Before talkies came on the scene in the 1920s imagine how much work watching a movie was? Granted silent films were only under 10 minutes long, but still, all that reading. What a revelation sound and dialogue must have been. In the new exhibition Talking Pictures at Artspace, curator Melanie Oliver explores that very development and what it means for the narrative structure of film. Bringing together artists from Australia and across the pond in New Zealand, this exhibition comments on "contemporary issues through reconsidering the past". Fits & Holderness, a New Zealand duo known for their immersive performance works and for investigating unsolved disappearances, together with Louise Menzies, also from New Zealand and recognised for a strong conceptual focus in her work, and Australian sculptors and installation artists Nicholas Mangan and Sean Rafferty present their stories "through simple gestures and the collation of materials, referencing particular aspects and conventions of film, such as crime reporting, French New Wave or the road movie genre". Always one for presenting a whole exhibition experience, Artspace will hold a panel discussion and film screenings to accompany Talking Pictures. Free film screenings Saturdays 23 and 30 April and 7 and 21 May, and a critical reading discussion Saturday 14 May. Image: Sean Rafferty
We have friends with amusing names like Yellow Giant, Supernova, Brown Dwarf and Stella Black Hole. They problem is they don’t know we exist. So we must yell until they hear us. Six thousand fixed luminous points in the night sky are visible to the naked eye, but there are more than a hundred billion stars in our galaxy, which is of course but one of billions of known galaxies. So we must yell kinda loud. We’ve been trying since the 1970s. Emblems of our existence like I Love Lucy episodes, greetings in ancient Sumerian and whale, complex mathematical equations and soft porn (apparently) have been sent deep into space, but we’re still waiting to hear back. Australia’s first interstellar message offered to the stars was a funny, sad and intimate monologue that was filmed at Next Wave in Melbourne in 2008, sent to the Deep Space Communications Network in Florida, USA, converted into radio waves and transmitted light-years away. But, we’re still waiting to hear back. This month Performance Space and Ampersand Magazine are launching the Yelling At Stars DVD with the writer, director and performer Willoh S. Weiland discussing the project then and now, so that maybe together we can figure out what is taking our friends so damn long. Image: glowing hydrogen gas with small amounts of other elements like oxygen and sulfur, taken by NASA's Hubble in M17, a hotbed of star formation.
Passion Pit are funky. I know it’s the daggiest word in the dictionary, but has anyone every invented a decent alternative? Passion Pit are funky like John Travolta, funky like the Sugarhill Gang, funky like Jamiroquai. Shall I say it one more time? Funky. These five bearded boys from Boston met each other at music college in 2007, formed a band and named themselves after what is Hollywood slang for a drive-in cinema, a passion pit — i.e., a place where teenagers go to get it on. Their second album, Manners, consists of starry disco-pop bursting with happy-mad lyrics such as "Let this be our little secret/ No-one needs to know we're feeling/ Higher and higher and higher/ Higher and higher and higher" (cue choir of kids singing and repeating “higher”). Each track is impeccably produced; you can’t help but wonder if these guys might have beaten MGMT and Empire of the Sun to the electro-pop punch if they had released Manners 12 months sooner, but, on the plus side, at least they haven’t been exhausted beyond Triple J airplay. This is one band that sound like they are always having a party — and everyone is invited. Join them for a jungle boogie at their Splendour sideshow at the Forum on August 2. Tickets on sale Friday, May 14.
The good, the bad and the alluringly ugly are all currently on show at the Justice & Police Museum, rather good timing for an exhibition about Sydney's underworld, given the current Underbelly fever in the air. Despite the fact that Kings Cross seems more like a golden mile of bile these days when I'm walking to and from home, its history within the criminal side of Sydney remains illicitly interesting. Between the 1940s and 80s, Sydney teemed with teamsters, backdoor dealings and more bad cops than good (no comment on their ugliness, though for fear of midnight retribution). Gamblers, bookies and prostitutes went to work, cloaked by blind eyes being turned the city over. Sin City, the latest exhibition from the Historic Houses Trust delves into this time period, picking through fragments of good times and ugly truths through interviews, objects and an incredibly comprehensive archive of footage and news reports. By examining the corruption so deeply embedded in our city's heritage, it's hard not to ask whether this exhibition will be updated in a few decade's time.
Why does dance enthrall so many people? We throw shapes in clubs, on television, in our living room, off the top of buildings, on stages and even in the streets. Many cultures treat dance as a religious engagement; the moving form becomes Other, opening a doorway to an extended universe through all the sweat and heaving muscles. What is it that links all dance and movement, no matter the who/what/where/when/why/how? At the centre of all dance and humanity is a single constant: a beating heart. Living is dancing. Held biennially, the ReelDance International Dance on Screen Festival summons the best of dance and film from around the world. This year's offering is an inspiring mix of global dance, including the homegrown wizardry of Daniel Askill, Eve Sussman's sumptuous fable of modern decadence and a retrospective of UK visionary Shelly Love. Also on the schedule is an exploration of 'Vogue', seeking out this dance spirit both in Harlem's queer scene and Madonna's early career, and a series of shorts inspired by the theme of 'Space'. Do not miss this chance to synch heartbeats with the rest of the world — the next one'll be in 2012 and, if the Mayans are right, that may be too late. Image by Shelly Love. Video by Daniel Askill. https://youtube.com/watch?v=SHslQ3JVJ7U
As with most of Michael Haneke's films, a chill hangs in the air of The White Ribbon, the constant threat of upheaval eventually lulling you into a tired state of alertness. Narrated by a fumbling but sympathetic school teacher, it is the story of a fictional German village over the course of a year stemming between 1913 and 1914. Though hardly mentioned, the imminence of World War I pervades the film as it displays the life and society of the townsfolk and the brooding severity that underpins their lives. For all its anthropological concern captured beautifully in crisp black and white, there is mystery and terror, too. Strange things are afoot in the village, both accidental and intended. A wire is stretched between two trees to cause harm to the doctor and the baron's cabbages are willfully destroyed following a tragedy at the sawmill. We see the cycle of ill treatment, resentment and revenge amongs all levels of the small society, with a focus on the children of the village, two of whom are made to wear white ribbons by their pastor father, a sign of lost innocence. The White Ribbon is a step outside of Haneke's recent explorations into reactionary viewer experiments (Funny Games, Caché), but still manages to put forth questions of terrorism, trust and personal war. It's not all dark days, however; love does blossom among the bonnets in some of the film's finest scenes. The winner of the 2009 Cannes Palme d'Or, it's a tightly controlled film that requires a second viewing after the dust settles. To win one of ten double passes to see The White Ribbon, email your name and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=JUj9gDtA9HQ
One of my favourite TED talks is by Susan Blackmore, in which she discussed the concept of memes (self-replicating cultural entities) and her prediction of a new type of entity called the 'teme' — replicating technology (think iPods and mobile phones). It left a lasting impression on me — that by living we are indirectly affecting the existence and propagation of countless ideas and objects. This idea is strongly illustrated in Chunky Move's Mortal Engine, a stunning dance piece that includes technology as one of the performers. Using the latest in digital projection and sound generation, Mortal Engine promises to never be the same show twice; the music and visuals respond in real time to the movements of the dancers, creating a stunning experience. Beautiful human forms are shadowed and highlighted by laser light, and oscillating sound waves pick up even the slightest movements to create a moving score. If Blackmore's temes are a reality, then Mortal Engine is a vision of our harmonious marriage with technology. Let's hope that Chunky Move are right. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sbjOMualLVs
You may not know the title of her last album, or the words to her latest song. She's never really been BFFs with the charts and doesn't have her own reality TV show. But you undoubtedly know her voice — her sultry, haunting, faraway voice. Lilting tenderly through lyric and note, Hope Sandoval sings as if she's only half woken from a dream, her voice a distant echo from another world. Best known for her days as the frontwoman of laidback, post-psychedelic band Mazzy Star, who wore the 90s like a fluffy bathrobe — or for her subsequent collaborations with other prolific players of the era like the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Death in Vegas. But it was her later merging with former My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Siosoig to form Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions that really saw her come into her own as an independent artist. In 2001, Sandoval released her first solo album Bavarian Fruit Bread, followed by last year's long-awaited Through the Devil Softly, which beautifully combines Sandoval's hazy, melancholy vocals with delicate, pared-back instrumentation. This year, accompanied by O'Siosoig, the Dirty Three's guitarist Mick Turner and the Laughing Clown's Jeffery Wegener, Sandoval is set to tour Australia, playing single shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 30. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kCXdnHa508M
If you were born before 1990, a well-spun "the first time I saw Powderfinger" story holds nearly the same cachet as a "the first time I did it" story. In the 20 years since their beginnings as a university band in Brisbane, the 'finger has, ahem, touched most of us in some way, shape or form. This uncanny ability to induce nostalgia was magnified thousandfold when, earlier this month, the band announced Golden Rule would be their last studio album, and, likewise, the upcoming Sunsets tour the final Powderfinger tour ever. The numbers have been written up countless times since the tour announcement, so it feels stale to print them again; suffice to say, Powderfinger are one of the biggest rock bands this country has ever seen. They've sold oodles of records, and performed in front of many more people than that. They've been adored, at some point or another, by everyone from bespectacled kids wearing cons (circa 1995) to ute-toting dads. They are, like or lump, an institution, and because of this Sunsets will be more than just a one final hurrah; it will be the rock tour equivalent of hanging around 'til last drinks with your very best mates from high school and staying up to watch the sun rise. The Sunsets tour will take in at least 21 capital and regional cities. To help celebrate, Jet and the Vines have been invited on the road as supports. After selling out two Sydney shows, a third has been added at Acer Arena. Tickets go on sale Monday, May 17, at 9am. https://youtube.com/watch?v=J7bXSbIJ7sk
Now this is what school should have been like. Once a fanciful adolescent who would have preferred to lick chalk off the blackboard than sit through economics lectures, I learnt more about the Western financial system in just under two hours from this neatly executed play than I did from years of the BBC news, lectures from dad and dating bankers. This is a play that’s not really a play at all, but rather an instructive dialogue between characters based on prominent financial figures, written in 2009 as a response to the GFC for the benefit and greater understanding of the audience. In The Power of Yes, myself and others like me (folks whose understanding of finance extends as far as remembering a PIN), are represented on stage by a character based on the playwright himself, David Hare. Drawing on countless interviews with the big wigs of the finance world, The Power of Yes is Hare’s attempt at aiding us all in nutting out our fatally flawed, smoke-and-mirrors monetary system and how the economic landslide of 2008 came to pass. The stage, replete with hundreds of metaphoric deflated balloons, acts as an arena for each suited player to put forward their piece of the puzzle. Dating back to the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Myron Scholes in 1973 up to the recent dodgy undertakings of Bernie Madoff, Hare’s characters peel through the layers of convoluted jargon to expose a system built on delusion and riddled with corruption, greed and downright stupidity. If, like me, your knowledge of the making of the GFC is limited, the language may prove a little inaccessible, the jargon too thick and fast for the layman. But the compelling performances by these seasoned, stylish actors and fluid and precise directorial choices by award-winning director Sam Strong render the convoluted material a little more digestible. Aptly described by Strong as “both timely and timeless — a work of instant history that reveals Masters of the Universe to be all too human”, The Power of Yes certainly answers a few questions but may leave you with a few more — like why, when the hyperreality of the finance world became grossly overblown and everything looked a little too good to be true, did no one cry “stinking fish”?
