Young at Heart Film Festival

Overview

You don't have to be part of the blue rinse brigade to take part in NSW Seniors Week. Really. You can just rock on over to Dendy Opera Quays and catch up on some classic cinema and a couple of contemporary gems.

Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936) kicks off the program, and it's a must see for any film fan. This is followed by The Boot Cake (2008), a wonderful Australian documentary that looks at Chaplin's prevailing influence and inspiration on a small Indian village (filmmaker Kathryn Millard will be present for a Q&A).

More Australian films are screening in the 'Tough Sheilas' section. Noni Hazlehurst gets feisty in the titular role as single mum Fran (1985), while Helen Morse takes the lead in Caddie (1976), alongside Jack Thompson and Jackie Weaver, in a compelling portrait of a woman struggling for independence in Depression-era Australia. Another female-focused Donald Crombie film, The Killing of Angel Street (1981) is also screening, with the director taking part in Q&As for both films.

Other old favourites include a focus on Vincente Minnelli with the Judy Garland classic Meet Me In St Louis (1944) and Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon (1953), while music fans can also delight in the 1970 documentary Elvis: That's the Way It Is.

Finally, two films that capture what it is to be young at heart. In an Australian premiere screening, Ms. Senior Sweetheart (2009) is a delightful documentary that follows three energetic retirees taking part in a beauty pageant. And the festival will close with an advance screening of The Last Station (2009), the Academy Award–nominated look at the life of revered novelist Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his 50-year marriage to the spirited Countess Sofya (Helen Mirren).

Tickets are selling fast, so take a look at the full program and prepare to be entertained by your elders.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bTh-vQho7UU