You may have been hanging out with Shag for ages. He might have been in your house, your car and your headphones with his Friday arvo program on FBi Radio with Sweetie Zamora. And as one of those go-getters who's been contributing to Sydney's alternative, independent arts and music community for years, we thought he'd be the perfect insider for Concrete Playground's Hidden Sydney column. We all know the thrill of finding a new view of the city skyline, or a window in a pub that's great for people-watching. Here are your next five discoveries. And keep an ear out for Shag's new podcast later this year with his former co-host Peach, called What's Up With Peach and Shag? 1. City of Sydney Library The Sydney library system is amazing – borrow twenty items at a time for three weeks, borrow and return them to any of the twelve branches, and free membership if you live in the inner city. Best of all is its Network Graphic Novels collection, as it’s pretty complete. From Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and classic Batman to Harvey Pekar and Fun Home, you’ll find an awesome selection of major titles that you’ve heard of or should have heard of. 2. Sydney Park with a dog I’ve recently become a dog person thanks to my girlfriend’s pound puppy ‘Poppet’, a giant Irish Wolfhound cross who needs a large open area to run around in every once in a while. So when we can, we head to Sydney Park. There are none of those horrible anti-dog signs, no need for leashes, and no precious, over-protective owners – just heaps of space filled with happy pups, running free. 3. Rock Lily at The Star Hear me out. Yes, casinos can be super depressing places, and obviously the name is atrocious. But here’s the thing: Rock Lily is completely surreal. It’s a rock-themed venue (think a milder Hard Rock/Planet Hollywood) that sits IN THE MIDDLE of the main casino floor, like the Tardis. Just slap bang in the middle! Plus, it’s almost never full, or even half full. Does that not sound like a potentially great venue for the beginning (or end) of an insane night out? 4. Cream on King For a cheap, well-fitted vintage t-shirt with a completely unique print, there’s really no better place. 5. Staying in Sydney A friend of mine told me something once that has always stuck with me: Sydney could be as amazing as anywhere else, as long as the good people stay. So instead of dreaming about moving to New York, start thinking about how you can make your mark here.
Steak connoisseurs, all your Christmases are about to arrive at once. Meet Bistecca, Sydney's newest steak restaurant. Its entire menu is based on a single cut: bistecca alla fiorentina, which comes from Tuscany. After you've ordered, the chef brings your selection to your table, cuts and weights it before your eyes, then cooks it over an open fire in an open kitchen. As you might've guessed by now, Bistecca is the creation of a couple of diehard Italophiles. Co-owners James Bradley and Warren Burns, who've been friends since childhood, have travelled all over Italy together in search of the ideal steak and, needless to say, its perfect red wine match. Bistecca is the result of their findings. To complement your steak, there's a choice of hearty, traditional side dishes, including braised cannellini beans, garlic and rosemary potatoes, and cavolo nero. And vegetarians, though you're probably quaking in your non-leather boots by now, we should let you know there's a meat-free cannelloni on the menu, too. Give yourself some time to pore over the wine list: there are more than 300 drops to choose from. They're all straight from Italy or made in Australia from Italian varietals. Meanwhile, the cocktail list is big on Italian classics, such as negronis and bellinis. Before too long, Bistecca will be letting you take its wine picks home via an attached bottle shop. Realising the owners' culinary vision is head chef Pip Pratt, who's worked at Bentley and Michelin-starred Club Gascon in the UK. The classic Italian interior, splashed with marble, terrazzo tiling, timber panelling and butcher's blocks, is the design of Tom Mark Henry, whose work you might know from Dead Ringer and 1888 Certified. Bistecca is set to open in late June at 4 Bridge Street, Sydney. To begin, opening hours will be Monday to Saturday from 4pm.
Where is the border of public space? Does it end as you hop onto a bus, go into a shopping mall or step up into the gravelly grounds of the Mint? As part of the build up to the Historic Houses Trust's biennial Sydney Open push to bring the private into the public domain, the Trust is running a series of Public Sydney talks Tuesday nights in August and September that examine the shifting world of the public sphere. Every Tuesday night, the program will set two speakers on stage, with themes including late-night play, marketplace meetings and a greener vision of Sydney. As a Sydneysider, you probably know your own swatch of our patchwork city pretty well, but this series might give you a better look at some of the other granny squares on offer. Image by avlxyz.
Heading into their fifth year, Carriageworks has unveiled a multitude of risk-taking and culturally diverse events. The 2016 program was announced last night, and features more visual art, film, dance and music than you can poke a stick at. Unless you have 54 sticks. In which case, you are probably just as ambitious as Carriageworks themselves — going by what they plan to pull off in the next 12 months. No longer do we have to imagine things like rainbow-coloured horses running through the streets — instead, American artist Nick Cave will make this vision a reality with HEARD.SYD. Involving 60 dancers and musicians and 30 colourful, life-size horses, the performance work will bring Sydney’s streets to life, highlighting the beauty and joy of nature reimagined in contemporary art as part of the City of Sydney’s Art & About program. But 30 horses alone do not maketh a contemporary multi-arts program. Over 740 other artists are involved in the 2016 program, including cult K-pop boy band Boyfriend, who will be at the Chinese New Year Festival, Klub Koori for NAIDOC week, and some rare performances from solo artists such as Christian Fennesz and Michael Gira. Contemporary music fans will know Fennesz is synonymous with harmonically rapturous electronic music. Others will recognise Gira as the frontman of the Swans, a band that inspired generations of musicians, including bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Four decades of solo work has gained him a loyal following in North America and beyond, showing Gira's still leading one inspired flock. The 2016 program itself will commence with the Sydney Festival in January, with the first exhibition coming from Ghana artist El Anatsui, who this year won the Gold Lion at the Venice Biennale. Considered to be one of the most remarkable artists working today, Anatsui examines the complex histories of post-colonial Africa with the issues of consumption, waste and the environment. The festival will also see the Sydney Chamber Opera musically perform 21 poems by Friedrich Nietzsche in O Mensch! Carriageworks will be presenting Semi Permanent, and Sydney Writers' Festival: Carriageworks Edition, which will feature conversations with internationally renowned authors Simon Winchester and Andrew O’Hagan. An evening of motor-mouthed spoken words and storytelling by UK artist Christopher Brett Bailey. His theatre piece, This is How We Die, traverses tales of young love, ultra-violence and paranoia as part of Sydney Festival’s About An Hour program.. Performance art-wise, as part of Sydney Festival at Carriageworks, Vortex Temporum is the work by internationally renowned Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Bringing together seven dancers and six musicians to French composer Gerard Grisey, each dancer translates the sounds of a particular instrument into dynamic action. We're feeling sucked in and, due to our lack of interpretive dance moves, keen on the possibility to learn a thing or two. The majority of events will be capped at $35. Heck, some are even totally free. So start filling up your 2016 arts calendar — Carriageworks has made sure it'll be a busy year. Find out more about the full 2016 Carriageworks program here.
Why are we so quick to dub certain books 'unfilmable'? After dozens of so-called-unfilmable film adaptations, maybe it's time to stop doubting the ability of screenwriters and directors to translate written expression to visual. Sometimes these unfilmable films are among the most exciting cinematic adventures of all, having to be inventive in a way that defies our expectations. Among unfilmable books, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell surely takes the cake, so let's resolve to be excited rather than plain old dubious that mind-fuck virtuosos the Wachowskis (The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) are tackling it. The novel is set across time, from the Colonial Pacific to a circularly primitive future, and follows the exploits of several people who have basically nothing to do with each other. It's always told in the language and point of view of the character currently in focus — among them, an intrepid reporter, a precocious composer, and a woman genetically engineered for a life in hospitality — and constantly undermines conventional narrative structure by ripping us out of a story just when it's picking up pace. It's also a completely intoxicating read that was nominated for the 2004 Booker Prize. Tykwer and the Wachowskis are clearly aiming for greatness here, but they don't make it, and that leaves the unorthodox film open to savagery from many angles, far more than it deserves. Even at three hours, it's not a difficult watch, as the thickly intercut stories are individually intriguing and easy to distinguish. The editing involved in Cloud Atlas is a real marvel, actually. I'm picturing some obsessive Gollum (actually Alexander Berner) emerging from the editing suite with scurvy and a hunchback after months of toil. It's this intricate editing that subtly pulls the film along, so that the appearance of an actor in one time cuts to their transformed face in another and the mention of a door will in the next vignette open a gate. One of the best elements of the film is how it turns the 'actor playing multiple roles' trope from a novelty into an art. Although the message of the book and film is ambiguous, the idea of recurrence and of us having traceable connections to distant times is a major theme. The filmmakers are able to give vivid expression to that idea by having actors take on several characters, often across gender and race. Some critics have accused the film of racism for its use of yellow-face, but to do so seems sensationalist when you see how much thought, awareness, and purpose has gone into the portrayal of race. It's basically the point of the movie. On top of that, the prosthetics are awe-inspiring, and it's worth watching the credits just to see which unrecognisable appearances from Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Hugh Grant, Keith David, Xun Zhou, and others passed you by. Some of the other mise en scene, however, is surprisingly forgettable given the filmmakers; one of their futures looks pretty much like Bladerunner. The other big problem for the film is that, as it builds to its breathless, hypercutting crescendo, it looks a bit like cloying Western mysticism, if not all-out schmaltz. Resist falling into this vortex and you might enjoy the personal reading you take out of Cloud Atlas's ambiguous melting pot. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ByehYal_cCs
Fancy a free trip to the cinema? The Access All Areas Film Festival is taking Australian film on tour this month as part of the state’s Don’t DIS my ABILITY campaign, which culminates in the celebration of the International Day of People with a Disability. Think about it, a trip to the cinema is a common pastime for most, but not so for the visually or hearing impaired, for whom most cinemas don’t cater. So in touring around the state, bringing cinema to local deaf and blind schools, this festival not only champions Australian film, but also demonstrates the cultural possibilities available to the disabled. 
