Cockatoo Island Film Festival 2012

Overview

So you've enjoyed movies in drive-ins and mystery locations? Well, what about movies on an island? And if you so desire, you can even camp there. Woah, that's in-tents!

Ferry yourself over to the first ever Cockatoo Island Film Festival between October 24-28. This tasty festivity comprises compelling films, chatworthy panels, a bunch of speakers (all the big wigs of the screen industry), and free Adobe wizardry workshops — all packed into the largest international film program in Australia.

With a whopping 200 local and international features, documentaries, and short films, there are too many highlights to detail here. The opening night film, The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, looks a good bet, having attracted a lot of attention already for drawing inspiration from the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) plays a World War II veteran struggling with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder who meets charismatic religious leader Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Next stop: Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, a throwback to his short film in the 1980s that has been turned into a 3D black-and-white stop-motion comedy horror feature. It's all about a morbid little boy, Victor, who decides to play Frankenstein and bring his canine pal, Sparky, back to life via a kooky science experiment. Don't try this at home, kids.

For the sexmantics, The Sessions, directed by Australian Ben Lewin and winner of the Audience Award at this year's Sundance, tells the story of Mark (John Hawkes), a poet who is paralysed from the neck down and has spent most of his life in an iron lung. At the age of 36, he decides he would like to finally lose his virginity. Through seeking advice from his therapist and his priest, he discovers Cheryl (Helen Hunt), a super-sweet soccer mum who happens to be a professional sex surrogate.

A must-see for kids and kiddults alike: Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, the latest from Morgan Spurlock. Originally a niche comic book convention, Comic-Con is now the sci-fi, pop culture event of the year with over 140,000 attendees. The doco even features special appearances by Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Seth Rogen, and Eli Roth.

To the nifty-minded individuals who can simultaneously eat popcorn and think about their career, check out the insider knowledge sessions with international B-movie extraordinaire Larry Cohen and the creative duo behind the Bondi Hipsters, Christiaan Van Vuuren and Nicholas Boshier. Yes, those guys are actually Internet famous now.

Remember that camping mention? You can go BYO, stay in a pre-fab tent, or go nuts with the glamping package (including a sunbaking chair). If it's a portmanteau, it's got to be good.

The main ferry service departure point is King St Wharf down at Darling Harbour. There are a few suburban harbourside wharves as well, so check out the old faithful 131500.com.au. Swimming there out of sheer enthusiasm is understandable but not condoned.