Ab Film Review & The Last New Wave

Aussie indie filmmaker powerhouse Heath Davis is back with his fourth feature film, Christmess. This seasonally appropriate flick follows on fom his grounded work with his solid debut film Broke, in 2016. Heath quickly followed this up with the black comedy Book Week, before swerving into thriller territory with Locusts.Here we follow washed up alcoholic actor Chris Flint - the never better Steve Le Marquand - who's getting out of rehab just in time for Christmas. He arrives at the halfway house run by Nick - a phenomenal turn from Darren Gilshenan - only to meet a fellow recovering addict Joy - played by Middle Kids lead singer Hannah Joy. Together they aim to make the best Christmas they can have, while also getting Chris onto the path of some kind of normal.Christmess sees Heath at his very best, showing a drive and fight for indie storytelling here in Australia that we would usually attribute to that of the American indie filmmakers. There's a sense of honest Australiana at work here as the heat of a summ

Much of what I do with The Curb is in a bid to shine a light on voices that may not often get the chance to be heard. That mindset carries through with director Marion Pilowsky's tenderly empathetic and joyfully curious documentary Isla's Way. Here we meet Isla Roberts.Isla isn't a lesbian. She's not a lezzo. She's not a dyke. She's just Isla Roberts.She lives with her 'friend' Susan and throughout the course of the film we hear their stories. Isla is persistent and resilient, living for her country and the ponies she rides with. She's shaped by the land and the land has shaped her soul and world view.In reflecting on the past, we see the way Australia has changed and shifted thanks to the women of the nation. Isla is a proud feminist, and her efforts to ensure that the women of the region are supported in their endeavours is rewarded by having a street named after her.Isla talks about a man she meets in a supermarket who has a broken back. He sees her hugging a friend and he asks 'What does one need to do to

When the short story Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian was published in The New Yorker in 2017, it immediately went viral with readers resonating with the way modern day dating can quickly turn toxic. It's a compelling place for director Susanna Fogel to build from with her adaptation of the short story, scripted by Michelle Ashford.Here, Cat Person follows Emilia Jones' Margot, a ticket person at a cinema in America. She awkwardly encounters Robert, played by Nicholas Braun, and eventually the two start dating. He tells her that he owns cats, and outwardly seems like a pleasant individual, but as the relationship continues and Margot visits his house, she realises: there are no cats.Meanwhile, Margot's friend Taylor, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, is ringing verbal alarm bells over Robert. Is he the man he actually appears to be? Or, is there something nefarious at play?This tension builds to a masterfully staged sex scene between Margot and Robert which presents the action of consent playing out.In the foll

Scott Hicks is an Academy Award nominated director, with his Best Picture nominated film Shine bringing his work to international attention, alongside the work of the films subject, pianist David Helfgott.We're now some twenty-six years removed from the release of Shine, and the echoes of its impact continues to resonate within the creative minds of those who have become vessels for music. In Scott's latest film, The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, he explores just how that well of creativity is tapped into as he follows the lives and stories of four interconnected artists.First is David Helfgott, the centrepoint for each figure and a vital creative force who encourages, inspires, and energises those around him. Moments with his wife, the late Gillian Helfgott, show a supportive, nurturing relationship at work; one where Gillian sees the brilliance of David's mind and the manner that it operates and navigates his path of musicality.Then we meet the man who as a boy played the role of a young David Helfgo

Every so often a presence swirls into our lives in an unexpected manner and changes it just a little bit. For many Australians, whether they be wealthy or not-so-wealthy, that presence is David Bromley. Here is a celebrated artist whose work features on the walls of galleries and private art collectors, while the same artwork adorns cologne labels, reusable water bottles, and more. As mentioned in Sean McDonald's raucous and energetic documentary Bromley: Light After Dark, in Australian cinemas from today, David's work gives people hope, and hope is not something that should be restrained for those who want to access it by how much money is in your bank account. What this means for Bromley as an artist is that his work is everywhere. His critics would say he's overproduced and mass marketed, while his supporters - myself being one of them - would say that he's making high art accessible to all.Either way you look at it, a David Bromley art piece is a slice of his personality, and through Bromley: Light A