Now in it’s second year, the festival will screen Scott Hick’s compassionate portrait of fatherhood, The Boys Are Back as well as Sarah Watt’s wry look at family life My Year Without Sex. Also part of the program are a series of short films for kids to enjoy, including the IF nominated animation Tin Can Heart. All screenings will be captioned for the hearing impaired, audio-described for the visually impaired and be wheelchair accessible. The festival will also round out with a panel discussion “Willing and Able â€" Making Cinema Accessible,†at the Dendy Opera Quays. So for cinephiles of all abilities, this is your chance to access all areas. https://youtube.com/watch?v=LKbklo_lqDA https://youtube.com/watch?v=DdnTibGABAE https://youtube.com/watch?v=3tWWFtAl0I8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=nR9t2ZR-5R0
It has been 13 years since Black Star Pastry's legendary Strawberry Watermelon Cake first made its way into the world, started lighting up Instagram feeds around the globe and began tempting tastebuds en masse. It's still a regular on the bakery's menu, and is available at its stores in both Sydney and Melbourne — but if you'd like to combine the multi-layered delight with a dash of romance, a limited-edition heart-shaped version is now available to order. Obviously, the special version of the cake is timed around Valentine's Day. Yes, it's almost that time of year already. This isn't the first year that Black Star has released this special take on its super-popular dessert, and it sold out in 2020, so if you're keen on sharing a few slices with your favourite person, you might want to get ordering sooner rather than later. As always, the cake contains two layers of almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream and watermelon, which is then topped with strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. This time around, it's just in the most romantic shape there. You can nab one for $40, with online pre-orders available now — for pickup between Friday, February 12–Sunday, February 14. If you want to chance it and order closer to the date, you do still need to give 48 hours notice. Black Star is starting 2021 with a couple of other limited-edition specials, too. For January 26, you can tuck into an Australia Day pavlova made with davidson plum in the meringue base and lemon aspen mixed into the chantilly cream, then topped with fresh, mixed berries and marigold flower petals. Orders are available for pickups between Saturday, January 23–Tuesday, January 26, with a small costing $10 and a large costing $40. Or, for Lunar New Year, you can opt for a pack of three macarons — made from almond-flavoured macaron shells, filled with red bean butter cream and mandarin compote, then dipped in strawberry and chocolate, dusted with gold and decked out with a message of good fortune. They'll set you back $12.50, and you can preorder them for pickups from Thursday, February 11–Sunday, February 21. Black Star Pastry's Valentine's Day heart-shaped Strawberry Watermelon Cake, Australia Day pavlova and Lunar New Year macarons are available to order via the bakery's website, for pickup at all Sydney and Melbourne stores.
Quay's three-month long renovation is nearly upon us and the closing of its doors will also mark the end of a dessert era. That's right, Sydneysiders — this month is your last chance to taste the famous Snow Egg before it's gone forever. One of Australia's most awarded restaurants, the three-hatted venue will close its doors on Sunday, April 1, to undergo a major facelift, reopening in mid-2018 with a new state-of-the-art kitchen facility and a revamped dining room. Executive chef Peter Gilmore is again teaming up with TZG architects (who designed other Fink Group restaurants Bennelong and Otto Brisbane) and the fit-out will mimic Gilmore's approach to food — with elements of texture, nature and intensity in the design. Seating with views of the Harbour Bridge will open for the first time and the existing 100-person dining room will be reduced to a more intimate affair, with small dining spaces featured around the restaurant. Likewise, the menu will be completely reimagined — sans Snow Egg — and only tasting menus will be available at both lunch and dinner. The service model will also change to offer a more interactive culinary experience for guests. "After 16 years of Quay in its current form, this new incarnation will give me the opportunity to fulfil even greater aspirations for my food," says Gilmore. "This new chapter will facilitate a long-held desire to take the diner on an even more personal dining experience." With the new menu comes teary-eyed goodbyes to some of Quay's most iconic dishes, most notably the Snow Egg. Making fan-crazed waves as the star dish in the 2010 Masterchef finale, the dessert's decade at Quay has seen over half-a-million made in more than 20 flavours. For the final version, Gilmore is offering up a custard apple and mangosteen Snow Egg, served with pear granita and custard apple ice cream. "The Snow Egg has graced our menu for over a decade, but this is a time of change and I want to be looking forward," says Gilmore. "It was a tough decision but removing it gives me the opportunity to grow and evolve the menu to give guests a new dining experience." As a farewell to the Quay of old, the restaurant is holding a super-pricey retrospective dinner on Wednesday, March 28. It will showcase some of Gilmore's most defining dishes over his 16-year tenure — including the original pork belly and sea scallops from 2001 and Gilmore's decadent sea pearls from 2006, along with mud crab congee and free-range chicken with truffle — and finished off with the beloved Snow Egg. The $500 per-person dinner also includes a premium wine pairing by renowned sommelier Amanda Yallop. If you can't quite fork up this amount of cash but are still keen to nab one last taste, the Snow Egg is also available on the regular lunch and dinner menus through till April 1. In the lead-up to its retirement, expect to see S(no)w Egg posters, like the below, pop-up around Sydney. <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPOJpqHkrY/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.5% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPOJpqHkrY/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">🚨 PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 The Snow Egg is retiring when we pauses service for renovation on April 1st, this is no yolk. Don't be a fool, reserve your experience today. Link in our bio for details. #SnowEgg #Desserts #QuayRestaurant #RestaurantAustralia</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/quayrestaurant/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> QUAY</a> (@quayrestaurant) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-03-12T21:13:07+00:00">Mar 12, 2018 at 2:13pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> Quay will close on April 1 and reopen in mid-2018. This month is your last chance to nab a taste of the famous Snow Egg before it is off the menu for good.
Two kinds of people make it into tabloids. The first are celebrities, and the second are non-celebrities in extraordinary (particularly: sexy) circumstances. Those in the latter category are sometimes genuinely interesting, and you'll never meet more interesting tabloid fodder than Joyce McKinney, 1978's Mormon-kidnapping, sexually predatory Southern beauty queen. Documentarian extraordinaire Errol Morris (The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line) has tracked down the larger-than-life McKinney and others involved in this now mostly forgotten event for a trip down memory lane. They retell the story of how she came to extract young Mormon Kirk Anderson from his church using a gang of men, a fake gun and a bottle of chloroform and hold him in the English countryside for several days. She claims, as ever, that she was rescuing her true love from a dangerous cult. When found, he claimed he was kidnapped and raped. After a brief foray into tabloid headlines and celebrity parties, McKinney fled back to the US and was convicted of the crime in absentia. Tabloid has in its grasp the two things a great documentary needs: a human point of interest and a way into a deeper argument about the structures that underlie our society — in this case, the structure of tabloid media. Morris could actually stand to pry a little further into the scandal-fuelled news machine. After what went down at News of the World, we're certainly hungry for the insight. Fortunately, the human interest at the centre of the story is of mammoth proportions. McKinney is charming, intense, and entirely convinced of her view of the facts. She has gone on to live a life of celibacy on a Wyoming country estate with four cloned dogs. Seriously. Morris keeps things fun and gripping, with hyperactive editing to aid the attention deficient. The effects of his patented 'Interrotron' system are palpable: relaxed and engaged interviewees seem to look down the barrel of the lens and address you while they are, in their reality, looking at and addressing Morris. Unfortunately and understandably, the Mormon at the centre of it all is not one of these interviewees. Anderson refused to be interviewed for Tabloid, so the task of arguing his case, that he was kidnapped and raped, falls to journalists and other onlookers. It gives McKinney's story perhaps more credence than it deserves, and some may justifiably find this off-colour. Still, if you're open to hearing out someone who is quite possibly a deranged sexual offender, this story is one that will bewilder, challenge, and prompt a conversation on how we think about consent. https://youtube.com/watch?v=B5FcZrg_Nuo
Last year, the Sydney Theatre Company sketched a new tradition when it programmed the hugely acclaimed August: Osage Country from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company as part of its otherwise locally produced Main Stage season. It's a carefully allocated slot that goes not just to an exemplary piece of theatre but a definitive telling that would lose some of its particular magic if packaged in any other way. This year the equivalent play is Terminus, courtesy of the company that first put it on, Ireland's Abbey Theatre, and directed by its writer, Mark O'Rowe. That's where the equivalence ends; Terminus is the near opposite of August: Osage County's three-storeyed, talky family soap opera, magnificent as it was. There is no set, and although the narrative is ultimately interwoven, the action is all carried in monologic verse by three actors alternately caught in a precise beam of light on an ink-black stage. There's one bit of pageantry, bracing and effective, just after the house lights go down, but otherwise you're on your own with these three isolated busts, this one void room. A (Olwen Fouere) is a briny, middle-aged schoolteacher, vying to save her troubled students and quell the bubbling guilt of her own bad motherhood; B (Catherine Walker) is a young woman driven to solitude by life's betrayals, who falls from the top of a crane when it deals her another; and C (Declan Conlon), well, C made a pact with the devil in exchange for an exalted singing voice but, too socially phobic to use it, has become a merciless serial killer instead. On one fateful night, they kill, die, brawl, save lives, steal a truck and soar through the air in the arms of a demon composed of worms but shot through with human desires. The question you may be asking at this point is, why would you go to see three people doing what basically amounts to spoken word poetry when you could go to see a play, you know the thing, with maximalist production, a set dressed in literal and symbolic value and characters who talk to each other. The answer is all that's left — the writing and its delivery — which in Terminus are dizzyingly, unforgettably good. O'Rowe weaves together fantasy and reality, high culture and low in blindsiding ways, so fantastical, religious, near-redemptive imagery mixes with eye gouging and the ritual of watching Beaches. When you're entranced by the steady yet surprisingly unrestricted metre, charmed by rhymes that toy with your expectations and deprived of your visual sense, the words alone become visceral and moving. At one high point, B's breathless recount of the memories that flash before her eyes at her death rewires your understanding of this familiar trope. It's otherworldly and shaking and reaches through the dark to make a human connection.
