The Queensland Film Festival (QFF) returns with its largest celebration of film and art to date. Screening from July 19–29, the Brisbane-based international film festival boasts 59 features and shorts in its 2018 lineup, including 39 Australian premieres, as well as an exhibition at Gallery of Modern Art that runs the course of the festival.
Taking place at the Elizabeth Picture Theatre, New Farm Cinemas, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Institute of Modern Art, the festival is also proud to shine a spotlight on female talent in its fourth year — from the pioneering Věra Chytilová to the rising local talent of Alena Lodkina, more than 80-percent of the films programmed are directed or co-directed by women.
Once again offering a carefully curated, propulsive showcase of cinematic excellence, QFF 2018 opens with a night of new Australian cinema. Soda_Jerk’s controversial and acclaimed Terror Nullius will launch the festival with a film that’s equal parts political satire, eco-horror and road movie. A rogue remapping of national mythology, Terror Nullius was created through an intricate remix of Australia’s pop culture and film legacy. It’ll be followed by fellow opening night feature Strange Colours, a study of the misfits of Lightning Ridge that marks the feature debut from the prodigy Alena Lodkina. Soda_Jerk (sisters Dan and Dom Angeloro), Lodkina and local filmmaker Emily Avila (the director of Fitting, which will play before Strange Colours) will all be in attendance.
QFF will also play host to international guests Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, the leading lights of mesmerising and fantastical cinema, as part of a complete retrospective of their works. Amer, The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears and their new psychedelic effort Let the Corpses Tan will all screen over the festival’s first weekend — and to celebrate the program, QFF has commissioned and published a book of essays examining their output, which will also be freely available online in partnership with Senses of Cinema.
Finally, the 2018 festival comes to an end with two sporting films, though of a quite varied bent. First comes the documentary John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, a study of the tennis player at the height of his career as the world champion — and facing the hardest loss of his career at the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open. It is followed by Diamantino, QFF’s closing night film, a fictional piece that marvels as the world’s greatest soccer star loses his touch and sets off on a delirious odyssey where he confronts neo-fascism, the refugee crisis, genetic modification, and the hunt for the source of genius. The latest collaboration from QFF regulars Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt, it’s in love with every form of storytelling and concocted from pure pleasure.
Head to the QFF website to see the full list of films on show.