The south end of King Street in Newtown is not the nicest of places to find oneself late in the evening, except of course if one is looking for a little spooking. Fortunately, after a solidly entertaining first season, Theatre of Blood is returning to the foyer of the Newtown Theatre for a second. In the tradition of the legendary Parisian theatre Grand Guignol, Theatre of Blood embraces the macabre — bloody violence and grisly ends combine in tongue-in-cheek but deadly serious short plays. An evening consists of three one-act shows all played out by midnight (which puts one out on the street at the witching hour ... ), lashings of fake blood and a suitably attired Master of Ceremonies. Season two features an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, the premiere of Chocolate Curses and The Torture Garden (straight from the Grand Guignol's repertoire). Horror theatre anyone?
Sydney loves photography and, thanks to Head On Photo Festival, this month you can get your photo fix all over the place. In a lineup bigger than Ben Hur, Head On delights with artists and amateurs, photojournalists and hobbyists, showcasing their talents across a range of venues. For those wanting to stretch their legs in their cultural pursuits, head to the Superintendent’s Residence at Centennial Park for Peter Solness’ The Night Garden then wander down to Paddington Reservoir for Australian landscapes by the Wildlight photographers. No People at At The Vanishing Point in Newtown is as it sounds, offering up an unusual perspective by focusing on the human element in scenes totally devoid of people, while Monstrosity Gallery — one of Sydney’s fresh, new artist-run spaces — launches Friday night with a show dedicated to exploring the monstrous. For graceful and insightful photojournalism, Manly Art Gallery features a photographic survey, Terra Australis Incognita, in which the group Oculi imbues the mundane with the extraordinary. The festival launches this week, and the Head On Photographic Prize is announced Friday (30 April) at ACP in Paddington. A full program of artists, venues and screenings can be viewed on theirwebsite. Image by Dean Golja (on display at the Global Gallery).
It may be easy to throw around words like "magical" and "wondrous", but I'd be remiss not to employ them when trying to describe Pikelet's sound. It's not polite psych, however, it's swirling folky pop made limitless by the use of live looping and a veritable carpet bag of instruments and tales to be told. These stories have taken shape on her new record Stem, which was recently 2SER’s Album of the Week. It’s a record brimming with layers of sounds, piled atop each other with birdlike harmonies holding it all together. Having recently supported Devendra Banhart, the Dirty Projectors, Frida Hyvonen, Patrick Watson and Kaki King, it’s high time Pikelet topped the bill here in Sydney. Luckily for us, she does just that this Thursday, to launch her new record in all its glory, with full band and excellent local supports Songs and the Maple Trail. Reviews from the Melbourne launch have started trickling in, with one main thrust: “stunning”. Stem has so many kaleidoscopic avenues that will be interesting to see coming together, live and lilting. To win one of two double passes to see Pikelet click 'Suggest to friends' on our Facebook page, tell some of your peeps about Concrete Playground, then confirm your entry on the wall.
Clean-cut, sublime and fluid, Rafael Bonachela's 2 One Another unfurls the Sydney Dance Company 2012 season with a focus on the minutiae of human interaction. It is impossible to watch Bonachela's choreography without thinking of the word 'unfolding', for his dancers form a flow of shapes without end, and the result is a hypnotic sense that time is as circular as it is infinite. There is danger in this as much as there is beauty, however, because without the evolution of the scenography and sound design, 2 One Another could very easily become an exercise in repetition. The choreography is filled with a physical grammelot of human gesture, stripped of its everyday context to the point where the gentle brushing of a wrist becomes an act of epic poetry. Which is apt, because beneath the muscular physicality of SDC's dancers is the writing of Sydney poet Samuel Webster. Following the bewitching mixed-media collaboration of Protogenos in 2011, Webster and Bonachela began work on 2 One Another by feeding text to the company's dancers, creating a dialogue that eventually crystallised into the action now on stage. Lifting the choreography into a work that is truly affecting are the talents of composer Nick Wales (from CODA) and designer Tony Assness, who both create with an elegant, restricted palette in 2 One Another. Wales's score and sound design fluctuate between sparse electronica (at its best in Murcof's Oort) and choric pieces evocative of the medieval. So too does Assness's brilliant use of a LED wall shift the mood, alternating between the stark glitching of a broken futurescape and the soft pastels of Renaissance painting. As with all great conversations, 2 One Another nails the sense of human touch and physical communication in moments of simple clarity — a necessary reminder in an age where our conversations are further and further removed into the realm of the gadget. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GJNjqkb3swQ
Sometimes, poetry readings are great; the words seductively circle your head before sliding deliciously through your brain and into your gullet like spaghetti-slick eels with the voices of a thousand lost spaceships. Other times, they just fall a little flat. A lot like a badly delayed Skype-to-Skype call. Happily, Acting on Ink, at the State Library’s Dixson Room, seeks to change the way poetry lands in your consciousness. By having acclaimed Aussie performers read acclaimed Aussie poems, the event aims to explore and challenge the way poetry is experienced. While I think there are poems that can only truly be expressed by the poet themselves, there is great scope for events like Acting on Ink to open up poetry and breathe a new life into the words. It’ll be quite an experience for poetry newbies and hardened poetry lovers alike. The first Acting on Ink will feature performers Meredith Penman (City Homicide) and Nick Coyle (Rommy, Me Pregnant!) and Holly Austin performing works they've chosen from Mark Tredinnick, Robert Adamson, Jennifer Maiden and Cate Kennedy. An exhibition of ink pressings by Flutter Lyon will be on display alongside. Image by Flutter Lyon.
Serial Space's Brisbane-borrowed Suitcase Market returns for Art Month, this time stocked by art students and ARIs. Vendors (you too can register to sell until March 15) are able to pack what they can in a single suitcase, selling whatever as they please: kitch, art or other treasures. If it's legal, if it fits in a suitcase, it could be going home with you. As a buyer, just turn up on the day with cash in your wallet, an eye for an interesting bargain and, perhaps, a bag of your own to take home your coming stash. For more info on Art Month 2012, check out our Ten Best Things to See and Do at Art Month 2012.
Gallery hopping of an evening has long since begun to catch on in Sydney. As its contribution to this widening field, Art Month is hosting six nights of Art at Night, with six Sydney precincts opening their doors late. Each evening one gallery hosts an art bar and FBi DJs, with a constellation of late-opening galleries around it. Paddington's hub is MiCK Gallery, flanked by shows like Hugh Ford, Magnum photos and abstracts at Eva Breuer. Rozelle centres around Artereal, with a dLux party, art precinct launch and interesting maps at Paper Plane. Surry Hills starts at the Chalk Horse, with shows at First Draft or Breenspace, and Chippendale offers a duel between MOP and the new Galerie pompom, with drinks later at the White Rabbit. East Sydney's National Art School base is a brisk walk from shows like Alaska Projects' Peep, while Alexandria's evening offers galleries like Darren Knight and hub Sullivan and Strumpf. Each party has one gallery bar, with participating galleries open 6-8pm, bars 6-10. Paddington/Woollharais on March 8, Rozelle March 9, Waterloo/Alexandria March 15, Darlinghurst/East Sydney March 16,Chippendale/Redfern March 22 and Surry Hills on March 23. For more info on Art Month, check out our Ten Best Things to See and at Art Month 2012.
It's not about the destination, it's about how you get there. And how good you look doing it. Bike Babes is a lycra-clad new initiative that has a pretty simple routine — just meet and ride. No racing, just riding. Riding alternates every week between Centennial Park laps and routes a little further out of the city, so maybe check out which week it is before deciding to take your single-speed dragster lest you end up in Marrickville covered in sweat and fruit-patterned lycra. Other than that the risks associated with this particular bike gang are very low, so pack some water, lights and coins for pick ‘n’ mix pit stops and prepare to have a shit load of fun. And on the first Tuesday of every month it is a little bit about the destination, because the destination will be a pub and last time that pub gave out free beer and pinxtos. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for details.
If websites like The Selby and The Coveteur teach us anything, it’s that humans have an insatiable obsession with looking at other people’s stuff. But even more satisfying to our voyeuristic tendencies than looking at other people’s houses on the Internet is walking through them IRL. House Work is an exhibition that takes audiences on a walking tour through the normally private spaces of artists in the inner-city suburbs of Redfern and Waterloo. Each household of artists will create a performance or installation transforming the domestic sphere of the ‘home’ into a site for artistic dialogue, blurring the boundaries between art and life. If the idea of touring through an artist’s home leaves you expecting to see some bizarre shenanigans then you might not be too disappointed. Those getting involved with the project include Lucas Abela, best known for shredding his own face into pieces with large bits of glass under the alias of Justice Yeldham, Six Ft Hick swamp rock singer Ben Corbett, and visual artist Keg de Souza who, judging by an interview she did with us earlier this year, probably doesn’t spend much time scanning the richly manicured homes of The Selby — “All I can say is thank goodness for the Public Housing so we have a little diversity still, at the moment.” RSVP through Performance Space for the meeting point address
If we sat down and analysed the main components of the Night Noodle Markets at Hyde Park, there would surely be very few who would not be desirous to attend. Firstly, you have noodles. Find me a person who does not like noodles and I will show you someone who has hitherto not known the juicy pleasures contained in those lovely white boxes. The plethora of available noodles of every shape and size, flavoured with the sauces and toppings of a multitude of Asian nations has my mouth watering just thinking about it. Secondly, it's night. Who doesn't like a mid-week outing, particularly in the spectacularly fairy-lit Hyde Park in springtime? What more perfect way to entertain your date, or to impress your friends? Promising to be bigger and better than ever, the Night Noodle Markets will take place in the second and third weeks of October and will transport you to another land. A land of wonderful spring evenings spent with friends out under the stars. Oh, how I do love noodles. The Night Noodle Markets are on from 5 to 9pm weeknights.
