Pixar may be the dominating force in animation, but a showcase of artistic hopefuls will be on display at UTS. For its second year, the Sydney International Animation Festival (SIAF) opens its doors to the intricate world of animation, with a lineup that includes Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas' gorgeously creepy directorial debut Alma as well as Oscar-winning short Logorama. Other anticipated Global Goodies are Jean-Christophe Lie's acclaimed short The Man in the Blue Gordini and Mathieu Bergeron and Yves Martel's (suitably, animated) documentary A Thorn in the Mind, which ventures behind the scenes of six renowned animators. Alongside the two days of screenings, SIAF will also run an inaugural one-day symposium on 'Animated Histories and Futures' as well as screening the finalists for the debut SIXTY40 Proto-ninja Nationwide Animation Competition. Local talent will be showcased in the Animaaate! program, plus the exciting digital vision of dreamtime, Wadu Matyidi. https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCmW4c40iK8
John Tonkin is an artist who takes the relationship between you and the moving image seriously. Currently on view at Breenspace, A Biology of Cognition is a new body of work by Tonkin relevant to his ongoing research into cybernetics and embodied perception. The work is comprised of four interactive video loops that react and change depending on your movements within the space. Playing with those moments of reality where you are contemplative yet distant, Tonkin offers scenarios from everyday life that skirt the poetic but do not fall victim to it. Anyone interested in image-human interconnectivity and perception will glean something from Tonkin's weathery domains.
A definitive example of New Hollywood cinema, Five Easy Pieces (1970) is a film that takes no measures to gild the lily — this is cinema served straight up. In line with other iconic features from the era such as Mike Nichols The Graduate (1967), director Bob Rafelson has managed to channel a particular mood of the time (such as the desire to shirk responsibility) into one personal scenario. Our guide is child-prodigy-turned-oil-rig-worker Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson), as he makes his way back home to visit his dying father. During this road trip (of sorts) we discover a few crumbs about this cantankerous, always-drinking, apathetic man. Ultimately however, Dupea remains a mystery, both to himself, those around him and the audience — this is a man who has vacated himself. Part of The New Contemporary Galleries Film Program at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, New Hollywood is an ongoing series taking place every Wednesday as part of Art After Hours.
Stainless Steel Rat is the name of the comic book anti-hero thief/conman created by Harry Harrison in 1961. He's the perfect example of a good criminal; picking locks in order to access precious intel, lying profusely to deceive his enemies, slippery as butter when it comes to being caught and completely strident about his moral position. He's a character that manages to compress right and wrong into the same action — a dirty job but someone's got to do it. Sound familiar? Director Wayne Harrison and writer Ron Elisha have delved into the world of the largest information dump in history — Wikileaks — and the life of one of the most controversial figures of our contemporary moment, Julian Assange. While the play presents itself as an 'artistic interpretation' of the events that lead to this Queensland-born kid becoming a wanted fugitive, it promises to be a condensed and lively depiction of how Assange actually managed to overturn the way we understand information, technology and our access to it. Whether you have been engrossed by the release of diplomatic cables and confidential documents or simply tickled by the chaos of it all, this production should fuel any fire already burning. For those who have been in a bubble during the Wikileaks spill, this might be an opportunity to feel the prick.
Following on from January’s Now Now, July’s Next Next Mini-Festival of Exploratory Sound and Music is taking over Serial Space in Chippendale for four short, tightly woven sessions of music, debate and electronic art. For the last few weeks, they've been hosting the Splinter Orchestra, a not-so-small band that boasts a 35-strong roster. It's been rehearsing, exploring and getting the measure of the space, before it plays whole and divided into parts as the acoustic spine of the festivals ecclectic corpus. The Splinter Orchestra has one performance to itself (having previously warmed up at an open session where the audience was asked to come along and make noises of its own). The festival also features Serial Space's fifth Great Debate, cheerily trashing the festival's bread and butter: That Experimental Music is Boring. A proposition which will be debated by a pretty lively line-up. Then Ivan Lisyak's album launch follows some more-serious discussion of music and sound, finding help from all quarters including Peter Blamey's loud lower case sound, Jon Hunter's dreamy twang and Blamey & Emily Morandini's electronic art to sit in company with the music.
The fly in the soup has finally been noticed, the question uttered: is experimental music as boring as bat shit? We're familiar with both sides of the problem. On the one hand we feel it in our gut, it's bodily, it cleaves the ears from the head, it leaves us feeling impatient/annoyed/uninformed/conservative/hungry. On the other hand, it offers a spontaneous surge of attention/appreciation — it's that very rare, very unexpected experience that suddenly opens the world like a can; irreversibly illuminating. Part of Serial Space's NEXT NEXT: Mini-Festival of Exploratory Sound and Music, The Great Music Debate is the 5th edition in the reputable Great Debate Series. Assembling informed and poised sides, together with performances/case studies by Potato Masta, Kusum Normoyle, Lucas Abela & DJ Hot Balls, the event promises to be revealing, informative, and anything but boring.
The closer we get towards “the future”, the more jaded about it we seem to become. For decades after Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the lack of flying cars was the primary complaint circulating in geek circles, but since the advent of colour television private air vehicles have been synonymous with post-apocalyptic dystopias. Back to the Future II raised hopes for hoverboard transportation by the year 2015 but, while the film’s prediction of a Florida Marlins victory in ’97 proved to be correct, it looks like the availability of hoverboards is about as likely as the release of Jaws 19. Now we’re faced with this whole thing about global warming and the end of the world. This is what seems to take priority in Now and When, two films and an immersive soundscape resulting from a competition inviting architects to create a vision of Australia 40 years from now. 'Now' captures aerial images of Australia’s urban and non-urban regions as they are now. 'When' is a sequence of 17 futuristic environments imagining what these will look like when we reach 2050 and beyond. Though global warming and the lack of actual land is a prime concern, it here leads not to massive dehumanisation and a lack of food sources but to a bunch of Aussies all swimming around happily in the ocean. These water worlds are certainly the most interesting — particularly the submerged city 'Syph', which features separate pods that work together to provide a comfortable underwater life. And for those disenchanted by the idea of living under the sea, some of the proposed cities do take place on more conventional building sites.
They say the camera never lies, but there is little doubt that at times it can be economical with the truth. Yet we continue to be enchanted by the magic of photography and its ability to capture a moment in time, putting our full trust in this most unreliable of narrators. There are so many factors beyond the frame which can affect the final image and how it is perceived by us: the angle from which a photo is taken, the effect of line and of exposure, can easily change the meaning. Whether or not this is caused by a happy accident or deliberate manipulation, it certainly makes for a particularly subversive playground for artists to frolic about in. The artists taking part in the Bad Angle exhibition at Stills gallery have been chosen because their photographs and videos challenge our perception. The pieces examine the practice of looking, believing, capturing and transforming. Using a variety of methods and showing diverse and varied influences, from the suburban uncanny, to the cinematic, the supernatural and the pagan, to name just a few, their works celebrate the magic of the medium we call photography.
