There's plenty of people who go around collecting art and putting it in their house. But how about turning your home itself into an artwork? That's exactly what Aussie-born, New York-based artist Ian Strange will be doing this weekend in Richmond. For this Saturday and Sunday only, he's projecting a site-specific illumination onto a family home on Clifton Street. Passersby will see a huge red dot covering the doorway, framed by concentric circles: a bit like an interpretation of the eye of a dartboard. Titled OPEN HOME, the work aims to explore ideas of suburban isolation. On one hand, the home appears as a shelter — on the other, it is vulnerable and at risk of demolition. The piece is one of many by Strange investigating the meaning and architecture of the buildings in which we live. While creating the illumination on Monday, October 2, Strange documented the process in detail. The result is a collection of photographs titled Twenty-Five, which will be on display in the home's front bedroom, next to another series called Forty-Eight. Meanwhile, spread across the other bedrooms, bathroom and living room, you'll find Shadows, a group of photographs and videos that Strange created in Western Australia during 2015 and 2016. The former explore changes to post-war red-brick dwellings, while the latter document Strange at work in the light of dawn. Rounding out the exhibition are two sculptures. Elliot Terrace (2013) features a cut from a New Jersey home that's since been demolished, while Framework (Kenyon 3) (2017) is from a series of site-specific installations that explore the role of frameworks and architectural drawings in the creation and imagining of homes. OPEN HOME is located at 25 Clifton Street, Richmond and will be open from 10am – 6pm on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8. For more info on the series, visit ianstrange.com.
Forget Christmas carols — when the end of the year hits, one song stands above the rest in Australia. Maybe you just find yourself singing it as December 21 approaches. Perhaps you make an annual pilgrimage to see Paul Kelly play it, given he usually tours at that time of year for good reason. Or, you could celebrate gravy day by, well, making gravy. The recipe's right there, after all. The song we're talking about: Kelly's Christmas classic 'How to Make Gravy', which was first released in 1996 on an EP of the same name. More than a quarter-century on, it's as intertwined with the festive season Down Under as prawns and street cricket — and it's being turned into a movie. As first reported by Variety, How to Make Gravy will hit screens thanks to Warner Bros. Australia and Speech and Drama Pictures — the latter of which is run by musician Megan Washington and writer/director Nick Waterman — who've locked in the rights to make the song into a film. As anyone who knows the words by heart and is currently singing them right now while they're reading this is well aware, Kelly's tune tells a story, starting with a prisoner called Joe who writes to his brother Dan. Presumably, Stella, Frank and Dolly will all also feature, and Rita, Roger, Mary and her new boyfriend. Junior Murvin will have to pop up on the soundtrack, of course. Also, the words "and give my love to Angus" better get uttered — or would it really be a How to Make Gravy movie? It's far too early for announcements regarding casts and release dates, but you could probably put money on it hitting screens — big or small, whichever it heads to — on December 21. Whether that'll be this year or next also hasn't been revealed, but you're about to get a new gravy day tradition either way. (And, given the character of Joe also pops up in other Kelly songs such as 'To Her Door' and 'Love Never Runs On Time', cross your fingers that we're about to get a PKCU — Paul Kelly cinematic universe — too.) How to Make Gravy, the movie, doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when further details are announced. Via Variety.
If you've binged your way through The Afterparty already this year, and watched Death on the Nile as well, then you might be in the market for a new murder-mystery fix. Here's one puzzle that's easy to sleuth, because the answer is set to arrive via Disney+ — thanks to the return of instant 2021 favourite Only Murders in the Building. One of last year's surprises and delights — one of last year's best new shows, in fact — this gem weaves true-crime podcasting into the mix, too, all via a very funny murder-mystery comedy. And, thanks to the latest sneak peek at its second season, following other teasers and trailers back in March and May, Only Murders in the Building looks set to continue as it left off. We're never too far away from a new murder-mystery in some shape or form, of course, and Only Murders in the Building's new batch of episodes knows it, tasking its central trio of NYC neighbours-turned-sleuths (and true-crime podcasters) with investigating a second killing. This time, though, the three key residents of the fictional Arconia in New York are suspects, as well as subjects of a competing podcast. Only Murders in the Building focuses three New Yorkers: actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die). They're all addicted to a podcast hosted by the fictional Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva), and find themselves unexpectedly bonding over it, in fact. And, when someone turns up dead in their building, they decide that they can sleuth their way through the case by getting talking themselves. That's how the first season panned out. Now, in season two, Charles-Haden, Oliver and Mabel are weathering the fallout. Complicating their efforts are a trio of factors: their public implication in the death in question; that new podcast about them and this murder; and the suspicions of their neighbours, who think they're guilty. Exactly how that'll play out won't be unveiled until Tuesday, June 28, when Only Murders in the Building returns — but you don't need to be an amateur detective to know that it's bound to be both amusing and twisty. Whatever happens, both Cara Delevingne and Amy Schumer are involved, with the pair joining the cast as guest stars. And, as the new sneak peek shows, Fey is back as well. Check out the latest trailer for Only Murders in the Building season two below: Only Murders in the Building's second season will start streaming Down Under via Star on Disney+ on Tuesday, June 28. Read our full review of the show's first season. Images: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
Stories about the world as humanity currently knows it ending, then those that remain endeavouring to cling to whatever life is left and make the most of it, aren't just stories of survival. As they fill screens big and small — be it in movies in the Mad Max and A Quiet Place franchises, or in TV shows like The Last of Us, Fallout, Station Eleven and Paradise, to name a mere few recent and diverse examples — they tell tales of needs, costs, threats, changes and choices. A sensation in the video-game domain since 2013, and as a HBO series from a decade later, The Last of Us knows that what it takes to endure, the price paid and the type of person that such an experience makes you all firmly beat at its heart. Adapted for television by Chernobyl's Craig Mazin, it's equally and just-as-acutely aware that the kind of new existence that should spring after apocalyptic horrors is as much its focus. There was no escaping those ideas in a TV smash that proved one of the best new shows of 2023 in its first season. There's no avoiding it in one of the biggest and most-anticipated small-screen returns of 2025, either (in a year that's been filled with huge comebacks so far, thanks also to Severance season two, the third seasons of The White Lotus and Yellowjackets, Hacks season four, plus Daredevil: Born Again as well). The Last of Us season two picks up five years after the events of season one, with Joel (Pedro Pascal, The Wild Robot) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget) engrained in the survivor community of Jackson, Wyoming — and with how to forge a path forward, and to create a better future for the younger generations navigating existence after the cordyceps infestation, as clear in its sights as a clicker spied through a rifle scope. For Gabriel Luna, season two is indeed a return. A star of Terminator: Dark Fate, True Detective, Agents of SHIELD, Matador and more before stepping into the shoes of Joel's younger brother Tommy, and seen in Fubar and heard in Secret Level since The Last of Us debuted its first season, he's back in a part that's stuck with him. "Even during hiatus, I never really felt completely removed from the flow of the story," he tells Concrete Playground. Accordingly, he's not new to pondering the show's depths, and also thinking about its true monsters — not clickers, aka the long-term infected after their exposure to the fungus that's largely wiped out the planet, but some of the people taking doing whatever is necessary to the extreme in the nightmarish situation that the likes of Joel, Ellie, Tommy and the latter's wife Maria (Rutina Wesley, Queen Sugar) have been weathering. As the second season unpacks Jackson's hard-earned new status quo — where post-pandemic normality is the aim, but guarded walls, patrol runs, trauma counselling, and other such security measures and coping tactics will never not be elements of the daily routine — Isabela Merced and Young Mazino are fresh to The Last of Us' realm. The former plays Dina and the latter is Jesse, both of whom will be familiar to anyone that's played The Last of Us Part II. Merced joins the series after 2024's Madame Web and Alien: Romulus, plus the movie adaptation of Dora the Explorer, featuring in Instant Family and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and leading Nickelodeon TV series 100 Things to Do Before High School before that. Mazino's resume also spans back to 2013, as Merced's does, but he's best-known for Beef, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. [caption id="attachment_999544" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Scott Ehler, Max[/caption] As Dina and Jesse, Merced and Mazino find themselves thrust into season two's big schism, as Luna's Tommy also is. Gone is the surrogate father-daughter closeness that Joel and Ellie carved out in season one, with their relationship instead evolving into the frequent next step as children grow up: distance and rebellion, and a parent dismayed at their connection changing so drastically. Audiences know, of course, that's there's more to the tension between Joel and Ellie thanks to the events of the first season — thanks to decisions and actions that also link to fellow cast addition Kaitlyn Dever (Apple Cider Vinegar) as Abby. New faces (The Studio's Catherine O'Hara is another), both friends and foes; acrimony between a pair that earned their bond, and each other's trust, the hard way in season one; a love triangle; contemplating what type of community that Jackson wants to be; a quest for revenge; an early showdown with clickers: The Last of Us kicks off its seven-episode second season with all of the above. Before that even arrives, a third season was locked in, too. When Luna, Merced and Mazino travelled to Australia to help launch HBO's dedicated streaming platform Max Down Under — where you'll find The Last of Us season two streaming from Monday, April 14, dropping its instalments week by week — we chatted with the trio about where the new chapter takes the series, what excited Merced and Mazino about becoming a part of it, how Luna approached coming back, digging into those survivalist themes and facing down clickers, among other topics. On What Excited Merced and Mazino About Joining The Last of Us for Season Two — and the Unexpected Injuries That Came Along the Way Isabela: "Initially there's the pull of the massive, just enormous size of the show — and the amount of cast members, the amount of action scenes. That was the initial pull. And then with all of the writing, it's so deep and it's so much that you can chew on and really get yourself into and throw yourself into. I love how Craig writes his characters, so I was excited to just be one of those." Young: "Yeah, I second everything she just said. You can tell the writing's excellent in the first season, and so I was so excited to get to chew on those words. And it's fun. And the physicality of it, getting to do fun things like riding horses and shooting guns and running around fighting clickers." Isabela: "Oh that's right, you pulled a muscle." Young: "Yeah, yeah. My hamstring exploded in one scene and I think you can hear me going like 'aaaah' at the end of that — and I think they kept it in the episode, too. So good times, yeah." Gabriel: "I had almost pulled a quad, and then I remember, then I did pop my calf, I think. It's healed now." Young: "Yeah, you've got to warm up." Gabriel: "You've got to, but it's hard when it's so cold. I mean -20 degrees, it's hard to get warm." Young: "I'm just eating a sandwich on the steps of my trailer and they're like 'alright, you ready?' I'm like 'yeah'. And then next thing you know, I'm booking it like 15 times in a row." Isabela: "You're an athlete, too." On How Luna Approached Stepping Back Into Tommy's Shoes for the Second Time Gabriel: "Even during hiatus, I never really felt completely removed from the flow of the story. This just always — I just remained in contact with Craig and we'd talk a lot, and text about different things and ideas for the second season. And so even while off on other jobs, this job very much took up residence and has a lot of real estate in my heart and my mind, and I think about it a lot. So I went into it ready to get back to work. And I think some of that is being excited for what was to come. Knowing what happens in the second game as far as Tommy is concerned, it was all something that I had been champing at the bit to get back into anyway. We talked about all of our injuries, but just trying to stay as physically ready as I could, even though Craig was telling me 'you know what, you know you're 55 in this story, so you can't be in too good a shape'. I was like, 'well, that's where the acting will come in, because I don't want to die out there'. It was a lot, but I was, I felt, ready — and we were ready, and we got it done." On How Season Two's First Episode Sets the Scene for What's to Come Gabriel: "For Tommy, he is a new father. He's been forced to lock in — kind of a born to dilly-dally, forced-to-lock-in type of guy— but he's really taken on that role and those responsibilities willingly, with a lot of love and compassion for his family first, and then, of course, his community. So he's had to mature quite a bit. He and Maria have Benjamin [Ezra Benedict Agbonkhese, Snowpiercer], their son. And he's also a bit of the go-between and the mediator between a lot of elements of his family." Isabela: "[For Dina and Jesse] You kind of catch them in the middle of the love triangle. So yeah, you kind of feel that tension — and it's interesting because you leave the audience with a lot of questions, but they'll get answered." Young: "Yeah, you see the breadth of the aftermath of something that just happened, and we're stepping into this uncharted territory of what's to come." Isabela: "It was interesting as actors to sort of have to do that as a first scene together." Young: "Yeah, that's interesting — and it's clever, it's clever writing, too, to establish that so quickly, which I think people will see in the first episode." On Digging Into the Show's Themes, Including What It Means to Survive, What It Requires and Costs, and Building a New World Gabriel: "When preparing for the first season, I enlisted the help of my friend Jack Nevils, who trains army snipers, and he was our military consultant on Terminator: Dark Fate. And the one thing that he said to me very early in the process that stuck and resonated was 'you know, I've been in these places where when resources are low, people become monsters, and it happens very quickly — that descent happens swiftly'. And so it's kind of carrying that sense of the paranoia of a lot of the threats. The monsters are a known quantity; it's the people that you encounter, and their deception and their intentions and their designs, that you have to be wary of. I think I'm a very open person in my personal life, and very trusting and want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I think within this world your senses are heightened and your awareness — I think it's important to open that awareness and to be able to clock the threats." Young: "I was just thinking, there's the world-building and the environment, but then I think it it's also important to look at the character. And I personally pull threads of very specific people that I know in my life, and kind of combine them to amalgamate into this character that I think would serve this story." Gabriel: "Yeah, and a good point — while they are the greatest threat, people, they're also the greatest resource. If you can find the right people and move together, yeah, that is how you survive." Young: "Community." On What Merced Draws Upon When Facing Clickers, Including in Season Two's First Big Showdown Accompanied by Bella Ramsey as Ellie Isabela: "That's kind of the first bit of clicker action we get in the series, is that — and I find it fascinating that I didn't know what to expect in the process, but I saw the clickers on that day for the first time, and the actors that are playing them are usually stunt people and they get them as close as possible to what you see on the show in the final result. So I got to see their real movements and their actions, and their general demeanour is so frightening, I think, because it's so unpredictable. They did a really good job choreographing them — and it's really, really fun. And as a fan of the game, just to see that in person, it's really cool. The Last of Us season two streams from Monday, April 14, 2025 Down Under, via Max in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of the first season. Images: HBO.