Madeleine Dyer is a writer, actor, director, and producer, whose body of work includes the 2017 comedy series Sexy Herpes, the acclaimed comedy series Colin from Accounts, where she worked with her sister Harriet Dyer, and now her latest film, A Savage Christmas, out in cinemas on 16 November 2023.A Savage Christmas tells the story of the Savage family as they meet for a sweaty summer Christmas in Queensland. After years of estrangement, trans woman Davina, played by Thea Raveneua, returns home with her partner Kane, played by co-writer Max Jahufer. Davina's well meaning parents, James (played by David Roberts) and Brenda (played by Helen Thomson), are still coming to terms with her transition and in a distinictly Aussie boomer-ish fashion, they struggle to understand the importance of pronouns and transitioning.Davina naturally expects her transition to be the focus of the family dinner, but her brother Jimmie Jr (Ryan Morgan) brings a cyclone of disruption along his way with a looming debt he needs to pay t

Radheya Jegatheva is a Perth based filmmaker. His work includes the award winning short Pacing the Pool, about Perth local Richard Pace, and The Quiet, an animated film about an astronaut contemplating existence.His latest short animated film, Bird Drone, is a collaboration with writer Clare Toonen and producer Hannah Ngo. It tells the story of a seagull who finds an unexpected connection with a human-operated drone. Presented in a striking painterly style, this animation features a wonderful use of natural sound design by Keith Thomas.In the following interview, Radheya talks about the collaborative process of working with Clare and Hannah, what it means to work alongside his father, Jay Jay Jegathesan, an accomplished performer in his own right, and what Radheya's interest in animation is.Bird Drone has screened at the Academy Award qualifying Warsaw International Film Festival, and will screen at the upcoming Joy House Film Festival on 12 November in Sydney.To find out more about the film, visit here and t

With her delicate and gentle drama Damage, director Madeleine Blackwell has crafted a parable that layers grief, trauma, a sense of location and what it means to live away from home, and more into an emotionally enriching experience. Damage follows Ali, played by Ali Al Jenabi, a refugee in Australia using a friends taxi license to earn some small aspect of a living. As he drives the streets of Adelaide at night, he picks up Esther, played by Madeleine's mother Imelda Bourke.Esther is a lost soul who's unsure of the name of where she needs to go, and certainly has no idea of how to get there. Equally so, Ali is unfamiliar with the streets, relying solely on a soulless GPS device to guide him where he needs to go. At first, their relationship is a fractured one, with Ali quickly becoming frustrated with Esther's inability to tell him where he needs to go. Equally so, Esther's frustration is levelled at how Ali is treating her, as well as her ambivalence in regards to his accent.On paper, Damage suggests that i

Filmmaker, critic, and cultural historian Bill Mousoulis has forged a career as, in the truest sense of the word, an independent filmmaker in Australia. His filmography spans over decades, with his works showcasing a keen sense of curiosity for the world around him, whether it be Greece, Melbourne, or as in his latest film My Darling in Stirling, the humble city of Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.In the following interview, recorded ahead of the world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival, Bill talks about the inspiration for My Darling in Stirling, while also touching on what it means to be an Australian filmmaker working right now.I've long respected and looked up to Bill for his work alongside Chris Luscri as they champion Australian independent cinema with their ongoing screenings under the banner of Unknown Pleasures, all the while Bill has fostered a support for alternative Australian cinema with his website Pure Shit. It was a pleasure to be able to talk with Bill about his work, both as a filmmaker an