Opportunities to marvel at the incredible architecture around Sydney have been limited this year. But, thanks to our mates at Sydney Living Museums, you can reacquaint yourself with the impressive designs dotted throughout our wonderful city when Sydney Open kicks off next month. Sydney's annual celebration of architecture, heritage and urban design has been reimagined for its 2021 instalment. This year, you'll be able to take part in in the event through a series of online and outdoor events from Friday, November 5 till Sunday, November 7. And the best part? It's completely free. The curated program will include a series of live-streamed panels featuring leading architects and artists discussing themes such as identity, heritage and sustainability. You'll also be able to tune in to podcasts, enjoy COVID-friendly outdoor experiences, take part in expert-led virtual tours and uncover some of the city's most exciting public spaces on self-guided walking tours. Just make sure you register online ahead of time to secure you spot for the panel talks. Ready to rediscover Sydney? Add Sydney Open to your list of must-do activities this spring. Sydney Open will take place from Friday, November 5 till Sunday, November 7. For more information and to register your attendance, visit the website.
Summer is just a state of mind, and March has everything you need to stay in it. Outdoor festivals, swims, Caribbean barbecues and the biggest street parade of the whole year — it's all on the schedule for early autumn late summer.
If you're planning to spend 12 days in the Harbour City's cinemas this winter, Sydney Film Festival's full 2025 slate of movies is jam-packed across Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15. A few highlights on the program are also part of Vivid Sydney 2025, falling within the citywide arts, light, music, food and ideas celebration as well. A celebration of Warren Ellis was always going to be huge news — and worthy of a spot on both festival's bills. There's two parts to it, both on Sunday, June 8: a screening of Justin Kurzel (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)-directed documentary Ellis Park, about the iconic musician establishing an animal sanctuary to protect endangered species in Sumatra, then An Evening with Warren Ellis at City Recital Hall. At the first, at the State Theatre, audiences will obviously see the film. Afterwards, its subject — a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds collaborator and Dirty Three founder, as well as a pivotal force in movie scores, including on The Proposition, The Road, Far From Men, Mustang, Hell or High Water, The Velvet Queen, The New Boy, Back to Black, Kid Snow and newly minted Oscar-winner I'm Still Here — will chat about the doco, and also put on a short musical performance. You'll need separate tickets if you want to attend both the movie and the in-conversation session.
Private galleries: They can seem small, detached, too far away to trek to and too quiet to enter without drawing the attention of hawkish assistants who measure the depths of your pockets as you squirm in their talons. Thankfully, Art Month Sydney is back to systematically bust each one of these preconceptions as it unites over 80 galleries and artist-run initiatives in four weeks of celebration, collaboration and bigger-than-oneself thinking. Now in its second year, Art Month works by devoting each week in March to a separate Sydney arts precinct: Danks Street, Waterloo and Redfern (March 1-6); Chippendale, Newtown, Marrickville and the CBD (March 7-13); Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Potts Point (March 14-20); and Paddington and Woollahra (March 21-27). You're encouraged to gallery hop the area-of-the-week, particularly on Thursday nights for Art After Work, during which galleries stay open till 8pm and the designated bar takes in weary art appreciators afterwards, and on Saturdays, when a packed schedule of gallery talks will lure you from one venue to the next in line. This year introduces ARTcycle as a guided, leisurely and extra romantic group transit option. The thing to book well in advance (like, now) is the Creative Conversations series, last year's big hit, which pits visual artists in conversation with artists of other stripes to see what light they can shine on each other's world. The 'Thread for Thought' session will look at the convergence of art and fashion with Akira Isogawa, Lindy Lee and Adam Laerksen, while 'Igniting Passions' will pour in Adam and Max Cullen, Pat Corrigan, Giles Alexander and Guy Maestri and stir. Before the month of March is out, make sure you've wandered the stretch of Macleay Street, Potts Point to take in its spruced-up store windows, been welcomed into Marrickville's thriving ARIs, squeezed into the White Rabbit's theatrette for Animation Overload and a good deal more.
Want to see what glitter and blood look like combined? Inventive Aussie horror The Loved Ones has recently scooped a handful of film festival prizes, so it's being released to some hype. The points of difference to the average slasher are its investment in character (so you care when someone has a cordless drill pointed at their head), its reverence to Australian film history and its female baddie. Never fear, the character development doesn't stop the lead, deep and dero high-schooler Brent (Xavier Samuel), being kidnapped a mere 10 minutes in. He's made the mistake of politely declining an invitation to the school formal from the quiet, childish Lola Stone (Robin McLeavy). Now Lola and her too-devoted father (John Brumpton) are determined that she and her quarry have the perfect night — a perverted prom where her dress is too shocking a pink, Kasey Chambers features too heavily on the soundtrack and an array of household tools are used contrary to their instructions. Tuxedoed, trussed up and tormented, Brent will have to decide whether he cares more for life or death, and, robbed of his voice early in the game, Samuel does a great job communicating this journey through scrabbles and cries alone. That said, there's a reason we call this genre 'torture porn', and although its great to see the gender roles reversed, it may also be the reason you really feel every squick of this grotesquery. https://youtube.com/watch?v=LqtDoEne-Is
The Festival of Dangerous Ideas is really more like the Festival of Ideas Slightly More Radical Than One Would Normally Bring Up in Polite Society, Addressed By the Minds and Working Belief Systems of People Known to be Really Quite Smart. But, admittedly, the 'Festival of Dangerous Ideas' is a catchier title. Presented by the St James Ethics Centre in conjunction with the Sydney Opera House, the festival is looking to build on its successful debut last year. At the head of the table is Tariq Ali, British-Pakistani commentator and author of both histories of the Middle East (Clash of Fundamentalisms, Bush In Babylon) and fictions (the Islam quintet), who will ascertain 'What we can learn from terrorists', while two of the world's most highly regarded legal minds, Alan Dershowitz and Geoffrey Robertson, steer their small talk into a moral, ethical and political quagmire to determine whether the pope should be held to account for sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Christian Lander will be making a return visit to our shores to discuss Stuff White People Like (this time without just white people in on the conversation), journalist David Marr and Sydney Festival director Lindy Hume may cut quite close to the bone when they consider the proposition that 'Art doesn't make us better people', and Ross Gittins will probably face stunned silence when he suggests that economic growth should be stopped. Not getting invited back to their next P&C luncheons are Anne Manne (who asks 'Are children worth it?'), Andrew Leigh ('Canberra is the best city in Australia') and Marcus Westbury ('What's so special about opera?'). An open soapbox competition and an IQ2 debate round out the cantankerousness.
Haven't yet feasted your eyes on Wes Anderson's latest flick, the stop-motion animated delight that is Isle of Dogs? Loved it and want to see it again? It was one of our picks from this year's Berlinale, where it opened the fest and won best director, so we understand. The film has just hit DVD and to celebrate Stanley's in Darlinghurst is screening it for free — and, even better, you can bring your own pupper. The screening will kick off at 7pm, and is bound to turn Stanley's heated courtyard into an isle of dogs — just without the water. And while you can always take your pooch to hang out at Stanley's, there's no better time to take them to than this. The Darlinghurst bar will also be serving up an Isle of Dogs-themed menu for the occasion, with drinks such as a tequila- and grenadine-spiked Pink Chihuahua, the Bloodhound — the bar's take on a Caesar — and Indy Loves Iggy with gin, rhubarb and kombucha. It'll be available from July 15–29. If your dog is called Spots, then you have to go. The film follows a boy's visit to the titular land mass to find his beloved Spots, after all. The adventure that follows features the voices of a host of Anderson regulars and other ace talent — think Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton and Frances McDormand — and proves as gorgeous as you'd expect. You'd be barking mad to miss it.