Sydney's eastern suburbs are not without a few fun-loving Italian spots by way of Maurice Terzini. There's Bondi institution Icebergs Bar & Dining, which the restaurateur has overseen since 2002, Bondi Beach Public Bar and Mitch Orr-helmed trattoria CicciaBella. Closer to the city, Terzini took over Surry Hills pub The Dolphin back in 2016, which last year housed world-famous bartender Matt Whiley's Scout pop-up. Now, the restaurateur is heading to Sydney's west for the first time and opening CicciaBella 2.0 within $2.7 billion precinct Parramatta Square. Slated to open in September, CicciaBella's second outpost is a collaboration with Walker Corporation — the group behind Parramatta Square — and, more specifically, Lang Walker. While the billionaire developer and Terzini seem an unlikely pair, they've, in fact, worked together in the past, when Terzini first moved up from Melbourne and, with Walker's investment, opened Woolloomooloo's Otto. "I had a feeling that the east was a bit saturated and I had been looking out west," Terzini told Concrete Playground. "When [the Walker family] presented me the development they had been working at Parramatta Square, it was pretty much a no brainer." The announcement of CicciaBella 2.0 doesn't come singularly, though — there have also been some big changes at the OG. Orr has left (and is currently a self-proclaimed 'lady of leisure') and Nic Wong (The Apollo and Cho Cho San) is now heading up the kitchen, with a new menu focused on cucina povera — rustic-style peasant food — and woodfired dishes, rather than pasta. This new food angle will be carried over to the Parramatta restaurant, too. In the west, expect cheese, charcuterie and antipasti for starters, followed by the likes of whole sardines, roast peppers and a one-kilogram bistecca alla Fiorentina. At its heart, the Parramatta location will embody the trattorias of southern Italian cities like Milan, but it'll also be a bakery and salumeria — as Terzini describes it, "an Italian cultural journey explained through a number of different concepts...all the things that influenced me during my time in Italy". For wine, expect a fun-yet-thoughtful wine list by Terzini's right-hand man, James Hird. If the Bondi list is anything to go by, expect a bunch of Italian varieties, all produced organically, with both Italian and Australian drops on the list. Even the space will echo the Bondi restaurant, from the fit-out to the tunes playing. The interior, by Melbourne designer Fiona Lynch, will house a much larger bar than the OG digs, but the restaurant space will be about the same. There'll be art installations, too, and Carly Roberts (Founder of Picnic Touring & Events) will be pulling together playlists — think disco, dub, post punk and Balearic gems — as she already does for Bondi. Terzini's restaurant empire expansion doesn't stop with Parramatta, either. Although the new trattoria is a big move for Terzini, it's not the only opening on his plate, with a 100-percent sustainable bar, a salumeria for CicciaBella, a new American-inspired bar with Matt Whiley and a 24-hour club all in the works. Oh, and he's got his eyes set on establishing dining destinations in Asia, too. CicciaBella's second outpost is slated to open in Parramatta Square in September.
NSW Health issued a public health alert late on Thursday, July 30 telling Sydneysiders who visited eateries across Surry Hills, Marrickville and Cabramatta earlier this month to self-isolate immediately after positive COVID-19 cases were linked to the venues. Those who visited Harpoon Harry in Surry Hills for at least two hours between 2.15–11pm on Sunday, July 26 are being told to isolate for a full 14 days and get tested, regardless of symptoms. According to NSW Health, a person who tested positive for COVID-19 visited the venue after earlier dining at The Apollo in Potts Point, which has been linked to a cluster of cases and has closed for two weeks for deep cleaning. Harpoon Harry has also announced it will close for deep cleaning and all staff will get tested and self-isolate. If you visited Tan Viet in Cabramatta between midday–2pm on Thursday, July 23 — when another confirmed case linked to the funeral cluster visited the venue — you must also immediately self-isolate, regardless of symptoms. Confirmed cases also visited Marrickville's Matinee Coffee between 8–9am on Sunday, July 26 and 7–7.45am on Monday, July 27; and Frank's Pizza Bar Restaurant from 6–8pm on Sunday, July 26. NSW Health is advising those who visited these venues at the same times to monitor for symptoms and to self-isolate and get tested if they develop even a sniffle. The announcement comes as NSW records 18 new cases in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm on Wednesday, July 29, with two returned travellers in hotel quarantine, four linked to the Thai Rock in Wetherill Park, four linked to The Apollo, two linked to the funeral cluster and six under investigation. https://www.facebook.com/NewSouthWalesHealth/photos/a.232420926957256/1357841347748536/?type=3&theater The four venues join a growing list of restaurants, pubs, churches, supermarkets and gyms across NSW that have been linked to positive COVID-19 cases, with Fitness First in St Leonards and Crows Nest's Woolworths also announced yesterday. NSW Health is continuing to update its list of venues associated with positive cases, and its advice on whether you should self-isolate immediately or monitor for symptoms. With cases confirmed across a number of suburbs, NSW Health is asking anyone who lives in or has visited the following areas in the past 14 days to get tested if they have any symptoms: Potts Point, Carnes Hill shops, Prestons, Bonnyrigg, Wetherill Park, Mt Pritchard, Bankstown City Plaza, Cabramatta and Perisher. As has been the advice for months now, those with symptoms — coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath or loss of smell or taste — are encouraged to get tested and self-isolate while awaiting results. You can find out closest testing clinic over here. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website. Image: Matinee by Leticia Almeida
An LGBTQIA+ rights protest planned for Mardi Gras Parade day has been given a last-minute green light after receiving an exemption from NSW Health on the afternoon of Friday, March 5. At time of publication, 1200 people had responded 'going' to The Mardi Gras March 2021: Take Over Oxford Street Facebook event. Under current COVID-19 restrictions, outdoor protests in Greater Sydney are limited to a maximum of 500 people. NSW Police had previously planned to take organisers of the protest to the Supreme Court today in a bid to prevent it from going ahead, but the NSW Health exemption means this is unlikely happen. Organised by Pride in Protest and LGBTI Rights Australia, the protest is set to kick off at 2pm on Saturday, March 6 at Taylor Square, before protesters march down Oxford Street to Hyde Park. Protester organisers have outlined five key demands, which include the legalisation of drugs, decriminalisation of sex work and ending of the overpolicing of Indigenous Australian communities, mandatory detention of refugees and transphobic and religious freedoms bills. In a lengthy post on its Facebook page, Pride in Protest explained how the event was granted an exemption after negotiations with NSW Health to improve its contact tracing efforts for the protest. "This is a massive win for not only the right to protest, but for the queer community to say that the fight against transphobia and homophobia cannot wait," the organisation said in the statement We have just been granted a health exemption by NSW Health so lets make Saturday as loud and proud as possible! 🏳‍🌈 Read... Posted by Pride in Protest on Thursday, March 4, 2021 At the start of the protest in Taylor Square, there will be 20 COVID-19 marshals with sanitary materials and QR codes for registration. Protesters are also asked to maintain social distancing, wear a mask and bring hand sanitiser. Pride in Protest has included a rundown of its safety protocols over here. The Mardi Gras March protest is taking over Oxford Street while this year's Mardi Gras Parade heads to the SCG from 6pm. A handful of last-minute tickets for the parade are still available over here. Mardi Gras March 2021: Take Over Oxford Street is set to start at 2pm on Saturday, March 6 at Taylor Square. Registration before attending is strongly encouraged.
We're two weeks into summer (and one week from Christmas), but Sydney is preparing itself for another hefty downfall. And maybe even some flooding. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the city — and much of the state — is expected to be hit with a heap of rain this Wednesday, December 16, and there's a chance of some thunderstorms, too. The BOM has just released a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall across large swathes of NSW, and says residents of Lismore, Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Armidale, Orange, Canberra, Goulburn, Tamworth, Moree, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga should prepare for some potential flash flooding "over the next several hours". The warning was released at 1.44pm, with an update scheduled for 4.45pm. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1339040008624345090 If you've been watching the weather up north, the rain shouldn't come as a surprise. Southeast Queensland and northeast NSW have been battered by heavy rain, gale-force winds and high tides over the past few days, which has led to towns being evacuated and the major coastal erosions of some Byron Bay beaches. As usual with flooding, the state's State Emergency Service recommends you steer clear of creeks and storm drains; don't walk, drive or ride your bike through flood water; and stay indoors and away from windows. If you need to head out, don't forget to pack your umbrellas and raincoats — and keep an eye on the warnings. To keep an eye on Sydney's weather forecasts and warnings, head to the Bureau of Meteorology website.
Keen for a boogie, a bite and a bev? Saint Cloche Gallery has got you covered. As part of PADDO(collective)'s week-long live music stint, the local art venue is set to host a casual event in partnership with family-owned Mediterranean eatery Omeio. Head over to MacDonald Street from 5.30pm–7.30pm on Thursday, May 2, and you'll find a low-key gig with enticing eats, live music and curated art. The two-hour event will feature an array of deli bites supplied by the Omeio crew, as well as chilled sets by local DJ JNRSTAX — all of which can be enjoyed from a picnic area located on the corner of the gallery's verandah and MacDonald Street. To top things off, the gallery will be featuring Charlotte Swiden and Natalie Synnott's latest exhibition, Wonder Machine. Plus, the event is BYO, so you can pair the chill tunes and tasty treats with your favourite sips near the breezy Paddington space.
Easter in Sydney doesn't just mean chocolate, hot cross buns and whatever other sweet treats the city's eateries happen to come up with at this time of year — it also means the Sydney Royal Easter Show. And, while you won't find the latter at El Camino Cantina's Tex-Mex joints around town, the chain is getting into the spirit of the event with its returning limited-edition margarita menu, which it has dubbed The Greatest Rita Show in 2024. For its latest batch of creative flavours, El Camino Cantina is serving up cream'n soda, sour lemonade, bubblegum, sour grape cloud, cherry bomb and chilli triple-buttered popcorn versions, too. The six showbag-inspired ritas are on offer from Monday, March 18–Sunday, April 7, in both 15-oz and 24-oz glasses — and they also come with new drunken bears, which are gummy bears infused with tequila and Grand Marnier. [caption id="attachment_697456" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Ferguson[/caption] If you'd like to pair your sips with tacos, you'll find The Greatest Rita Show food menu on offer as well. Ever had a puffy taco? It's also a fresh limited-time addition, features a puffed-out taco shell, and comes filled with your choice of steak, marinated prawns, brisket, pulled pork and grilled chicken. To round out the bites, banana fritters are your dessert choice. In Sydney, you'll find The Greatest Rita Show tempting your tastebuds at El Camino in The Rocks, Entertainment Quarter, Manly and Miranda.
