Antenna Documentary Film Festival 2016

Overview

Even the most adventurous of foodies have their limits, don't they? New documentary Bugs aims to put that idea to the test — and to make audiences squirm in the process. You don't make a film about two researchers from René Redzepi's experimental Nordic Food Lab exploring the culinary value and environmental benefits of eating insects without causing a reaction, after all.

The eye-opening doco is one of 12 titles set to screen at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival from October 11 to 16 in Sydney . Regardless of how experimental your eating habits are, the flicks unveiled should whet the appetite of factual cinema fans thanks to a wealth of thought-provoking content.

When the fest isn't trying to get viewers pondering their next meal, it'll be inspiring discussions about everything from a ladies man living with HIV to the impact of nuclear waste in a small Russian town. The former comes courtesy of moving opening night film The Charro of Toluquilla, while the latter informs documentary City 40, which examines the people trying to survive in one of the most contaminated places on earth. And for a change of pace, anyone keen on an Italian holiday without the cost of an airfare should put Rome-set road movie A Present from the Past on their must-see list.

Aussie effort A Mother and A Gun, which has its world premiere at the festival, is also certain to get attendees talking as it explores the life of Shelly Rubin, the woman who fell in love with the leader of the Jewish Defense League. Elsewhere, environmental effort The Islands and the Whales, a tribute screening of Abbas Kiarostami's Close Up, and the latest chronicle of Bobby Sands and his famous hunger strike — as previously brought to the screen in Steve McQueen-Michael Fassbender collaboration Hunger — also feature among Antenna's list of films. The fest's 2016 lineup looks as varied as it is interesting.

Images: Lloyd Dirks, Tom Truong.