No one just throws together a film festival program. For 18 years now, Sydney Underground Film Festival has carefully curated annual lineup after annual lineup, giving Harbour City cinephiles a feast of movies at their most surreal and sublime again and again. But if Sydney has ever boasted a film fest that's as much about rocking up and seeing where the mood takes you as it is about making a date with specific flicks, it's this one. Here, a conversation waiting in line for one movie might lead you to your next. To mark its latest milestone — turning 18 is no small feat for any film festival, let alone an independent fest that called Marrickville's Factory Theatre home for years, and now takes place at Dendy Newtown — SUFF has another astutely picked program on offer. Across a four-day run between Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15, everything from classic John Waters to Kristen Stewart's latest awaits. If past fests are any guide, it'll also sport one of the best vibes in both Sydney's and Australia's festival scenes, where feeling like you're about to discover something wild and wonderful is always in the air. Trust SUFF to open its 18th fest with Waters' Female Trouble, which also has an occasion to commemorate: its 50th anniversary. The Divine-led film is screening with scratch 'n' sniff cards for the full sensory experience. The one and only Waters is an interviewee in closing night's Scala!!!, too, about the London cinema in the same name. The rest of the documentary's title is Or, The Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, which gives viewers an idea of the kind of tale it's telling. Stewart fans should have Sacramento on their must-see list, with the Love Lies Bleeding, Crimes of the Future and Spencer actor co-starring in the road-trip film with Michael Cera (Dream Scenario), Maya Erskine (Mr & Mrs Smith) and Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), the latter of whom also writes and directs. SUFF's roster of pictures with big-name ties also covers documentary Michel Gondry: Do It Yourself, about the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind filmmaker; Daaaaaali!, which sees Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux explore iconic artist Salvador Dalí in the director's usual offbeat way; and The Visitor from Bruce La Bruce (Saint-Narcisse), which pays tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema. Or, there's the Village People in Can't Stop the Music — and yes, dressing up to attend the screening is encouraged. Other highlights span black comedy Mother Father Sister Brother Frank, page-to-screen horror-thriller Saint Clare, more road trips with RATS!, and We Are Zombies from the team behind Turbo Kid and Summer of 84. If you caught stunning 2018 animation The Wolf House on the festival circuit — including at SUFF 2019 — Chilean filmmakers Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña are back with The Hyperboreans. "At SUFF, we're all about celebrating the wild, the weird and the wonderfully unexpected. This year's festival will take you on a journey through cinema's most daring corners — where anything can happen and usually does," explains Festival Director Nathan Senn. "Our lineup of films is a testament to the fearless creativity of filmmakers who dare to challenge, provoke and entertain, and we can't wait for our audience to join us for the ride." Sydney Underground Film Festival 2024 screens at Dendy Newtown, King Street, Newtown, from Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to SUFF's website.
There's something very charming about the way us English-speakers group animals together. Sometimes we're all caught up in their appearance: a blush of flamingos, a prickle of porcupines, a whiteness of swans. Or we're taken by the way they move: a fall of lambs, a glide of flying fish, a walk of snails. Other times, it's simple alliteration: a leap of leopards, a bike of bees, a rhumba of rattlesnakes. Or pure creativity: a mess of iguanas, a storytelling of ravens, an aurora of polar bears. Whatever the back story, these collective nouns captivate, so much so that Noun Collective is staging their second exhibition on this very topic. Noun Collective invited artists to respond to their most favourite collective noun, make an artwork and be part of the upcoming palaver of paintings at Gaffa Gallery. Image: Cat Macinnes, A Parcel of Dears
Made famous by Emma Thompson and Kenneth Brannagh back in their heyday, Much Ado About Nothing is arguably, (well if you argue with me), Shakespeare's greatest comedy. It has everything a good comedy should — love, sex, evil plots, mistaken identity and two weddings. For those unfamiliar with the tale, Beatrice and Benedick are the precursors to every rom-com couple you've ever seen. They are the classic couple: hating each other at the beginning of the play, partaking in the most witty verbal abuse, and then by the end realising they are of course, desperately in love. And that's not all of it. There's also a plot to stop the young Claudio marrying the rich Hero, a faked death, a collection of hilariously stupid security guards, and a masked party to make up the rest of the story. Starring the up-and-coming young darlings of the Sydney theatre scene, Toby Schmitz and Blazey Best, not to mention the ever amazing Max Gilies, Bell Shakespeare's production of Much Ado About Nothing should really have its fair share of ado about it, promising to be an exuberant and entertaining performance.
You've heard the rumours, now it's official: the Kings Cross pub to beat all pubs is reopening, and FBi radio are at the helm of the new era. While you may not have been quick enough to catch the members launch last week, the news is still good, with the official launch she-bang happening next Friday. As if a new live music venue in Sydney wasn't enough of an event, they've decided to jazz it up a bit. Possibly Australia's most contagious band, Dappled Cities Fly, will be headlining and previewing the material from their new album. But that's far from all. Turns out they've somehow crammed five stages into the joint, so you can take your pick of acts from the line up. I'd suggest wearing your dancing shoes for Canyons or World's End Press, or perhaps Kirin J Callinan for something with a little more swing. If you'd rather just mooch around looking indie, Belles Will Ring or The Laurels should do the trick. With about a zillion acts to choose from, you're certain to find something that's 'your thing'. And did I mention? This whole extravaganza is free. Dig in! Oh, and remember to check out the new interior by Matt Woods while you're at it.
Music has an underground relationship with math and science. Few musicians attribute their success to a life-long obsession with the more measurable arts, but the numbers are there in the octaves, the kilohertz and the flanging. Tom Leherer briefly interrupted a successful career in mathematics with a successful career as a singing satirist. For Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, the companion to music was architecture. Working with famous designer and tower-block progenitor Le Corbusier, he helped design the famous Philips Pavillion in 1958, basing the building on parabolic mathematics he'd put into his early music. Sydney percussion group Synergy are bringing his music to the City Recital Hall, performing the whole of his symphony for six drums, The Pleiades. His symphony is named after a cluster of stars that hangs around the night sky near Orion, and which has a place in lots of mythologies around the world. Synergy did just an excerpt from Xenakis' Pleiades in 2008, and they're returning now to give you the whole story. The Pleiades contains many, many stars, only a few of which are visible to the naked eye. This symphony's six drummers are similarly small in number, but they'll connect you to hidden things in Xenakis' dark energy. Original image by write_adam.
AMP's AMPLIFY Festival began as an experimental think-fest in 2005 and is now a celebrated biennial treat bringing the world's top thinkers in innovative technologies together for one hell of a chin-wag. The theme for this year's festival is "Everything Connects" — an exploration of the interconnectedness not only of emerging technologies themselves, but also of the nature of their impact on our world. In this new world order, information and how we get it is constantly changing before our very eyes. It is also radically transforming how we think, what we see, how we relate socially and the ways in which we conduct our business. The AMPLIFY 2011 line-up is as extensive as it is impressive: we have Obama's technology policy advisor Prof. Mike Nelson, the inventor of Wi-Fi Dr. John O’Sullivan, and key players from MIT's Centre for Digital Business and the Deloitte Centre for Edge Innovation Dr. Andy McFee and John Hagel respectively. Natalie Tran, video blogger extraordinaire will be there, as will founder and director of the Zero Emissions Research Initiative Gunter Pauli, and too any other great minds and future-shapers to mention. This is literally a genius-fest. If you miss out on/can't afford the limited tickets available to attend in person you can catch the live streaming of the speaker sessions for free here. *5% of all ticket sales go to the One Laptop Per Child program.