Godzilla is finally an Oscar-winner. It's about time. But the septuagenarian reptile didn't score Hollywood's top trophy for curling up in the Colosseum for a snooze, rocking electric-pink spikes, thundering into Hollow Earth — the world literally within our world where titans spring from — and teaming up with King Kong to take on a rival giant ape that rides an ice-breathing kaiju and uses a skeletal spine as a rope. Japan's exceptional Godzilla Minus One, which took home 2024's Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, wasn't that kind of monster movie. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which hails from the American-made Monsterverse, definitely is. Reaching cinemas in the same month as one of its titular figures received such a coveted filmmaking accolade, this sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs Kong is patently from the goofily entertaining rather than deeply meaningful brand of Godzilla flicks. Yes, there's room for both. It might seem a hard job to follow up one of the best-ever takes on the nuclear-powered creature with an action-adventure-fantasy monster mash that also features a Hawaiian shirt-wearing veterinarian dropping in via helicopter to do dental work on King Kong, the return of the Monsterverse's resident conspiracy-theorist podcaster and a mini Kong called Suko — plus, in its very first minutes, several other animals being ripped apart by Godzilla and Kong. When he took on the gig of helming pictures in this franchise, however, You're Next, The Guest, Blair Witch and Death Note filmmaker Adam Wingard chose fun chaos. His two entries so far aren't dreaming of competing for thoughtfulness with the movies coming out of the country that created Godzilla. Rather, they're made with affection for that entire legacy, and also Kong's, which dates back even further to 1933. Getting audiences relishing the spectacle of this saga is the clear aim, then — and Wingard's attempts put exactly that in their sights above all else. It may also appear difficult for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to arrive so swiftly after related streaming series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters achieved a feat that hasn't been easy in the Monsterverse: delivering human drama that leaves an imprint. Godzilla vs Kong couldn't. 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters seesawed in their efforts (some admirably, some woefully). The small screen continues to reign supreme, but Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire values its people. There's fewer of them than in its predecessor, with just four at its core. Dumping exposition or acting as comic relief stay among their tasks, respectively, and yet Rebecca Hall (Resurrection) and Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) are treated better by the material in their saga comebacks. As the aforementioned monster zoologist, Dan Stevens (Welcome to Chippendales, and also from Wingard's The Guest) knows exactly the type of part and flick he's in; he's the bulk of the film's mood personified. As the orphaned teenager tied to Kong, and similarly cast out from her home as he has been, Kaylee Hottle (Magnum PI) capably remains the feature's human heart on what also becomes a coming-of-age journey. Doing the scripting, Godzilla vs Kong screenwriter Terry Rossio (also The Amazing Maurice), Wingard's regular collaborator Simon Barrett (You're Next, The Guest, Blair Witch), plus Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight) — all working with a story by Rossio, Wingard and Barrett — can't be accused of putting people first in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It's a low bar to say that they don't play as an afterthought, but it's an improvement from the last movie. The storyline's quest: to show how its eponymous beings are managing to co-exist, then must join forces to protect the world. Initially, they're like a divorced couple still sharing the same abode. Godzilla has taken over the planet's surface, while Kong is swinging around in Hollow Earth. The Skar King can't be quickly vanquished, though, requiring their combined might to try to stop his maliciousness wreaking havoc upwards as well as down. Around the simple but welcome Godzilla + Kong = titan siblings-in-arms saviours equation, and before pop culture's biggest lizard and monkey pal around, the humans-driven aspect of the narrative is likewise as straightforward. Kong's troubled tooth, odd signals from below and visions seen by her adopted daughter Jia (Hottle) have Dr Ilene Andrews (Hall) pondering what's happening beneath the planet's crust. Still as obsessive as ever, whistleblower-turned-blogger (and documentarian wannabe) Bernie Hayes (Henry) is one of her ports of call for assistance. The Ace Ventura-esque Trapper (Stevens) is another. Also, Jia's shared time on Skull Island with Kong as one of the landmass' indigenous Iwi tribe, alongside the fact that the teen, who is deaf, can communicate with the simian using sign language, keeps proving relevant. By throwing away the obligation to dig thematically below any surfaces, akin to a beast disposing of the carcass of its last meal — apart from knowing that its namesakes are guardians, and the blunt Jia and Kong connection — Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire revels in animals being animals. Painting Godzilla and Kong empathetically, and as more than fright-inducing monsters, has always been Wingard's angle, even when they were going claw to paw; Andrews is the Jane Goodall of Kong, after all. Here, the movie's main pair are basically towering pets, including while clambering around, snatching some rest, needing medical attention and securing their territory. As the film hops to Cairo, Paris, Gibraltar and Rio de Janeiro as well — and does ample exploring in Hollow Earth, where the Skar King has an army obeying his commands, but Suko sides with Kong — it's no wonder, then, that the good doctor and company are left endeavouring to react and respond as best they can. Cat owners especially can relate. Although Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's VFX crew likely won't nab the same Oscar as Godzilla Minus One, this CGI-heavy affair has a vibrant look to it. Nothing matches the neon-lit Hong Kong throwdown of Godzilla vs Kong but, amid 80s needle drops, that isn't Wingard's mission. Instead, he enjoys putting iconic landmarks in peril and going all Journey to the Centre of the Earth — and his splashes of pink, purple-topped mountains, crystals, other eye-catching titan and animal designs, and the swirling cinematography by fellow returnee Ben Seresin (The Mother). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the cheese to Godzilla Minus One's chalk, clearly, as it fittingly tells of a chalk-and-cheese twosome, but always eagerly and happily.
Movies don't have pores, but How to Have Sex might as well. Following a trip to Greece with three 16-year-old best friends who want nothing more than to party their way into womanhood — and to get laid, too — this unforgettable British drama is frequently slick with sweat. Perspiration can dampen someone when they're giddily excited about a wild getaway, finishing school and leaving adolescence behind. It can get a person glistening when they're rushing and drinking, and flitting from pools and beaches to balconies and clubs. Being flushed from being sozzled, the stickiness that comes with expending energy, the cold chill of stress and horror, the fluster of a fluttering heart upon making a connection: they're all sources of wet skin as well. Filmmaker Molly Manning Walker catalogues them all. Viewers can see the sweat in How to Have Sex, with its intimate, spirited, like-you're-there cinematography. More importantly, audiences can feel why protagonist Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce, Vampire Academy) is perspiring, and the differences scene to scene, even when she's not quite sure herself. How to Have Sex also gets those watching sweating — because spying how you've been Tara, or her pals Em (debutant Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake, Halo), or lads Badger (Shaun Thomas, Ali & Ava) and Paddy (Samuel Bottomley, The Last Rifleman) in the neighbouring resort unit, is inescapable. Walker has been there herself, with parts of her debut feature as a writer and director drawn from her own time as a Tara, Em or Skye while also making the spring break and Schoolies-like pilgrimage from England to the Mediterranean. When the movie doesn't lift details directly from her own experience, it shares them with comparable moments that are virtually ripped from western teendom. One of the feature's strokes of genius is how lived-in it proves, whether Tara and her mates are as loud and exuberant as girls are when their whole lives are ahead of them, its main character is attempting to skip her troubles in a sea of strobing lights and dancing bodies, or slipping between the sheets — but not talking about it — is changing who Tara is forever. If a film called How to Have Sex had arrived in cinemas in the 80s, 90s or 00s, viewers would've known exactly what was in store from its title. Indeed, more than a few teen comedies of the era, American Pie especially, could've adopted the non-Google-friendly moniker. But Walker's picture isn't those flicks, despite starting with Tara and company almost dizzy with euphoria about wrapping up their exams, farewelling secondary schooling and dashing eagerly into their vision of adulthood. Rather, How to Have Sex is a portrait of the details that don't typically get seen and definitely aren't stressed when garnering laughs about coursing hormones is the aim of the game. As it unpacks consent and coercion in a real and raw way, Walker's feature is steeped in the confusion, the hurt, the quiet "yeah" that isn't a hearty yes, the peer pressure and rivalries, and the fact that sex is almost everywhere — in one based-on-reality sequence, oral sex is a basically a contest in front of a vast crowd — but any genuine and considered "how to" is far from everyone's thoughts. In its first half, there's a woozy buzz to How to Have Sex that matches the slinky outfits, glittery faces, neon lights and constant chase for the best holiday ever. Tara, Em and Skye are in Malia, Crete, but there's no time for sightseeing when there's shots after shots to down, dance floors to cut loose on, splashes to be had, and Badger and his crew to pursue. "Oi, smokeshow" is how the bleached-blonde fellow Brit first greets Tara from across their balconies. There's a goofiness to him that pairs well with her bubbliness; her "angel necklace" and his "hot legends" neck tattoo also appear to match. But Skye doesn't approve, in the way that besties who don't always want what's best for their friends can nix someone's crush because they're thinking about themselves. After dubbing Badger a clown, she suggests with forcefulness that Tara set her sights on the supremely confident Paddy instead. If you're not aware going into the movie that Walker is also a cinematographer, it's evident in every frame of a film that she doesn't actually shoot herself. Nicolas Canniccioni (A Respectable Woman) takes on that gig, but How to Have Sex is made with a meticulous sense of colour and light, as Walker's lensing on the also-visually expressive Scrapper similarly possessed. While the in-the-moment flavour to the imagery thrusting Tara's plight to the screen doesn't subside, the hues and the gleam reflect the delicate tonal rollercoaster her story takes. In its second half, then, all that shines, fluoresces and fizzes isn't shimmering with exhilaration. After Paddy takes her to the beach alone, and Tara drunkenly loses the virginity her mates have been just as adamant that she can't go home with, nothing looks or feels the same. How Tara regards herself, not clocking the myriad of reasons why her situation has been so many other teen girls' situation and the societal underpinnings behind that truth, also shifts shatteringly. The before, the after, the seesaw from hedonistic bliss to gutwrenching discomfort, the sensitive lack of judgement shown to both How to Have Sex's women and men, the utter unwillingness for the feature to never stop being frank: with them all, Walker beams as brightly as a glowstick that she's an exceptionally talented, perceptive and compassionate filmmaker. At the centre of the booze and the horniness, so does McKenna-Bruce; that they've both been collecting accolades and awards attention, including Cannes' Un Certain Regard Award and BAFTA nominations for Walker, plus the British Independent Film Awards' Best Lead Performance and BAFTA Rising Star prize for her main actor, is deeply deserved. Calling this a launching pad for McKenna-Bruce isn't accurate, though, because her How to Have Sex performance should always be mentioned whenever her name comes up from now on out. Brassy, energetic, vulnerable, insecure, disoriented, regretful, dread-filled, let down by a fantasy of growing up that's never real, still picking herself back up: her stunning portrayal has it all, and she shouldn't ever want to soar away from it. It isn't just teen-comedy antics that How to Have Sex eschews; this story would never be easy to tell or witness, and nor should it, but Walker clearly doesn't pour it into the standard dramatic template. As much as it brings them both to mind at times, her film isn't Aftersun-meets-Spring Breakers, either — two excellent pictures themselves — but it's as honest and potent, and also as intensely immersive. Charlotte Wells' tender father-daughter trip played like a haunting memory and desperate attempt to hold onto someone lost. Harmony Korine's bacchanalian crime-comedy jaunt to Florida was rendered with a dreamlike air. How to Have Sex stares unblinkingly, knowing how many women have stood in Tara's shoes, how many men in Paddy's, and how a definitive resolution where everything falls where it should is a rarity. Sweat is far from the only aspect, then, that's messily real.
