Antenna Documentary Film Festival 2019

Overview

Heading to the cinema is usually an act of escapism, but the Antenna Documentary Film Festival isn't avoiding life's woes. The Sydney-based event dedicates its 11-day, 50-movie program to true tales from around the world. Running from Thursday, October 17 to Sunday, October 27 at the Chauvel Cinema, Palace Verona and Parramatta's Riverside Theatre, the fest casts its eyes far and wide to relay stunning stories that couldn't be more real.

You won't find CGI fantasies and simple accounts of good versus evil here, but what you will discover is a plethora of thought-provoking efforts. Antenna's 2019 program surveys everything from politics, history, war and fashion to artificial intelligence, citizen journalism, the textile industry and immigration. After kicking off with the latest documentary from inimitable German filmmaker Werner Herzog — Nomad: In The Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, which is partly set in Australia — the fest's lineup also spends time with two dogs hanging out in a skate park in Santiago in the adorable Los Reyes, and heads to an empowering Aussie rock camp in No Time for Quiet.

Also look out for Hi, AI, about the growing use of artificial intelligence in daily life (in both functional and creepy ways); The Rest, Ai Weiwei's latest powerful documentary about the global immigration crisis; and Jawline, about a Tennessee teen who just wants to be an Instagram influencer. Elsewhere, The Hottest August explores the timely topic of climate change; Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project tells the tale of a woman who recorded American TV channels, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for more than 30 years; and the fest also pays tribute to pioneering filmmaker Shirley Clark via a retrospective of three of her films.