Remember this? Sure, Brian Eno may not be coming back this time, but the city can look so lovely all lit up, and light sculptures are seriously more sustainable (and less noisy) than fireworks. Living up to their name, the good people at Vivid Sydney are arranging for the installation of 40 light sculptures all around Circular Quay, turning the area into an immersive and interactive exhibition from 6pm to midnight each evening. Like, really interactive. Like, you are allowed to climb on some of them! And others include a giant etch-a-sketch where you get draw with light, and fireflies that gather and group themselves according to the movement and position of observers' torches. We're also promised a crystal spiderweb and some giant rainbow men (I can't help thinking of these guys but I'm sure it'll be much more advanced) but the rest they're keeping quiet for now, so you'll need to go see them, wander amongst them and clamber all over them for yourself.
Customs house has been reworked any number of times. It's got a pretty rude facade, pocked with classical columns, a coat of arms, ornamental clock with deformed dolphins, arcades and some Indian symbols which have long shifted their meaning. It's already a bit of a strange texture, but as part of this year's Vivid Sydney they're giving this building yet another facelift. It's Customs House's turn to have its front electronically painted with projected light for Lights On — a whole new level of strange being slapped on the building by The Electric Canvas. The Electric Canvas has worked on light installations in Auckland, Adelaide and Singapore. Not to mention being the regular motive force behind Vivid's sail-lighting projections on the Opera House, and lighting up Sydney's governing district last year for Macquarie Visions — where they gave a full-body makeover to St Mary's Cathedral, from its Papal steps to the reconstructed spires. In Auckland they shook the walls themselves and pulled spectators up into the image, and here in Sydney they promise to transform Customs House from stone to paper and glass, and shiver it to liquid. *Lights are turned on from 6pm — midnight. Original image from State Records NSW.
Inspired by real events, Sarah Doyle’s Anaconda poses the hypothetical question of how those implicated in a high school sex abuse case would live with their guilt as adults. The answer is, pretty poorly. One commits a homicide, others and their wives practice expert denial and one onlooker, Matty Buttiker (Damian de Montemas), tries to redress his past cowardice by offering unhelpful pro bono legal counsel. Tom Bannerman and Lauren Brincat have designed a set of three large triangles in a row, which are neither pretty nor meaningful. They belong at Arq bar at Taylor Square, where some of the play is set, or in a '90s high school production of a Greek tragedy. Max Sharam’s sound design is filmic and mostly good but he misleadingly introduces the play in the opening sequence as some kind of thriller. While Anaconda's main focus is atonement, Doyle’s writing and direction strays into some irksomely conservative territory, where homosexuality is on trial rather than the initial case of abuse. Matty’s wife, Bivva (Leeanna Walsman), is more horrified at the prospect of discovering gay porn magazines under her husband’s bed than that of living with injustice. Walsman plays Bivva extremely well, and in her plea to Matty to drop the case, she delivers a compelling emotional collapse. But because this scene is so good, the play becomes a conventional domestic drama, in which the greatest injustice is Bivva’s loss of social standing. It's an ugly portrayal of upper-class Paddington 'professionals' that may not be too far off the mark. Apart from this politically pongy scene, the rest of the play hangs together well and performances from Walsman, de Montemas and Simon Lyndon playing Phil Walker are on point. Martin Broome playing the flamboyant barman Tove is either pulling off an accurate portrayal of a very awkward man or he is a very awkward actor. At any rate his scenes are uncomfortable and his timidity contrasts well with the brashness of Bivva and Matty. De Montemas’ performance is bold and clear, but he slips (presumably unintentionally) into a gruff Hollywood-blockbuster-trailer voice at times, particularly when talking legal options with Walker. It’s amusing but misplaced. Simon Lyndon playing Walker has a head of hair that would make Donald Trump weep; a devil-may-care presence and a voice like honey. They don’t make 'em like him anymore and you should see the play for his performance alone. Image by Damon Wilder.
Fans of juicy burgers (i.e. everyone with functioning tastebuds), listen up! The team behind those tasty $10 creations at Chur Burger in Surry Hills are opening a brand spanking new pop-up at The London in Paddington. From the eatery's opening on November 8, any Paddo dwellers who can’t be bothered travelling to the Albion Street location will be able to throw a stone and find themselves elbow-deep in sweet potato fries, salted caramel milkshakes and a perfectly constructed pulled pork burger. Since the Albion Street Kitchen reopened its doors as Chur Burger earlier this year, Warren Turnbull and his crew have been smashing out the burgers to seemingly insatiable palates in Surry Hills. We can say from experience that the shakes are sweet, the fries are crispy and the burgers are totally delicious (and at a pretty damn good price). We just hope that those crispy quail eggs are on the pop-up menu.
Brilliantly unique Australian artists Emma Davis and Brian Campeau having been working together for years, ever since Brian agreed to produce Emma's first album. This November, the pair is set to light up the east coast on their Best of Friends Tour. London-born Emma was described by triple J as one of "the quiet achievers of the Sydney scene" and has been quietly achieving national radio and television time since 2011. In September, she headed into the studio with Mark Myers (The Middle East) to record another offering of her soulful, honest tunes. Brian Campeau has done pretty much everything — performing, composing, producing — and he's been critically acclaimed for all of them. Known for his originally individual arrangement and instrumentation, he's been a success both on his own and with his band, The Green Mohair Suits. Both Davis and Campeau have singles out this month, and so set off to entertain the country as colleagues and the very best of friends. https://youtube.com/watch?v=CjlE9bhwhsE
Fans of ballet and modern dance may want to pirouette into Bodytorque, the annual show created and performed by the up-and-comers of the Australian Ballet. It's traditionally a chance for the company’s young dancers and choreographers to experiment with new ideas, push boundaries and make an impression, and this year’s season takes technique as its theme. The program features six pieces of the likes of Mode.L, an abstract work set to Igor Stravinsky’s Octet for Wind Instruments featuring three female and two male dancers. “There are three movements within the piece and I have really tried to let the music dictate my choreographic style, which is quite classical but with a modern twist, to best showcase both the dancers and the score," says Halaina Hills, coryphée with the Australian Ballet and choreographer of Mode.L. "The theme for this year was technique. I wanted to show dance as literally that — no emotion, just pure movement.” After seven years with the company, this marks the choreographic debut for Hills, who is a ballerina first and foremost. "It has been a really bizarre experience to be on the 'other side'," she says. "Having my dancers look at me, waiting for me to tell them what to do certainly took some getting used to. But I have loved being able to take the images from my mind and translate that into movement that I can see in the flesh.” Being a dancer accustomed to having no responsibility other than showing up to rehearsal warmed-up and ready to work, the huge amount of preparation involved in her choreographic role made an impression. “I spent hours and hours every day at home creating, thinking and analysing what I wanted and how I was going to get it.” Sydney can sometimes feel quite isolated artistically and anyone that’s lived in a European capital has no doubt encountered the occasional (misguided) sniff of scorn towards our colonial cultural efforts, but Hills sees the dance scene over here as fruitful and exciting. She identifies a trademark gutsiness and characteristic openness in our dancers. “I think Australians definitely work with a great focus and willingness to try anything. That's what I have experienced working with other choreographers as a dancer, and now as a choreographer working with dancers. Being so far removed from Europe and the USA, we have to create our own style and I think we do that really well.” Along with Mode.L are five more pieces: Polymorphia, In-Finite, Finding the Calm, Tinted Windows and The Art of War. The fashion design of Toni Maticevski and music of Jonny Greenwood make exciting appearances. The entire show is just over 100 minutes long, so this may be the ideal bite-sized introduction to ballet for the uninitiated. Those interested in a bit of behind-the-scenes banter can meet the choreographers and artistic director David McAllister in a free Q&A on Saturday, November 2, at 6pm.