UPDATE, January 15, 2021: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Cinematic beauty comes in many forms, and the John Wick franchise perfects one of them. The term 'balletic' couldn't better describe the series' hypnotic action sequences, with its array of frenetic fights and carnage-dripping set pieces all meticulously choreographed like complex dance routines. In fact, when ballerinas actually pirouette across the screen in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, they seem bland in comparison. As 2014's John Wick and 2017's John Wick: Chapter 2 proved, murderous mayhem has rarely looked as stunning as it does in this ultra-violent saga. Whether its eponymous assassin is unleashing his fury with fists, firearms or knives (or, in the latest flick, killing one enemy with a book and dispatching others by wielding a horse as a weapon) the result is simply exhilarating to watch. As played with the steely stoicism that Keanu Reeves wears oh-so-well, John Wick finds many other ways to eradicate his adversaries in Parabellum. Motorcycles aren't just for riding, belts don't only hold up pants, and attack dogs, swords and axes all come in handy. With the movie energetically picking up where the last film left off (mere moments afterwards, to be exact), the retired triggerman isn't short on opportunities to unleash his deadly flair. In the first flick, he was lured back to the hitman life after his car was stolen and his puppy killed, while the second chapter chronicled the savage fallout not only from his vengeance, but from his determination to stay retired. Now, after breaking the assassin code, there's a $14 million bounty on his head — and dear Jonathan, as his friend and hotelier Winston (Ian McShane) calls him, has been cut off from the slick facilities and tools of his underworld profession. With its name meaning 'prepare for war' in Latin, Parabellum follows John's kill-or-be-killed quest, pitting the supremely skilled hitman against the rest of the world's contract murderers. To the surprise of no one, copious amounts of bloodshed results. The story ponders loyalty, purpose and honour, however the details don't overly matter, with returning screenwriter Derek Kolstad and his three co-writers throwing everything they can at their anti-hero. That includes old acquaintances (Anjelica Huston and Halle Berry), difficult head honchos (Jerome Flynn and Saïd Taghmaoui), a fanboy foe (Mark Dacascos) and an adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) tasked with punishing John's misdeeds — as well as the return of Reeves' Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne as the king of New York's gun-toting homeless population. They're all grist for the mill; with more characters and conflicts comes more excuses for the franchise's trademark visual displays. Every actor should hope that their former stunt double becomes a director, because it's turning out swimmingly for Reeves and Chad Stahelski. Like its predecessors, Parabellum blends a martial arts movie's dizzying moves with a shoot 'em up thriller's murky mood, and the ex-Matrix stuntman turned filmmaker delivers both superbly. The climactic showdown throws a few blows too many, as does the 132-minute flick itself, but that's a minor complaint after such an enjoyable onslaught of brutal brawls mixed with brooding glares. Set in dazzling glass surroundings, the film's final confrontation also demonstrates something that the John Wick series doesn't always get enough credit for: its sumptuous production design. Battles that unfurl like performances, placed in spaces that look like art — it's still a winning combination, with Stahelski expertly assisted by two-time franchise cinematographer Dan Laustsen and production designer Kevin Kavanaugh, as well as three-time stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio. John Wick's commitment to fleshing out the rules and requirements of the assassin life has always gone hand-in-hand with its action and aesthetics, too, building an involving world that's both sleekly stylised and lived-in. Of course, all of that sheen and fury would mean nothing without the right person at its centre. Gifted a role that ranks alongside Theodore 'Ted' Logan, Johnny Utah and Neo in the iconic stakes, Reeves continues to be the series' not-at-all-secret weapon. Parabellum's painstakingly staged frays are a sight to behold, but they prove all the more powerful when paired with its star's piercing stare and calm demeanour. It's a part that Reeves could play forever; here's hoping that he does. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BULB0aX4lA
If you're a fan of whatever huge HBO hit happens to be airing at any given time, Monday public holidays Down Under are an extra-special joy. They mean watching whichever series is currently showing at the earliest moment possible, and also not having to spend your workday avoiding spoilers. Tuning in to see Succession on Easter Monday wasn't just a normal viewing experience, however. So, if you're now wondering what happens after the award-winning show's monumental third episode in its fourth and final season, HBO has dropped a midseason trailer to tease the series' endgame. This sneak peek comes with the biggest of spoiler alerts, obviously. If you aren't up to date on Succession, you shouldn't even be reading this article. But if you're dying to know where the Roy family saga goes from here, you'll obsess over all two minutes and 13 seconds of this glimpse at the show's last-ever seven episodes. "I just didn't see it coming," says Roman (Kieran Culkin, No Sudden Move) to start off the clip. He isn't alone, although Shiv (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman) is swiftly chatting about "coronation demolition derby". Trust cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun, Zola) to pop up, try to stay relevant as he always does, and stress that he's sad — yes, while also attempting to secure his position in the family. Everyone has an opinion on how to handle things, including Waystar Royco's CFO Karl (David Rasche, Swallow) and general counsel Gerri (J Smith-Cameron, Fleishman Is in Trouble) — and, of course, executive and Shiv's estranged husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen, Operation Mincemeat). Plenty of stern words are spoken, complete with how "the naysayers might frame it". And the deal to sell the firm to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård, The Northman) looks shaky. Kendall (Jeremy Strong, Armageddon Time) is floating in a body of water again, while Connor's (Alan Ruck, The Dropout) bid to become the US President sees him polling well in Alaska — and laughing at the suggestion that he should do what's right for the good of the republic. As for the rest, as always in this high-stakes drama about who'll take over business titan Logan Roy's (Brian Cox, Remember Me) multinational corporation, it's best discovered by watching. "Let the games begin!", as Kendall announces. Check out Succession season four's midseason trailer below: Succession streams via Foxtel, Binge and Foxtel On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Check out our review of season four. Images: David Russell/Macall B Polay, HBO.
When Flash Camp brought pop-up glamping to Stradbroke Island in 2016, southeast Queenslanders took note. Among them were the folks at Straddie Camping, who've now set up a permanent glamping retreat at the north island's Adder Rock, bringing luxury beachside camping to this idyllic patch of land all year round. Launching just as the weather heads into prime glamp-friendly territory, and just in time for whale migration season, Straddie Camping's Adder Rock setup features a mini-village of ten tents by the beachfront. Blending the novelty of sleeping under the stars with the comforts of home, each comes equipped with cotton sheets, fresh towels, two bamboo chairs and power. Visitors also have access to the camping ground's communal kitchen, barbecue and picnic facilities. And, in addition to the sound of lapping waves, views aplenty and shelter from native tea tree and pandanus forests, the site is also within close proximity to the more touristy part of the island. That means that following up your beachside bliss with a wander up to Point Lookout's shops, restaurant and all-important pub is on the agenda. For those keen to head to every Brisbanite's favourite island for a leisurely stay by the sea, tents are available for the very affordable rate of $99 per night for two people. Getting in quick is recommended, with the retreat certain to prove popular as Queensland's seemingly endless summer sets in. For more information about Straddie Camping, visit their website.
Throwing a lavish dinner party? Trying to up your bartending game? Or just tired of dropping $20 per cocktail at the bar? Enter Cocktail Porter — it has you covered on all three counts. Australia's new online subscription service for at-home cocktail making is now delivering to door's across the country. While it's not the first of its kind in the country — with The Mixery delivery all the non-booze cocktail ingredients you'll need — it's the first delivering the spirits, too. It's founded by Sydney-based Cameron Northway, who also co-owns Rocker in Bondi with Three Blue Duck's Darren Robertson. He's joined by a team of renowned Australian hospo vets, including former Bartender of the Year Tim Phillips (owner of Bulletin Place and Dead Ringer). The subscription works similarly to most DIY food delivery services, except with booze. Fixings for a different drink will be delivered each month, along with a recipe card and pre-measured ingredients and premium spirits. This element of convenience will cost you $135 per month, which can be a lot to fork up at once — though it'll make 14–18 cocktails (about a tenner each), so it's a big saving for regular spenders at the bar. Each month will feature a different cocktail, curated by world-class bartenders and based on global drinking trends. At the moment, there's the Treacle Old Fashioned with sweet Italian vermouth, burnt orange-vanilla syrup and cacao-macadamia bitters; a classic gin martini with your choice of flavoured vermouth; and a bloody mary with turmeric vinegar. Coming up, November's two-in-one Spring Cup Spritz offers the options to make both Tanqueray and Ciroc spritzes in one box, along with sparkling wine, elderflower cordial and lemongrass and ginger sparkling water accompaniments. December will see a classic espresso martini box complete with Ketel One, coffee liqueur, cold drip coffee and grated dark chocolate. The fresh ingredients, garnishes and glassware are not included in the box, though the recipe card will tell you exactly what else you'll need, along with some at-home hacks if you want to avoid buying expensive tumblers, jiggers and shakers. If a month subscription is just too much, there are one-off orders and gift options, too, which are delivered within three-to-five working days — so not too much planning is needed if you want to amp up your next soiree. Cocktail Porter is now delivering across Australia.
It's one of the most recognisable spots in Melbourne — and, until December this year at least, Federation Square has been granted temporary heritage protection. If the interim move is extended, it also could thwart one of the city's most controversial new projects: Apple's plans to build its first Australian flagship store. Courtesy of an interim protection order issued on August 21, no work can take place on the site until December 21 without Heritage Victoria's approval. Given that construction on the Apple store wasn't slated to start until next year, the move won't have a significant impact at present. That said, The Age reports that the order is being taken as a sign that permanent heritage protection could be sought for the inner-city space, despite the fact that it's only 16 years old. Giving Fed Square ongoing heritage status would obviously have wider-reaching consequences — including when it comes to pulling down existing buildings. After being announced late last year, Apple's proposed Fed Square store has received considerable community backlash, with new designs revealed in July in response. The opposition to the store isn't just about how it looks, though, but the fact that it'll tear down and replace the existing Yarra Building, and also displace the Koorie Heritage Trust in the process. Contentiously, it'll also see public land sold off to a commercial retailer. Regardless of how Fed Square's permanent heritage status pans out — and if indeed it has any impact upon the Apple store — the current temporary order could slightly stall the other big change taking place in the vicinity, the Metro Tunnel. Fed Square's visitor centre is set to be demolished to build an entry to the tunnel, with work due to begin next month. To proceed according to schedule, contractor Cross Yarra Partnership will need to apply for a permit or exemption to go ahead — something it is expected to do this week, according to the Herald Sun. Via The Age / Herald Sun.
Some TV shows start with a wild and wonderful premise, such as strange things happening in a small town, teenage girls fighting to survive in the wilderness and solving mysteries across America because you're a human lie detector. Others stick with everyday scenarios, which is what Beef has chosen. So, if you've ever been involved in a road-rage incident, or witnessed one — if you've ever held a grudge against a stranger for a petty reason, too — you'll instantly empathise with this newcomer's concept. In the ten-episode Netflix and A24 dramedy — which marks the latest show from A24 after everything from Ramy and Euphoria to Mo and Irma Vep — Danny Cho (Steven Yeun, Nope) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong, Paper Girls) get in a fender bender, and neither handles it well. Cue a feud that they can't shake, infiltrating their lives and relationships. If their quest for revenge each other just fizzled out, there obviously wouldn't be a series. Part of Beef's ongoing beef stems from a comedy staple: putting opposites together and seeing what springs. Danny is struggling as a contractor and isn't happy about it, while Amy lives a seemingly idyllic life thanks to her success as an entrepreneur. They both share a need to get back at each other, though, as the just-dropped first trailer for the show makes clear. The series premiered at this year's SXSW — the OG version in the US, not Sydney's offshoot to come later in 2023 — before plunging streaming viewers into its faceoff on Netflix from Thursday, April 6. Yeun and Wong also executive produce, while Beef hails from creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin (a veteran of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dave and Silicon Valley). On-screen, as well as Minari Oscar-nominee Yeun and Always Be My Maybe's Wong, the series features Joseph Lee (Searching), Young Mazino (Prodigal Son), David Choe (The Mandalorian) and Patti Yasutake (Pretty Little Liars) — plus Maria Bello (NCIS), Ashley Park (Girls5eva), Justin H Min (After Yang), Mia Serafino (iCarly) and Remy Holt (The Afterparty). Check out the trailer for Beef below: Beef streams via Netflix from Thursday, April 6. Images: Netflix.