When Vivid comes to Sydney, the city comes alive, and this year's festival is bringing even more to Sydney thanks to its inaugural food program. Joining the influx of events on this year's lineup is Mary's HERE NOW festival. This day-to-night pop-up is a total newcomer to the festival's annual itinerary with a massive celebration of abundance, food, wine, art and tunes. This event has found a home at Macquarie Place Park, the patch of green right outside of Mary's Underground in Circular Quay — showcasing the state's finest hospitality vendors alongside exhilarating artists on Sunday, June 11. The festival's eats and drinks have been co-curated by P&V Wine and Liquor Merchants' Mike Bennie with renowned Chat Thai and Boon Luck Farm founder Palisa Anderson. Together, they've pulled together a huge lineup of acclaimed chefs and beverage producers who will be on hand cooking up a storm — and sampling their beloved alcoholic and booze-free sips. A few highlights from the chef lineup include Morgan McGlone (Copains, Sunday, ex-Belles Hot Chicken) Annita Potter (Viand), Shaun Christie David (Colombo, Kabul and Coyoacán Social), Josh Lewis and Astrid McCormack (Brunswick Head's two-hatted restaurant Fleet), Alex Prichard (Icebergs Dining Room and Bar) and Nick Hill (Porcine). Accompanying them will be the P&V Baller Bar, plus drinks from Wildflower Brewing, Sabi Wabi, Black Snake Distillery, Heaps Normal, Benson & the Mooch, Lily Fields Distilling Co, Ghiddy and Frankly, Wine by Bob. [caption id="attachment_901909" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whole Beast Butchery[/caption] When it comes to the tunes, Sudanese superstar Gordon Koang leads the lineup, with Danté Knows and EGOISM joining him, alongside DJ sets from Eluize, Champs, ChelseyDagger and Reenie. HERE NOW runs from 3–9pm, and tickets for the 18+ event include entry and a complimentary drink token — and can be purchased online. If you aren't ready for the night to end early, Mary's Underground will be hosting a post-festival after party with live performances from 9pm. [caption id="attachment_901911" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gordon Koang[/caption] Updated Tuesday, May 23.
Thank you, Germany, for giving us yet another reason to splurge on our favourite fermented beverage. Oktoberfest is getting an Aussie do-over for the third year running, as Oktoberwest takes over Sydney's inner west for a day of beer, live music and food truck eats. The Factory Theatre will be turned into a beer hall for the day on Saturday, October 12. Inside, you'll find Young Henrys, Willie The Boatman, Wayward, The Grifter, Batch, Stockade, Philter, Sauce and Malt Shovel Brewery all providing their best limited edition brews. All up, there will be 40 beers to try. Oh, and of course there'll be tunes. Over 20 bands and DJs will take the stage, including Melbourne's The Bennies and local psychedelic four-piece The Laurels. So you can sit back with your pint and enjoy the music, or get involved in the pool comp, beer bingo, an arcade game battle or a go in the dunk tank. In short, there's a lot to do. Luckily, pizzas, Jamaican-style burgers and jerk chicken and German sausages will keep you going throughout the day.
They say you have a second stomach for dessert, but we'd be leaving both of your tummies free for this. Sweet tooths, prepare yourselves. The Shangri-La Hotel Sydney's Sweet Street dessert festival is back, and it's time to dig in. The festival is returning for its fifth year on Friday, June 29, and the hotel's executive pastry chef and high tea aficionado Anna Polyviou is promising a night of wickedly decadent desserts. MasterChef fans will know Polyviou as the mohawk-sporting sweets queen that makes even the most solid of confectionery-competent contestants shake in their boots. Needless to say, girl knows her dessert. Ever the 'food porn' advocate, she'll be serving up eye-widening creations like Popping Caramel (milk chocolate, popping crunch and passionfruit caramel) and Matcha Match (matcha, crunchy cornflakes and strawberry). It should go without saying that they'll taste bloody good too. The lineup also features the stars behind some of Sydney's most renowned dessert items, including watermelon cake creators Black Star Pastry, Uncle Tetsu and his fluffy Japanese cheesecakes and mister macaron himself, Adriano Zumbo. Butter, Koi Dessert Bar, Kirsten Tibballs, Petite Desserts, MakMak Macarons and Petal Met Sugar will also be slinging their sweets. Tickets are $85 per adult (and $45 per child), and you'll get bang for your buck because it gives you eight tokens to redeem desserts at any stall. And if the thought of downing eight sweet treats doesn't have you clutching your stomach in pain, try your hand at the dessert-eating competition. You never know, you could be a cake-guzzling champion in the making. Sweet Street kicks off at 6pm on Friday, June 29. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the website.
War, what is it good for? That's a question Britain's Ministry of Information was tasked with answering in the 1940s. As English soldiers battled the Nazis across Europe, and the Germans dropped bombs on London during the Blitz, selling the merits of the Second World War to the broader public became increasingly difficult. When lives are being lost en masse and buildings are crumbling around you, the slogan "keep calm and carry on" — which was coined by the British government in 1939 — starts to seem a little less reassuring. In Their Finest, Ministry filmmakers aren't just concerned with making rousing cinema. They're also keen to ensure that plausible dialogue comes out of the mouths of their female characters. This inspires them to hire Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) as a low-paid writer. Though keen, industrious and excellent at her job from the outset, she comes in particularly handy when bureaucrat Roger Swain (Richard E Grant), producer Gabriel Baker (Henry Goodman) and head writer Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin) set their sights on adapting a true tale about two sea-faring sisters. The ladies in question took their dad's boat to help with the Dunkirk rescue efforts, or so the story goes. But when Catrin has a chat with the heroic twins, she discovers that reality is a little less exciting. Still, you know the old adage: you can't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Propaganda filmmaking mightn't seem a likely candidate for a poignant exploration of the power of movies, a tender account of people trying to get by in tough times, and a romantic drama all rolled into one. Nevertheless, audiences who stick with Their Finest's initially awkward-seeming concept will be justly reward. There's plenty of sweetness, satire and insight inside — and a gentle yet clear rallying cry against sexism as well. Indeed, director Lone Scherfig (An Education) and screenwriter Gaby Chiappe understand full well that pleasing the cinema-going crowds and smartly championing the power of women in the workforce aren't mutually exclusive goals. In adapting Lissa Evans' 2009 novel Their Finest Hour and a Half, they take the obvious approach, but do so with handsome period flair, an ample amount of heart, and an ability to seamlessly jump between comedic to serious moments. Take Bill Nighy's involvement, for instance. The veteran actor plays just that, although his character is convinced he should be seen as a young romantic lead rather than older uncle. He's initially rolled out for laughs, but the movie doesn't treat him as a joke. Delving deeper into what its motley crew is facing as the war rages on around them sits at the very heart of this surprisingly nuanced film. And while Nighy doesn't ever steal the spotlight from the spirited Arterton, he provides a warm, witty and winning example of the kind of multi-layered movie the pair both find themselves making. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmRzbnnToiw
The brainchild of Grégoire Bertaud, Mal Higgs and Angus Farrell, The Drink Hive has a clear, noble goal (other than the obvious selling of booze) to bring quality craft and artisanal products to thirsty punters in a sustainable manner, and at a decent price — Higgs and Bertaud, the official co-owners of the shop, work closely with various producers to ensure that this goal is met. They even have refillable beer and wine stations pouring quality drops. The Drink Hive is located in Rosebery's food precinct Saporium, which brings sustainable eating, organic ingredients and local businesses together in one place. The Drink Hive slots right into this niche, as Bertaud says that he's "excited to offer Sydney a local and sustainable approach to craft alcohol products at a price affordable to everyone."
Cooking can be many things. For some, it's merely a means to an end; for others, it can be meditative to the point of being therapeutic. But no matter which side of the fence you fall on, there are days when we just can't be bothered doing it. And the same is true of professional chefs — after all, if you do something for a living there surely comes a point where you just don't feel like doing it in your spare time, right? But where do chefs eat in their downtime? We've teamed up with UberEats to ask four Sydney hospo stars — Nelly Robinson of progressive fine diner Nel, Kenneth Rodrigueza of Donut Papi, Eddie Stewart of Tokyo Lamington and Josh Raine of Tetsuya's — about their top local picks for those times they feel like handing over the reins to someone else. [caption id="attachment_697668" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bella Brutta, Kitti Gould[/caption] GO-TO MEAL FOR A HANGOVER Nelly Robinson: "It has to be pizza. If I could be bothered driving it would be Bella Brutta or Westwood, but Rocketboy [also] hits the spot. My go-to is [a] tomato base, cheese, sopressa, pepperoni, ham, peri-peri chicken and potato. Oh, and the garlic bread is a must — it's not your standard!" Kenneth Rodrigueza: Spice and rice is nice for Rodrigueza the morning after a big night. His pick: spicy sashimi tacos and eel and prawn futomaki from Kujira in Ashfield. "The rice absorbs the excess alcohol in your stomach (not sure if this is scientifically proven) and the spicy sauce of the tacos wakes you up." [caption id="attachment_642395" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Loaded by BL, Kimberley Low[/caption] Eddie Stewart: The burg is the word for Stewart when it comes to hangover cures. "Loaded by BL always has my back after a not-so-amazing-feeling morning. [My order is] the Blame Canada with a side of poutine." Josh Raine: Raine's go-to for a hangover was also once the location of a special occasion. "I love Erciyes Restaurant so much that a few friends and I shared a birthday dinner there a few years ago. My favourite dish is the Erciyes Special Pide, which is cheesy, meaty goodness and served up with a chicken iskender kebab. My girlfriend also rates the homemade lentil soup and Turkish bread." GO-TO MEAL FOR A DATE NIGHT Nelly Robinson: "For date night, it would definitely be Indian from Delhi 'O' Delhi. You can't go past the samosa, chicken tikka, dahl, butter chicken, poppadoms and a naan." Kenneth Rodrigueza: "When you CBF cooking, you always go to the restaurants that are consistent because you don't want to ruin a good night with a bad dinner. My go-to is Bar Asia in Annandale. It's very consistent with every dish but my favourite is its beef rendang, [which is] a slightly modern [version of] home-style cooking that reminds you of your parents' cooking — except you paid for it and it was delivered to you." Josh Raine: "For us, it's Northeastern Family Chinese in Waterloo. We order the Sichuan hot spicy sauce chicken with curry fried rice — it's really epic every time." [caption id="attachment_622418" align="alignnone" width="1920"] El Jannah[/caption] GO-TO MEAL FOR A NIGHT OF NETFLIX AND CHOW Nelly Robinson: "It's El Jannah for me. I love the rotisserie chook with garlic sauce, tabouleh and pita. Also, the crispy chicken burger is amazing — I add cheese at home as well." Kenneth Rodrigueza: "If you're watching a movie while having dinner, you don't need any cutlery to distract you. When I get bored of a normal burger, I switch it up to a Japanese-style burger from Gojima, which uses sushi rice covered in seaweed as a bun. The signature sauce is to die for." [caption id="attachment_694684" align="alignnone" width="1920"] RaRa, Luisa Brimble[/caption] Eddie Stewart: "My go-to comfort dish for a Netflix night is Johnny Gio's Pizza — pizza and Netflix is the ultimate ritual. I always go for the pepperoni or the meatball." Josh Raine: "My go-to comfort dish for a couch night is RaRa Ramen. I love the tonkotsu with housemate black garlic and chilli. Also, the vegan ramen is super tasty." [caption id="attachment_716742" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mapo, Kitti Gould[/caption] GO-TO DESSERT Nelly Robinson: "We don't often order dessert but when we do, Serendipity's Death by Chocolate, which you can get from Rocketboy Pizza, is delish." Kenneth Rodrigueza: "I always explore new and interesting flavour combos whenever I crave desserts. Hakiki's feta and rockmelon gelato, Peanut Butter Bar's cheesecake and Panntea's French cake milk tea with pearls are my faves." Eddie Stewart: "Mapo Gelato — always. I reckon I can have a whole one-litre tub to myself, it's the best gelato in town. Oh, that gives me an idea — we need to collab on a lamington gelato, maybe with fior di latte or matcha?" Josh Raine: "It has to be Rivareno Gelato. You can't go wrong in the slightest with any of the flavours — it has experimental flavours but if in doubt, go for the classics. The caramello salato and matcha green tea, in particular, are incredible." Don't feel like cooking tonight? Jump on UberEats to discover a new local favourite. Right now, the delivery platform is offering discounts on a heap of restaurants around Sydney from Monday to Wednesday — find out more here.