If you've never been interested in silent films, this Spanish production might change your mind — and if they are your taste, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Blancanieves, which translates to 'Snow White', is a unique interpretation of the classic Grimm Brothers fantasy. Set in Andalusia, Spain during the early 1900s when bull fighting, flamenco and romance were at their best, the film expresses all the gusto and passion of Spanish culture — even without those sultry words. The protagonist of the story is Carmen (Macarena García), the daughter of famed matador Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho). On the same fateful day, Antonio is injured in a bullfight and Carmen's mother dies whilst giving birth to her. Carmen, who is raised by her grandmother until her death, goes to live with the paralysed Antonio, and his nurse-turned-wife, Encarna (Maribel Verdú). As her evocative name implicates, Encarna runs a house of horrors, treating her husband and stepdaughter with cruelty while masking her own bizarre fetishes. According to the traditional story, the stepmother is insanely jealous of the budding beauty and tries to do away her. Of course, our heroine survives (with a little amnesia) and is taken in by a group of travelling dwarves who nickname her 'Blancanieves'. By accident, it is discovered that Carmen has her father's knack for bullfighting. They travel around Spain as she stares down bulls in a gladiatorial yet glamorous fashion, most notably in an emotive last torero. Dubbed "a love letter to European silent cinema", by director Pablo Berger, Blancanieves had been in his heart for quite some time. Inspired by a photograph of bullfighting dwarves, Berger started on the project in 2003. Eight years later, he got wind that The Artist, another black-and white silent film, had premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. "I almost threw my phone against the wall," he told the Guardian. The high concept was gone." If he worried that Blancanieves would look like a copycat of the Oscar winning Artist, I disagree. As do copious others; the film received ten Goya awards (the equivalent of the Spanish Oscars). Blancanieves has all the qualities of a classic silent film but with a fresh twist that keeps our modern minds guessing. By incorporating Hitchcock-type cinematography, Berger crafts a beguiling version of the traditional story that is in turns melancholy, eerie and erotic. His cast of devastatingly beautiful Spanish beauties, such as Verdú (from Y Tu Mamá Tambien and Pan's Labyrinth), makes us swoon with every lash bat and tear roll. The roles of the dwarves are also unexpected — possibilities for betrayal and even romance can be found. So if you're looking forward to a debonair don of a prince charming in this story, forget it. But with a fantastically ambiguous ending that will have you wanting more, his is a part that's hardly missed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=HanTDiiZLpg
Wollongong. It seems like a bit of a quiet place. But take a quick wander around the centre of town and little things begin to jump out at you. Film festivals. Art. Coffee. There's a lot going on down there. And it's hard to ignore the walls these days, as well. Wollongong is covered in street art, a good chunk of which seems to be the legacy of returning local street art festival Wonderwalls Wollongong. Artists like Rone and Phibs have graced the walls in the past, this year Smug, Askew One and Fintan Magee are a few of the highlights. As well as making the city its studio, Wonderwalls is throwing a one night, art show and opening night party at Stupid Krap, and you can get closer to the ideas as a quartet of artists tell all with free food and drink Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the art keeps on going up all weekend and you're welcome to come watch. Grab a map and get wandering.
What even is creative non-fiction? A legitimate question, and in fact one that writers themselves often ask. Creative non-fiction is kind of like the awkward cousin who's around your age but who you only ever see at Christmas and Easter and you have never had anything to say to. Yeh. That one. What are we supposed to talk about? And yet the truth is that people read creative non-fiction on a regular basis. Heck, you've probably even written some yourself. Magazine profiles, long-form narrative journalism, essays and memoirs are all examples of it — the writing form that not only reports the facts but also tells stories. Interesting, investigative, insightful stories. Feel like finally getting familiar with said cousin, in the hope of family Christmas celebrations being moderately less awkward? On Saturday November 2, The NSW Writer's Centre will host the 2013 Creative Non-Fiction Festival — a day of workshops dedicated to the craft of writing non-fiction, curated by writer and all-round shit-stirrer Benjamin Law (Gaysia, Good Weekend). And the line-up of guest speakers is eclectic and brilliant. Including the likes of authors and radio hosts Monica Attard (Russia: Which Way Paradise?) and Dominic Knight (Disco Boy), new kids like Nadia Saccardo (Smith Journal), veterans such as John van Tiggelen (The Monthly) and Delia Falconer (The Service of the Clouds) and then just genuinely hilarious people like Clementine Ford (Daily Life). If you were ever after a crack team of engaging, entertaining and respected Australian writers then these are your guys. This hand-picked group are among the best journalists, memoirists, columnists and editors in the country. Sustenance on the day comes from Cantina Mobil food truck. Tickets are on sale now and the full list of speakers and program for the day is available here. Get in quick!
Ah, the humble food truck. Hallmark of the most sophisticated civilisations. Naturally, that world-class institution, Cambridge University, has its own local food truck, known fondly as the Trailer of Life. And for good reason — because everyone knows that a food truck is a comfort to drunken stomachs everywhere, a great alternative to stuffy restaurants and a justification for casual dining en plein air. Plus, where else can you go at midnight, other than Maccas? In recognition of this fact, and following a successful trial this October, Sydney's food trucks are celebrating their own popularity by getting together in one spot to feed you, one Friday every month, following a successful trial run in October and November. There's probably no better way to kick off (or conclude) your TGIF festivities. StreetFest Food Trucks United, as the monthly event is known, will open from 5pm at Belmore Park near Central Station. What tasty nomz will be available there? Are we talking pulled pork banh mi on crispy baguettes? Are we talking caramelised onion and aioli slathered on organic beef burgers? Veggie Patch Van, Tsuru, Cantina Mobil? All your digestive tract's fevered questions are answered on the Sydney Food Trucks website. There's even a smartphone app so you can align yourself yet more closely with this noble enterprise. Lord Mayor Clover Moore, that crafty cookie, says that the event is "part of our ongoing work to create a world-class night-time economy across Sydney". This is an initiative we can certainly get behind, and it mirrors public demand: a recent survey of food truck customers confirmed what we all know deep in our waters to be true, that (a) food trucks create new business in the city, (b) food trucks are the go-to destination between 9pm and midnight, and (c) food trucks tend to generate a devoted following, attracting customers who will happily travel up to 2km just to partake of their goodies. Not only that; the presence of a food truck also enhances a public space, helping to populate it, with all the benefits for a buzzy community that brings.