The next email you receive from Netflix mightn't be telling you what to watch. Instead, beginning Wednesday, May 24, the streaming platform is contacting all of its Australian customers about its new password sharing rules. Promised for a few years now, and originally expected to kick in by the end of March this year, the service is cracking down on letting people from different households use the same account — effective immediately. Accordingly, if you've been enjoying someone else's Netflix subscription to get your Stranger Things, Squid Game and Wednesday fix or work your way through its hefty slate of movies — or letting your mates or siblings use your logins — your current streaming situation is changing. The password-sharing functionality will still exist; however, it'll come at an extra cost, involving paying $7.99 per month to add an extra member to your account. Netflix now advises that "a Netflix account is meant to be shared by people living together in one household" — and you can set up and define your household in the platform's settings. If you don't set one yourself, it'll do so for you based on your IP address, device IDs and account activity, which is what it'll also use to monitor if someone is using your details from elsewhere. That said, for folks who don't actually watch Netflix via a TV, you won't need to worry about the household requirement, but the password-sharing change still applies. To add people outside your household to your account, you'll buy an extra member slot. The caveats: they have to be activated in the same country where the account owner created their account, and you can't add them to ad-supported plans (or Netflix-included packages or third-party billed accounts). So, if you've opted for the service's cheaper option since it rolled out in late 2022, your pals won't be able to share — but they can transfer their profile on your account to their own new account. That transferring functionality applies to everyone who decides to sign up themselves after sharing someone's password, and will port over recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and settings. Clearly, the main motivation is to increase subscriptions. The new password-sharing block was called "paid sharing" by Netflix in a letter to shareholders, after all. "Today's widespread account sharing (to 100 million-plus households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business," the company states in that shareholder letter, which is dated January 19, 2023. "While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly. So we've worked hard to build additional new features that improve the Netflix experience, including the ability for members to review which devices are using their account and to transfer a profile to a new account. As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don't live with." Of course, logging into your Netflix account from a place outside of your own household doesn't automatically mean you're sharing your password. You might be travelling and still want to get your streaming fix. Initially, needing a temporary access code was floated — but at the time of writing, the platform simply says that you can still "use Netflix as usual to watch on your portable devices — like a tablet, laptop, or mobile phone — or sign into a new TV, like at a hotel or a holiday rental" without explaining if or how the new password rules will have an impact. The company does specify that if you have a second home or frequently travel to the same location, you'll need to connect to the internet and open the Netflix app on your mobile device in both the main spot you watch the service and in the second location Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is coming into effect in Australia from Wednesday, May 24. Head to Netflix for more details.
The sugar-white sand and shimmering turquoise waters of Hyams Beach draw south coast seaside explorers in droves. And who could blame them? This pristine stretch of coastline sheltered in the protective curve of Jervis Bay is almost too perfect for postcards. The calm waters are ideal for snorkelling, swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking, and being part of a protected marine park means bottlenose dolphins, fur seals and little penguins are regular visitors. When you're not waving out to sea at humpback and southern right whales on their annual migration, wander along the shaded Hyams Beach trail to spot local birdlife on the two-kilometre track. Image: Destination NSW
For the past 14 years, the seedy side of Albuquerque, New Mexico has never been far from screens, first courtesy of Breaking Bad and then via its prequel spinoff series Better Call Saul. A Breaking Bad Netflix movie, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, also popped up in 2019, because viewers just haven't been able to get enough of Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor), Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld), Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody), Mike Ehrmantrout (Jonathan Banks, The Commuter) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys). Soon, however, this almost decade-and-a-half run of all things Breaking Bad-related will hit an end, with Better Call Saul about to air its last episodes. Perhaps more spinoffs will come. Fingers crossed that's the case. American network AMC, which airs both shows, has said it is open to it. But unlike when the OG series ended, viewers don't have a confirmed new date with the Breaking Bad universe in their future. That means that a big goodbye is coming audiences' way, and soon — and the trailer for the second half of Better Call Saul's sixth and last season knows it. The just-dropped 52-second clip is filled with familiar places from Saul Goodman's life (and from his time as Jimmy McGill, when he was using his birth name, too), all given the black-and-white treatment that the series has reserved for its flashes forwards and backwards over the years. Check out the trailer below: The locations featured have all played a big part in the story so far — and the melancholy mood certainly sets the tone for the episodes to come. After the first seven instalments in season six started airing back in April, the final six will begin showing weekly from Tuesday, July 12 in Australia and New Zealand. No one should've been expecting a happy ending anyway. We already know where Saul's story takes him next, because we've seen Breaking Bad. Indeed, Better Call Saul remains television's greatest tragedy, because it makes its viewers desperately hope that things turn out better for its eponymous figure than we know they will — so we watch his dreams crumble, his ethics slide, and his full transformation from earnest and legitimate lawyer to happily getting shady. The new trailer doesn't tease much in the way of narrative, but it does also feature Saul saying "let justice be done till the heavens fall". One time only. #BetterCallSaul pic.twitter.com/QmBFBbUENS — Better Call Saul (@BetterCallSaul) June 28, 2022 If you're keen on a few more sneak peeks at the end of season six — which'll see the return of Walt and Jesse in some capacity — Better Call Saul has also been dropping teasers via social media. There's a lot to wrap up, given that former cop-turned-private investigator, fixer, cleaner and hitman Ehrmantrout, Los Pollos Hermanos owner Fring and drug kingpin Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2) are also key parts of Better Call Saul's story — and Saul's partner and fellow lawyer Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, Veep), too. Exactly how the latter's tale will end is the biggest source of tension, given that Kim wasn't ever in Breaking Bad. And after the way Better Call Saul's first seven season-six episodes played out, that stress definitely hasn't subsided. Take the oath. #BetterCallSaul pic.twitter.com/Cs2y0BLkFi — Better Call Saul (@BetterCallSaul) June 14, 2022 The second half of Better Call Saul season six starts streaming in Australia via Stan and New Zealand via Neon from Tuesday, July 12. Images: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.
Those hobbits will go on. In JRR Tolkien's pages, they went on perilous Middle-earth adventures. On screens big and small for decades so far (and into the future, with more TV episodes and movies on the way), they've trekked, ate second breakfasts and attempted to project precious jewellery. Onstage in Australia in 2025, they'll also be marking an eleventy-first birthday, receiving a gold ring, taking a quest to Mordor and attempting to fight evil, all in The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. Dating back to 2006, just after the original live-action movie trilogy, this stage musical was revived in the UK in 2023, opened in the US in July 2024 and will hit New Zealand this November. After that, it'll then take the hobbits to Australia from January 2025. First stop: Sydney's State Theatre. The Market Street venue will host the only Aussie season announced so far, kicking off on Tuesday, January 7, with how long it'll be playing yet to be revealed. Lord of the Rings fans elsewhere across the country, take note, too: you might need to go there and back again to discover what happens when Middle-earth gets melodic. Your guides for the show are the hobbits, of course, as Frodo and company celebrate Bilbo Baggins, then depart The Shire upon a life-changing journey. Thanks to Tolkien, what occurs from there has enthralled audiences for 70 years now, with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers initially hitting bookshelves in 1954. There's been no shortage of ways to indulge your Lord of the Rings love since Peter Jackson's features — including his Hobbit trilogy — helped fan the flames of pop culture's affection for Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Merry and the franchise's many non-underground-dwelling characters. Cinema marathons, visiting the Hobbiton movie set, staying there overnight, hitting up pop-up hobbit houses, sipping hobbit-themed beer: they've all been on the agenda. Only The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is combining all things LoTR with tunes and dancing, however, in a show that sports a book and lyrics by from Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day the Musical), plus original music by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner AR Rahman, folk band Värttinä from Finland and Matilda the Musical alum Christopher Nightingale. The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale will make its Australian premiere at the State Theatre, 49 Market Street, Sydney, from Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Head to the production's website for further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Liz Lauren.
Gender bias is, unfortunately, a thing that people identifying as women (i.e. 50 percent of the population) deal with on a regular basis. A lot of the time it's so culturally ingrained, it goes mostly unnoticed — so one of the ways gender equality activists and groups often raise awareness about the issue is by pointing out the small, every day inequalities and making the population think about them. Like when you're standing at the traffic lights waiting for the little man to turn green. But if you're in Melbourne today — look up. For International Women's Day, ten of the CBD's pedestrian crossing traffic lights will not depict the standard male sign, but a female one. The project — which will see ten pedestrian crossing lights around the Swanston and Flinders intersection change from male to female representation — has been led (and funded) by local business and community non-profit organisation the Committee for Melbourne. "The idea is to install traffic lights with female representation, as well as male representation, to help reduce unconscious bias," committee chief executive Martine Letts told ABC News. Though a small change — and one that is largely symbolic, particularly on International Women's Day — the symbols are supposed to be a meaningful way to give women more ownership over public space. The aim of the committee, says Letts, is to get one-to-one male and female representation. Of course, not all female-identifying people wear skirts or necessarily feel represented by what is a traditional sign used to symbolise the split between male and female. Nonetheless, seeing a little green woman as you cross Flinders Street is a bit of a novelty — and one that could stick around for a while. The project is apparently supported by the Victorian Government and will remain in place for a 12-month trial. Via ABC News. Image: Committee for Melbourne/Twitter.
For much of the past six months, audiences worldwide have spent their movie dates watching Sydney on-screen. When two big Hollywood productions transform the Harbour City into their production playground and setting, as both Anyone But You and The Fall Guy did, cinema's spotlight shines bright and wide. Now, for 12 winter days between Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16, Sydney Film Festival patrons can turn the tables, watching the world via almost 200 flicks gracing local silver screens and fluttering before their eyes. Again curated by Festival Director Nashen Moodley as every fest since 2012 has been — which gives him that honour on 13 of the event's 71 festivals across its entire run so far, too — SFF's 2024 lineup also guides its gaze towards Sydney. Opening with a tribute to the power and the passion of Midnight Oil, with the band formed in the New South Wales capital more than half a century ago, is only one example. So, to be more accurate, this year's Sydney Film Festival continues a trend that started on Boxing Day 2023 as well as its usual annual tradition: surveying everywhere from Sydney itself to the edges of the earth, space and time. Maybe you're keen to keep a homegrown flavour to your SFF schedule this year. Perhaps you're eager to roam anywhere that you can from your cinema seat. Whether a dose of weirdness is your ideal film fest flavour, or you're buzzing to catch the latest titles that've been getting the international festival scene talking, they're all on the program. And, you'll also find all of the above among our 12 suggestions below to help you narrow down your choices. Kinds of Kindness Since winning the 2012 Sydney Film Festival prize with Alps, Yorgos Lanthimos has technically bid the Greek Weird Wave goodbye by making his movies in English. That's one clear trend among his five features after nabbing SFF's prestigious award in Moodley's first year at the helm. Another pattern applies to his last three flicks, and it's a killer move: teaming up with Emma Stone, a collaboration that scored her her second Best Actress Oscar earlier in 2024 for the Frankenstein-esque delight that is Poor Things. Kinds of Kindness isn't a Poor Things repeat, just as that wasn't a do-over of The Favourite. This time, Lanthimos and Stone have teamed up on a triptych fable that tells the tales of a man without choice, a policeman with a wife who returns after going missing and a woman on the hunt for a spiritual leader. In a feature that also stars Poor Things' Willem Dafoe (Asteroid City) and Margaret Qualley (Drive-Away Dolls), plus Hong Chau (The Menu), Joe Alwyn (Stars at Noon), Mamoudou Athie (The Burial) and Hunter Schafer (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), the picture's three-time creative partners are still making accolade-garnering magic, however, with Jesse Plemons (Killers of the Flower Moon) picking up 2024's Cannes Best Actor award. The Seed of the Sacred Fig The Seed of the Sacred Fig isn't merely another must-see SFF 2024 title, but also another new work by a Sydney Film Festival prizewinner. Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No Evil took home the Berlinale's Golden Bear in 2020 before winning the Harbour City's ultimate movie gong in 2021 — and, as it told four stories connected to the use of the death penalty in Iran, it haunted and broke the hearts of everyone who saw it. Watching the Iranian writer/director's work has always been essential (including 2011's Goodbye, 2013's Manuscripts Don't Burn and 2017's A Man of Integrity), but more so since then. Even before playing to audiences in Sydney, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is impossible to forget due to the situation surrounding the picture off-screen. When the movie was selected by Cannes this year — where it won the Jury Special Award — Rasoulof was sentenced to a flogging and eight years in prison, sparking him to flee. On-screen, the film doesn't shy away from Iran's legal system or political unrest, following a Revolutionary Court investigator and his family amid protests sweeping the nation, and as fighting back against oppression isn't only on display on the country's streets. The Pool It's far too cold in Sydney in June for dive-in movies, but playing The Pool in its namesake location would've been a dream pairing of a film and its setting if the season had been right. SFF cinemagoers will instead get cosy indoors rather than splash around in their bathing costumes at Bondi Icebergs, but stepping through the swimming spot's history, allure and place in the Harbour City is on the itinerary regardless. Here's one guarantee: given how photogenic that the famous venue is anyway even just in everyday snaps, as everyone in Australian can instantly recognise, this documentary about it isn't going to be hard on the eyes. Filmmaker Ian Darling has a thing for chronicling Sydney icons in his two recent docos to wash across Sydney Film Festival's screens. The other: The Final Quarter, about Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes and his treatment by the press and fans towards the end of his career, which earned a standing ovation at its State Theatre SFF world premiere in 2019. With The Pool, Darling switches from unfurling details through media clips to enlisting Icebergs regulars to share their recollections — and likely another warm hometown response beckons. Copa '71 SFF 2024 kicks off just two days after the Matildas took to the turf in Sydney to play their 14th soldout game in a row in Australia, notching up a 2–0 win over China in a friendly. It runs at the same time as Vivid is welcoming Mackenzie Arnold and Tony Gustavsson as speakers. And, it arrives almost a year after the Harbour City was one of the host spots for the 2023 Women's World Cup. So, the timing couldn't be better for Copa '71 to sit in the festival's program. This documentary jumps five decades back and heads to Mexico, to the 1971 Women's World Cup. If you think that you should know more about this event than you currently do, that's one of the movie's points as well. Filmmakers Rachel Ramsay (a producer earning her first directing credit) and James Erskine (Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard) share the competition's story. They unpack how 100,000 fans can fill a stadium to support women's football but the tournament can fade into history, too. Also, the vast disparity between how men's soccer is managed, marketed, treated and regarded compared to women's is also on the doco's agenda. The Substance It was true of 2017's Revenge, her exceptional debut feature, and the word out of Cannes is that it's also true of her seven-years-later sophomore effort: French talent Coralie Fargeat is a helluva filmmaker. Matching style with substance and a feminist statement worked strikingly in her blood-soaked vengeance movie. Now, she's in sci-fi body-horror territory as a celebrity attempts to address the warring forces of time's inevitable passing and Hollywood's obsession with youth by opting for an experimental medical treatment. (Fargeat also just received the Cannes Best Screenplay award for her efforts.) Whether or not you've ever thought that Margaret Qualley, an actor with multiple appearances on SFF 2024's lineup, resembles not only her mother Andie MacDowell (her Maid co-star) but also Demi Moore (Feud), Fargeat draws the latter connection. Qualley is Sue, Moore is Elisabeth Sparkle, with one the younger version of the other. In a film that also enlists Dennis Quaid (Lawman: Bass Reeves) as a television executive — with the actor stepping in after Ray Liotta (Cocaine Bear), who was originally cast, passed away — messing with the natural order of things via a temporary clone has consequences. The Moogai Indigenous horror film The Moogai is making its Australian premiere at 2024's Sydney Film Festival, but the pair are no strangers to each other. Before writer/director Jon Bell, a creator of Cleverman and a scribe on the Mystery Road TV series, helmed his first feature with this name, he made a 2020 short of the same moniker that played SFF (and SXSW, and was nominated for an AACTA Award). It too starred Shari Sebbens (Her Dark Reflection) and Meyne Wyatt (Strife). Expanding that short film to full length, Bell's second take on The Moogai did the rounds of both Sundance and SXSW — the Austin version — earlier this year before heading home. In the two flicks, a malevolent spirit awaits and the trauma of the Stolen Generations fuels an eerie flick. Sebbens plays Sarah, a young mother who has just had her second child with Watt's Fergus when the movie's titular figure makes its presence known. The Moogai is also a contender for Sydney Film Festival's brand-new First Nations Award, which is offering a prize of $35,000 for the winning First Nations filmmaker, with ten flicks competing for that honour. The Outrun Since the 2020s arrived and her third decade as a actor began, Saoirse Ronan has played a young wife who falls in love with fossil collector Mary Anning in Ammonite, a showgirl in The French Dispatch, a police constable in See How They Run and a woman trying to find a path through a dystopian future in Foe. Variety has always been the spice of the Irish actor's on-screen life. In The Outrun, the four-time Oscar-nominee (for Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women) is Rona, who is trying to move past a history of addiction. Ronan's involvement in any film is enough to put it high on the must-watch list, but she isn't the only drawcard here. The Outrun adapts Amy Liptrot's 2017 memoir of the same name, about the Scottish author and journalist's experiences returning to the Orkney Islands. Liptrot also co-wrote the screenplay. Hitting the keyboard with her is director Nora Fingscheidt — who might've first followed up her excellent 2019 feature System Crasher with the mixed Sandra Bullock (Bullet Train) vehicle The Unforgivable, but is a helmer to watch nonetheless. The Contestant Films about people trapped in a sole space aren't rare. But no matter what Cube or Buried or Devil conjured up, or everything from Oldboy to Bodies Bodies Bodies as well, the scenario at the heart of The Contestant stands out because it actually happened. In 1998, Tomoaki Hamatsu aka Nasubi became a TV star by doing nothing more than existing in a single room alone and sans clothing on reality series Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. To survive, he had to win competitions to obtain the necessary supplies. Also, he had no idea that audiences were watching. Of course a documentary was eventually going to to chronicle this months-long ordeal, how it happened and the repercussions, with Clair Titley (One Born Every Minute) examining the reality of a situation that could've come straight from a horror movie in The Contestant. Nasubi became immensely famous in Japan for his role in the show — footage from which is included in the doco — but as a result of a Faustian bargain with a television producer that he didn't really know that he was making. If you're not already a fan of the format at its far less extreme, this film definitely won't change that. I Saw the TV Glow In Jane Schoenbrun's We're All Going to the World's Fair, a screen became a portal to another world when its teenage protagonist embraced an online trend by playing a virtual horror game. I Saw the TV Glow, the filmmaker's next feature, also gets young eyes trained at a small screen and plunging into what they find awaiting. If you've ever loved a television show so much that you felt like it completed you, saw you and understood you far more than anything flesh and blood around you ever could — and you also couldn't stomach that series coming to an end — then you'll understand Owen (Justice Smith, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine, Atypical) in one of the most-talked-about flicks out of 2024's Sundance and Berlinale film festivals. That pop culture, including the screen dreams that we eagerly insert ourselves into in our minds while watching, is an escape isn't a new revelation. But after exploring the digital allure in We're All Going to the World's Fair, Schoenbrun now brings their perspective to a tale of connection through the broadcast stories we take into our heads and hearts. The writer/director makes deeply layered films about the loneliness and isolation of growing up, and working out who you want to be, the relationships with screens that we all have, and gender dysphoria — and their latest has Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst (Y2K) among the cast, plus Emma Stone (The Curse) and her husband Dave McCary (Brigsby Bear) as producers. Dahomey 2024's Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear-winner shares a name with a West African kingdom that existed for three centuries, on land now situated within the Republic of Benin — a place that earned the great Werner Herzog's attention in 1987's Cobra Verde and also provided the setting for 2022's The Woman King. The focus of Dahomey for Both Sides of the Blade actor and Atlantics filmmaker Mati Diop in her latest directorial effort: 26 royal treasures taken from the country in the 1800s by French colonial troops, plus their journey home now. How do these statues and objects feel about their their path? One of Diop's creative touches is to give the artifacts a voice and turn them into characters, rather than keep them as mere items discussed by everyone else. It's a telling choice in a documentary that traces the treasures' repatriation and unpacks the bigger picture not just surrounding the contents of museums around the world, but the impact of colonialism, especially in North Africa — all within 67 minutes. All We Imagine as Light Love and hope flow within All We Imagine as Light, and also in nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti, Poacher) and her roommate Anu (Divya Prabha, Family), who are each grappling with affairs of the heart in their own ways. So unfurls this sensual film that bases its characters in Mumbai, then takes them on the road to an otherworldly beach town. The romantic drama has earned love itself off-screen and proven a beacon of hope IRL as well, as writer/director Payal Kapadia makes her first fiction feature. Kapadia's full-length debut came via 2021 documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing, which premiered at that year's Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight and picked up the Golden Eye for Best Documentary. Before that, her short Afternoon Clouds also played the fest. Kapadia's ties to the French event continue with All We Imagine as Light, which made history just by being selected in competition — a feat an Indian film hasn't achieved in three decades prior. And while it didn't take out the Palme d'Or, it came as close as anything could, earning the Grand Prix, the festival's next gong, which Oscar-winner The Zone of Interest received in 2023. Problemista It's currently a great time to be a Julio Torres fan. That's been true for almost a decade thanks to his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live — 2017's famous 'Papyrus' sketch with Ryan Gosling, which earned a sequel also starring the Barbie and The Fall Guy talent in 2024, was penned by him — and then due to two seasons of glorious HBO comedy Los Espookys in 2019 and 2022. 2024 brings two treats, however, and both at the same time if you're heading to Sydney Film Festival. On the big screen, Problemista sees Torres write, direct and star, making his feature debut as a helmer and acting opposite none other than Tilda Swinton (The Killer). On the small screen, his comedy series Fantasmas will debut on Binge on Saturday, June 8. Accordingly, after you watch Problemista you can start Fantasmas, or vice versa. With Torres' new movie, he plays a man who wants to design toys in New York, then loses his job and looks set to be deported, with a job working for Swinton's demanding art collector Elizabeth his possible lifeline. Wu-Tang Clan's RZA (Minions: Rise of Gru) also pops up. So does Past Lives star Greta Lee. And narrating the whole thing? The iconic Isabella Rossellini, who also appeared in Los Espookys, and hasn't been far from screens of late courtesy of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Cat Person, Julia, La Chimera and now this. Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information — and for tickets — head to the festival's website.
Bondi is no stranger to a multi-faceted all-day venue. The suburb's sunny demeanour, famous beach and vibrant nightlife mean that cafes, bar and restaurants can thrive serving up early-morning post-surf coffee, hearty lunches or late-night drinks — so why not create a venue that can do them all? The latest east Sydney spot to emerge as a culinary triple threat is Makaveli. This pocket-sized Glenayr Avenue spot comes from Jacob Hill and Phill Cooke. The pair link up after both cutting their teeth at ever-expanding Sydney hospitality groups. Hill has been at the helm of Cali Press' eastern suburbs venues, while Cooke has been managing the Milpa Collective's Bondi outposts (Taqiza, Calita, Carbon). Together, Cooke and Hill have created a sleek and inviting neighbourhood haunt. The interiors have been designed by Milpa collaborator Imogen Reed, with the team opting for a minimalist Italian-style fitout that hopes to place the emphasis on flavoursome bites, quality coffee and top-notch drinks. Joining the duo and heading up the kitchen is Head Chef Jessica Young. The accomplished chef has mastered her craft in Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe before hitting Sydney to lead Makaveli's food offerings. Together, all three have created a menu inspired by Italian classics and popular modern Australian dishes. And yes, there's burrata and kingfish crudo. At its core, the eats revolve around quick and easy breakfast options, plus tasty share plates at night. From 8am, you can score freshly baked slices of loaded focaccia topped with roasted zucchini and mozzarella, or ricotta, chilli, garlic and fennel broccolini. The brekkie options and Will & Co coffee keeps rolling until midday, with other early-morning feeds including granola bowls and banana bread with strawberries and icing sugar. Following the morning rush, Makaveli shuts its doors before emerging from hibernation at 5pm Wednesday–Sunday. The By Night menu traverses a range of bread and bite-sized options, as well as larger share plates, centred predominantly around vegetarian dishes done right. Cooke also takes on the role of Head Bartender, whipping up elderflower spritzes and the menu's four unique negronis. As for the wine list, things have been kept simple with a couple of whites, a couple of reds, a couple of sparkling and a rosé from the team's favourite Australian producers. Makaveli is now open at Shop 2/179 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi Beach — operating 6am–midday Monday–Sunday and 5–11pm Wednesday–Sunday.
A new French diner that's equal parts luxurious and approachable is opening in Rozelle this week. Joining Fabbrica Bread Shop and Totti's first Inner West location, Chez Blue will be the latest edition to the Sydney suburb, coming to The Sackville Hotel with ex-Bistro Moncur chef Mark Williamson in charge of the kitchen. The casual bistro will swing open its doors on Darling Street from Thursday, November 16 with a menu that spotlights the classics. Steak frites, croque monsieur, chicken leg roulade and snapper fillet with clams all grace the menu, alongside some more adventurous additions like chicken liver pate with a brûléed top to crack, a scallop tartare and a fried tripe dish. The menu also stars a 1kg O'Connor rib eye served with béarnaise sauce to take on in cahoots with your dining companions. "French bistro style is typically individual portions, but there's something lovely about sharing a dish with the table so we've also included two beautiful larger shared dishes," says Williamson. The wine list is almost entirely French, and a refined cocktail menu also features a heavy Parisian streak. Kick your night off with an absinthe frappe, or pair your peach and tomato salad with a Delicious Sour made with Calvados, Pommeau de Normandie, peach wine and a splash of citrus. Another interesting addition to the drinks on offer is a croissant-washed martini. The ultra-French creation is made using Four Pillars gin that is croissant-washed in-house before being combined with vermouth and a vanilla, cinnamon and allspice oil. This exciting food and drinks program will find a home in the welcoming fit-out which features an intimate cocktail bar and the main dining room. The bistro boasts booths and banquette seating ready for a group catch-up, as well as a moody mix of warm down lights and subtle wall art inviting you in for a romantic date night. Chez Blue is one of many Sydney eateries to set up shop with the help of an adjoining pub over the last few years. Totti's Rozelle, La Salut, Chez Crix, Il Baretto and Derrel's are just a few dining spots that have opened in the same building as a beloved beer-pouring stalwart. Chez Blue will open from Thursday, November 16 at 599 Darling Street, Rozelle. Head to the restaurant's website to browse the full menu and make a booking. Images: Steven Woodburn
Brisbane's BlackMilk Clothing is well known for its pop culture-themed attire, releasing everything from Star Wars outfits to Harry Potter activewear in the past. Unsurprisingly, anything designed around the Boy Who Lived always proves popular — so much so that the company is launching another collection, this time specifically inspired by Hogwarts' houses. Whether you're keen to deck yourself out in red Gryffindor tartan pants, don a Slytherin letterman jacket with a snake embroidered on the back or pop on some blue Ravenclaw leggings, you'll be able to do just that. You'll be able to opt for some gold-hued Hufflepuff pieces, too, of course. Spanning trousers, dresses, leggings, crop tops and coats — including pants for both men and women, sports jersey-style shirts and hoodies as well, and overalls adorned with Harry Potter-themed patterns — it's a fresh treasure trove of items for wizarding fans to spend their galleons on. It's the real, official deal, with the School's Out range also featuring other pieces that won't make you feel like you're in training for the Triwizard Tournament, such as sheer and skater tunics in appropriately enchanting prints. A full preview of the collection is available on the BlackMilk website, with the magical selection going on sale at 7am on Tuesday, August 20. Items are available until sold out — and, yes, that often happens quickly. For more information about BlackMilk Clothing's Harry Potter School's Out range, head to their website.