Garth Davis is a filmmaker who has explored the human need for connection in his films. Whether it's in his Best Picture nominee Lion, or in his latest film, Foe, that sense of being one with the person you love is a tangible thread throughout his career. In the following interview, Garth talks about that sense of connection, while also talking about one of the core themes of the film: Artificial Intelligence.Foe stars Saoirse Ronan as Hen and Paul Mescal as Junior. They are Midwest lovers in the future who find their lives upturned when an unexpected visitor played by Aaron Pierre arrives to tell them that Junior is to be sent to space for some time. As a replacement and for company, Pierre's mysterious man proposes that they create an artificial clone of Junior to keep Hen company. From here, the science-fiction and dramatic tone of Foe interweaves Ronan and Mescal bouncing off one another.Foe is in Australia cinemas from November 2.To listen to other interviews, visit TheCurb.com.au Hosted on Acast. See ac

Filmmaker Anupam Sharma talks about his new documentary Brand Bollywood Downunder in this in depth interview which touches on the cross-cultural relationship between India and Australia on screen, what makes a Bollywood film a Bollywood film, and about the Australian Indian Visual Co-Production treaty.Anupam is the director of cross-culture films like UNindian and The Run, and has worked on a line producer for major Bollywood films like Love Story 2050 and Prem Aggan, both of which feature in Brand Bollywood Downunder.To launch the film, Anupam is touring around Australia, with screenings in Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, the Gold Coast, and more. To find out where Brand Bollywood Downunder is screening, visit the Facebook page for the film here.The listen to other interviews, visit TheCurb.com.au. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Andrew interviews celebrated author Paullina Simons about her latest novel, Light at Lavelle. It tells the story Finn Evans, a Bostonian banker who at the end of the 1920s finds his life unexpectedly swirling into the orbit of Isabelle Lazar, a young Ukrainian farmer. Light at Lavelle takes readers on a journey over the breadth of its five hundred plus pages of romance fiction through stories of war, unspeakable hardships, and the unexpected unions that arise during these difficult times.In the following interview, Paullina talks about her own emotional journey of bringing her characters stories to life, especially as she is the first person to get to know them and hear their stories. Paullina also talks about the emotional connection that her readers have built up with her over the years since her worldwide best seller debut Tully and her bestselling novel The Bronze Horseman. She also talks about bringing herself into the world of her novels, amongst many other fascinating topics.Light at L

On this episode, Andrew chats with director Matt Vesely about his feature film debut Monolith.Monolith is a chilling sci-fi thriller follows a journalist, played by Lily Sullivan, whose livelihood is at stake after a defamation case threatens her career. In a bid to escape the pressure of the case, she heads to her parents remote home and starts working on a podcast called Beyond Believable, a show that looks at unbelievable true stories. Over the following taut and tense ninety minutes, the journalists world unravels as a story about mysterious black bricks that appear in peoples lives come to her attention. The more she interviews people, the deeper the mystery takes her.In this interview, Matt talks about the process that he employs to create a personality for an inanimate object, about how the writer Lucy Campbell, producer Bettina Hamilton, and himself gave Lily Sullivan the space to build a performance where she is the only character we see on screen, and just what exactly is going on in South Australia

In this double interview episode, Andrew chats with two of the creative minds behind Ben Affleck's latest film, Air. Air tells the story of how sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) pursued Michael Jordan and changed history for Nike and basketball with the creation of the iconic Air Jordan shoe.First up is Academy Award winning editor William Goldenberg who reunites with Affleck for the fourth time, having won the Best Editing Oscar for Argo. Bill talks about the short hand that he and Ben have built up over the years, how he creates emotion within an edit, and more.Following this interview is costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones. Charlese talks about her work creating era-specific clothing for the actors, the difficulty of sourcing material from the 80s, and how she helps the actors create their characters with their costumes.Air is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime. Read Nadine's review of Air here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Andrew chats to writer, director, and editor Adrian Powers about his new film Love is in the Air. This romantic drama tells the story of Dana, played by Delta Goodrem in her return to acting. Dana is a seaplane pilot in Far North Queensland and when she's not monitoring the region from the skies, she's delivering much needed supplies to remote communities. Her job is thrown into disarray when the business that helps fund the operation sends the handsome William (Joshua Sasse) to come and value the business with the intention of decommissioning it. Naturally, romance ensues. Supporting actors include Aussie icons like Roy Billing and Steph Tisdell.In the following interview, Adrian talks about working in a Hallmark-model of film and TV production in Australia with Jaggi Entertainment, he also talks about the contrast of a film like Love is in the Air with his earlier work like the short film Brolga, which was partially shot in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. We also talk about the need for light