Delivery Man is not your typical Vince Vaughn film. Whilst we have grown accustomed to his formulaic comedic persona, here we are treated to a change of pace with a down-to-earth and likeable Vaughn. He plays David Wozniak, a perennial underachiever and incompetent meat truck driver for the family business (okay, so his stereotype remains to begin with). Triggered into bringing order to his life upon discovering his girlfriend Emma (Cobie Smulders) is pregnant, he is disturbed to find he is the biological father of 533 children, 142 of which are suing him to uncover his identity. This is all courtesy of a colossal mistake by the sperm donor facility a younger Wozniak anonymously frequented under the pseudonym 'Starbuck'. Delivery Man is the American adaptation of French-Canadian film Starbuck and succeeds largely due to the presence of Ken Scott, who wrote and directed the original. He ensures that the film retains its sincerity, allowing the exploration of the challenges of parenthood, albeit in farcically exaggerated circumstances, to bloom. Whilst the material provides plenty of opportunity for the film to descend into satire and farce, its decision to stay the course and explore the raw emotion of familial relationships is what makes this film worth giving a chance. It skips the diaper-changing staple of parenthood films and instead delves into the core of parenting: accepting your children no matter what. This allows for beautiful moments, the best of which is David visiting one of his sons who is severely disabled in a home. It is both touching and heart-warming, words I never thought I would write when discussing a film featuring Vaughn. Providing the comic relief is David's best friend and unsuccessful lawyer Brett, played brilliantly by Chris Pratt. Brett's attempt to single-handedly raise his four young children whilst pleading the case for his friend's anonymity provides the comic relief that frees Vaughn from his typical role of funny man. Pratt surely has a future of funny features ahead. Delivery Man of course has its faults, the largest of which is the injection of Wozniak's vegan hipster son Viggo (Adam Chanler-Berat); the writers clearly were unaware that these stereotypes were last funny three years ago. Viggo uncovers that David is the father of the list of plaintiffs (that includes himself) and yet saves nobody their suffering or legal costs by exposing him. Also, some of the connections feel short-lived, an inevitable product of suddenly trying to make a connection with 142 children in 100 minutes. This film won't win any awards, but it isn't trying to. Hollywood needs films like this to plug the gaps between the blockbusters and audiences need these films to watch in between the Harry Potters and Hobbits. Delivery Man fills this void and, if nothing else, should be a prime candidate for Cheap Tuesday. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yGAktL45XNQ
What could be better then a series of parties celebrating creativity and art? A series of parties celebrating a fusion of creativity, art — and vodka. That's right, ABSOLUT are gearing up to release their latest limited edition vodka bottle, and this time the occasion will be marked through a series of events featuring artistic collaborations from Australia's best and brightest talent, both known and unknown. The Blue Room events are all about consumers collaborating with artists and celebrating originality in all its forms. The Blue Room competition, which ran from August 27 through till September 13, asked creative thinkers to submit their ideas via the brand's Facebook page, with a handful of local artists then selected to collaborate with some of Australia's most prolific visual artists. Making up the impressive group of resident artists are audiovisual DJ Sampology, fashion designer Emma Mulholland, sculptor Dion Horstmans and digital artist Jimmy McGilchrist. With parties set to be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane throughout the month of October, the events are an opportunity for amateur artists to bring their artistic vision to life with the collaborative assistance of one of the residents. The first of The ABSOLUT Blue Room parties will kick off at Sydney's Goodgod Small Club on October 17. Get into the spirit!
It has been a couple of years since The Jungle Collective first started taking over Australian warehouses and slinging plenty of plants, all thanks to its huge sales in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. These leafy excuses to fill your home with greenery always have a bit of a celebratory vibe, so the outfit's next New South Wales outing should come as no surprise — it's hosting a plant sale house party. While all of those gorgeous green babies are the main attraction — and more than 170 varieties of them, too — browsing and buying in an old heritage building isn't something you get to do every day. It's happening twice, across the two days of Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10. You'll pick up everything from fiddle leafs and monsteras to giant birds of paradise and rubber trees, as well as oh-so-many ferns and hanging plants. You'll also be able to shop for designer pots, get expert advice from the horticulturalists onsite, listen to jungle tunes and even nab a $5 discount if you show up in fluro attire. It's all happening at 260 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, with two-hour sessions held at 8am, 10am, 12pm and 2pm on Saturday, plus 10am and 12pm on Sunday. While entry is free, you'll need to secure a ticket to head along — they'll be available from midday on Monday, March 4.
Spending your silly season in Sydney, but your loved ones are in another city? Missing the usual family shindig? Feeling a little home alone? PS40 has your festive fun covered, thanks to its Home Alone Orphans Christmas Party. We're not saying that someone will slap their hands to their face and scream as if they've just put on aftershave, but, well, we're actually pretty sure that several someones will do just that. Really, what everyone will be doing is drinking their way through the bar's boozy Christmas cocktail menu, listening and tapping their toes to Christmas tunes played by a jazz-funk band, and eating their way through Christmas-themed canapes. And, saying "Christmas" a whole lot, of course. 'Tis the season, ya filthy animals. The merry get-together takes place from 6pm on Saturday, December 22, and entry is free. Image: Alana Dimou
Summer in Sydney isn't just good for swimming and sundowners. It's also the best time of year to get out and about and catch some live music. For that very reason, Merivale is throwing a series of free (yes, free) warm weather gigs across Sydney. Dubbed See Sound, and presented in conjunction with Furphy, this season-long live music program will take place every weekend at Vic on the Park (plus Bondi's The Royal and Coogee Pavilion). If you live in the Inner West, the Vic on the Park is probably already one of your local haunts — and your pup's, too. It might be best to leave Fido at home this time, though. You'll want full danceability as the See Sound series takes over The Vic's stage from 8pm every Friday night. On Friday, December 21, Absolutely Everybody — a monthly party night that usually takes place at fellow Inner West pub The Landsdowne — is switching locations for its end-of-year bash, the Chrisco Disco Bonanza. This special set will feature pysch-pop duo World Champion, pop trio Baby Beef and DJ duo Fox Force II. And the good music vibes are spilling over into other days on Vic on the Park's calendar, too. Head down from 12pm on New Year's Day for a recovery Furphy and lineup of performances from Amyl and The Sniffers, Straight Arrows, Candy and Neighbourhood Void. You can visit the rest of the See Sound program over here. Gig updates will happen throughout summer, so keep checking in to find out who's up next.
What could be better than cracking a crisp, cold cider? Cracking one while breathing in the crisp, cool air of the Great Dividing Ranges, that's what. Cider-lovers, get ready to get your hands on some of Australia's premium fermented apple drops at the Batlow CiderFest. It's a street party of great proportions, with locals and visitors alike coming together to celebrate the end of the apple harvest and the best boutique ciders the region has to offer. There will also be gourmet food and other locally grown goodies on offer to satiate your hunger. Batlow's main street will host two stages where local talent will entertain you as you sit back, relax, bask in the refreshing mountain air and enjoy the glorious autumn leaves. There'll be buskers and street theatre performers, including a local troupe called the 'Wacky Apple Tarts' (yes, we're serious). And for those keen to learn more about the nitty gritty of the cider world, there's a cider industry conference the day before.
