Uncensored

Overview

Time-travelling DeLoreans and phone booths may be pure fiction, sadly, but jumping back to the past is still possible right now at Powerhouse Museum. If you're a fan of 80s and 90s rock, the Ultimo venue has two events whisking you off to that very era — an exhibition and a corresponding film program.

At Unpopular, attendees can peruse behind-the-scenes images, footage and items from the 90s alternative scene, which means revelling in bands like Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Fugazi, Pavement and The Lemonheads. That's on display until June 2023; however, movie lineup Uncensored is here for a good time, not a long time, from Friday, December 2–Sunday, December 4.

Across three nights, the Powerhouse is screening six films as part of a ticketed lineup — and peering into the 80s as well as the 90s. Kicking things off at 6pm on the Friday is Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr, about the east coast American band, with The Man From Mo'Wax, which focuses on James Lavelle and his pioneering record label, also playing at 8pm.

If Saturday suits your diary better, 2013's Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust is a must-see at 6pm, no matter how much you already know about the Aussie group. It's paired at 8pm with Instrument, the product of filmmaker Jem Cohen collaborating with Fugazi from 1987–1996.

Then, on Sunday, Montage of Heck leads the bill at 2pm. Before Brett Morgen made this year's stunning David Bowie doco Moonage Daydream, this Kurt Cobain-focused film wowed music fans as well. And, on a grunge-filled afternoon, 90s lovers can then watch I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney at 5pm.

Tickets cost $20 per movie, with discounts on offer for booking sessions to multiple movies — and your purchase includes a late-night session at the exhibition. Knowing what you'll be listening to afterwards, or even now after reading this, is free.

Top image: Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015). Dir. Brett Morgen.