In March, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney unveiled more than 700 artworks by over 100 artists at various exhibition spaces across the city. Unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreak and subsequent social distancing measures, the citywide arts festival had to change its plans and people could only experience the festival via its digital program, Nirin Online. In exciting news, the Biennale has extended its program and you'll be able to visit the Biennale of Sydney at the Art Gallery of NSW, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Artspace from June 1 — and at Cockatoo Island and the Museum of Contemporary Art from June 16. Campari, official partner of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, has collaborated with artists Eric Bridgeman and Bhenji Ra to create the Galleria Campari — a creative space on Cockatoo Island where you can chat about the festival over a Negroni or Campari Soda from June 16 to September 6. You can also explore Galleria Campari online. [caption id="attachment_771765" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bhenji Ra's 'Kamay Kalayo (Hands of Fire)'[/caption] Because not everyone will want to, or be able to, travel to Cockatoo Island, Campari has also taken its Biennale Artist Series online. It includes interviews and playlists from artists like Melbourne-based DJ MzRizk and Sydney-based rapper and drummer DOBBY. Every week a different artist will share their story. Coming up on Friday, June 5, Sydney multidisciplinary artist Bhenji Ra will be sharing her creative practice via Instagram, hosted on the Biennale Instagram page, at 8pm. In addition to hearing from the artist, you can also enter a competition to win one of her artworks (pictured above), valued at $999. Register your details before the competition closes at 5pm on Saturday, June 6. The picture is based on a physical art installation by Bhenji Ra, 'Kamay Kalayo (Hands of Fire)', which Campari will be auctioning off on Wednesday, June 10 to raise money for charity that'll support Biennale artists. Find out more, here. Images: Galleria Campari at Cockatoo Island; artist Bhenji Ra.
It isn't called the big screen for nothing — and, when you head to the pictures, that's typically what you spend a couple of hours peering at. But you won't just be staring at a giant rectangle at Wonderdome, Sydney's new pop-up cinema experience. In a blend of film, music and art that takes its cues from planetariums, you'll be sat in a dome watching movies that've been specifically designed to take up the whole 360-degree space that's towering above you. When Wonderdome hits Entertainment Quarter between Saturday, December 4–Sunday, January 30, it'll offer Australia's largest-ever 360-degree projection cinema. The structure itself is a geodesic steel dome that spans 21 metres in diameter, and is filled with multiple projectors, as well as a 7.2 surround sound system. To watch, you'll recline on throne-style beanbags and stare up at the movie. Given that the projection sprawls all around you, it's been likened to virtual reality — but without the goggles. The 22-film lineup includes the dazzling Coral Rekindling Venus, which sees Emmy Award-wining Australian filmmaker Lynette Wallworth focus on fluorescent coral reefs, bioluminescent sea creatures and rare marine life; National Geographic's David Attenborough-narrated Flying Monsters, about flying dinosaurs; the climate-focused Dynamic Earth, which benefits from Liam Neeson's vocal work; and Carriberrie, which focuses on Indigenous Australian dance and song. Fulldome cinema is also known for its psychedelic and eye-popping visual displays, which is where Samskara, from artist Android Jones, comes in — plus Labyrinth, which is filled with squares, streets, passages, corridors and rooms; and Luminokaya, which lets you explore Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat. Snacks-wise, you'll be able to grab something to eat and drink either before or after each Wonderdome session, with the menu including jaffles, chips, slushies, chocolates and ice creams. Plus, there'll be a gin bar, as well as a lineup of craft beers. Wonderdome's Entertainment Quarter season will also accept New South Wales' Dine & Discover vouchers, if you have some left — or you're eager to get your hands on more when two extra vouchers become available for NSW residents over the age of 18 sometime this summer. Tickets go on sale from 11am AEST on Wednesday, November 17 via the Wonderdome website.
Jacob Boehme is no stranger to the combination of theatre, dance and even puppetry to create his own multidisciplinary performances, and his latest dance work Blood on the Dancefloor is another shining example of this. A man of Narungga and Kaurna descent, after his diagnosis with HIV in 1998, Boehme took his plight to his elders, looking for answers. This limited performance at Carriageworks is the culmination of his search, a physical monologue that explores the human connection of blood to memory, to the land, to our history, and to each other. This is one of 15 next-level events to see at Sydney Festival. Check out the whole list.
At the end of each year, the Australian Ballet rests its commitment to the groundbreaking and the contemporary, and visits the comforts of festive fantasy. Even for a devotee of the abstract in dance such as myself, by December I ache to be lost in snow falling from the glittering heavens of the Sydney Opera House ceiling. This year's choice for an end of year spectacular is The Sleeping Beauty, and it couldn't be more perfect for the season.Choreographed in 2005 by Stanton Welch after the original 1890 work of Marius Pepita, this production of The Sleeping Beauty is as enchanting as one could hope. A narrative piece, this ballet involves fairies, spells, elves, trolls and at the heart of it all, a princess. A battle wages between the winter fairy Carabosse accompanied by her motley tribe of ne'er-do-wells and the Lilac Fairy with her magical sisters of the elements to bequeath the role of Herald of Spring on the newborn Princess Aurora. Hilarity does not ensue. On the occasion of Aurora's sixteenth birthday, Carabosse tempts the princess with the black rose whose thorns give the beauty her titular sleep. Until her true love manages to plant her a kiss, winter shall reign forevermore.Carabosse and her entourage of owls and elves almost steal the show, with her bubbling cauldron and stunning sequinned cape that serves to hide her true identity and sweep dramatically across the length of the stage, the audience gasping all the while. The dancer's icy splendour and powerful movements make it difficult to root for the reemergence of spring. Aurora, the sole dancer clothed in a tutu for the entire production, portrayed by delightful senior artist Amber Scott in the performance I saw, dances en pointe more often than not. High up on jaw-dropping tippy-toe, she rules the stage with her lithe grace even in sleep, occasionally shown up by the humorous palace cats, who roll and loll and preen, quietly scene stealing.The set and costumes, designed by the famed Kristian Fredrikson, are inspired by Thai and Bollywood cinema aesthetics, combined with elements of the noble Russian setting of the initial ballet. Colourful as Christmas wrapping paper, they sit well with the occasionally overwhelming power of the original Tchaikovsy score. A series of painted scrims are used to great effect, displaying simultaneous action. Confusingly, however, the 'good' fairies are clothed in muted tones that are sometimes hard to distinguish against the white of the 'wicked'. It's a small gripe in an otherwise magical production.The final ballet of 2009, The Sleeping Beauty marks a welcome end to a troubling year in history; for a few hours at least, one can believe in the phrase "happily ever after."
When Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker that they're more than just mortal enemies, it became one of the most famous lines of dialogue in movie history (and one of the most mis-quoted). If you've seen Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, you'll know that it's a powerful, memorable moment that changes the shape of the entire space saga. Even if you haven't, you know what we're talking about. Now, imagine just how epic it'll feel when you're watching the flick on a big screen and listening to John Williams' iconic score played by a live orchestra. Yes, The Force is strong in Sydney once more, with Sydney Symphony Orchestra staging the next in its Star Wars screening and performance on July 27 and 28 at the ICC Sydney Theatre. Jedis, wookiees and droids alike can expect a night of tussles between the Rebels and the Empire, Luke learning his true parentage, Han flirting with Leia and getting frozen in carbon, Chewbacca being awesome, R2-D2 being adorable and C-3PO being annoying (well, he is). Plus, it's the flick that marks the first appearance of Lando Calrissian and the first time 'The Imperial March' is heard. If you're thinking that it's a great time to be a Sydney fan of the George Lucas-created franchise, then you're right.The Last Jedi is still fresh in everyone's memories, Solo: A Star Wars Story is only two months away and these types of special events keep on coming — we've got a good feeling that Return of the Jedi will eventually get the same treatment as well. Image: Robert Catto.
