Matthew Walker’s I’m Wanita will make its world premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival next month.
The film, which follows Australia’s self-crowned “Queen of Honky Tonk” Wanita Bahtiyar, will screen as part of the Artscapes strand – a program that features work exploring creativity in the performing and visual arts.
Other Australian films set for the festival this year include Sally Aitken’s Playing with Sharks, to screen as a special presentation; Nays Baghai’s Documentary Australia Foundation Award-winning Descent, to make its North American premiere as part of the World Showcase; and Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair’s Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra, also in the Artscapes strand.
Aitken and producer Bettina Dalton will also appear in a Q&a together with the subject of their film, marine conservationist and photographer Valerie Taylor.
Two Aussie shorts have also been accepted into the festival: Sophie Raymond’s Recorder Queen,...
The film, which follows Australia’s self-crowned “Queen of Honky Tonk” Wanita Bahtiyar, will screen as part of the Artscapes strand – a program that features work exploring creativity in the performing and visual arts.
Other Australian films set for the festival this year include Sally Aitken’s Playing with Sharks, to screen as a special presentation; Nays Baghai’s Documentary Australia Foundation Award-winning Descent, to make its North American premiere as part of the World Showcase; and Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair’s Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra, also in the Artscapes strand.
Aitken and producer Bettina Dalton will also appear in a Q&a together with the subject of their film, marine conservationist and photographer Valerie Taylor.
Two Aussie shorts have also been accepted into the festival: Sophie Raymond’s Recorder Queen,...
- 3/24/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Cinemas should have scored a significant boost last weekend, with two major releases in the way of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and Roadshow’s Chaos Walking. Yet exhibitors report softer starts for both titles than they hoped for.
Directed by Carlos López Estrada and Don Hall, Raya topped the box office earning $1.5 million from 379 screens.
That’s a reasonable result for the Covid-era, but an animated Disney title would typically expect to open on much more. By way of comparison, Universal’s Croods: A New Age opened on $6.5 million across the Boxing Day weekend – that’s during Covid.
In the US, where New York’s cinemas recently reopened, Raya debuted theatrically on a similarly disappointing $US8.6 million.
It’s hard to know how much Raya‘s box office was impacted by the film’s simultaneously global release on Disney+; in Australia it’s priced at $34.99.
Set in a fantasy world of Kumandra,...
Directed by Carlos López Estrada and Don Hall, Raya topped the box office earning $1.5 million from 379 screens.
That’s a reasonable result for the Covid-era, but an animated Disney title would typically expect to open on much more. By way of comparison, Universal’s Croods: A New Age opened on $6.5 million across the Boxing Day weekend – that’s during Covid.
In the US, where New York’s cinemas recently reopened, Raya debuted theatrically on a similarly disappointing $US8.6 million.
It’s hard to know how much Raya‘s box office was impacted by the film’s simultaneously global release on Disney+; in Australia it’s priced at $34.99.
Set in a fantasy world of Kumandra,...
- 3/8/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Crime thriller The Little Things is the first new release in weeks to succeed in knocking Robert Connolly’s The Dry from the no. 1 position at the box office.
The John Lee Hancock-directed neo-noir follows two detectives (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) as they investigate a string of murders that lead them to a strange loner who may be the culprit.
The film opened on $1.4 million from 276 screens over the weekend, or $1.8 million with previews.
That makes Australia the second best performing market worldwide, second only to the US where has been released in cinemas and on HBO Max simultaneously.
Other new releases included Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar hopeful Minari, which Madman opened on 59 screens to bring in $172,309, or $276,226 with previews.
Winner of the Sundance US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the US Dramatic Audience Award, the semi-autobiographical film starring Steven Yeun follows a South Korean family who...
The John Lee Hancock-directed neo-noir follows two detectives (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) as they investigate a string of murders that lead them to a strange loner who may be the culprit.
The film opened on $1.4 million from 276 screens over the weekend, or $1.8 million with previews.
That makes Australia the second best performing market worldwide, second only to the US where has been released in cinemas and on HBO Max simultaneously.