Public art is an intrinsic part of a vibrant and engaged modern society, but by its very nature, it can't last forever. It's a constantly moving and changing force but lives on in the memories of the members of society that it seeks to bring together. Kaldor Public Art Projects has been dedicated to creating these memories for Australians for nearly 50 years, and it'll soon be celebrating this milestone of all the indelible, groundbreaking public art that it's brought to Australian shores. As a part of the Making Art Public anniversary exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW in September, Kaldor Public Art Projects wants to hear your stories about how you connected with its exhibitions — because you are part of the story of public art, after all. Whether you lunched under Jeff Koons' Puppy, counted rice with Marina Abramović or your parents told you about their memories of Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapping a Sydney coastline, your memories, stories and photos help public art live forever. Here are just some of the incredible public artworks New South Wales has seen over the last half-decade, thanks to Kaldor Public Art Projects. [caption id="attachment_726660" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 1, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Wrapped Coast — One Million Square Feet. Taken by art education lecturer Ellen Waugh in 1969.[/caption] CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE: WRAPPED COAST, 1969 Back in '69, the controversial Wrapped Coast project from Christo and Jeanne-Claude was the single largest artwork ever made. It saw two-and-a-half kilometres of coast and rocky cliffs of Little Bay, Sydney wrapped in fabric and orange rope which billowed and rippled in the wind. It was so enormous — larger than Mount Rushmore in the US — that you could not see it all from one vantage point, so visitors walked for an hour to see the work in its entirety. Christo and Jeanne-Claude became famous for their large-scale environmental artworks, or 'temporary monuments', with Wrapped Coast being their first. The people who were lucky enough to see the work in 1969 say it was incredible that artists of this calibre chose Australia for the project: "We were so keen to leave Australia behind, go to Europe and see the world and yet here was a world famous artist doing something extraordinary on our doorstep," said Rhiannon Bowman, in her submission to the Living Archive. [caption id="attachment_726662" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 5, Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik. Charlotte Moorman performs Sky Kiss, a composition by Jim McWilliams, above the Sydney Opera House Forecourt, April 11, 1976. Photo: Kerry Dundas.[/caption] CHARLOTTE MOORMAN AND NAM JUNE PAIK, 1976 Avant-garde video and performance art pioneers Nam June Paik and cellist Charlotte Moorman very much shocked Australia in 1976 with over 40 provocative performances taking place across Sydney and Adelaide. The 'father of video art' and 'Jeanne d'Arc of new music', the artists fused music, sculpture, performance and video into one-of-a-kind amalgamations, which were likely emblazoned in the minds of anyone who witnessed them. One performance saw a naked Moorman playing a cello made of ice till it was completely melted by the surrounding radiators and spotlights. Another saw her perform on Easter smothered in 13 kilograms of chocolate, while another saw her playing Up, Up and Away by Jimmy Webb while suspended by helium balloons drifting above the Sydney Opera House forecourt. How could one forget a sight like that? [caption id="attachment_699271" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 10, Jeff Koons: Puppy. Museum of Contemporary Art forecourt, December 12, 1995 to March 17, 1996. Photo: Eric Sierins.[/caption] JEFF KOONS: PUPPY, 1995 Chances are you've seen photos of Jeff Koons' Puppy artwork which now sits outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao — but did you know it was created outside of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art in '95? Kaldor Public Art Projects was the group to make that happen. Standing 12.4 metres high facing the picturesque harbour, Puppy was created as a symbol of love and happiness, based on a wooden sculpture of a west highland white terrier from Koons' 1991 Made in Heaven series. Puppy was far bigger than the original, however, containing 55 tonnes of soil and covered in 60,000 blooming flowers. People from all over Australia have fond memories of visiting Circular Quay to see Sydney's very own Koons, with one Sydneysider submitting to the Living Archive saying they "ate lunch under Puppy every day". [caption id="attachment_726658" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 30, Marina Abramović: In Residence. Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay, June 24–July 5, 2015. Photo: Pedro Greig.[/caption] MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: IN RESIDENCE, 2015 Many speak of the transformative experience that was being a part of Marina Abramović's In Residence. The celebrated performance artist referred to her 2015 installation as a 'brain spa', in which members of the public were conducted through the 'Abramović Method', like Lady Gaga famously experienced at the Marina Abramović Institute in New York. Visitors would be tucked into camp beds by strangers after staring deeply into the eyes of other attendees for an undefined amount of time. You could finish your immersion in the artist's method by slowly walking 'a millimetre a minute' back to the exit, or by counting single grains of rice for as long as you chose. Those who stayed for hours had successfully experienced the Abramović Method, but in a world filled with time limits and a constant to-do list of tasks that need completing, the undefined parameters of time and movement in In Residence challenged many who participated. [caption id="attachment_719762" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 34, Asad Raza: Absorption. The Clothing Store, Carriageworks; 2019. Photo: Pedro Greig.[/caption] ASAD RAZA: ABSORPTION, 2019 The most recent work brought to Australia by Kaldor Public Art Projects was a pretty dirty one — literally. Absorption by New York-based artist Asad Raza was all about breaking and making new ground. If you visited the exhibition at Carriageworks, your initial response might have been "… hang on, this is just a room filled with dirt". And in a way, that is exactly what the project was. 300 tonnes of soil and other organic materials were gathered from all over New South Wales and carefully tended to by a team of cultivators to create a new hyper-rich type of soil: a 'neosoil' entirely from New South Wales. Aside from the soil itself, Absorption provided a spotlight on how fundamental soil is in all of our lives. It also encouraged visitors to take some of the soil home, so the project could forever live on across the state. Kaldor Public Art Projects is celebrating 50 years of bringing beautiful, groundbreaking and important public art to Australian shores with a commemorative exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. Making Art Public will run from Saturday, September 7, 2019 to Sunday, February 16, 2020. Submit your memories of public art from over the years to Kaldor Public Art Projects' Living Archive here.
For the second time in just a few months, one of Lady Bird's boyfriends has turned to illicit substances. For the second time in his four-movie filmmaking career, Peter Hedges explores a black sheep's holiday homecoming. Both of these statements require some unpacking, but they demonstrate just how well-worn much of Ben Is Back feels. As Timothée Chalamet did in Beautiful Boy, fellow Lady Bird co-star Lucas Hedges portrays a young man grappling with drug dependence and disappointing the devoted parent who just wants him to get clean. And as the elder Hedges did in 2003's Pieces of April, the writer-director charts the drama of an awkward family reunion. There's another layer of familiarity to Ben Is Back, too: Peter and Lucas Hedges are father and son. As well as the movie's similarities to other accounts of addiction and reconvening relatives, perhaps that's why it largely seems like the product of folks firmly in their comfort zones. The plot rides the usual emotional rollercoaster, ending exactly where everyone expects. With the film's tone, Peter Hedges tries to find a balance between sensitive and tense, and between heart-wrenching and sombre as well. Visually, the picture makes the most of grey hues and anguished close-ups, each adding to the recognisable mood. And although Lucas Hedges' performance is reliably raw and multifaceted, the impressive young actor never quite reaches the heights that he demonstrated in Manchester by the Sea and Boy Erased. Still, Ben Is Back has a spark to it, with Julia Roberts proving the picture's powerhouse package. Wearing the weight of a mother's unconditional love in every patient step and searching gaze, she plays suburban mum-of-four Holly Burns. Arriving home from Christmas Eve church choir practice with her excited pre-teen kids (Jakari Fraser and Mia Fowler), she suddenly shares their enthusiasm when she spies Ben (Lucas Hedges) standing on their snowy doorstep. Only high-schooler Ivy (Kathryn Newton) is wary — thanks to his complicated history, her older brother is supposed to be in rehab, as paid for by Holly's second husband Neal (Courtney B. Vance). But Ben promises that he's happy, healthy and has his habit in check, which Holly chooses to believe, imploring the rest of the family to follow suit. With reminders of his past mistakes littered around both his home and his hometown, Ben's pledge to his mother and Holly's faith in her son each prove hard to maintain. While there's little that's surprising about Ben Is Back's story (even when it endeavours to chart its own path into near-thriller territory), Roberts remains a source of continual astonishment. A much rarer presence on cinema screens of late than in her 90s heyday, she steps into her second doting mum part in as many movies, after 2017's Wonder. And yet, nothing about her performance paints by the numbers. Indeed, this is really her film, and it tells her character's tale. Holly has experienced a life tougher than her well-appointed two-storey house makes plain, although not as rough as the places that Ben's return takes her to — and Roberts makes that difficult clash evident without needing to explain it in words. Also present in Roberts' fine-tuned portrayal is a narrative that everyone knows, yet is scarcely given such nuance and attention. Ben Is Back tells of parental sacrifice, as evident in everyday choices rather than grand or tragic gestures. It's a story about the cost of caring — the toll a mother willingly pays when always offering a shoulder to cry on, lending a helping hand, trying to see the best in her children and endeavouring to do what's right for one kid when she has three others at home. Hedges' script attempts to thread this idea into a broader statement on suburban addiction, and, specifically, the destructive influence of prescription drugs. It's a noble quest, and one of the movie's more ambitious moves. Ultimately, however, Ben Is Back works best when it focuses on the quietly expressive Roberts, and lets her commanding work turn an intimate snapshot into a bigger story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQI_hkFKlHc
They say home is where the heart is, but sometimes the task of transforming a basic rental into a place you truly love can be a battle. You can't jazz it up with wallpaper or a lick of paint or tear up that hideous lino — it's a far cry from your wildest Grand Designs dreams. The good news is that even the blandest of apartments can become an inspiring canvas for your interior stylings — think feature pieces and flourishes, beautiful embellishments and stylish upgrades to elevate your basics. All these little touches come together to make a rental house a home. We've teamed up with American Express to give you a head start, curating the perfect collection of items to upgrade your pad.
We've all heard the jokes about how many folks it takes to change a lightbulb, but here's a new situation to ponder: how many people are needed to turn your overhead light fixtures into a gorgeous mini hanging garden? The answer involves designer Richard Clarkson, possibly someone to help you install a new light (depending on how handy you are), and your plant-loving self. Clarkson has come up with the ultimate way to add a dash of greenery to any room courtesy of Globe, the terrarium lamp. It's as simple as it sounds, involving a suspended handblown glass ball with an intergraded LED light source. And, it's as visually spectacular too, coming complete with a thin power cord that makes the orb look like it's floating, as well as a dimmer letting you control the level of brightness surrounding your new ball of nature. The Globe comes in two sizes — diameters of 12" and 8" — and Clarkson's website also includes instructions about the best types of plants, how to layer everything in the best way, and watering recommendations. While they were designed as a hanging terrarium, with the shape of the glass magnifying the greenery inside to provide a new viewing perspective, they can also be filled with water. Prices range from US$210 - $460, and they ship internationally. Via: inhabitat. Images: Richard Clarkson Studio.
When Bridgerton initially premiered on Netflix at the end of 2020, becoming the platform's most-watched original show ever at the time, did it get you dreaming of stepping into its world? If so, you've been in luck ever since thanks to a flurry of events themed around the series, including unofficial balls, garden brunches and more. Your next opportunity arrives soon, and also requires venturing out of Australia's capital cities. Your destination: Bowral in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. Bridgerton season three is on its way, dropping four episodes in May 2024 and then four more in June this year — and to celebrate, Netflix is bringing the series into real life. This is the streaming service that set up public toilets based on Squid Game, Heartbreak High and Emily in Paris back in February, after all. In the past, it has also opened a Stranger Things rift on Bondi Beach, unleashed the Squid Game Red Light, Green Light doll by Sydney Harbour and a had pop-up Heartbreak High uniform shop slinging threads in Newtown, too. This time, it's giving a regional town a makeover. Head to Bowral between Tuesday, April 16–Tuesday, April 23 and you'll see what this patch of Australia looks like when it's harking back to the regency era. A number of spots around town will receive the Bridgerton treatment, with local businesses joining in on the fun. The idea is to make you feel like you're getting the full ton experience. If you want to dress up to fit the part, that's obviously up to you. While the bulk of the details are still vague, a few specifics have been revealed already, including the fact that there'll be a garden party at Milton Park to close out the week. To score tickets, you'll need to channel your inner Lady Whistledown — because noting what would be written about you in the series' gossip sheet in 25 words or less is how you'll enter to nab a spot at the shindig. Also, Bowral's Empire Cinemas will be hosting four free screenings of the first episode of Bridgerton's third season across Monday, April 22–Tuesday, April 23, letting you see it weeks before it makes its way to Netflix on Thursday, May 16. If you're going to treat yourself to a getaway this April, you can now make it a Bridgerton-loving getaway. And if you're a Bridgerton obsessive who lives in Bowral, prepare for plenty of company. Check out sneak peeks at Bridgerton season three below: The town of Bowral will get a Bridgerton-themed makeover from Tuesday, April 16–Tuesday, April 23. For more information, keep an eye on the event's website. Bridgerton season three will stream via Netflix in two parts, with four episodes on Thursday, May 16, 2024 and four on Thursday, June 13, 2024. Images: Liam Daniel/Netflix.
If you've ever felt the room spin after being handed an eye-watering restaurant bill, you'll know that the fine-dining experience doesn't come cheap. That said, we know little else beats an indulgent, high-flying feed, especially when celebrating a special occasion. Even if it means you have to manage your finances accordingly until next payday. Until now, that is. In partnership with Great Southern Bank, we've uncovered some dining hacks that let you eat at Sydney's top spots without forking out a fortune. And, if you're someone who tempts financial fate after a few glasses of wine, then Great Southern Bank's hidden savings account feature, The Vault, will help curb that temptation, so you don't dip into the funds that may just buy you a house one day. Result.