The latest Studio Ghibli film is being screened in both subtitled Japanese and dubbed English, but it doesn’t really matter which one you end up seeing. Any Ghibli venture is known primarily for the captivating animation that made the Japanese production house’s previous films Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle so enchanting to both adults and children alike. Arrietty is based on Mary Norton’s classic children’s novel The Borrowers and, though the film stays relatively true to the story, its dreamy mien is entirely Ghibli. Rather than being slapped in the face with 3D shticks the viewer is drawn into the secret world of Arrietty through painterly animation with a hint of hand-drawn nostalgia. The 14-year-old, 10-centimeter-tall protagonist lives with her Mother and Father under the floorboards of a sprawling mansion set in a magical, overgrown garden. Their tiny home is filled with things “borrowed” from the humans who live above them, from Arrietty’s clothes peg hair clip to the sugar cube that leads to her being noticed for the second time by the human boy Sho. The subsequent relationship between the two characters leads audiences through a magical and moving exploration of concerns that are both fantastical (the kidnapping of Arrietty’s mother) and entirely human (Sho’s impending heart operation). Debut Ghibli director Hiromasha Yonabayashi previously worked as an animator on Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, so he wasn’t entirely unprepared to fill the enormous shoes left by Hayao Miyazaki. Arrietty might not possess the sheer whimsicality of previous Ghibli endeavours — in fact a 10-centimeter-tall teenager actually seems believable compared to a hand-held fire demon or a faceless cloaked spirit — but it is the simple things like water droplets trickling off giant leaves, a flawlessly detailed dolls house and the relationship between Arrietty and Sho that will make all that inevitable gushing praise from loyal Ghibli fans entirely justified.
Perhaps your dog's happy bark or cat's "feed me" meow regularly brightens up your day. Maybe when you're walking around Sydney, you pay extra attention to any chirping birds that you can hear. Whichever fits, you'll be able to listen to quite a few more animal sounds in Barangaroo during this year's Biennale of Sydney, with the three-month-long art event set to host the Australian premiere of The Great Animal Orchestra. Some performances have spot-on names and this is one of them, with the immersive work by soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause and London-based collective United Visual Artists featuring noises from 15,000 animal species, all recorded by Krause in 1300 wild habitats over the past 50 years. Including sounds from tropical grasslands, savannahs and Arctic tundra, the piece is designed to take listeners on a rare journey into the natural world — and to get the audience not only appreciating the beauty and the intricacy of all of these non-human sounds, but to realise what could be lost as the planet changes. Keeping your ears peeled is just one part of of The Great Animal Orchestra, however, with United Visual Artists pairing Krause's soundscape with vivid visualisations. The imagery draws upon each animal's contribution to the overall piece, including critters from vulnerable habitats in Africa, North America, the Pacific Ocean and the Amazonas. Sydneysiders will be able to experience the results for free during the Biennale of Sydney, with The Great Animal Orchestra setting up at Barangaroo's Stargazer Lawn from Saturday, March 12–Monday, June 13 — but with timed and ticketed entry. Expect to have company; in its Paris season, the installation saw more than 200,000 people head along, while it has also proven popular everywhere from Shanghai, Seoul and London to Milan and Boston. If you're wondering exactly what you're in for, Krause, who has a history of working with The Doors and on film scores such as Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, explains that "this is the tuning of the great animal orchestra, the planet's deeply connected expression of natural sounds and rhythm. It is likely that the origins of every piece of music we enjoy and word we speak come, at some point, from this collective voice. When we lived closer to the natural world, we sang as part of that animal chorus. Now we have a disconnect, we are not quite as healthy, vibrant or aware of the world around us." José Roca, Artistic Director of this year's 23rd Biennale of Sydney, described it as "stepping into a soundproofed black-box theatre whose walls spring to life with overlapping electrocardiograms, representing different species' sounds." Originally commissioned by commissioned by Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art), the installation will also include a shallow reflecting pool — "which translates the deepest sounds of the ocean," Roca notes — as well as cushions for sitting on while you take in the sensory experience. The 2022 Biennale of Sydney will run across the same dates as The Great Animal Orchestra, popping up in venues including The Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Circular Quay, Information + Cultural Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, National Art School in partnership with Artspace, The Rocks and Walsh Bay Arts Precinct including Pier 2/3 across the city. This year's theme, Rīvus, means 'stream' in Latin — and yes, that pool and those ocean noises give this certain standout a H2O-centric skew, too. The Great Animal Orchestra will run from Saturday, March 12–Monday, June 13 at Stargazer Lawn, Barangaroo — open from 10am–5pm daily, and also from 5–9pm on Wednesday evenings. Admission is free, but bookings are required. For further information or to register, head to the Biennale of Sydney website. Images: Mark Pokorny
It isn't hard to find somewhere in Sydney showing movies under the stars over summer. Moonlight Cinema, Westpac Openair Cinema, Laneway Cinema at The Rocks, Mov'In Bed Barangaroo Beach Cinema, Sunset Cinema: they're among your choices. In January, the Warner Bros Discovery Open Air Cinema at Darling Quarter is another option, and it comes with one big point of difference: it's all about flicks from Warner Bros Discovery. This year's season runs until Sunday, January 26 — and you have choices before it wraps up for the year. When you're not watching The Blind Side, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Miss Congeniality, you can check out The Lego Batman Movie, Man of Steel and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There's also DC League of Super-Pets and three Harry Potter films (The Half-Blood Prince and the two Deathly Hallows movies). As well as focusing on Warner Bros titles, this cinema also comes with an excellent price: $0. Entry to see the films is free, but you will need your wallet if you want a beanbag or picnic rug rather than just a patch of grass to sit on. And, you'll be paying for anything that you eat and drink, including getting click-and-collect dishes from Vesta Italian, Noodle Face, Braza Churrascaria, Kürtosh, Gelatissimo, Doodee King, Ichoume', Dopa and MuMian Dining. While entry is free, you do need to reserve your spot to whichever of the screenings you'd like to attend in advance online — and some have already sold out. Screening start times vary, kicking off between 6–6.30pm, and then between 8.15–9pm if there's a second session on the same evening.
The 2010 Biennale of Sydney with its theme The Beauty of Distance — Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age addresses nature and its existence, one of the facets of our world that can’t speak for itself (or at least, can’t speak in words that everyone can hear). Two of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Fiona Hall and Janet Laurence, take centrestage in the environment debate with their works in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, a site loaded with colonial significance and layered with the Western notion of capturing and containing flora. Laurence’s WAITING — A Medicinal Garden for Ailing Plants (2010) calls to mind the regal authority of having one’s own medicinal garden, but the perspective is overturned: the plants are in their own waiting room, sick and needing help. In another subversive action, Hall has installed several hives of Sugarbag bees in the gardens. These bees, native to Australia, smaller than the recognised European bee and stingless, are in dwindling in numbers in the Sydney area but are being slowly reintroduced. Hall’s The Barbarians at the Gate (2010) comments not only on the threat to native species by the introduction of foreign ones, but the patterned beehive boxes representing different nations also speaks volumes on xenophobia in our society. Also on show is Choi Jeong Hwa from Korea with the Unbearable Lightness of Being (2010). Image: Breeding Ground by Fiona Hall.
Collaboration champion Tokyo Lamington is celebrating native ingredients via a month-long team-up with the Ace Hotel's welcoming laneway cafe Good Chemistry. If you haven't had the chance to swing past the ground-floor venue of the sleek new Surry Hills hotel, you're missing out on a charming cafe by day, neighbourhood wine bar each Thursday–Saturday night, and the host of a produce market every Saturday morning. If you needed any more of an excuse to head into Good Chemistry, all this month, you'll find three limited-edition Tokyo Lamington lamington flavours at the cafe, each packed with native Australian ingredients. Fans of a standard lamington can opt for the Native OG, made from vanilla sponge, raspberry and Lilly Pilly jam, vanilla cream, chocolate sauce and toasted coconut — simple and classic. The honey macadamia flavour covers roasted macadamias, honey cream and a gluten-free sponge with white chocolate, macadamia cookie and coconut; and the Australian gin and tonic lamington features a Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin-soaked sponge, native spice cream aniseed, dessert lime, ginger lime, Davidson plum, cinnamon cream, gin and tonic jellies, strawberry gum, white chocolate and coconut. The trio of lamingtons are available at Good Chemistry until Tuesday, May 30 in packs of three ($26) or on their own ($9). If you're feeling truly indulgent, you can also order a lamington-flavoured gin and tonic, which incorporates the ingredients from the G&T dessert into a delightful boozy beverage. Images Nikki To
You've heard of bottomless brunch, Paint 'n' Sip and colourful cocktail creation workshops. But what if you could combine the light-hearted fun of clay moulding with the buzz of a boozy brunch? Here's your chance. INDU is teaming up with Sydney-based leisure brand Crock'd to host an exclusive pottery workshop, complete with bottomless drinks and an enticing grazing table for $150 per person. Come Saturday, October 14, the local Sri Lankan- and southern Indian-inspired restaurant will transform one of its spaces into INDU's Kiln Room to host a day of clay-moulding activities. Head over to Angel Place to put your pottery-making skills to the test — you'll be crafting your very own incense holders while sipping on crisp G&Ts at this two-hour workshop. Plus, the seasoned pottery kit-providing team from Crock'd will be present to keep a watchful eye over participants and offer their expertise and guidance so that you won't be thrown too far into the deep end. The underground eatery will provide a curated grazing table filled with flavour-filled bites to fuel the creatives, serving up the likes of tuna croquettes, Ceylon-spiced and Sichuan peppercorn-coated chicken, and pani puri with whipped goat cheese and a green herb chutney to pair. The moreish snacks will be available alongside free-flowing G&Ts for the duration of the workshop. To secure your spot at this bottomless pottery workshop, head over to the event's booking page.
