This year’s Brisbane International Film Festival has officially opened—a Queensland movie fan’s best chance at seeing the year’s most diverse and exciting films. With screenings presented by the Australian Cinématheque at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art, BIFF is no longer just the name of Marty McFly’s nemesis; it’s an unmissable movie event.
The festival’s lineup includes over 70 films, as well as a short film competition, and a terrific selection of documentaries and Australian premieres. The director of the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art Chris Saines has celebrated the selections, exclaiming that: “We are delighted to celebrate diverse local and international storytelling with this opportunity for film-lovers to return to cinemas.”
High Ground was selected as the festival’s opening film. Starring Simon Baker and newcomer Jacob Junior Nayinggul, this period drama is a gritty examination of colonial Australia and its subjugation of Indigenous peoples. The teaser trailer below gives us untold history, brutal action, and sweeping vistas of Arnhem Land, the kind of storytelling and filmmaking that’s only possible in Australia.
There’s also some terrific international releases at BIFF, including Felicità, billed as a French cousin to Little Miss Sunshine, some American indie features starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Marisa Tomei, and Liev Schrieber, and the latest from one of my fave auteurs, Roy Andersson. There’s even the intriguing documentary Vivos, directed by conceptual artist Ai Weiwei himself!
For more information on this year’s Brisbane International Film Festival‘s lineup, hop on over to their website.