Running fanatics, assemble — Ultra-Trail Australia is here. The out-of-town trail running event takes place over four days in May in the stunning world heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park. The main event is a 100-kilometre run (yes, you read that correctly) with an elevation gain of 4,400 metres and a lot of stairs, this one certainly isn't for the faint-hearted. Those not quite up to the 100 can take part in the 50-kilometre race, which follows the second half of the 100-kilometre route through the Kedumba Valley; the 22-kilometre event, which starts at the Queen Victoria Hospital and ends at Scenic World; or the new 11-kilometre run, starting at Leura's Fairmont Resort. If you're into something short but sweet, try your hand at the Scenic World UTA951, where you'll only have to run for 1.2 kilometres, but up the (in)famous Furber Steps. If the name wasn't a dead giveaway, the climb is a 951 winding stairs. It's all good if your legs feel like jelly at the end — your entry fee includes a ride down the Scenic Railway, the steepest incline railway in the world. Tickets for the UTA100, 50, 22 and 951 stair climb are currently on sale. Tickets for the UTA11 go on sale at 11am on Tuesday, February 26.
If anyone can promise a Mardi Gras after-party you won't forget in a hurry, it's the folks at monthly LGBTQI+ dance fiesta Saturgay and the ever-inclusive All Sorts. And indeed, the two are coming together to host one especially memorable shindig, helping to round out Mardi Gras' jam-packed program with their post-parade Blackout Mardi Gras Party on Saturday, March 2. Taking over three rooms across both levels of The Lansdowne Hotel, this double whammy celebration will be hosted by the highly entertaining Miss Ellaneous and Marzi Panne, from Party Passport. Downstairs, punters will experience Saturgay's signature serve of disco-drenched, dance floor-filling good times, while a All Sorts delivers one of its legendary mixed bag adventures — headlined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ crew, Brotha Boys, Sista Girls — upstairs. You'll catch high-energy performances from the likes of Dreamtime Divas, Nova Gina and Miss First Nation finalists MadB and Timberlina, along with DJ sets from favourites like GLDSPK, Ruby Slippers and Nelly Yuki, well into the wee hours. Best bring your dancing shoes for this one.
In celebration of International Women's Day, the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre is hosting some of Western Sydney's leading female industry figures for Girls Talk Women's Work. The empowering conference will run on Thursday, March 8 and consist of three panel sessions on the topics of music, arts, business and politics. Discussing how to navigate the male-dominated political and business worlds is Liverpool mayor Wendy Waller, business advisor Inu Ran (Western Sydney University Launch Pad), Liverpool Councillor Charisma Kaliyanda and director Dolla Merrilles (Museum of Applied Arts and Science). The music panel will explore stereotypes that exist within the music industry and boasts executive director Yarmila Alfonzetti (State Opera of South Australia), music director Amelia Jenner (FBi Radio), hip hop artist Kween G and founder/director Carly Roberts (Picnic). The art panelists will discuss the importance of collective experience and the idea of performance as resistance. Artists Claudia Nicholson and Caroline Garcia, theatre maker Emele Ugaluva, writer/activist Bee Cruse, Treehouse Theatre co-founder Catherine McGuire-Donvito and Western-Sydney based curator Lizzy Marshall will join forces for this one. Each session includes a Q&A and the provided lunch will be accompanied by surprise performances. It's free to attend, though RSVP is essential and the event is specifically geared for those between the ages of 12 through 25.
If seasonal change has left you in a dizzy headspin of new colours and fabrics and prints and jackets — or if, y'know, you just like some fancy new clothes now and then — you'll be pretty pleased to know that the Big Fashion Sale is coming back to Sydney for four days this March. The name pretty much says it all. This thing is big. You'll find thousands of lush items from past collections, samples and one-offs from over 50 cult Australian and international designers, both well-known and emerging, including Kenzo, Marni, Phillip Lim, Karla Špetić, Adidas, Kowtow, Macgraw, Thursday Sunday and more. With discounts of up to 80 percent off, this is one way to up your count of designer while leaving your bank balance sitting pretty too. Prices this low tend to inspire a certain level of ruthlessness in all of us, though, so practise that grabbing reflex in advance. This is every person for themselves. The Big Fashion Sale will be open 9am till 8pm Thursday, 9am till 6pm Friday and Saturday, and 10am till 4pm Sunday.
Urban Winery Project is back in Sydney for its seventh season, again taking over Three Blue Ducks Rosebery for two nights on Wednesday, February 21 and Thursday, February 22. Patrons can expect another year of top-notch food, Vinteloper wine and grape stomping shenanigans. Founded by the team behind Adelaide Hills wine label Vinteloper, the event originated in Adelaide back in 2012 and also popped-up in Melbourne in 2016 and 2015. This is UWP's second year running at Three Blue Ducks, with last year's guests stomping enough shiraz to fill a whopping 3456 bottles, making it the largest batch yet. While famed chefs Andy Allen and Mark LaBrooy prepare a feast over an open grill, guests will get their hands — and feet — dirty, too. The event's signature immersive experience begins with some good old stomping of the grapes and is accompanied by a winemaking and appreciation seminar, along with a Q&A. Diners will also be the first to sample and potentially purchase the wines made at last year's event, including a red blend and a white blend. Once the messy part is done, guests gather around share tables for Allen's four-course degustation, matched with Vinteloper wines including a shiraz, tempranillo, gewürztraminer and riesling. There's no denying it's a pricey night, but, for the caliber of food, wine and the chance to stomp your heart out, it will at least be a paycheck well spent. Urban Winery Project X Three Blue Ducks Rosebery Pop-Up is happening on February 21 and 22 at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Tickets are $140pp for four courses with wines and an interactive winemaking experience. Bookings via UWP's website.
Move over, regular old land-based yoga — there's a new type of bending, stretching fun in town. That'd be FloatFit, which combines high-intensity interval training with getting flexible, all while you're floating on water. No, you're not on a boat. And no, you're not on a large-scale floating platform. Instead, you'll work through your workout on an AquaBase, a one-person exercise platform that adds an extra dimension to your exercise, working your core as you continually stay balanced. If that sounds like your kind of thing, AquaPhysical is hosting a number of free classes throughout February so that you can give it a try. From February 5 to 17, multiple sessions will be held in Baulkham Hills, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Concord, Camperdown and Salamander Bay. It's a one-day per venue kind of deal — sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening — so make sure you check the schedule. And, while you won't pay a thing if you're a member of the pool, non-members will still have to pay to get in.