Open to runners of all ages and abilities, RunWest will follow a 12-kilometre course, through several major landmarks. Its first incarnation was supposed to see runners race through the new Sydney Zoo, but that was delayed. Luckily, the zoo is now open — and you will be able to run through it, while waving at lions, rhinos and giraffes. The 12-kilometre run starts at Sydney Motorsport Park, before traversing the new zoo, Western Sydney Parklands and winding up at West HQ. If 12 kilometres sounds too far, you conquer the more friendly four-kilometre Family Fun Run instead — but, that doesn't go through the zoo. Either way, there'll be plenty of action to keep you on course. On crossing the finish line, you'll find the Finish Festival, an extravaganza of food trucks and live music to make you forget all about the pain of running you've just endured. The lineup hasn't been announced yet, but last year saw the likes of Chur Burger, Satay Brothers, Burnt Ends BBQ and Duo Duo Ice Cream all make appearances. If you're a City2Surf regular, this might be a good race to enter in the off-season — although, being March, chances are the weather will be pretty warm. But, like City2Surf, you're encouraged to raise funds for a charity of your choice, so your sweat will be all worth it. If you're ready to commit, sign up right now at super early bird rates, which are $30 per person for the fun run and $45 for the 12-kilometre event. Updated: December 18, 2019.
A season of Serbian cinema will light up the silver screen at the latest edition of Australia's Serbian Film Festival. On offer at select Hoyts Cinemas around the country until early November, this year's program includes a quartet of contemporary Serbian productions that between them showcase the versatility of the nation's under-seen cinematic output. Selected as this year's opening night film, A Stinking Fairytale tells the story of the unlikely romance between Ema and Moma, who live homeless on the streets of Belgrade. Another standout title is Nikola Ljuca's Humidity, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a cryptic thriller about the morally vacant lifestyles of the rich and shameless". On a lighter note, Double Trouble is a comedy about a pair of estranged brothers who find themselves on a collision course. Rounding out the program is The Black Pin, a dark comedy about a misanthropic priest at odds with his superstitious parishioners.
While the typical haunted house might feel a bit cliché, Halloween wouldn't be the same without it. This year, The Taphouse is giving the tradition a new spin: the three-storey pub will be fully decked out as a ghost-filled haunted house, and the drinks menu is getting a spooky makeover too. Each floor of the Haunted Taphouse, including sour beer and natural wine bar Odd Culture, will have its own theme — and roving performers — so you can make your way up through a haunted crop field to the asylum and rooftop graveyard. Once you've finished exploring, enjoy one of ten special candy-themed beers, including a banana Chupa Chups milkshake IPA, gummy worms sour ale and pumpkin spice stout. Or, if beer isn't quite your thing, The Taphouse will be pouring and shaking Halloween cocktails — think test-tube shots, jelly eyeball shots and blood-bag cocktails. Kicking off from 6pm on Halloween night, you can catch the pub's spooky transformation until Saturday, November 2.
The Archibald is to art writers what a solar eclipse is to human vision. Without fail, it captures the attention of art journalists all over the country. Some writers quickly articulate their dislike and even distrust of the prize (perhaps there is elitism here?). Other writers are like moths to the flame, keen to interject on any controversy that prevails. This year, that controversy seems to be circulating around the number of female artists (just seven) that have been selected in the final spread. I wonder what JF Archibald envisaged of the prize way back in 1921. From the outset it has been controversial; stoushes have gone on over definitions of portraiture, subject matter and the profiles of the artists themselves. But try to ignore all that. These are artistic depictions of those deemed to be important Australians, by some of our most distinguished painters. Winning turns someone’s life on its head, and at the same time sends the price of their work through the proverbial roof. This year that person is Sam Leach (who also took out the concurrent Wynne Prize for Proposal for landscaped cosmos) with his portrait of comedian Tim Minchin, topping a list of 34 finalists whittled down from 849 entries. Go down to the AGNSW, have a look, and pick your own winner.
For one night only, Little Hay Street in Chinatown will be transformed into ‘Little Eat Street’, an Asian foodie’s paradise of delicacies from Hong Kong to Tokyo. This outdoor food fair will feature stalls from over a dozen restaurants bringing their best street food. So if you have an adventurous palate, grab a sample card and load up on yum cha, takoyaki, sushi, pho and more. The night is a part of this year’s Asia On Your Doorstep Festival, a cultural and gastronomic celebration put on by the City of Sydney. During October's Good Food Month, Sydneysiders are encouraged to discover some of the best Asian dishes and restaurants the city has to offer. By eating at one of the 70 participating restaurant across Haymarket, diners can enter to win a trip to Thailand. Every meal earns you another entry in the competition, so we won’t judge you for heading to Chinatown for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Spice is big business, and people want their tastebuds more than tickled. If you're a spice lover, it's the perfect time to participate in "The Hottest Day on the Central Coast". This free event celebrates all things capsaicin. Come down to Memorial Park in The Entrance on Sunday, June 15, to peruse the food trucks, taste spicy chilli products and — the biggest draw of them all — take part (or watch) in a chilli-eating competition. If you prefer your meals a little lower down the Scoville scale, there's plenty of milder food for you to enjoy, as well as a selection of wines and beers. Plus, there's live music throughout the day and a range of market stalls, meaning there's plenty for spice lovers and haters alike.
This Friday night, we're looking forward to checking out the work of Sydney artist Kyra Henley. Henley's work recontextualises images from magazines and books of the 1950s, 60s and 70s to create unfamiliar landscapes of familiar images. A skilful painter, her collage-based process to constructing work combines a highly saturated palette and focused attention to detail. This show is the latest exhibition programmed by Lilac City Studio, a Sydney-based artist-run initiative that provides a platform for emerging artists to exhibit and sell experimental works. You can get a sense of their aesthetic by checking out past exhibitions like Currency and Monstrous/Ordinary. Originally based in Oxford Street, Lilac City Studio are now curating shows in different spaces around Sydney and interstate. The work stays up for a little while after the opening — and it's worth heading back in to check out the work, minus the crowds. If you can't make it down this weekend, keep your eye on the studio's calendar or Instagram for future exhibitions. Recreation II opens on Friday 26 October at 6pm. You can also visit the gallery the over the weekend, from 11–5pm on Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment via email info@lilaccitystudio.net. Image: Kyra Henley: Man Talk Herculon Carpet.
The single greatest cult film this side of The Rocky Horror Picture Show screens at the Hayden Orpheum for a monthly late-night engagement. Described by critics as "the Citizen Kane of Bad Movies", with one critic comparing the film to "being stabbed in the head", Tommy Wiseau's The Room is an indescribable mess of plot holes, non-sequiturs, blurry camerawork and soft-core sex scenes, topped off by some of worst performances ever put to film. So naturally, we're recommending you go and see it. Of course, the truth is that no one really sees this movie. Rather, they experience it. Screenings of The Room are fully interactive, with audience members screaming lines of dialogue, dressing up like their favourite characters and hurling plastic spoons at the screen. This behaviour is actively encouraged by The Orpheum — in fact, they'll even be providing cutlery at the door. The cinema bar will be open ahead of each screening, something you should probably take full advantage of.
Every Wednesday and Thursday night this autumn and winter, Handpicked Wines is hosting a series of Raclette Suppers at its cellar door in the Chippendale, bringing a taste of Europe's après-ski culture to Sydney. Melted cheese, served fresh from the wheel, is poured over plates of potatoes, confit mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, cornichons and rocket. Cured meats such as Prosciutto di San Daniele and Jamón Ibérico de Bellota are optional extras. With the Handpicked Wine Maker's Flight, visitors can pair their cheese with wines from some of Australia's most renowned wine regions, including Margaret River, Coonawarra and Yarra Valley. According to Handpicked's Sydney Cellar Door Manager Andrew Robinson, the events "bring our team's passion for regionality onto your plate, with cheese and meat sourced from some of our favourite producers around the world. Combine it with our incredible wines from some of Australia's best-loved wine regions, and it's a match made in heaven." The dining event runs from 5.30–8.30pm every Wednesday and Thursday until the end of winter, and costs $20 per person without any additions. Walk-ins are welcome, but bookings are recommended at the website.
Sweat, stretch and sip at Handpicked Wines on a Saturday. The Kensington Street cellar door will get you out of bed on Saturday morning with a one-hour yoga session followed by a wine tasting. Think of it as a post-practice reward. Or don't, because we all know you don't need a reason to drink Riesling. It's the ultimate combo for yogis and wine-lovers — either way, it'll teach wine lovers how to love yoga, and vice-versa. Lead by a Handpicked sommelier, this event will leave you feeling both stretched and slightly buzzed. It's happening every Saturday until August 19 from 11.30am to 1pm. Handpicked is also running Raclette Tuesdays at the moment if you want to back up your session with gooey cheese.