Naturally at Darling Quarter is bringing a deliciously immersive experience to the harbourside locale just in time for Vivid Sydney. While Sydney shines brightly all over in winter — thanks to the beloved annual creative festival — the Darling Quarter precinct has got all you need: free live concerts, illuminated art pieces and dining venues dishing up strictly limited menus until Saturday, June 17. Let's start with the food. There's a spectacularly delicious lineup of spots to eat at here throughout the year, but we've got some honourable mentions while Naturally at Darling Quarter is on. There's Doodee Noodle with its slurp-ready bowls of fiery noodles, as well as MuMian and its wok-fried scallops dressed up with dragonfruit. Ichoume is celebrating our oceanic treasures with tender slices of sashimi, and Kürtősh— the purveyors of traditional Hungarian 'chimney cakes' — has a decadent dessert: a feather-light sponge with macadamias and a squeeze of lime. Our top recommendation? Braza Churrascaria's exclusive cocktail (pictured above). The hazy smoked-raspberry sip will warm you up quite nicely, a pre-requisite for all your after-dark explorations. Onto the standout sounds and bright lights: Tumbalong Nights is the free live music event taking over Tumbalong Park. Cruise down to the area, fuel up on the above and then find a spot to get your groove on. Friday, June 2 brings a celebration of Triple J's Unearthed High, which has been bringing our teen sensations to radio waves for 15 years. There's the ARIA-winning Dan Sultan on Saturday, June 10 and Emma Donnovan and The Putbacks on Friday, June 16 — and plenty more. From Friday, May 26 till Saturday, June 17, two light installations will shine. Night Walkers brings supersized amphibians to the mix, and Spectrum of Happiness will have all-ages swinging on a rainbow-powered swing set, which only gets more brilliant the more you interact with it. If you're looking for the ideal spot to base your Vivid Sydney trip, or a locale that brings together lights, music and culinary treats, Naturally at Darling Quarter is the destination for you. Naturally at Darling Quarter runs from Friday, May 26 until Saturday, June 17. To plan your visit, head to the website.
Thanks to Keith Courtney, Australians have already enjoyed a walk through a huge house of mirrors in the past few years. And, also with his help, moseying through an eerie and endless labyrinth of doors became a reality, too. The Melbourne installation artist isn't done setting up massive mazes just yet, however — and his latest, which is designed to resemble a huge human-sized kaleidoscope, is finally coming to Sydney in 2023. Called Kaleidoscope, fittingly, this installation isn't small. It's a 700-square-metre expanse of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms that features a labyrinth of corridors decked out in a revolving showcase of lights and colours. Originally debuting in Melbourne in 2022, then hitting Brisbane and Geelong among six Australian stops so far, it'll start shimmering and luring Harbour City residents at Powerhouse Ultimo for just over a month between Saturday, July 29–Sunday, September 10. Like both House of Mirrors and 1000 Doors, Kaleidoscope has been crafted to be immersive as possible. From 2–9pm Wednesday–Sunday, expect to have your senses disoriented while you're strolling through, including both motion and gravity. Expect to see plenty of shifting illusions among the ever-changing array of light and colour as well, and to be drawn in by the installation's soundscape in the process. "No two people will have the same experience in Kaleidoscope. This is a multi-sensory and physical experience where the visitor is completely submerged in sound and light — a vortex of serenity," explains Courtney. "Their experience is entirely personal, and I think that's what I'm most proud of with this artwork. It makes my heart sing knowing that each person can walk through and create their own feeling of magic." In bringing the massive piece to life, the artist has teamed up with visual artist Ash Keating, composer Tamil Rogeon and artist Samantha Slicer, plus a team of highly skilled technicians. [caption id="attachment_858144" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Ian Laidlaw[/caption]
So many movies, so little time. That's film festival life, including across Sydney over the past 12 days. The 2023 Sydney Film Festival showcased hundreds of movies in cinemas across the city — and, if you weren't able to fit all your viewing into its main run, you now have four extra days to head along. As it usually does, SFF is hosting a Back by Popular Demand program in the days after the fest's official close. In 2023, those bonus screenings will hit Dendy Newtown and Palace Norton Street between Monday, June 19–Thursday, June 22. No, you're not done spending your nights in darkened rooms just yet. There's 13 films to pick from and, as the name makes plain, they're all flicks that've been proving a hit with crowds so far. That includes straight-from-Cannes titles May December, starring Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder) and Julianne Moore (Sharper); Perfect Days, with German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Submergence) heading to Japan; and Anatomy of a Fall, a drama about an author (Sandra Hüller, Toni Erdmann) accused of her husband's murder, which just won French director Justine Triet (Sibyl) the Palme d'Or. Also on the list: whistleblower docudrama Reality, starring Euphoria and The White Lotus' Sydney Sweeney; the obviously film-loving I Like Movies; environmentalist tale How to Blow Up a Pipeline; and kaijus via Shin Ultraman, which springs from the creators of Shin Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Or, there's Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, a documentary about an Estonian log-cabin sauna; fellow doco A Storm Foretold, focusing on Donald Trump's former adviser Roger Stone; and Beyond Utopia, about a family of five trying to escape from North Korea. Plus, Scrapper won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic), Riceboy Sleeps follows a Korean single mother and her son as they start a new life in Canada in the 90s, and Sunflower spins a coming-of-age tale in the Melbourne suburbs. Some films have multiple sessions, while others are returning for just one — but, either way, your time at SFF for this year definitely isn't over yet.
Screenlife films such as Missing should be the last thing that moviegoers want. When we're hitting a cinema or escaping into our streaming queues, we're seeking a reprieve from the texts, chats, pics, reels, searches, and work- and study-related tasks that we all stare at on our phones and computers seemingly 24/7. (Well, we should be, unless we're monsters who can't turn off our devices while we watch.) There's a nifty dose of empathy behind thrillers like this, its excellent predecessor Searching, and the similar likes of Unfriended and Profile, however, that relies upon the very fact that everyone spends far too much time living through technology. When an on-screen character such as Missing's June (Storm Reid, The Last of Us) is glued to the gadget on their desk or lap, or in their hand — when they're using the devices that've virtually become our new limbs non-stop to try to solve their problems and fix their messy existence, too — it couldn't be more relatable. As Missing fills its frames with window upon window of June's digital activities, cycling and cascading through FaceTime calls, Gmail messages, WhatsApp downloads, Google Maps tracking, TikTok videos, TaskRabbit bookings, plain-old websites and more, it witnesses its protagonist do plenty that we've all done. And, everything she's undertaking feels exactly that familiar — like the film could be staring back at each member of its audience rather than at an 18-year-old who starts the movie unhappy that her mother Grace (Nia Long, You People) is jetting off to Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung, Old). That sensation remains true even though Missing's viewers have likely never had their mum disappear in another country, and their life forever turned upside down as a result. We've all experienced the mechanics behind what writer/directors Will Merrick and Nick Johnson (who make their feature debut in both roles after editing Searching) are depicting in our own ways, with only the vast power of the internet able to help. As an opening video set 12 years earlier explains, plus folders of medical info and farewells over a move from Texas to California, June is far from thrilled about Grace and Kevin's getaway due to its timing. She isn't fussed about her mum's rules for while they're away and repetitive reminders to empty her voice messages, either, but they'll be gone over the weekend of Father's Day, a difficult occasion given that June's father James (Tim Griffin, True Detective) passed away when she was a kid. To fill her time home alone, she makes sure that she's not really home alone, throwing parties she's not supposed to, avoiding tipping off her mum's lawyer pal Heather (Amy Landecker, Your Honor) — who's on check-up duties — and hanging out with her bestie Veena (Megan Suri, Never Have I Ever). But when June heads to Los Angeles airport to collect Grace and Kevin upon their return, her situation gets worse. She waits. She holds up a playful sign. She films the whole thing as well. But no one shows. Five years have passed since Searching became one of the best screenlife movies yet while making stellar use of John Cho (Cowboy Bebop) as a dad desperate to find his absent daughter. With that flick's writer/director Aneesh Chaganty and co-scribe Sev Ohanian getting a story credit, Missing flips the setup, having a kid looking as far and wide as technology currently allows for a parent instead. With some assistance from FBI Agent Park (Daniel Henney, Criminal Minds), but not enough — plus on-the-ground sleuthing by Cartagena local Javi (Joaquim de Almeida, Warrior Nun), thanks to an outsourcing service — June gets investigating, and also increasingly frantic about what's happened, why, where Grace might be and how to get her home. The film also gets pacier than Searching, reflecting not just half a decade's worth of tech advancements, but a teenager's innate, always-on comfort with the online landscape as a digital native. June doesn't just hop from app to app, program to program, chat to chat and call to call quickly — and, conveniently for the film, keep her webcam running in-between so viewers see the stress expand across her face as she does so. As she scours and worries, worries and sours, she's as creative as she is determined with her detective skills. Indeed, Missing doubles as both stalker 101 and a cybersecurity warning. If you're already concerned about the surveillance-heavy times that we live in, expect your Black Mirror-style anxieties to only expand while watching. Missing is so relatable in what it's showing, rather than the tale it's using all those computer windows to show, that it's also a double-edged sword: we've all been June, inseparable from our MacBooks and the like; can our online lives be so easily picked through, as Grace does to Kevin as her suspicions heighten, as well? As Searching did, Missing has its audience playing gumshoe along with its characters. As Unfriended and Profile did — all four movies share Russian Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov as a producer, and he also directed Profile — it keeps everyone on high alert via a tense, propulsive and immersive affair. Viewing screenlife flicks, which also includes the unconnected Host and We're All Going to the World's Fair (and the less-convincing Spree, and downright grating Dash Cam), means constantly seeking clues as to where the next twist, revelation or crucial detail will spring from. They're an involving experience, especially when there are people to find and crimes to solve, and Missing is as on-edge, nail-biting and as attention-demanding as they come. Amid the sea of clips, conversations and text on-screen — and some wild leaps in logic — the nerves and vigilance here aren't June's alone. Missing knows how folks watching will engage, even if it obviously isn't interactive in the way that film-meets-game Isklander — screenlife IRL, basically — is. It knows that it exists in a world obsessed with true-crime, smartly commenting on the pervasive and persistent fascination with other's misdeeds — and overtly linking back to Searching in the process — while asking how much anyone can ever truly know their nearest and dearest. That's another relatable source of the thriller's distress. It's where Reid proves devastatingly effective, compellingly shifting from a teen annoyed at her mum's overprotectiveness to the point of virtually ignoring her, to a concerned daughter willing to do whatever it takes, to questioning everything that she's ever been told. Long also plays her panicky matriarch part with potency, but the riveting Missing is right on target at grounding its nerves and thrills alike in all that can be uncovered, endured and experienced with your fingers on a keyboard and your eyes staring at your chosen rectangle.