Heaps Gay will be painting the town rainbow at a massive birthday bash that is sure to send shockwaves across the city. The festivities will feature three stages at White Bay Power Station in celebration not only of the LGTBQIA+ party starters' 11th birthday, but also love, joy, inclusivity and self-expression. Heaps Gay found its humble beginnings at the Gladstone Hotel in 2013. "At the time, our queer space was super different, a lot more segregated," says founder Kat Dopper. "There were lesbian parties like girlthing and then clubs on Oxford Street that were primarily for gay men. I wanted to start a party that was super inclusive." In search of a space to make queer friends, Dopper started Heaps Gay with a focus on LGBTQIA+ music and art. Eleven years on, Heaps Gay has thrown some of Sydney's most popular queer parties. Their 10th birthday bonanza was hosted on the shores of Sydney Harbour with Spice Girl Mel C as DJ, and past venues have included the Sydney Tower Eye and Powerhouse Museum. However, Dopper asserts this year's will be their most dynamic venue to date. Once a functioning power station with a history going back more than a century, White Bay now plays home to major gatherings with takeovers from nightlife icons like Ministry of Sound. Now, it's Heaps Gay's turn. The industrial machinery and cavernous halls of White Bay Power Station are being given the ultimate makeover, complete with art installations to bring much needed colour to the brick structure. Heaps Gay will also be bringing in the stars of the party world to turn up the tunes and keep the energy alive. Bimini – of Drag Race UK fame – will be joined by fellow Ru Girl Gottmik, with both DJing sets on the night; don't worry, you'll get to see them perform live as well. Other icons like Princess Superstar, Jaguar and Kim Ann Foxman will deliver sensational sets, and stick around for loads more Australian artists throughout the night. White Bay Power Station wasn't enough for you? Heaps Gay will be throwing an afterparty at The Lord Gladstone, the original location of the long standing institution. Eleven years to the day, they will be recreating their first party with a sweaty dance floor, club vibes and cheap beer, all to a soundtrack of special DJ set from Bimini. "I've been so lucky to create a space for the community for an entire decade," says Dopper. "I had the most amazing time and some wonderful experiences."
Whether you want to eat out with mates without fighting over the menu, or you love challenging your PB when it comes to eating quickly, bottomless feasts are the answer. And right now, there's a bunch of them happening in Sydney — from endless bao at Easy Tiger in Bondi to infinite steak frites at Armorica in Surry Hills. The latest spot to join the bottomless bandwagon is Little Pearl on Manly Beach. Head along on any Wednesday from 5–8pm and you'll be treated to as many dumplings as you can take in 90 minutes for $39. Four delightful parcels are on the menu. Start with chicken, prawn and mushroom siumai, before moving onto prawn dumplings with laksa sauce and shallots. Then there's the barbecue pork gua bao and, for vegetarians, the shiitake mushroom spring rolls with house-made sweet chilli sauce. If you manage to look up from the plate for a minute (and we don't blame if you don't — what's the goal if not to get your money's worth?), you'll see some very pretty views of Manly Beach. Images: Anna Kucera.
South Australia is coming for you in a big way, Sydney. A whopping 30 Adelaide Hills wineries are headed to Surry Hills next month for a three-hour session of wine, food and tunes. Hills Heist will take over the Ford Sherrington House's new Winebar One on Tuesday, May 8 from 6–9pm. Expect a massive 70 wines on offer, giving punters a seriously wide ranging taste of the region's best drops. The wine region spans 70 kilometres and is known for its diversity, from sparkling to shiraz to pinot noir, along with gruner veltliner — an Austrian variety that the Adelaide Hills have become known for. Among the standout winemakers in attendance is Murdoch Hill's Michael Downer, who recently won Best Emerging Talent at the 2017 Young Gun of Wine awards. He's accompanied by Petaluma's Andrew Hardy, Shaw + Smith's Adam Wadewitz and Riposte's Tim Knappstein, to name a few. Modern European-style snacks will be served alongside the wine and Sydney local DJ Levins will be on the beats. Considering how much wine is on offer, tickets are priced at a pretty reasonable $65. The full list of wineries represented at the Hills Heist event include: Anderson Hill, ArtWine, Barristers Block, Bird in Hand, Chain of Ponds, Deviation Road, Elderslie, Elysian Springs, Fox Gordon, Golding, Hanhdorf Hill, Henschke, Howard Vineyard, Lobethal Road, Longview, Mike Press Wines, Mt Lofty Ranges, Murdoch Hill, Nepenthe, Paracombe, Penfolds, Petaluma, Red Heads, Riposte, Sew & Sew, Shaw + Smith, Somerled, The Lane Vineyard, The Pawn Wine Co, Tomich and Wicks Estate. Images: John Kruger.
Hollywood loves an awards ceremony, and boasts a regular lineup of statuette-bestowing occasions to prove it. Stellar television shows and the folks who make them can win everything from an Emmy and a Golden Globe to a Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA — and more — because cinema isn't the only screen format that likes rewarding its best and brightest at glitzy occasions with lengthy speeches and shiny trophies. Awards ceremonies are also a handy source of information for TV fans. They're fun to watch, but they can also help you work out what else you should be watching. So many television shows vie for everyone's eyeballs each year, so knowing that something has scored a few gongs (or even more than a few) might help rocket it to the top of your must-see list. Streaming platform Binge features quite a number of award-winners in its catalogue, for example, if you're not quite sure what you should marathon your way through next. In collaboration with the service, we've taken a look and picked five of our accolade-receiving favourites that you can check out now — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
Streetwear store and fried chicken restaurant Butter is expanding with a second two-storey location in Parramatta. When the Surry Hills eatery launched a year and a half ago it knocked our socks off. Was it more fried chicken? Or mostly sneaker? But we stopped thinking when Butter's juicy, dashi butter-lathered fried chicken arrived at the table in a shoe box. With a glass of Champagne on the side, no less. Chef Julian Cincotta is bringing the original Surry Hills menu over to Parramatta but with a few added extras — so you'll be able to order the same chicken sandwich with pickles and the '3 Pac' box of fried chicken and collard greens, just like in Surry Hills. But there'll also be specials like the Butter 3000, a new burger that sees fried thigh fillet, smoked pastrami, pickled daikon and kabayaki sauce on a steamed milk bun. Drinks will revolve around Champagne and Hennessey, both in a glass and as part of a cocktail. Cocktails include the Blackberry Hammer-Thyme with Veuve Clicquot, gin, blackberries and thyme and the P&P with pomegranate liqueur, Prosecco and pomegranate seeds. This is all happening on the bottom level. The level above will house the Butter store, where high-end and rare streetwear from US and Europe will be up for purchase, with brands such as Wood Wood, Daily Paper and Carrots by Anwar decking the shelves with rare and high-end kicks. It's all about luxury here and you're encouraged to browse the shop with Champagne in hand. Butter Parramatta will be double the size of Surry Hills and have an industrial, concrete interior complete with bubble light bulbs and granite table tops, thanks to award-winning architect Tarek Elkassouf. Butter opens at Shop 3, 45 Macquarie Street, Parramatta on Friday, December 22 at 11am. It will be open Monday to Thursday, 11.30am to 10pm, Friday to Saturday 11.30am to 12am and Sunday, 12pm to 9pm. For more info, visit buttersydney.com.au.
Chamomile gin, quinoa vodka and moonshine are among the spirits now available for tasting just outside of Melbourne in Healesville, following the opening of brand new distillery Alchemy. The business has taken over a century-old bakery, which you'll find hidden away up a laneway, off the main street. And not only is there a cellar door, there's a cocktail bar and accommodation too. At the centre of Alchemy's operations is a hybrid pot still with a 100-litre capacity. This mighty machine enables founders Evan Kipping and Jannick Zester to experiment with a variety of left-of-field flavours and ideas. While the aforementioned chamomile gin, quinoa vodka and moonshine are Alchemy's core products, there's also a bunch of small-batch spirits on the go at all times. "Sinking our teeth into making multiple spirits has allowed us to collaborate with local producers," says Zester. "We've been overwhelmed with support and are currently playing with local strawberries, cumquats and grapes from the Yarra Valley." You're invited to taste Alchemy's offerings and/or settle in for a signature cocktail, craft beer or local wine — either indoors, at the bar, or out in the sunny beer garden splashed with greenery. If you want or need to sleep over, there's a two-bedroom apartment overlooking the main street that'll sort you out. To get more deeply involved, join Alchemy's barrel-ageing program. The crew is giving 100 people the opportunity to own their own 20-litre barrel. You'll start by going through the whiskey-making process, including mashing, distillation and fermentation, then, throughout maturation, make return visits to sample your creation. Two years down the track, choose to release the whiskey, stick with it as it continues to age or pop it in a bottle and take it home. Alchemy Distillers is now open at 242 Maroondah Highway, Healesville. For more info or to book a room, visit alchemydistillers.com.
Here's what just might be the tastiest food challenge there is: hunting down Frankenstein's monster-style dessert mashups and tasting them all. Gelato Messina's various ice cream flavours and special treats often fall into this category, frequently turning another beloved dish into gelato. So do plenty of Lune Croissanterie's pastries. Often Krispy Kreme's doughnuts make the cut as well. Actually, right now you can grab a Krispy Kreme doughnut that owed a huge debt to another dessert: the Maxibon doughnut. After proving a hit in 2018, this collaboration with Peters Ice Cream is back for a limited — and tasty — time. And yes, it's a Maxibon in doughnut form. Back when Krispy Kreme joined forces with Reese's for a peanut butter-heavy doughnut earlier in 2023, there were multiple versions available. With the Maxibon doughnut, there's just one. You will still need to be able to eat nuts, though, because this one comes with a hazelnut and vanilla biscuit crumb. So, what makes up a Maxibon doughnut? A Krispy Kreme doughnut filled with Maxibon vanilla kreme, then covered in that crumb over chocolate, plus a chocolate Maxibon bikkie on top. You'll find the Maxibon doughnut on offer from Tuesday, August 1 at Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time. Trying to pick between ice cream and fried pastries just got a bit easier. We're betting that when Maxibons were first whipped up as a blend between a biscuit and everyone's favourite cold and creamy dessert, no one anticipated this happening as well. Krispy Kreme's Maxibon doughnut is available from Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time.
Queensland might be home to a gorgeous holiday spot called Rainbow Beach, but patches of sand all along New South Wales are taking on bright hues on Sunday, February 27. Expect to see rainbow-hued clothing and flags, plus fluoro zinc aplenty, all thanks to a one-day Rainbow Beaches celebration. The event comes courtesy of Lifesavers with Pride, who are getting a heap of surf clubs in Sydney and further north — up to Byron Bay, Brunswick and Yamba — decked out to showcase pride and diversity during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. So, if you can't make it to Mardi Gras itself, or you're keen on a dip as well, you can still get into the spirit of the occasion with your next stint of sun, surf and sand. The festivities at each surf club vary — but expect rainbow attire among beach patrollers, nippers and swimming clubs, and on their equipment and sun protection. The 2022 event follows a successful first run in 2021, and will hit up Bronte, Tamarama, Bondi, Cronulla, Maroubra, Dee Why, Bigola, Avalon and Queenscliff in Sydney — as well as Coogee, which is already home to its own rainbow walkway. And, Rainbow Beaches will also take over those aforementioned regional locations if you're either heading north from the NSW capital or south from Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_800676" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Coogee Rainbow Walkway[/caption] "Surf life-saving has evolved to become far more diverse and inclusive since it was formed over 100 years ago to make our beaches safer. The more diverse, inclusive and welcoming we are as a community, the stronger and more effective our movement can be," said LWP's Ivan Power, who developed the Rainbow Beaches initiative with LWP Chair Gary Driscoll. "Surf life-saving clubs are part of communities right around our country whose culture has changed substantially in recent years, reflecting the communities and members they serve. We are so pleased to be working with Mardi Gras to empower our members and clubs to show the progressive and inclusive nature of our communities and our movement," Power continued. Now you know the brightest spots to have a splash on Sunday — and you can take a few cues from the theme yourself by busting out your most colourful rainbow-toned swimmers for the occasion. Rainbow Beaches takes place on Sunday, February 27 from 8am at Bronte, Tamarama, Coogee, Bondi, Cronulla, Maroubra, Dee Why, Bigola, Avalon and Queenscliff in Sydney, as well as in Byron Bay, Brunswick and Yamba. For more information, head to the Lifesavers with Pride website.
No longer must you choose between cocktails and dessert. You can now do both in one fell swoop at Pumphouse. To celebrate the imminent coming of the Easter bunny, the Darling Harbour bar has come up with a new cocktail menu. And every sip is deeply, irresistibly infused with chocolate. Hop straight into the party with a Drunk Bunny — a rich concoction of vodka, Irish cream, chocolate liqueurs and actual cream, topped with a choccy bunny. Need a bit of a kick? Go for the Eggslide, which brings together dark chocolate and coffee. If you're a martini aficionado, you'll be able to knock back the Chocolate Martini or Cottontail Martini, which comes with delicious dashes of coconut rum and coconut cream, plus pineapple juice. All these egg-stra special cocktails are $23 a pop. The only catch is you don't have forever to try them out, as they're only on the menu till the end of April. Bookings can be made here.