Bringing together skilled orchestral musicians from across Australia, Alternative Symphony takes the same approach as Britain's acclaimed orchestral group No Strings Attached. And, for its next big shows, the troupe is set to perform the work of hip hop greats with a classical slant. On Friday, December 11 at Moore Park's Max Watts, the Alternative Symphony will give the hits of Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac the orchestral treatment, all while guest vocalists step in to reimagine verses. The rappers, considered two of the most significant and influential emcees of all time, were famously the focal points of the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry, which spawned an endless supply of antagonistic diss tracks. At this one-off orchestral experience expect to hear hits like 'California Love', 'What's Beef?', 'Changes', 'Mo Money Mo Problems' and 'Thugz Mansion' played on violins and saxophones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBTdfAkqGU The Alternative Symphony has previously tackled the songbooks of Dr. Dre and Daft Punk. Tickets are available from Oztix or head to the event's Facebook page for further details.
When Midnight Special starts, TV news reports splash Roy Tomlin's (Michael Shannon) face across the screen. He's wanted for kidnapping eight-year-old Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher), with the film swiftly showing him and his accomplice Lucas (Joel Edgerton) holed up in a motel with the kid. They're about to leave, but when Roy picks up the goggle-wearing Alton to carry him outside, the boy clings to him lovingly. That's not typical abductor-captive behaviour — and this isn't your typical film. A host of questions spring up, as audiences find themselves asking who, why and what's really going on. A cult leader (Sam Shepard) gives two men four days to find Alton shortly before FBI agents interrupt his evening sermon. By the time beams of light shine from Alton's eyes, and a storm of fiery space debris showers down upon him, it's clear we're in entirely uncharted territory. That's by design. Midnight Special asks its characters and viewers alike to wonder, but refuses to flesh out too many details or offer up easy solutions. Indeed, as filmmaker Jeff Nichols tells Roy and Alton's tale — tracking their drive through America's south, picking up Alton's mother (Kirsten Dunst) along the way, and attracting the attention of NSA officer Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) — he seems to have stolen Fox Mulder's catchphrase. He wants to believe, or, more accurately, he wants to tell tales about people who place their faith in something, in the hope that audiences will too. His three previous features may appear a diverse bunch; however 2007's Shotgun Stories, 2011's Take Shelter and 2012's Mud all focused on figures who chose to trust in a force other than themselves, be it vengeance, apocalyptic dreams or the power of love. Now, with Midnight Special, he veers into science-fiction to explore the conviction that comes from a parent's bond with their child. It's an ambitious task, but if anyone is up to it, it's Nichols. With a command of visual and emotional storytelling, he crafts a film that's a road movie, chase thriller, intimate drama and otherworldly adventure all in one, yet remains united in tone and mood. Everything from the cinematography to the evocative score feels heartfelt and mysterious. And then there's the pitch-perfect performances, particularly from the filmmaker's continued main man Shannon, who provides yet another quietly haunting portrayal. Of course, Nichols' latest offering doesn't just follow in his own footsteps, even though he's clearly carving out his own niche. Courtesy of its supernatural narrative, it also conjures up thoughts of '70s and '80s sci-fi fare. Think John Carpenter's Starman and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. A lingering sense of awe emanates from not only the writer-director's material, but from the genre greats that inspire him. It's no surprise that the movie that results proves as enigmatic as it is enchanting, delivering Nichols' fourth knockout in a row.
When Renee Bennett (Amy Schumer) glances in the mirror, her own loathing stares back. She hates what she sees. She hates how she's viewed by the world. Painstakingly trying to follow YouTube hair and makeup tutorials, she yearns to meet society's beauty standards. "I've always wondered what it's like to be undeniably pretty," Renee tells a model friend (Emily Ratajkowski) at the gym. When her dream receptionist job is advertised — at the Fifth Avenue head office of her cosmetics brand employer, a step up from her current Chinatown workplace — she's certain she won't get it due to her appearance. Wishing for a permanent makeover, Renee even throws a penny into a fountain during a storm in desperation. That doesn't work, but then she hits her head during cycling class and suddenly loves her reflection. In I Feel Pretty, the twist is right there in the title — Renee's appearance doesn't change, just her perception. Now certain that she's the total package, she oozes confidence, takes risks and enjoys the life-altering changes that come with her boosted self-esteem. She not only gets the job, but gets to work with her idol, company CEO Avery LeClaire (Michelle Williams). She assumes that the kindly Ethan (Rory Scovel) is hitting on her at the dry cleaners, asks him out and they start dating. Charting Renee's transformation, seasoned rom-com writers-turned-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He's Just Not That Into You, The Vow, How to be Single) craft a typical "make a wish" flick, but set their sights on body image. The film even includes a glimpse of Big, in case the Tom Hanks-starring '80s hit didn't instantly spring to mind. Helming their first feature, Kohn and Silverstein have a very specific aim: discarding society's narrow concept of hotness, showing that a little self-belief goes a long way, and fashioning an empowering comedy as a result. An important goal, it's one that Schumer has spent her stand-up and on-screen careers championing. It's there in her comic routine, in countless Inside Amy Schumer sketches and in Trainwreck as well, but I Feel Pretty doesn't belong in the same company. Here, there's an enormous gap between the film's intentions and its execution. Specifically, the view the movie celebrates doesn't quite match its contents. Trying to have its body-positive cake and eat it too, I Feel Pretty says it's what's on the inside that counts while demonstrating the opposite. The film presents a character who's only successful and happy when she thinks she's attractive, and when she thinks that the world agrees — and while viewers can see that Renee still looks the same, it invites them to laugh when she acts like she's a supermodel. You could argue that the movie chuckles with rather than at her, but she's rightly glowing with pride instead of giggling. You could also suggest that the film is making fun of Renee's over-the-top behaviour, which involves sidelining her lifelong best buds (Aidy Bryant and Busy Philipps) and generally acting like a diva. However, the number of times that another character reacts like Renee isn't physically all that paints a very different picture. Take one particularly problematic scene as an example. On her first date with Ethan, Renee decides to enter a seedy bar's bikini contest. Ethan suggests that she doesn't really fit the part, doing so with subtlety. But the MC doesn't share his tact, appearing shocked when Renee takes to the stage, and later describing her as "the kind of woman who could handle herself in a knife fight". The way the scene is staged and shot reinforces his view, encouraging the audience to guffaw heartily at the premise (because a woman who doesn't look like a conventional swimsuit model baring some flesh is apparently funny?) while also offering up plenty of incredulous reactions from the on-screen audience. Sure, everyone eventually appreciates Renee's gusto, complete with cheers and applause. But if what's on the outside doesn't matter in the film's opinion, why milk the situation for easy laughs first? That's I Feel Pretty's whole approach. Served up in bright and shiny packaging, and layered over a formulaic story, the movie's mixed messages don't end there, although it's never mean or ugly — just muddled. The idea that Schumer isn't desirable is ridiculous, but the comedian is actually at her best when she's earnestly engaging with Renee's feelings of inadequacy. It's a side she doesn't often show on-screen, and it suits her. Williams' rare foray into comic territory is similarly impressive, with the acclaimed actress playing the more exaggerated part, illustrating that everyone has insecurities and stealing every scene she's in. Indeed, as proved the case with Tilda Swinton in Trainwreck, Schumer is upstaged by her co-star. Well, that and the film's superficial nature. A flick about peering beneath the surface, I Feel Pretty ultimately ignores its own advice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-FMymitzf8
It's been three years since Australia's cinema scene welcomed the American Essentials Film Festival — and while a fest dedicated to US flicks might seem obvious, this event sets its sights much further than Hollywood's usual suspects. Given that mainstream, megaplex-friendly movies reach our shores every week, the Palace-run showcase instead curates a lineup of other American titles, delving into films from the US indie realm. Screening in Sydney from May 8 to 20, the 2018 fest has a particular fondness for emerging practitioners, with artistic director Richard Sowada noting "the obvious talent from some of the filmmakers in the early stages of their feature film careers," as well as "the deep and obvious respect even some of these newer filmmakers have for the traditions of storytelling in American cinema." With that in mind, this year's event kicks off with The Boy Downstairs, a Zosia Mamet-starring effort from debut feature writer-director Sophie Brooks, which proved a hit at the 2017 TriBeCa Film Festival. The opening night pick also highlights one of the festival's other trends — thanks to its focus on American cinema, it boasts plenty of familiar faces on screen. Standouts include Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair battling a murderous rage in horror-comedy Mom and Dad, Helena Bonham Carter and Hilary Swank recreating a landmark '80s case for patients' rights in 55 Steps, and war effort The Yellow Birds, featuring Solo: A Star Wars Story's Alden Ehrenreich, Ready Player One's Tye Sheridan, plus Toni Collette and Jennifer Aniston. There's also two star-studded flicks about sons and their fathers: Humour Me, which pairs up Jemaine Clement and Elliott Gould in a deadpan comedy, and Kodachrome, which takes Jason Sudeikis and Ed Harris on a road trip to a photo processing laboratory. Other notable titles range from Stuck, which brings the train-set off-Broadway musical of the same name to the cinema; to Outside In, director Lynn Shelter's latest featuring Edie Falco as an ex-high school teacher; to mob drama Gotti, starring John Travolta as the mob boss and screening in Australia just hours after its Cannes Film Festival premiere. On the documentary front, How They Got Over takes a far-reaching documentary into African-American gospel quartets in the '30s and '40s, while RBG examines the life and career of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For the fest's retrospective section, Los Angeles is in the spotlight courtesy of classics Chinatown, Heat and Shampoo, as well as '70s masterpieces Killer of Sheep and Wattstax.