It's been half a century since The Rocky Horror Show first brought its musical blend of sci-fi, horror and comedy to the stage, and the cult hit itself has the perfect phrase to describe those quickly passing years. Yes, time is fleeting when you're singing about a college-aged couple getting a flat tyre, wandering over to an old castle to ask for help, and finding an extra-terrestrial mad scientist from the galaxy of Transylvania — plus his staff and his Frankenstein-style experiments — awaiting. Yes, the show itself is astounding, too. To celebrate this big anniversary, a new Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show is currently touring the country, starting in Sydney then moving to Adelaide and Melbourne. And, for one night only, the Sydney season is beaming one of its shows into cinemas as well — live as it's all happening at the Theatre Royal Sydney. Movie-goers can do the 'Time Warp' in Sydney cinema aisles from 7.15pm on Thursday, March 30, which is when the Richard O'Brien-created production will be broadcast from the stage to the screen. In the process, The Rocky Horror Show will notch up a first. For Trafalgar Releasing, who is behind a heap of event cinema-style sessions like this, this is the first time that it has presented a live event from an Aussie venue to cinemas across the nation. Folks hitting up big screens around the country will want to listen closely, and watch, as Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter puts his hands on his hips, then brings his knees in tight. The glorious madness will take its toll with help not only from Donovan — fresh from popping back up in Ramsay Street to farewell Neighbours before it was renewed again — but also from Spicks and Specks' Myf Warhurst as The Narrator. Also featuring: Ellis Dolan (School of Rock) as Eddie/Dr Scott, Darcey Eagle (Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical) as Columbia, Ethan Jones (9 to 5 The Musical) as Brad, Deirdre Khoo (Once) as Janet, Loredo Malcolm (Hamilton) as Rocky and Henry Rollo (Jagged Little Pill the Musical) as Riff Raff. Of course, this tale is no stranger to cinemas thanks to 1975's iconic big-screen release The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Since first premiering in London in June 1973, The Rocky Horror Show has played in more than 30 countries, with over 30 million people seeing songs like 'Science Fiction/Double Feature', 'Dammit, Janet!', 'Sweet Transvestite', 'Over at the Frankenstein Place' and 'Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me'. If you haven't been before and can't make it to the current theatre tour, this is your turn to join in. Images: Daniel Boud.
Easter in Sydney doesn't just mean chocolate, hot cross buns and whatever other sweet treats the city's eateries happen to come up with at this time of year — it also means the Sydney Royal Easter Show. And, while you won't find the latter at El Camino Cantina's Tex-Mex joints around town, the chain is getting into the spirit of the event with its returning limited-edition margarita menu, which it has dubbed 'the Royal Rita Show'. For its latest batch of creative flavours, El Camino Cantina is serving up Jelly Belly, Warhead, Chupa Chup and Rainbow Nerd margs. There are Trolli Lolli and fairy floss versions, too. Basically, it's the candy and booze combination you obviously didn't know you'd someday want when you were a kid. These lolly-flavoured ritas are on offer from Monday, April 3–Sunday, April 30, in both 15-oz and 24-oz glasses. [caption id="attachment_697456" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Ferguson[/caption] And if you'd like to pair them with tacos, you'll find a Royal Rita Show food menu on offer as well; think tacos with popcorn chicken, chorizo and potato hash, slow-cooked barbecue brisket, and prawns with bacon. In Sydney, you'll find both the margs and tacos tempting your tastebuds at El Camino in The Rocks, Entertainment Quarter, Manly and Miranda.
Bouncing across the screen with charm, energy and an 80s sheen, Air says one name often: Michael Jordan. This film spins an origin story so closely linked to the NBA all-timer that the true tale simply wouldn't and couldn't have happened without him; however, it isn't actually the six-time championship-winning former Chicago Bulls player's own. Instead, Ben Affleck turns director again for the first time since 2016's Live By Night to recount how Jordan also became an icon in the footwear game. Think shoes, and everyone knows the word that usually follows this flick's title. Think Air Jordans, and Nike also springs to mind. Those sneakers are still being made almost four decades after first hitting stories — in fact, the brand is now notching up $5 billion in annual revenue, $150 million of which is going to its namesake — so Air answers the question no one knew they had until now: how did it initially happen? Sports endorsement deals mightn't sound like compelling cinema, but neither did scouting, signing and trading in the right baseball players before Moneyball demonstrated otherwise. Working with a script by screenwriting first-timer Alex Convery — who is also one of Air's co-producers — Affleck turns the quest to sign a then just-drafted Jordan by a struggling shoe company into infectiously entertaining viewing. The actor and filmmaker might be nearly as famous for Sad Affleck and Bored Affleck as he is for movies, but he knows how to please a crowd. Forget his facial expressions when he's unhappy talking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or being at the 2023 Grammys with Jennifer Lopez; as Argo demonstrated back in 2012 to the tune of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, behind-the-lens Affleck is a feel-good wiz with lively and irresistible true tales. Indeed, give the Good Will Hunting screenwriting Oscar-winner an IRL event filled with tension and twists, and populated by vivid characters, then get him to replay it smoothly and at a snappy pace (and with ample talk): that's now not just a one-off Affleck formula. He's been helming films since 2007's Gone Baby Gone. He's up to five now, and he's also starred in them all since 2010's The Town. Also featuring Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Viola Davis and Chris Tucker on-screen, Air is one of Affleck's own greats as a director. Even from just the trailer, it's easy to see that he's in Argo mode again — welcomely so, as the end product shows. Somehow, we're currently living through a golden time for genuinely engaging pictures about corporate manoeuvring that could've just been expensive ads in lesser hands; see also: recent streaming release Tetris, which also stacked the right blocks into place. Air similarly heads back to the 80s, to 1984, when Jordan was a 21-year-old college standout newly in the NBA and facing a life-changing decision. Damian Young (Prom Night Flex) plays the basketball GOAT, but this is a movie about the making of a legend — so the pivotal character gets all the flick's admiration and praise while bounding into the boardroom wheeling and dealing. Crucially, Air doesn't block out Jordan. Rather, it pays tribute to his talent even without staging on-court scenes, and to the shrewd wrangling and negotiating that his no-nonsense mother Deloris (Davis, The Woman King) did on his behalf. The ultimate outcome is clearly well-known, because if there was no agreement, there'd be no Air Jordans and therefore no movie (and the Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike would still be best known for jogging shoes). But the slam dunk this endorsement proved for giving athletes their financial dues when their talents make bank for sponsoring companies is no minor matter, and nor is it treated as such. Working for founder and CEO Phil Knight (Affleck, Deep Water) four years after Nike went public, in-house basketball expert Sonny Vaccaro (Damon, The Last Duel) really just has one job: find the footwear outfit the right NBA name to tie their fortunes to, help them seem cool among the basketball crowd and get customers a-buying. His colleague Rob Strasser (Bateman, Ozark) wants three players, thinking that the company is already priced out of the market on top draft picks — and unalluring due to their paltry share of the market compared to Adidas and Converse. The stakes are high, albeit not Argo-level life-or-death high. The word is that Nike's basketball division will be scrapped if the next endorsement deal doesn't deliver. So, Sonny makes a bold suggestion. Instead of a trio of ballers, he's all-in on Jordan, certain that he's the future of the game and about to be its biggest-ever star. The latter's manager David Falk (Messina, Call Jane) won't entertain the prospect, though, which is what leads Sonny to courting Michael's parents Deloris and James (Julius Tennon, also The Woman King, as well as Davis' real-life husband). Sonny is a gambler, detouring to Las Vegas when he's scoping out college up-and-comers. On Jordan, he bets big. And, although Affleck ticks all the boxes that helped Argo become the hit and award-winner it is, Air isn't afraid to take its own chances. There's zero risk in the movie's spot-on aesthetic, which cinematographer Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) roves over lovingly. (Commercials from the era are also spliced in). There's also no flukes in the period-appropriate soundtrack, which is as obvious as they come yet also still works. But Air is as much about what it means to leave a legacy and be remembered as it is about the ins and outs of teaming up Nike and Jordan — and crafting the kicks that became must-wear apparel (Hello Tomorrow!'s Matthew Maher plays designer Peter Moore) — a choice that might've been a long shot or even a miss if it didn't sail meaningfully but still breezily through the hoop. Actually, don't forget Affleck's facial expressions after all — he's having a blast on-screen as the grape-coloured Porsche-driving Knight, especially in his scenes with Damon. It's been more than a quarter-century since Good Will Hunting, that script collaboration and them apples, plus more than three decades since they were both in School Ties before that, and they remain a dynamic duo to watch simply bicker and banter. Including Tucker (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) as fellow Nike employee Howard White and Marlon Wayans (Respect) as George Raveling, a 1984 Olympics assistant coach when Jordan was first on the US team, Air's cast is a dream, but Davis unsurprisingly gives the swishest of performances. This is always a film about showing the money to the greatest to ever do it rather than just using him as a corporate asset, too, and in a movie that earns its audience's cheers, she's the face of that important battle.
You don't need to like taking walks in the rain to be a fan of piña coladas, although given Sydney's persistent La Niña downpours, a penchant for precipitation might not be such a bad thing right now. Regardless of the weather, Australia is set to celebrate a national day dedicated to the world's favourite rum-spiked tropical cocktail on Wednesday, July 10, and the team at The Lansdowne Hotel is marking the occasion with one of the biggest drink giveaways Sydney's ever seen. In partnership with Master of Mixes, The Lansdowne's in-house taco shack, The Happy Mexican, will be giving away a whopping 10,000 free piña coladas. For three days, between Wednesday, July 10–Friday, July 12, free cocktail vouchers will be handed out at Broadway Shopping Centre — which you can redeem just across the street at The Lansdowne — from midday–6pm. There will also be free one-litre bottles of Master of Mixes' piña colada mixer up for grabs. This can be transformed into the ultra-creamy coconut and pineapple tipple by simply adding it to a blender, along with some rum and ice. Clearly, the Happy Mexican crew feel three days is simply not long enough to honour such a legendary beverage. So until the end of July, they'll be slinging $10 piña coladas and $5 pastor tacos, filled with juicy marinated pork, a sweet-and-sour salsa and grilled pineapple — the ultimate side snack for your cocktail, come rain or shine.
Joining the slew of newly launched cheap lunch deals from Hinchcliff House venues are two of the precinct's best-loved joints, Lana and Martinez. For the entire month of June, you can score 30 percent off of your entire bill when opting to dine at either of these CBD venues for lunch. You can only score the limited-time discount from Monday to Friday at Martinez and on Thursday and Friday at Lana. There are no limitations to this offer menu-wise, however, so you can opt for a hefty swordfish dish or a gruyère- and maple bacon-topped wagyu burger on Martinez's luxe rooftop, or even an Australian Bay lobster with risotto al salto and chilli crab butter from Lana at 30 percent off. There's only one caveat — you must book a lunch reservation through the links at Lana and Martinez's 'What's On' pages in order to gain access to the offer. Once you're in, feel free to order whatever your heart desires and you're guaranteed a very healthy discount.
Everyone has a favourite kind of cocktail — and if yours is the good ol' trusty tipple that is the old fashioned, November is your time to shine. Every year, Woodford Reserve hosts Old Fashioned Week, which is about putting the brand's booze to work in a classic concoction. In 2023, it runs from Saturday, November 4–Saturday, November 18. Hailing from the alcohol label and showcasing one specific type of drink, the fest is popping up at more than 40 bars across Australia, including 15 in New South Wales. Even better: there's a complimentary Woodford Reserve old fashioned up for grabs for everyone. To claim your sip, you will need to head to the event's website, enter your details, then activate your voucher when you're in one of the participating watering holes. Your places to hit up: Chin Chin, Baxter Inn, Earl's Juke Joint and Fortunate Son, as well as Hickson House, Doss House, Shady Pines, Bancho, Tokyo Bird and Jolene's. The list also includes Duke of Clarence, Cardea, Pocket Terrigal, Stitch Bar and Jacksons on George. And, of course, whether you're drinking your free beverage or not, old fashioneds are firmly on the menu. Top image: Steve Woodburn.
