or take your pup to meet a different kind of canine: a real Aussie dingo. But the main event is the dog parade, where gongs will be given out in a whole range of categories, including most obedient, fastest floof, best costume, and dog and owner lookalike. Not sure we'd want to win that one, even if there are prizes up for grabs. Barkly Barks Dog Festival runs from 10am–3pm. Images: Brent Edwards.
The sonic cinema lovers at Hear My Eyes present a mash-up of incredible short film along with an original soundtrack to match. Taking over the Melbourne Fringe Hub on the night of Wednesday, September 28, Form as Vibration will see Melbourne musos Emma Russack and Errol Green provide the aural accompaniment to a pair of shorts, Migration and Yul and the Snake from America and France respectively. Joining them on the night will be Lucas Skinner from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, who'll present a two-hour set from his personal vinyl collection. In the words of the programmers, films will never sound the same.