International Women's Day will see 12 of the region's leading female winemakers join forces in an evening that showcases their award-winning drops. The Women in Wine tasting event will take over Walsh Bay's View of Sydney on March 8 from 6pm–8.30pm. Tickets are seriously bang-for-your-buck and include tasters of over 40 wines, plus a glass of bubbles on arrival, canapés and an antipasto grazing station. Plus, you'll get the chance to chat to winemakers from across Australia and New Zealand's best wine regions, including Hunter Valley, Eden and Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Mornington Peninsula, Coonawarra, Margaret River, Orange, Hastings River and Marlborough. The winemakers include Gwyn Olsen (Briar Ridge and Pepper Tree Wines), Victoria Kathleen Quealy (Quealy Winemakers), Julie Montgomery (Avon Brae), Alexia Roberts (Penny's Hill), Elena Brooks (Dandelion), Rosie Simons (Heirloom), Janelle Zerk (Z Wines), Sarah Pidgeon (Wynns), Jo Perry (Dormilona), Nicole Samodol (Rowlee), Sally Blackwell (Hawkesridge), and Jo Gear (Ribbon Hills). According to Wine Australia, the number of women employed in wine manufacturing has increased from 35 percent to 38 percent since 2011, but women only represent 10 percent or less in leadership and senior roles. This event is a great excuse to celebrate — and taste — how women are influencing the industry.
When the second Tuesday of each month rolls around, Camperdown's The Lady Hampshire lives up to its name. Called See You Next Tuesday, their ladies night isn't your usual female-focused shindig — and for their February event, they're bringing cake. Come February 13, cake baker Katherine Sabbath is in the spotlight, sharing her secrets to conquering the dessert world. Her journey is bound to spark not only inspiration, but also likely hunger, so prepare for an array of rainbow treats as well. Be warned: arriving early is recommended. Also on the bill is local artist Caitlin Harnett's folk-inspired music — and to complete the fun, what's a girls night without a movie? Thelma & Louise will be screened in the beer garden, topped off with drinks supplied by the female-run Sparkke Change Brewery. Plus, the gloriously named Vadge Draw will be back once again as well. $5 will get you entry into the monthly prize pool, with prizes for the month including more of Katherine Sabbath's goodies. Yum. Image: Charlotte Koch.
Sydney's beloved taco-slinger Toby Wilson (Ghostboy Cantina, Bad Hombres) has recently returned from Mexico and he's brought a legit taste of the street food scene back with him. To showcase his new recipes, Wilson will take over the Mecca Alexandria kitchen with Las Taquerias de Mexico — offering a set menu of tacos and snacks over two sittings a night on March 16, 17, 23 and 24. The eight-course taco degustation is based off of Wilson's food journey, with regional dishes from Mexico City, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Oaxaca and Baja California represented on the menu — think lamb barbacoa tacos, zucchini flower and Oaxaca cheese quesadillas, ceviche tostadas and al pastor tacos. Other dishes will be announced on Wilson's Instagram in the lead up to the pop-up. For drinks, they've imported tequila and mezcal from the distilleries Wilson visited on his trip, with Mexican beer, cocktails and natural wines also on offer. There will be an additional drinks pairing option available for $40, or patrons can buy drinks as they go. As it's a fairly intimate venue, tickets for each sitting are limited. $60 for snacks — sans drinks — is definitely on the pricey side, but Wilson's tacos could certainly be worth it.
Circular Quay is ushering in the Year of the Dog with the unveiling of five new lanterns in its Lunar Lanterns exhibition, which runs from February 16 through February 25. The complete artwork includes all 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac, with the free exhibition spanning from the Sydney Opera House all the way to Chinatown. The five larger-than-life new lanterns include an animated dog, designed by Chinese-Australian artist Song Ling and situated on the Opera House's western boardwalk; a massive 13-metre tall dragon that sits on the front lawn of the MCA; a resting tiger atop the Circular Quay ferry terminal; a pig lantern constructed from 1000 individual pigs, located at Cadman's Cottage in The Rocks; and two additional four-metre-tall dog lanterns that guard the entrance to Chinatown's Dixon Street Mall. Sydney's 22nd annual Chinese New Year Festival is the largest outside of Asia, with an estimated 1.4-million people expected to join the festivities from February 16 through March 4.
Next up at Gaffa Gallery is Chindia, a group exhibition exploring the multiplicity of migrant identities in Australia. Showcasing six artists with Chinese and Indian heritage working across various disciplines, the show explores a complex array of themes including politics, displacement, performance, folklore, colonial legacy, violence, diaspora histories and issues of cultural and national identity. Featuring work from Anindita Banerjee, Anurendra Jegadeva, Guo Jian, Lilian Lai, Lucy Wang and Texta Queen alongside short films, Chindia invites its audience to share in the inspirations, motivations and family stories of the artists and performers involved, whilst asking what the lessons learnt mean for the future. Gallery manager and show curator Kimberley Peel explains the exhibition "aims to increase community engagement and participation to create an inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and vibrant society" by both increasing the visibility of migrant artist communities and providing a forum for them to engage with one another creatively. A short run from February 15–26 — don't miss out. Image: Anurendra Jegadeva, Migrant Altar, 2012, Oil on canvas with mounted painted objects, 132 cm x 122 cm with 122 cm x 46 cm. Collection of Singapore Art Museum.
You know that feeling of unbridled joy and energy you get in the opening scene of The Lion King when you scream "naaaants een-vwen-yaaaaaaa ma-ba-gee-chi-ba-va" (or some variation thereof) as baby Simba is hoisted up by Rafiki? That's why you should pay to see the Spice World: The Movie at Moonlight Cinema on February 9. Even though you've seen it a million times, you have it on DVD and Blu-ray (for some reason), and on a USB drive that's permanently in the TV, you should still buy a ticket. The sheer thrill that you'll feel when an outdoor cinema full of adult women all scream "you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM" will be an experience like no other. The joy of sharing, nostalgia and sing-screaming are all rolled into one sing-a-long event at the Belvedere Amphitheatre at Centennial Park, so snap up a ticket while you can.
If you missed out on The Jungle Collective's previous warehouse plant sales, be sure to clear the weekend of April 21 and 22. Because there's another one on its way. The Jungle Collective is a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. After holding four wildly successful Sydney markets this year, it's tracking down new plants and throwing another two-day indoor plant party. This time, it's safari themed, so wear some khaki with a hat and binoculars. If you do, you'll get a $5 discount off of your purchase. While plenty of rare plants and indoor favourites will be on offer, philodendrons will be in the spotlight. Previous sales have had everything from hanging pot plants to palms to a giant Bird of Paradise, so prepare to welcome a few into your home. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. Taking place in St Peters, the sale run from 10am till 4pm on Saturday and 10am till 2pm on Sunday, with ticketed sessions. The good stuff tends to go first, so we recommend booking a morning session on the Saturday when bookings open at noon on Monday, April 16. Images: Mooikin.
Whether you're a dedicated poké fan, an occasional dabbler or you haven't yet tried the Hawaiian food trend, you're going to want to head to North Sydney's Nudefish on April 11. From 11.30am, free bowls are on the menu for the first 100 customers. While usually there's no such thing as a free lunch, that advice doesn't apply here. Hungry patrons can choose from miso sesame eggplant, marinated mushroom, spicy kale chicken and more, as drizzled with house-made sauces and pickles. It's also all gluten- and dairy-free, which means this Poké Party is for everyone. And, if you don't find yourself at the front of the queue before midday, don't worry — Nudefish is also serving up $5 bowls once their freebies have run out. Keep an eye on their Facebook page too, as they're promising other giveaways in the lead up to the main event.