Add screaming to the ever-growing list of things that Sydney Sweeney can do spectacularly well. Indeed, thanks to Immaculate, which gets the Euphoria and The White Lotus star putting her pipes to stellar bellowing use, the horror genre has a brand-new queen; long may she reign if this is what audiences have to look forward to. This film about a nun who moves to a convent in the Italian countryside, then mysteriously becomes pregnant without having had sex, isn't just a job for Sweeney. She auditioned for the movie a decade back, it didn't come to fruition, but she strove to make it happen now. She stars. She produces. She enlisted Michael Mohan, who she worked with on Everything Sucks! and The Voyeurs, as its director. The passion that drove her quest to bring Immaculate to viewers is just as apparent in her formidable performance, too, including echoing with feeling — and blistering intensity— when she's shrieking. No one should just be realising now how versatile an actor that Sweeney is. Her portrayal of Sister Cecilia, who found her way to becoming a bride of Christ after a traumatic near-death incident in her younger years, is exactly what the film's title suggests: immaculate. It's also a showcase of a role that requires her to be sweet, dutiful, faithful, ferocious, indefatigable, vengeful and desperate to survive all in the same flick — and she kills it — but adaptability, resourcefulness and displaying a multitude of skills has been her on-screen wheelhouse beyond just one movie. Take Sweeney's last four cinema releases, for instance, all of which hail from 2023–24. Reality, Anyone But You, Madame Web and Immaculate couldn't be more dissimilar to each other, and neither could the actor's parts in them. Throw in her Saturday Night Live hosting stint, and she's firmly at the "is there anything that she isn't capable of?" stage of her career. When the virginal Sister Cecilia arrives in Europe from Detroit, it's on Father Sal Tedeschi's (Álvaro Morte, The Wheel of Time) behest after her home parish closed down. He's patronising in his attitude in-person, however. Before that, customs share the same demeanour when they stop her for not having a return ticket, commenting about whether she looks like a nun. Prior to that, though, Mohan opens Immaculate with another sister (Simona Tabasco, from season two of The White Lotus) having an unholy time of it at My Lady of Sorrows. She attempts to flee, which ends badly. Even her fellow devotees aren't a help. That something sinister awaits Cecilia is hardly a shock, then — and while the setup might seem like nunsploitation 101, or even just the basis of much in the sizeable religious-themed horror canon, Mohan and screenwriter Andrew Lobel (Mysteries Unknown) possess the same willingness to commit that their star beams with from within her tunic and wimple. Their novice's introduction to the abbey flutters through donning the requisite apparel, getting shown around, taking her vows, literally kissing the ring of the bishop overseeing the proceedings and endeavouring to settle into a life of piety where tending to older sisters entering their final days is the main task. In the also-twentysomething Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli, The Hummingbird), Cecilia finds a friend, luckily, as well as someone who isn't willing to meekly take whatever rules and restrictions are thrust her way. But any sense of routine is short-lived. Carrying a child wasn't Cecilia's plan, obviously. Neither was being grilled about it, then worshipped for it, then controlled because of it, all while sparking envy among some of her fellow nuns. Cecilia is as surprised as anyone, with that jolt evolving from astonishment to distress the more that her belly expands, the convent exerts its sway, and the expecting nun begins both investigating and fighting back. Awash in red hues — in blood, costuming and lighting alike — alongside darkness and shadows, while constantly subverting religious iconography and whipping up a claustrophobic air, Immaculate delivers not only bumps and jumps, but a deeply visceral viewing experience. No one is shy about brutal or gory body horror. Sudden cuts are no stranger, either, but do such a feverish job of plunging the audience into Cecilia's mindset that they prove far more than mere easy scares. Reteaming with familiar talents off-screen, too — such as cinematographer Elisha Christian (The Night House), editor Christian Masini and composer Will Bates (Dumb Money), all veterans of at least The Voyeurs — Mohan fashions the film around sharing his protagonist's inner state in every stylistic touch. With its church setting visibly opulent, yet winding through secret laboratories and dusty catacombs similarly in the plot, production designer Adam Reamer (another The Voyeurs alum, who also has Insidious: The Red Door on his resume) achieves the same feat: My Lady of Sorrows is meant to be the ultimate refuge for Cecilia, but it becomes creepier, more terrifying and more of a trap at every turn. When a movie is this detailed with its aesthetics, and so finely tuned to disturb, it keeps drawing out an instinctive response again and again. As it digs into the power that religion, especially Catholicism, can hold over its adherents — plus the treatment of women and their bodies, including the lack of agency, that theology can inspire — Immaculate also unsettles thematically. These trains of thought aren't new, of course. In the 60s and 70s, the likes of Rosemary's Baby, The Devils and The Exorcist were paving the way for Sweeney and Mohan's third collaboration. Giallo, Italy's brand of lush horror-thrillers that came to prominence at the same time, is clearly and expectedly an influence, and not just via Suspiria. More recently, 2021 nunsploitation Benedetta also says hello. Pivotally, this is a feature made with affection and respect for what precedes it, though, without trying to be anything's second coming. On the lengthy lineup of elements that work stunningly in Immaculate, such as its handling of suspense despite viewers knowing that something wicked is afoot from the get-go, its seductive atmosphere, its bold and wild leaps, and its willingness to get surreal, the film's lead casting is miraculous. It's no wonder that Mohan and Christian adore relaying this tale by staring at Sweeney, and by seeing Cecilia's reactions in her eyes — again, what a range that she can convey. She doesn't solely shine in big moments, of which there's plenty. The tiniest glimmer of fear can say everything when it's written across her peepers. The first burst of life-or-death resolve does the same. And there's nothing more haunting than Immaculate's last two minutes, which demonstrate that rich, raw and riveting performances aren't just a habit for Sweeney — they're a calling.
If summer screams ice cream to you, then there's only one way to start the season: indulging in your favourite frosty treat. That's great advice in general, but gelato chain Gelatissimo has an even better spin on it. Hit up one of its 48 stores around the country from 5pm until closing time and you'll nab $3 scoops. The date: Friday, December 1. The place: at all Sydney Gelatissimo shops. The offer: creamy gelato for just a couple of gold coins, all to celebrate the official start of the warm weather and indulge in a dessert staple. The deal stacks, too, so you can get a double scoop for $6. Friday, December 1 also happens to be the day that Gelatissimo is releasing its latest limited-edition flavours, which you can try for just $3 a pop as well. Get ready for cookies and cream made with Milkybar, a mint version but made with KitKat and a blue take.
There are plenty of ways to show your excitement for a new TV show. Maybe you adore watch parties. Perhaps you're the kind of television fan that loves dressing up. Or, you could be partial to drinking games. Another option: theming your food around whatever you're viewing — yes, even when it's a series about zombies. What should be on the menu to celebrate The Walking Dead spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon's arrival? How about twice-baked charcoal croissants? For one morning only, 100 of the pastries will be up for grabs, with streaming service Stan teaming up with LODE Circular Quay on the limited-edition snack. LODE has called the croissants 'The Sugarcoa-dead Daryl', fittingly, and you can only nab one at 5 Sai Ying Lane from 8am on Tuesday, September 12 until they're all snapped up. Sporting a charcoal hue, the pastries come filled with macadamia frangipane, as well as raspberry and rhubarb compote. On top: Italian meringue. And if you're wondering why croissants, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon sees its namesake (Norman Reedus, Triple 9) wash up in France, as you can observe when the show hits Stan on Monday, September 11.
Whether or not Noora Niasari was ever explicitly told to write what she knew, the Iranian Australian filmmaker has taken that advice to heart. Her mother listened to the same guidance first, even if it was never spoken to her, either. The latter penned a memoir that has gone unpublished, but helped form the basis of the powerful and affecting Shayda. This account of a mum and her daughter attempting to start anew in a women's shelter doesn't entirely stick to the facts that writer/director Niasari and her mother lived through. The Sundance-premiering, Melbourne International Film Festival-opening, Oscar-contending feature — it's Australia's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards — isn't afraid to fictionalise details in search of the best screen story. Still, the tale that's told of courage, resilience, rebuilding lives and finding a new community is deeply and patently personal. Perhaps even better, it's inescapably authentic. Add Shayda to the list of recent features that couldn't be more moving while flickering across the screen like they're projections of a memory. Aftersun, Past Lives and now this Melbourne-shot and -based effort sport not only that sensation but also that look. None closely visually resemble any of the others, and yet each plays like a window into their directors' histories. What a glorious trend that cinema is enjoying right now: films made by helmers grappling with and sharing their own stories, all crafted by feature first-timers and each hailing from female directors as well. A fourth movie bonded by the same elements is on its way in How to Have Sex, and may more follow. Also magnificent: how so much connects Aftersun, Past Lives, How to Have Sex and Shayda in spirit and origin, and yet each is its own exceptional film. In Shayda's case, Niasari peers back at being barely of primary-school age and making a new home. Fleeing to a women's shelter is the only option that the film's eponymous figure (Zar Amir Ebrahimi, 2022's Cannes Best Actress-winner for Holy Spider) has to get away from the abusive Hossein (Osamah Sami, Savage River), whose controlling nature is matched by that of their patriarchal culture. So, Shayda leaves with six-year-old Mona (debutant Selina Zahednia). As she waits for her divorce proceedings to go through — a complicated task under Iranian law and customs — she seeks refuge at a secret site overseen by the caring Joyce (Leah Purcell, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart). Even surrounded by kindness and filled with desperation for a better future, every iota of Shayda's decision is fraught and tense; Niasari starts the film with Mona at an airport being told what to do if she's ever there with her father, should he try to take her not only away from her mum but also back to Iran. Exceptional French domestic thriller Custody also chronicled the difficulties faced by a woman striving to break free from a dissolving and dysfunctional marriage, including for her safety and that of her children. The setting varied, as did the cultural context. It wasn't additionally a picture about displacement, as Shayda is; however, it too rippled with anxiety and intensity that dripped from the screen. Niasari's film sees the terror and the trauma, as well as the infuriating bureaucracy that makes an already-distressing situation even more upsetting. It shreds nerves as Hossein receives unsupervised visitations with Mona, and simply as its namesake literally makes her way through the world with the fear of her husband's threatening presence always lurking over her shoulder. Again, this is a feature packed with been-there-seen-that minutiae, and made to echo from the screen with that very air. Shayda spies hope just as clearly, though. Someone endeavouring to spark a new existence half a world away from everything they've ever known has to possess that feeling, which the movie never loses sight of. Neither does cinematographer Sherwin Akbarzadeh (The Giants), who lenses a lived-in, closed-in but also visibly warm film — plus a fluidly shot feature, and yet one that knows how meaningful it is to sit in the moment. Accordingly, hope keeps lingering as Niasari's on-screen surrogate for her mum makes the utmost that she can of living with Joyce and fellow women needing a safe space, and as she fights for Mona, battles for independence and reclaims her agency, too. It's there as she still ensures that Farsi, Persian dance and celebrating Nowruz, or Persian New Year, remain entwined in her daughter's upbringing. Shayda isn't merely hoping for a brand-new way forward; she's doing everything that she can to be herself again, which still means cherishing her background and passing on its traditions. Among the talented women attached to this Sundance Audience Award recipient — emerging victorious in 2023's festival's World Cinema — Dramatic competition — Cate Blanchett is the best globally known name. The Tár and The New Boy actor executive produces, lending the kind of attention that her involvement can give a debut feature, but Shayda belongs to filmmaking star-on-the-rise Niasari, plus the always-wonderful Ebrahimi and fresh discovery Zahednia. With the film arriving so closely with Aftersun, Past Lives and How to Have Sex, it might seem as if making a movie that's so ripped from the heart and soul is easy, although that's unquestionably not true. Another thing that all four features have in common: they feel effortless to watch, but also like the product of hard, meticulous, all-in work. Here's one more: they also make something so personal resonate universally. With Shayda, conveying the fact that Shayda and Mona's plight sadly isn't unique is a clear but never heartstring-tugging aim. That Ebrahimi plays Niasari's lead so soon after winning Cannes' top acting prize is a pure stroke of lucky timing, with casting happening before that accolade. She would've been marvellous without the gong on her mantle already, of course — and marvellous she is. Quiet power shimmers in Shayda's strongest moments. Determination simmers silently even when the character is at her most fragile. Being resolute and being vulnerable aren't positioned as opposites in her devastatingly multi-layered performance. First-timer Zahednia is a find and also just as understated as Ebrahimi; their pairing as mother and daughter is a dream. Not that Shayda skimps on dialogue, but words aren't often needed thanks to their potent portrayals, including to see the world through Shayda and Mona's eyes.