Other new releases included Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar hopeful Minari, which Madman opened on 59 screens to bring in $172,309, or $276,226 with previews.
Winner of the Sundance US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the US Dramatic Audience Award, the semi-autobiographical film starring Steven Yeun follows a South Korean family who...
- 2/22/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
ABC Commercial has inked a pre-sale of Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s documentary Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra to Swedish public broadcaster Svt, for the SVT2 and Svt Play platforms.
Produced by Ivan O’Mahoney for In Films, Firestarter takes audiences through the history of Sydney’s Bangarra Dance Theatre, telling the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. But as the story reveals, the company’s international success came at a huge personal cost.
ABC Commercial head of content sales and distribution Jessica Ellis said: “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Svt on this exceptional documentary. The interest surrounding the program prior to its distribution launch at Avant Première has been phenomenal. Audiences from film festival screenings have embraced and celebrated this stunning addition to ABC Commercial’s Arts slate”.
Here in Australia,...
Produced by Ivan O’Mahoney for In Films, Firestarter takes audiences through the history of Sydney’s Bangarra Dance Theatre, telling the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. But as the story reveals, the company’s international success came at a huge personal cost.
ABC Commercial head of content sales and distribution Jessica Ellis said: “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Svt on this exceptional documentary. The interest surrounding the program prior to its distribution launch at Avant Première has been phenomenal. Audiences from film festival screenings have embraced and celebrated this stunning addition to ABC Commercial’s Arts slate”.
Here in Australia,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
In a remarkable result, four Australian films – The Dry, Penguin Bloom, High Ground and Occupation: Rainfall – took home almost 50 per cent of the national box office last weekend.
The four titles together totaled $3.5 million, or 47 per cent of the total B.O of $7.5 million.
Such a strong local showing speaks to a variety of factors: the paucity of product from the US, good word-of-mouth and strong marketing campaigns by distributors.
The four titles’ performance is also a hopeful sign for the other Aussie films due in coming weeks, including documentary Wild Things (Potential Films), released this Thursday; dramas Long Story Short (Studiocanal) and Unsound (Filmink Presents) due on February 11; and Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s doco Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra (Icon) on February 18.
“With few Hollywood/international productions entering the market over the coming weeks, I expect this to continue for some time,” Village Cinemas national film programming manager Geoff Chard tells If.
The four titles together totaled $3.5 million, or 47 per cent of the total B.O of $7.5 million.
Such a strong local showing speaks to a variety of factors: the paucity of product from the US, good word-of-mouth and strong marketing campaigns by distributors.
The four titles’ performance is also a hopeful sign for the other Aussie films due in coming weeks, including documentary Wild Things (Potential Films), released this Thursday; dramas Long Story Short (Studiocanal) and Unsound (Filmink Presents) due on February 11; and Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s doco Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra (Icon) on February 18.
“With few Hollywood/international productions entering the market over the coming weeks, I expect this to continue for some time,” Village Cinemas national film programming manager Geoff Chard tells If.
- 2/1/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
It’s a rare feat for an Australian film to break through to the top of the box office, let alone for two local titles to lead the weekend’s rankings. But Penguin Bloom and The Dry have done just that.
Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, opened on $1.5 million from 398 screens, or $1.7 million with previews, to come out on top.
Stablemate The Dry was close behind, netting $1.4 million over its fourth weekend to cross $12 million overall. Each film was produced by production company Made Up Stories, led by Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson.
For Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman, both titles’ results are testament to audiences’ desire to support home-grown filmmaking. He argues “now is the time for Australia to champion its bold stories and beautiful locations with the world.”
“It’s remarkable that the two...
Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, opened on $1.5 million from 398 screens, or $1.7 million with previews, to come out on top.
Stablemate The Dry was close behind, netting $1.4 million over its fourth weekend to cross $12 million overall. Each film was produced by production company Made Up Stories, led by Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson.
For Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman, both titles’ results are testament to audiences’ desire to support home-grown filmmaking. He argues “now is the time for Australia to champion its bold stories and beautiful locations with the world.”
“It’s remarkable that the two...
- 1/25/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
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