The first day of the year, The Domain and Sydneysiders flocking to see live tunes: that's one helluva New Year's tradition. It's also what Field Day serves up every year, and will again to start off 2024. Leading the bill: RÜFÜS DU SOL and Central Cee. The 2023–24 crossover period will be busy for the Sydney fest's two headliners. They're both hitting the Harbour City on Monday, January 1 after also playing Victoria's Beyond The Valley over the Christmas break. On their New South Wales stop, they'll have G Flip and Genesis Owusu for company, plus Romy, Sub Focus, Ross From Friends, Claptone and COBRAH. Yes, it's going to be quite the massive party. For RÜFÜS DU SOL, this is a huge hometown gig. For British rapper Central Cee, everything from 'Doja' and 'Let Go' to 'Sprinter' and 'Obsessed with You' will get a whirl. Combining both local and international names again in 2024 — as was the standard pre-pandemic, and returned in 2023 after an all-Aussie lineup in 2022 — Field Day will also feature Destroy Lonely, LUUDE, Logic1000, Kinder, Dameeeela, Mell Hall and JessB as part of its packed roster. A triple j Unearthed winner is still to join the lineup as well. [caption id="attachment_811734" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Warr[/caption] FIELD DAY 2024 LINEUP: RÜFÜS DU SOL Central Cee Cassian Claptone Cobrah Conducta Destroy Lonely G Flip Genesis Owusu Isoxo Knock2 Logic1000 Luude Mall Grab Notion Riton Romy Ross From Friends (DJ set) Sub Focus (DJ set and ID) Dameeeela Fukhed J-Milla Jessb Kinder Mell Hall Swim Willo Top image: Fifth Legend via Wikimedia Commons
Sydney's humming pop-up culture is breathing new life into our city's arts and nightlife scene. Often focused on showcasing emerging talent in unconventional spaces, the pop-up has evolved into a place for social engagement and a celebration of the 'new'. Beautiful Strange pop-up art bar is Sydney's latest offering, bringing together artists, their art and the essential stable of booze. Brainchild of Jac Taylor, Beautiful Strange is designed to prove that pop-ups have a viable place in enhancing Sydney's cultural landscapes as standalone events. Taylor's vision has been realised with the help of many creative parties. Design and theatre students from Randwick and Enmore TAFEs have collaborated on the bar's interior and exterior and guests should expect a surreal wonderland comprising an indoor light forest, lampshades taking penguins for walks and other out-of-this-world delights. Entertainment will be provided by contemporary performance artists Christopher Hawkins, Matte Rochford and Bella Louche to name but a few who will concoct a lethal mix of circus acts, demonstration art and burlesque. Tipple wise, look forward to an original cocktail list and the prized Alhambra Sour, a combination of sweet, sour and spiced served with a side of Middle Eastern almonds. As far as pop-ups go, we're pretty sure Beautiful Strange is going to be the real deal: art, booze and an evening's good time. Check Beautiful Strange's Facebook page for more details on the venues from September 20.
Put on your toques and gather your loonies — the Stuffed Beaver is serving up classic Canadian fare on bustling Bondi Road. Vancouver-born Brody Petersen has been dishing up his 'Dam Menu' since 2011. There's wooden booths reminiscent of a wintery ski lodge, vintage Canadian memorabilia on the walls, a game of football on the TV plus a perfectly cheesy poutine — any expat will feel right at home and us locals will feel just like we've visited. When you think of North American food, you think of burgers, fries, hot-dogs and deep-fried everything. The Stuffed Beaver delivers all of the above, with a Canadian spin of course. The classic poutine (fries with gravy and melted cheese curds) is as authentic as those French-Canadians make it and just as indulgently satisfying ($14.99). The beef burgers are made fresh every day with Black Angus beef served on a soft brioche bun. Try the Dam Beaver burger ($10.99), beef stuffed with melted blue cheese, or the John Candy combo ($15.99), crispy fried jack cheese, bacon and pickles. The Burgenhausen ($12.99), sweet pulled pork, candied apple and sour cream, is a definite hole-filler. No matter what main you get, you've gotta try the deep-fried pickles ($6.99). Beer battered pickle spears that are deep fried for that crunchy, greasy taste that only North American food can deliver. Canadians like to drink, so it's fair to say the bar is well stocked. If you're a Bloody Mary fan, the Bloody Caesar is the Canadian version ($16.99), the addition of Clamato juice (Clam and tomato juice) and a briny pickle spear gives it its North American authenticity. And whatever you do, don't leave until you've had a shot of Fireball whisky. Super sweet cinnamon whisky that'll warm the cockles of any sceptic's heart. The Stuffed Beaver's name isn't just a nod to its northern icons but a prophetic glimpse as to how you'll feel after a fun night eating and drink here. The North American food is heavy but oh-so-satisfying and with its affordability, cool Bondi location and friendly, relaxed staff, it's the perfect place to get stuffed, eh?
A brand new restaurant has cropped up in inner west Sydney that looks poised to take the Australian food scene by storm. Nestled in the heart of Camperdown, the menu at The Corner is jam packed with fashionable dining options, from lentil and eggplant salad to roast Moroccan chicken breast, tomato and bocconcini Caprese salad to...Wait a minute, are those McNuggets? Yes, Sydney's hottest new eatery turned out to be a Maccas in disguise. Described by the fast food giant as a 'learning lab', the site will be used to trial a bunch of new menu options, presumably in a bid to combat their flagging sales. Which is all very well and good, but come on. Brioche McMuffins? Pulled pork Quarter Pounders? What kind of twisted bait and switch is the Hamburglar trying to pull? Of course, the reality is that a bit of sneaky rebranding is de rigueur for companies like these. McDonald's isn't the first chain to try and capture a trendier market share, and it certainly won't be the last. Here are four other examples of mass producing omnicorps attempting to cash in on foodie culture. YOUR FAVOURITE CORNER COFFEE JOINT TURNED OUT TO BE A STARBUCKS No self-respecting coffee lover would ever be caught dead in Starbucks. That is, unless they didn’t know it was a Starbucks. In an attempt to raise sales in the wake of the global recession, the massive coffee chain started to revamp a number of its US and European locations in 2010, removing all traces of the company name save for a nauseating caveat that the 'new' stores were 'inspired by Starbucks'. The good news is that Australia's coffee snobbery has already killed close to three quarters of the Starbucks locations down under, so our chances of being hoodwinked are fairly slim. That is, unless they just said they were closing all those stores. Maybe it was just a trick. Maybe they never left at all. BURGER KING TRIED OUT 'SODA PAIRINGS' It's common knowledge that certain wines go better with certain foods. All Burger King tried to do was apply that same basic principal to soft drink in 2014. Taped half-heartedly to the side of a soda fountain, their pairings seem somewhat arbitrary to me, but then again I'm no sommelier. After a hearty Angus Burger and onion rings, who's to say that a 'crisp, clear bodied' Sprite doesn’t sit better on the palate than a Diet Coke? Honestly, this feeble attempt at classing up the joint isn't so much insidious as it is really, really lame. That being said, nothing goes well with Dr. Pepper. YOUR AVERAGE BP SERVO SANDWICH WENT ALL 'ARTISAN' When they're not too busy pumping oil into the ocean, it turns out BP make freshly baked artisan bread. And brew 100 percent organic coffee. And build rescue shelters for injured puppies. Okay fine, so I made up that last one. But the other two are apparently staples of Jack & Co., self-described as "the freshest convenience stores in the world". The original store was fused to a BP service station in 2012, but recent openings in Taree, NSW have evolved into their own faux-gourmet, corporate guilt-alleviating entities. YOUR KFC ZINGER COMBO WILL HAVE CRAFT BEER FOR THE DRINK Face it: if Mickey D is targeting hipsters, this lot were never far behind. Kudos to the Colonel for at least having the giblets to keep the initials — not that KFC actually stands for anything anymore. In any case, Parramattans will soon be able to get beer and cider with their original recipe, when 'KFC Urban' is granted a liquor licence later in 2015. Like McDonald's, KFC has been falling behind in the fast food arms race, losing younger customers to chains like Nandos and Grill’d. Rather than serving up a kale burger, their solution is apparently to just get everybody sloshed. Frankly, I have absolutely no problem with that. Images: The Corner, Fast Company, Imgur, Jack & Co., KFC.
2022 hasn't been kind to anyone's bank balances, with inflation having a hefty impact on the cost of living all around the world, including in Australia. We know you know this, and so does your wallet. In Sydney in fact, the year's financial struggles have seen the Harbour City reclaim global recognition for being a mighty expensive place to call home, taking tenth place on The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey. While Melbourne was dubbed Australia's most liveable city in the EIU's Global 2022 Liveability Index earlier in 2022, Sydney has nabbed a less sought-after mantle, after sitting in the same spot back in 2018. Again, it's an exxy time all-round in general, with the survey noting that prices worldwide, in the 172 major cities surveyed, have shot up 8.1 percent year on year on average (in local currencies). That's the biggest jump in the 20 years that the EIU has digital data for. The place on the planet that'll trouble your pennies the most? This year, there's two: New York and Singapore. The pair of cities tied for the top spot, with New York earning the unwanted honours for the first time ever, but Singapore taking the crown for the eighth time in a decade. The two places bump down 2021 leader Tel Aviv to third, with Hong Kong and Los Angeles then sharing fourth spot. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva came in at six and seven respectively, while San Francisco sits at eighth, Paris at ninth and Copenhagen shares tenth place with Sydney. Yes, this means that Sydney is more expensive to live in at the moment than London and Tokyo — two cities that aren't considered cheap at all. In fact, Tokyo dropped down 24 spots to sit in 37th place. As per The Guardian, Sydney's rise from 14th in 2021 to tenth this year isn't the only upward movement among Australia's cities. Melbourne leapt from 16th to 15th, and Brisbane from 36th to 32nd. For further details about the 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living survey, head to The Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
Sydney's pretty great at the best of times, but when Art & About rolls around our city takes on a whole new splendour. Having just transitioned from a three-week shindig to a year-round event, Art & About are already ensuring 2016 is full of epic art with one of their most exciting installations to date. The Blue Trees by Egyptian-born, New Zealand-raised, Melbourne-based artist Konstantin Dimopoulos will transform Pyrmont’s leafy Pirrama Park into an ultramarine utopia with the help of a team of community volunteers. Using a biologically safe water-based colourant, Dimopoulos will colour the trunks of the park's living trees blue to highlight the impact of deforestation on old growth forests. By rendering our local environment uncanny Dimopoulos encourages us to consider the global impact humans have on the environment. Having been shown at the prestigious Vancouver Biennale last year and being an ephemeral work with an unknown duration, this is an installation not to be missed. The Blue Trees will be coloured by the community from 10am – 4pm on Saturday March 5. For details on how to help out, keep tabs on the Art & About website or Facebook page. The trees will be on display until the colourant is washed away by Mother Nature. Image: Roaming the Planet
Sydney's iconic Centennial Park, named during its establishment as part of Australia's centennial celebrations in 1888, turned 125 years old this year. Located to the east just over York Road, is Queens Park, established at the same time and celebrating the same milestone. It is the smaller, lesser-known sibling. The new eatery, Queens Park Shed, is similarly modest and unpretentious. Originally a women's change shed, it eventually became a disused sports storage shed, until Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust engaged Trippas White Group (who run the event spaces throughout the rest of the parklands) to turn it into a community space and eatery. On one hand, it's a no-brainer. The park is full of sporting children and adults pretty much every day, and it's adjacent to a children's playground with plenty of caffeine-dependent parents to cater to. On the other hand, it was in "appalling condition", as project manager Fiona Rae describes — "daylight could easily be seen through the roof tiles". As well, the plans attracted some opposition from locals who thought it might disrupt the peace. The strategy, for both menu and design, is simplicity and quality with a nod to local flavour. Free range, biodynamic and organic all feature on the menu (this is the Eastern Suburbs after all), but you can still get a burger and chips. Okay, so the burger is wagyu with iceberg, beetroot, tomato, onion jam and cheddar ($14), but it's still a burger that any football-playing bloke would love to scoff after a game. Salads and boards have a more delicate palate, with chicken, roast pumpkin, avocado, freekah and watercress ($12) combining in a generous serve. The Tasmanian smoked salmon, toasted rye, lemon caper and parsley salad ($16) is both delicious and artfully arranged. The look is just right. It's raw and rustic, with concrete floors, original exposed brick exterior walls and interior walls left as found, making you feel like The Shed may have been there forever but you just haven't noticed it. The main area is spacious, with communal dining tables, but there are smaller nooks in a secondary area where gossip can be traded over a Toby's Estate coffee ($3.80 for a small) or Charlie's organic juices ($5). The drinks are a touch pricey, but they've got the monopoly on this park street. Neat touches like garage-style doors and decorative pitchforks allude to The Shed's former life. It's been so popular since its launch in October that trading will soon extend to after-hours operations with a liquor license recently granted and a summer dinner menu being developed. I bet those residents that first complained will be the first, and the most loyal, customers. The Shed will be opening for dinner in early 2014 from Thursday to Saturday.