If January 26 finds you looking for a thoughtful way to reflect on the impact of the arrival of the First Fleet and Australia's colonisation of its First Nations people, you should join the folks from Sydney Festival the evening prior. For the fifth year in a row, the festival will be running a vigil at Barangaroo Reserve. Unlike previous years, the 2023 iteration will span 40 minutes from 8.30pm, in place of the overnight ceremony that's taken place in years gone by. [caption id="attachment_884051" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] This year, the event is titled Vigil: Awaken and will celebrate the reawakening of the spirit of Me-Mel (formerly Goat Island). The island is currently in the process of being transferred to Aboriginal ownership and management. Across the 40 minutes, the ceremony will reflect on the deep cultural significance of the island, and celebrate its return through ceremonial smoke, flares, music, light, performance and narration. The event is free and registration is not required this year. Images: Victor Frankowski
In and around Newcastle this weekend This Is Not Art (TiNA) makes a window into the world of up and coming and too-strange-for-main-stage performance, music and prose. TiNA is a has been a hybrid of a number of festivals in its time. This year it's three: the National Young Writers' Festival, Critical Animals and the Crack Theatre Festival. New ideas, new performers and new shows all get a chance to shine in a free festival that connects you with arts, artists and writers who you might never otherwise encounter. It's a four day deal, owning literary highlights like Women of Letters, the NYWF Spelling Bee and even a Younger Young Writers' Program. Critical Animals shows off Walking the Digital City and Bodies in Distress (from the intriguingly-named Centre for the History of Emotions at UWS), while straight stories get a look in with a series of three late night readings the NYWF Festival Hot House Show and Tell and the In the Dark. On the performance side, Crack offers Impossible Plays, some time with Achilles at Home and the Toilet Show, a play made from graffiti on cubicle walls. Not to mention a word with Concrete Playground's own Editor-in-Chief, Rima Sabina Aouf, talking on digital critics in the panel I've Started a Blog… Now I'm a Critic. This year's This is Not Art is camping-free, so alternative accomodation suggestions are on the website. Image by owlandowlet.
One of the big 'pulls' of this year’s Falls Festival is the Brooklyn-based quartet Grizzly Bear. And now we know that shortly after hauling in the New Year, they will be making their debut performance at the Sydney Opera House. Currently at the peak of their career, enjoying critical acclaim and receiving vigorous nods of approval from the likes of Paul Simon, Radiohead and Fleet Foxes, the indie-rock outfit has built a reputation for creating music that is texturally rich. Whether it be swirling psychedelic tones, sunny melodies or melancholic folk, Grizzly Bear has a knack for crafting "pop music with an ear for the ambient". Their fourth album, Shields, was released in 2012 and is considered their most compositionally ambitious venture to date. From the boisterous album-opener, 'Sleeping Ute', to the epic finale, 'Sun in Your Eyes', this intricate suite of multilayered songs has an inquisitiveness and emotive resonance that stays with you. Grizzly fans are likely to jump at the opportunity to catch the indie-rock trailblazers at Sydney's iconic Opera House. The Concert hall acoustics are sure to complement the band's genre-melting tapestry of tunes. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, 4 October, from the Sydney Opera House website.
Having treated Sydneysiders to a taste of village-style Sri Lankan and Southern Indian food at INDU, not to mention modern Mexican at two Mèjico locations, the Sam Prince Hospitality Group (SPHG) has announced the game plan for its next venture – a contemporary Japanese restaurant inspired by the rebellious music of the '80s and '90s. Named Kid Kyoto, this CBD offering is one that'll march to its own beat, drawing on the alternative spirit captured by the likes of Nirvana, Beck and Radiohead back in the day. To that end, expect a fitout that's bold and fare that's fearlessly original, with Head Chef Seb Gee (China Doll, China Diner) and SPHG group manager Richard Prout developing a menu that nods to a pretty experimental attitude. "The whole restaurant – what you see, hear, taste, smell and touch – will be influenced by the soundtrack we listened to whilst visiting Japan. In particular the music of the izakayas in Tokyo and Kyoto," Prout explained. "Guests will come for the food and stay because they hear that song that reminds them of a particular time in their life." Kid Kyoto is set to open on Bridge Lane, Sydney in late spring.
Cocktail Connoisseur hosted at the Loft is set to mix things up (no pun intended) with the final shakedown taking place on 1 November. The competition, aimed at bringing together expert mixologists and bona fide cocktail aficionados, is at grand final stage after grueling prelims around the country. The great thing about this comp? They've enlisted your help to judge signature creations from some of Australia's finest up and coming. Apparently, it's all about sharing the love at Cocktail Connoisseur. And hey, we're not complaining. Suntory Australia is inviting members of the public to rate bespoke cocktail creations whilst enjoying freebie cocktails and canapés. What's not to love? To get to this point, 550 entrants across Australia participated in initial rounds, which involved a series of blind tasting by judges according to aesthetic, taste and aroma of each entrant's signature cocktail. The result? A total of five entrants from each state, which were then whittled down to five overall champs. It is these five champs we're going to see in action on 1 November, and if you're anything like us you'll be doing the ring around to ensure it's a cracker of a night. RSVP to rsvp@theloftsydeny.com essential before 30 October for free entry. Places are limited.
Slowly, Australia is starting to emerge from COVID-19 lockdown, which includes bars, pubs and venues — but life isn't back to normal just yet. That means that Isolation Trivia is still going strong and, on Saturday, June 13, going green as well. Yep, it's hosting a session dedicated to animated favourite Shrek. If you know why it really isn't easy being an ogre, you've watched the vibrant CGI animation more times than you can remember, and you've memorised the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, well, this is for you. And, as no one who has ever seen Shrek before can manage to forget, a whole lot of Smashmouth — aka 'All Star' and their version of 'I'm a Believer' — will also likely feature prominently. No bookings or registrations are required — all you need to do it hit up the event Facebook page at 6.25pm. And if you're wondering exactly which parts of the Shrek franchise you'll be quizzed on, this trivia night will focus on the 2001 movie that started it all, plus 2004's Shrek 2. So, no need to worry about Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Puss in Boots, or all the Shrek short films, TV shows and TV specials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwXOrWvPBPk
There's no one quite like Frank, the person, and there's nothing quite like Frank, the film. The former, as played by Michael Fassbender while wearing a papier mache mask, is a soul seemingly eccentric but really just looking for the essence of creation and contentment. The latter is quirky by design but beautifully bittersweet by execution, revelling in all life's failures and flaws. Frank leads an experimental rock band with the fittingly unpronounceable name of The Soronprfbs, and that's exactly where Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) finds him. Downtrodden in his dismal everyday routine, Jon wants desperately to be a musician but lacks the opportunity and the ability to extend himself. His unlikely encounter with his new friend with the obscured face brings both, one fruitful, the other less so. As the reconfigured group ventures from the Irish wilderness to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in search of musical fulfilment, the solace they find comes from internal, not external, forces. Journalist turned screenwriter Jon Ronson, of The Men Who Stare at Goats fame, turns fact into fiction in Frank, taking his characters and narrative from his own experiences. With co-scribe Peter Straughan and director Lenny Abrahamson, he spins a story inspired by Frank Sidebottom, the comic persona of musician Chris Sievey, as fine-tuned and fleshed out where necessary. The basics remain, including the large and unusual headwear that demands attention in every scene that it appears in. Added in the tinkering with the tale is thoughtfulness that resonates like a homage while investing a layer of universality. That relatable spirit weaves through a film that ponders the oft-contemplated contrast between reality and perception in an interesting and endearing fashion. While Frank must resort to announcing his emotions on screen for the benefit of Jon, and to the disdain of his other avant garde band mates — Hysteria's Maggie Gyllenhaal and The Rover's Scoot McNairy among them — the sentiment of his every sentence is always clear, heightening the feature's commentary on communication and identity. Of course, much of the success stems from casting, including Fassbender in the titular role. Gleeson is wonderfully uncertain, Gyllenhaal convincingly curt and McNairy ever eclectic; however, it is the hidden figure that combines all their traits and more into a singular yet complex package. Again, it is his words that do all the talking, offbeat charm oozing from every wide-ranging conversation and progressive tune. Indeed, whilst shot with the same anarchic energy that adjusts to the mood of the story, Frank is a film to listen to as keenly as to watch — from every inflection in Fassbender's sometimes strange, sometimes touching dialogue to the diverse array of noisy, catchy, cute and unconventional songs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IblHV2x64f8
Witness the duo that is claimed to deliver one of the world's most intoxicating live acoustic performances as Mexico's Rodrigo y Gabriela take on Sydney. Since their album release last year, they've toured cities all over Europe, North America and Asia and are now making their fourth visit to loyal fans in Australia. Rodrigo y Gabriela have mesmerized audiences all over the world with their original songs and cover versions on authentic Spanish guitars. The guitarists work wonders on stage as Rodrigo plays the main melody and Gabriela defines the rhythm, creating a perfect harmony that is both charming and exhilarating. Their diverse style has left any acoustic competition in the dust, and for good reason. Accompanied by Bobby Long, a folk-rock artist on the rise, the show will be nothing short of pure entertainment. https://youtube.com/watch?v=vNc5o9TU0t0