Sydney's Opera Bar and Daisy's Milkbar are coming together to create an Aussie milk bar — popping up for only three days over the Easter long weekend. A small section of the harbourside bar will be converted into an old school milk bar, complete with pastel booths, giant gum ball machines and vintage accessories. The nostalgic pop-up will sell drinks reminiscent of everyone's childhood favourites — but here they'll have boozy twists. You'll find alcoholic Cottee's cordial, spiked Milo milkshakes and the Pavlova Colada — it's part dessert, part cocktail and made with Bacardi, pineapple, lime, coconut, passionfruit and meringue. For those left with spare pocket change, you can use it to purchase old school snacks like fairy bread, chocolate crackles and lamingtons. If you prefer savoury treats, look to the classic milk bar burger or the deli plates of Jatz, olives, cheese and cabanossi. The pop-up will also be running a host of nostalgic activities, including a lolly guessing competition, arcade games, board game tournaments and lucky dips.
In 2011's Le Havre, Aki Kaurismäki explored Europe's refugee crisis in his trademark way: with empathy, a droll sense of humour and a bittersweet outlook. He tackles the same subject with the same approach in The Other Side of Hope, although you could never accuse the Finnish filmmaker of simply retracing his own footsteps. Rather, the writer-director steps from a tale of transition to one of acceptance. It's a shift that not only reflects global events over the past seven years, but also comes with a much-needed message. What the world needs now is compassion, Kaurismäki posits — an idea that applies when asylum seekers arrive in prosperous nations searching for better lives. The Other Side of Hope begins when Syrian refugee Khaled (Sherwan Haji) hops off a boat in Helsinki. Looking for a new home far from Aleppo, he just wants the chance to start afresh, however Finland proves far from welcoming. Meanwhile, leaving his wife and his old salesman life behind to enter the restaurant trade, Waldemar Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen) requires help getting his new business going. Both men are fleeing their respective pasts, but Wikström's plight can't compare to Khaled's, and the film doesn't claim otherwise. Instead, after Wikström spies Khaled hiding behind his eatery, the movie shows how an act of kindness shapes their intertwined fortunes. In other hands, a parade of cheesy cliches would ensue, but Kaurismäki isn't any other filmmaker. There's a reason that he's considered Finland's best living auteur, and why his movies receive widespread international attention. While they're the kind of plaudits that every director dreams of, no one views the world quite like Kaurismäki. He fills his frames with characters that wear their eccentricities on their sleeves, yet couldn't be more relatable. He shows people struggling with all types of problems, both commonplace and more extreme, while still banding together because it's the right thing to do. Further, he charts life's ups and downs without avoiding its sorrows, but never removing optimism from the equation either. Indeed, there's a word that sums up his work perfectly: humane. Another word springs to mind: absurd. It's evident when a fight quickly turns into a job offer and when salted herring is served up as sushi, two of the movie's wry, hilarious developments. From its deadpan humour to its rockabilly soundtrack, The Other Side of Hope is often offbeat, albeit in a very specific way. Kaurismäki isn't trying to make an over-the-top comedy — instead, his film recognises how odd everyday existence really can be. It's why his cast turn in portrayals that seem naturalistic as well as a little detached, whether the world-weary Kuosmanen is grimacing through a poker game or the scene-stealing Haji is relaying Khaled's background with a calm demeanour. Lensed by Kaurismäki's regular cinematographer Timo Salminenn, the movie's visuals operate in the same manner as the performances. Every shot overflows with lifelike detail, with smoke hanging in the air and pain oozing from a stranger's glare, yet every image feels like it has been meticulously arranged. It's the same sensation that great still-life paintings evoke: of not only capturing reality, but capturing the artist's unique perspective along with it. Of course, The Other Side of Hope isn't a static image frozen in time. Observed with the same compassion it champions, and proving as earnest as it is amusing, the film is an intricately composed portrait brimming with melancholy, sincerity and worldwide relevance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asR1B7NrhQQ
Calling all dancing queens – it's time to dust off those tambourines and head to the annual Trundle ABBA Festival. Australia's only festival dedicated to the Swedish supergroup, the Trundle ABBA Festival is the perfect opportunity to pay homage to Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid and the endless good times their pop tunes bring. Tribute band Björn Again will make you think you're watching the real deal, when they put on an outstanding performance of all your favourite ABBA hits while dressed to the nines in glitzy '70s ABBA-inspired attire. Rhonda Burchmore and Lara Mulcahy, who played best friends in the Australian stage production of Mamma Mia!, will also be putting on a show – a hilarious tale of their childhoods growing up as diehard ABBA fans, interspersed with ABBA hits.
Ceramicist Milly Dent is inviting you to get your hands dirty. In April, she'll be hosting workshops in porcelain casting and mould making, giving you the chance to create your own pieces, then glaze them with stunning colours. There'll be two workshop series, each taking place over three sessions. The first session will involve a mould making demo and an introduction to slip casting, followed by an opportunity to make your own mould. At the second, you'll experiment with an array of porcelain – both white and coloured – as well as a bunch of underglazes and glazes. Finally, when the third session rolls around, it'll be time to cast a third creation and put the finishing touches on your previous works. The first series will be held on April 10, 17 and 24; and the second on April 11, 18 and 25. All sessions will run from 6.30–8.30pm. Milly Dent has exhibited at numerous of Sydney's galleries, including Saint Cloche, the Australian Design Centre, Kerrie Lowe and Damien Minton. Images: Amy Piddington
Summer might be over, but Astral People's Summer Dance series is finishing its 2018 season in typical high-energy style. After selling out its first two events, the packed program offers up another crowd-screaming lineup to close out the fun. Taking place on March 25 at the National Art School in Darlinghurst, Mike Huckaby will serve up a feast of disco, jazz and techno beats to groove to, while Yorkshire producer Youandewan aka Ewan Smith will be bringing the explosive house beats that've given him a title at UK record label Aus Music. Also on the bill: Sydney's own Luen Jacobs and Rhys and Ruby (Is That Fair?). Astral People and National Art School's collaboration continues to bring high-demand music to Sydney's summer celebrations. Enjoying the historic and lush surroundings of Darlinghurst, it's the the ultimate spot to relinquish the week's stress and dance the day away.
Everyone loves Gelato Messina's creative ice cream concoctions; however, believe it or not, there is a way to make their chilled sweet treats even better. You know how dessert takes oh-so-divine when it caps off an amazing meal? Yep, that's how to amplify your Messina experience. At the latest instalment of their Messina Eats pop-up series, Melbourne burger joint 8bit is in the spotlight. Following in the footsteps of Huxtaburger and Mr Claws, Wonderbao, Hoy Pinoy, Burn City Smokers and more, they're serving up four epic burgers and loaded fries, while the appropriately arcade game-themed shindig will also feature a gaming station to keep you entertained between bites. As for your final course, Messina will be unleashing the Mortal Cookie Kombat — a milk choc chip cookie and milo crumble, topped with a scoop of dulce de leche gelato. And, it wouldn't be a burger feast without some milkshakes to sip on, which Messina is taking care of as well. Messina Eats runs from noon until sold out on March 23 and 24 in the carpark at Messina's Rosebery HQ.