After the year that's been, we've all got our sights set on making this summer one to remember. So, no doubt, you'll want to shake things up a little — and, if you're hosting the crew around for some backyard drinks, you'll want to make sure those sips are darn memorable, too. Because balmy days call for cocktails, we've teamed up with tequila distiller 1800 Tequila to help you unleash your inner bartender. Recently, the brand launched a limited-edition merch range in collaboration with Aussie accessories queen Poppy Lissiman and Sydney-based artist Manu Crooks. So, if you were looking for some bold new accessories for summer, it's got you sorted in that department — but you better get in quickly, before they sell out. Now, the two aforementioned creative legends, plus 1800's Hayley Dixon (Proximo Spirits Tequila Specialist), have come up with three tequila cocktail recipes that are guaranteed to spice up your next at-home session. POPPY LISSIMAN'S TASTE OF TULUM Serves one Sleek, chic and a little bit fun, this little libation created by Poppy Lissiman is the perfect drink for summer nights spent on the dance floor. The concoction uses 1800 coconut-infused tequila, which lends a taste of the tropics, while prosecco keeps things sophisticated. So, break out the champagne flutes and get shaking. Ingredients 30ml 1800 Coconut 15ml peach syrup 10ml Fino sherry 20ml fresh lemon juice 5ml simple syrup 90ml prosecco Method Minus the prosecco, shake all ingredients together, then double strain into a champagne flute. Top the glass with prosecco and garnish with lemon zest. MANU CROOK'S CHERRY CHILL Serves one The classic cherry-cola combo gets served a grown-up twist in this moody drink designed by hip hop artist Manu Crooks. Expect smoke and spice from the 1800's barrel-aged Reposado, which is perfectly balanced with a fun, fruity hit from the rest of the ingredients. It's safe to say that this is one smooth sip that'll see you from day to night. Ingredients 30ml 1800 Reposado 15ml cherry liqueur 2ml vanilla extract 15ml simple syrup 25ml fresh lemon juice Dash Angostura orange bitters 60ml cola Method Minus the cola, shake all ingredients together, then double strain the mix into a double rocks glass over ice. Top with the cola and garnish with a lemon twist. 1800 TEQUILA'S SUMMER STAPLE Serves one When sunny skies and post-swim sessions call for a tipple that's fresh and fruity, keep your cool with this fizzy, pink-hued number. Made with the extra-smooth, double-distilled 1800 Silver, it's a crafty riff on the classic G&T that's sure to become your new summer go-to. Ingredients 40ml 1800 Silver 15ml watermelon syrup 15ml honey syrup (three parts honey, one part warm water) 20ml fresh lemon juice 15ml fresh grapefruit juice 60ml dry tonic Method Minus the tonic, shake all ingredients together, then double strain the mix into a highball glass over ice. Top up with tonic and garnish with a watermelon wedge. Spice up your summer with these three easy-to-make 1800 Tequila cocktails, then get yourself some fresh new accessories from the 1800 Essential Artists merch range. 1800 Tequila promotes responsible drinking practices, for 18 years and over only.
If you've ever jumped in the ocean, headed on a camping trip or rugged up for a night of stargazing in the middle of winter, we're going to hazard a guess and say you like the cold. No, you unabashedly love it. Ticking some boxes for you? Then you'll find plenty of excuses to head outdoors during the new winter event series Sydney Solstice. Running from Tuesday, June 8 till Sunday, June 20, Sydney Solstice is taking over the harbour city with a series of pop-ups, gigs and dazzling light shows that'll help you make the most of the chillier months. We've teamed up with NSW Government via Destination NSW to round up nine Sydney Solstice adventures you can have this winter — from moonlight kayaking sessions to pop-up ice rinks and dance floors tucked away in laneways.
If sitting in darkened rooms watching movies on the big screen is your favourite way to fill your spare time, the past couple of years have been trickier than usual, with cinemas closing temporarily and film festivals moving online due to the pandemic. But here's one wonderful silver lining to emerge from the recent chaos: not one but two Sydney Film Festivals in a mere eight months. 2021's fest went ahead in November, after being postponed from June and August. Now, 2022's event is fast approaching, with the event slotting back into its usual midyear timeslot. Following the bumps of the last couple of years, this upcoming festival — SFF's whopping 69th iteration — is set to return to business as usual. That means catching 200-plus movies on silver screens all around Sydney between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 (including at the glorious State Theatre, of course). Overseen by Festival Director Nashen Moodley for the 11th time, this year's SFF unveiled its first 22 movies back in April, and has announced a few other details since — such as a retrospective focusing on the documentaries of American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, plus Pacific First Nations anthology We Are Still Here in the coveted opening night slot. But that was only a taste of the just-dropped entire lineup, which is hefty and impressive as always, and spans 101 features, 53 documentaries and a whole heap of short films from 64-plus countries. (And 27 world premieres as well.) Highlights include the entire Official Competition lineup, aka the movies vying for SFF's big cash prize for films that are "audacious, cutting-edge and courageous". That's where you'll find this year's Berlinale Golden Bear-winner Alcarràs, a family drama from Spain; Blaze, a blend of live-action, puppetry and animation directed by acclaimed Aussie artist Del Kathryn Barton; and supernatural witch flick You Won't Be Alone, which stars Noomi Rapace (Lamb). And, it's home to a number of titles arriving straight from playing Cannes, too — such as Godland from Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day); Close, a teen-focused drama by Girl filmaker Lukas Dhont; and All the People I'll Never Be, about a French woman's quest to discover her Korean roots. Other big-name inclusions across the rest of the program span New Zealand comedy Nude Tuesday, which'll enjoy its world premiere at SFF; Australia's own Seriously Red, a SXSW hit about a Dolly Parton impersonator; One Fine Morning, from acclaimed French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island); the Dakota Johnson (The Lost Daughter)-starring rom-com Cha Cha Real Smooth, which earned plenty of fans at Sundance; and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, where Emma Thompson (Cruella) plays an older women who hires a sex worker — with 52 Tuesdays and Animals filmmaker Sophie Hyde behind the lens. Or, there's queer comedy Fire Island, about a group of friends on a wild summer holiday; Aubrey Plaza (Best Sellers)-led heist film Emily the Criminal; Cannes 2021 Jury Prize-winner Ahed's Knee, the latest from Synonyms' director Nadav Lapid; time-travel romp Incredible But True, as directed by Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux; and One Year, One Night, which features Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Noémie Merlant. Also on the must-watch list: Norwegian action movie The Burning Sea; Finnish thriller The Man Who Didn't Want to See Titanic (which, yes, focuses on a film buff); Hommage, a South Korean mystery starring Parasite's Lee Jeong-eun; Japanese folklore-glam-rock-musical-anime epic Inuh-Oh; and Millie Lies Low, a NZ caper about impostor syndrome. Plus, from the documentary slate, there's Sundance Audience Award-winner Navalny, about the Russian opposition leader poisoned with a nerve agent; Lynch/Oz, which takes a yellow brick road through David Lynch's filmography; Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, a step inside New York's iconic Chelsea Hotel; and stranger-than-fiction effort My Old School, where Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) lip-synchs to audio recordings of Scottish con-artist Brandon Lee. SFF's full lineup also covers the usual returning favourites among its strands — so its ten-film focus on female directors from Europe is back, as is its selection of movies about music, its weird and wonderful horror and genre flicks, a range of family-friendly fare, a celebration of filmmaking talent with disability, and twelve titles from First Nations creatives. The latter includes all six episodes of Mystery Road: Origins, the new prequel series that focuses on Indigenous police officer Jay Swan, which is one of the fest's massive local highlights. Another: a big-screen showing of the newly restored 4K version of Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, arriving just before his new movie Elvis reaches cinemas. The program still goes on, so if you're keen on seeing Park Chan-wook's Oldboy on the big screen again, or the nine Aussie docos competing for the annual Documentary Australia Award, you're in luck. Whatever's now on your must-see roster, you'd best soak in all the sunshine you can during May — because you'll be spending most of June in a cinema. The 2022 Sydney Film Festival will run between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Newtown, Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Art Gallery of NSW. To check out the event's full program, or to buy tickets (from 9am on Wednesday, May 11 for flexipass holders and 12pm for single tickets), head to the festival's website.
Want to spend your birthday with lions and tigers and bears? (Oh my!) For the second year in a row, the folks at Taronga Zoo have got you covered. In 2016, as part of their centenary celebrations, the zoo offered $1 entry tickets to visitors on their birthday so that they could enjoy their special day with friends on two legs and on four. And being the champs that they are, they're doing the same thing in 2017. "We had so many people choose to celebrate their birthday with us last year that we decided to extend the offer for another year," said Taronga CEO Cameron Kerr. "It's our way of saying thank you to the amazing public that continues to support our wildlife conservation work." Animal lovers can register for a $1 voucher to use on their birthday via the zoo's website. Be warned though: you may be expected to share your cake with the monkeys*. You'll also receive a special birthday badge as a souvenir. Last year, more than 50,000 people registered to spend their anniversary of their birth with the cutest critters imaginable, so regardless of which date you were born on, you'll likely have plenty of human company too. And your dollar entry fee will also give Taronga a gift, with proceeds going towards the not-for-profit zoo's wildlife conservation work to protect 10 critical species from Australia and Sumatra, including the Asian Elephant, the Corroboree Frog and the Pangolin. *just kidding. Please don't feed the monkeys cake. By Tom Clift and Sarah Ward.
When we travel, we often find ourselves soaking up as much information as we can about the people, food, culture and history of the places we visit. But this isn't always the case when it comes to our home cities. So, in a year when travelling overseas is off the cards, why not take the time to learn something new about where you spend most of your time? You could discover wild foods growing on your favourite coastal paths, deserted beaches hiding in plain sight, the origins of place names you see every day. We've partnered with La Bella Verde to bring you this list of Sydney tours that can give you a greater perspective on your home city, so you can discover more about where you live. [caption id="attachment_787406" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Royal Botanic Garden Sydney[/caption] ABORIGINAL HERITAGE TOUR In this 90-minute tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, you'll learn more about native foods than you probably did at school. Josh Brown, a Worimi man of the Forster-Tuncurry area, has an extensive knowledge of the bush foods and medicinal plants in the Botanic Gardens. He'll pick out lemon myrtle, wattle seeds, finger limes and tell you about their importance to the Cadigal People, as well as letting you taste and smell as you go. The aim is to preserve and protect local knowledge, sharing it with whoever books into the $42 tour. Simply book into one of the thrice weekly tours online, or meet at the Garden Shop on Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays from 10am–11.30am (excluding public holidays). All tours are COVID-safe and tickets can be transferred if you're feeling unwell on the day. [caption id="attachment_787407" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diego Bonetto/Archie Rose[/caption] DIEGO BONETTO'S FORAGING TOURS Wild food expert Diego Bonetto has a cult-like following for his foraging tours. Held across urban spaces in Sydney, each two-hour adventure will take you to an inner west park, eastern coastal path or western riverbank, depending on your preference, where you'll be treated to a botanical lesson in edible and medicinal plants. He'll pick out dandelions, sow thistle, warrigal greens, nettle and fennel, describing how you can forage each weed or native plant for use in soups, teas, salads and casseroles. You'll learn about what's growing in your garden, what edibles are considered a nuisance, and any natural remedies you can safely source without dropping a cent. Tours range from $30–50 and each person receives an information booklet on the 16 most common wild edibles in Sydney. Tours go ahead in all weather conditions and often sell out long in advance, so book ahead online. [caption id="attachment_787503" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sydney Opera House[/caption] SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TOUR When your city's leading landmarks are a beacon for tourists, locals tend to give them a wide berth, especially in the height of summer. As 2020 has been anything but a normal year, this is the time to revisit our most famous buildings to see them from a different angle. Have you ever visited the Opera House's green room, where all the stars grab a bite to eat before they take to the stage? Or wandered around the cavernous loading dock to see where the sets and costumes arrive before a big show? You can learn a lot about the history, and future, of the world-famous arts centre in a one-hour tour that's limited to just 15 people each time. You'll come away with fun snippets like that time a chicken fell from the stage onto a cellist and how Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr Olympia body-building title in the Concert Hall. Sydney Opera House tours run from 10.30am or 2pm from Thursdays to Mondays, and you can book tickets online for $42 per person. See here for its mobility access and Auslan tours, too. [caption id="attachment_791851" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Benjamin Williams[/caption] LA BELLA VERDE ECO TOURS Take to the water in an environmentally friendly way and you can discover hidden coves and secluded beaches around Sydney Harbour that you might otherwise have designated to the Too Hard Basket. A new eco tour run by La Bella Verde will have you cruising around the harbour in a 100 percent solar-powered catamaran, taking you to lesser known sandy spots for bush walks, snorkelling, paddle boarding and yoga. The full-day tours are run in collaboration with Pittwater Eco Adventures and start from $300 per person per day. You can enquire online, detailing your preferred pick-up locations and number of guests. [caption id="attachment_787429" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tour guide Margret Campbell. Image: Destination NSW[/caption] THE ROCKS ABORIGINAL DREAMING TOUR Wholly Aboriginal-owned tour operator Dreamtime Southern X runs daily tours of The Rocks that can be tailored to the experiences and knowledge of those along for the ride. The 90-minute walking adventure is led by Margret Campbell, who introduces Dreamtime stories about the landscape, from Sydney's waters to the sandstone surrounding it. Tours begin at Cadman's Cottage, moving through Bligh and Barney Reserve to point out lilly pilly, cabbage palm trees, bracken fern and wollemia pines. Campbell shares some Gadigal language, the practice of ochre painting in cultural ceremonies, and cultural objects that you're welcomed to handle and observe. Each tour is $59 per adult, starting at 10.30am, which you can book online. Find out more about La Bella Verde tours, here. Top image: Aboriginal Heritage Tour, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
A mere 12 months after reopening and wildly impressing us with its fancypants makeover, the over 100-year-old Hotel Palisade is on the market. Boasting some prime real estate in The Rocks, the historic building reopened to a whole lot of buzz late last year, unveiling eight premium hotel rooms, a swanky new ground floor Public House Bar, and rooftop bar, Henry Deane, with its gorgeous interiors and sweeping harbour views. Now, according to The Shout, the plush property's up for sale through JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, and expected to fetch at least a cool $30 million, with international expressions of interest open until November 30. Word is, Hotel Palisade has been attracting plenty of offshore interest, with the owners already having received a bunch of unsolicited offers for the unique piece of property. Via The Shout.
