During closing night festivities, Melbourne International Film Festival Artistic Director Michelle Carey thanked the hard working bloggers who watched and wrote about 60 films in 17 days. Except they weren’t even invited to the event, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Melbourne international film festival
The cinema of life: when a film triggers a memory and that memory becomes reality
Crikey film critic Luke Buckmaster reminisces on 15 years of film reviewing and explains what happened during the most surreal cinema experience of his life.
Fairies, a hissing microphone, red onion tart canapes and fine company
Bleary-eyed Luke Buckmaster reviews the opening night of the Melbourne International Film Festival, from the lesser-quality cinema for the pleb guests to the brilliant film The Fairy, which opened the festival.
Ten picks for the 2011 Melbourne International Film Festival
The 2001 Melbourne International Film Festival, which kicks off later this week, presents another diverse catalogue of films from around the globe. Luke Buckmaster selects ten titles that scream “must-see” in big capital letters.
Daily Proposition: Watch Williams go dark in jet-black comedy
It is virtually impossible not to use words like ‘restrained’ to describe Robin Williams’s mild-mannered performance in The World’s Greatest Dad, a superb jet black indie comedy from writer/director Bobcat Boldthwait, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Film review: My Dog Tulip – poignant and profane
Adapted from a novel by J.R. Ackerley, this eloquently told woofs and all portrait of the author’s close relationship with a cheeky Alsatian boasts an appealing mixture of lofty ideas and low brow humour, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Controversy at MIFF: festival director defies filmmaker demands
Crikey can reveal through a series of leaked emails that the makers of the acclaimed film Son of Babylon repeatedly requested for it to be removed from this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, in protest of the festival’s funding associations with Israel. Despite their protests the film remained on the program.
Straight horror porn good, gay zombie porn banned
So, filming supposedly-alternative ladies with breast implants actually getting terrorised in the woods is fine with everyone. But a presumably cheeky zombie satire featuring consenting actors poking their dicks in rubber cement is a crime, writes Andrew Tijs.
Film review: The 10 Conditions of Love
Luke Buckmaster reviews the new film about the life, career and advocacy work of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, that has caused so much controversy for the government and Melbourne International Film Festival. Whilst highly topical, he says, it’s a listless and un-enticing documentary.
China does its best to make Uyghur all but pronounceable
Two months ago, virtually no Australians would have heard of Rabiya Kadeer or the Uyghur people. The Chinese government has done a lot to change that.
Chinese hackers get festivals confused
In a case of probable mistaken identity, the Melbourne International Arts Festival’s website — not the Melbourne International Film Festival — was hacked by Chinese nationalists.
Essay: the thin light shone by Rebiya Kadeer
It seems so long ago that we thought of the Chinese as the “nice” communists, writes Peter Craven.
How Tarantino found, then lost, The Mack
An unfortunate sequence of events may go some way to explaining Quentin Tarantino’s red-carpet surliness at yesterday afternoon’s Inglourious Basterds premier. Can you help cheer him up?
Crikey Says: China’s juvenile jabs at Australia
China is using some pretty juvenile tactics to attempt to attack the Melbourne International Film Festival, and they’re simply drawing attention to the plight of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Tips and rumours: Why can ABC jobs only be Sydney or Melbourne?
In today’s tips & rumours section, the Melbourne Film Festival website under attack, Labor in-fighting in Queensland and WA and ABC jobs stick to the big smoke.
Chinese cyber terrorism: what it means for Australia
The hacking of the Melbourne International Film Festival website is a form of cyber terrorism and should be of concern to the Chinese government and Australia-China relations, says Catherine A Yeung.
Miffed at MIFF: indigenous community raises questions over Festival funding
Conflicting accounts have emerged over the nature of funding provided to the Melbourne International Film Festival by the City of Melbourne.