In this episode, Andrew interview filmmaker Heidi Lee Douglas about her new film Suka. Written by Tsu Shan Chambers and Lily Cheng, this neon-soaked action flick tells a story that spans decades, detailing the the fury that rages between two feuding families in Western Sydney. Suka is both a multi-cultural Romeo and Juliet style revenge film, with a touch of real-life events thrown into the mix. In this interview Heidi talks about the importance of casting actors who could handle both the acting requirements as well as the fighting sequences, while also touching on the value of global appreciation of the banner term 'genre filmmaking' when it comes to horror, action, and sci-fi films. Additionally, Heidi talks about the role that neon plays in storytelling. Suka is available on demand right now and is released by Umbrella Entertainment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listeners are advised that this podcast includes mention of sexual assault and trauma.In this episode, Andrew interviews writer and director Matthew Holmes about his latest film, The Cost. This is a searing vigilante thriller that tells the story of two men, David and Aaron, who abduct the newly released felon Troy to inflict their own version of justice and retribution. While on paper The Cost appears to be a routine rape-revenge film, it eschews the genre trappings to become a grounded thriller that explores the potential brutality of masculinity.In the following interview, which contains slight spoilers, Matthew talks about the construction of the film, how he framed the tension with cinematographer Cable Williams, and what work the actors did to get into the mindspace of three characters who are pushed to horrifying places.The Cost is receiving a limited run in Australian cinemas from October 5th before heading to physical media by Madman films. To find out the details for screenings and where to buy tick

In this episode Andrew interviews Dena Curtis and Citt Williams who are the producers behind the new NITV four part series Rebel With a Cause. This compelling and engaging documentary series follows four First Nations trailblazers - Senator Neville Bonner, poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, magistrate Pat O'Shane, and radio presenter and media icon Tiga Bayles - and ultimately asks the question of what does it take to make a difference in the world?In the following interview Dena and Citt talk about their work as producers and what it means to delve into culturally sensitive archives and present these stories on screen. Additionally, they reflect on the importance of recontexutalising archives that have so often been curated or managed by white people. To say that Rebel With a Cause is an essential series feels like an understatement. It's arriving at a time where Australia as a nation is going through a major change, with the referendum on the Voice to Parliament being decided on October 14. Within the stories of Nevi

On this episode Andrew chats with Aussie filmmaker Jack Dignan about his found footage horror film, Puzzle Box. Olivia (Laneikka Denne) heads out to a remote house in the woods to help her sister Kait (Kaitlyn Boyé) rehabilitate and escape her life of addiction. Olivia aims to document the process, almost in a way to show how far Kait will heal and change. Little does she know, instead of documenting Kait's rehabilitation, she instead manages to document the labyrinth-like house that they become trapped in where time loops over itself and unsettling events occur in the night. Puzzle Box will have its Australian Premiere at the upcoming A Night of Horror International Film Festival in Sydney on September 29. This is the second time that Jack has had a film screen at the festival, with his previous film After She Died winning the Best Australian Feature Film and Best Australian Feature Performance in 2022. Jack talks about where his interest in found footage films comes from, how working on films like Marvel's

Oh hey, would you believe it, Awards Don't Matter is back. After almost a two year break, we're back with an episode from the vault where David Giannini and Andrew F Peirce discuss the 1946 Best Picture winner The Best Years of Our Lives. Winner of an impressive seven Academy Awards, including Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Frederic March), and Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), The Best Years of Our Lives is widely considered one of the great Best Picture winners. But don't trust everyone else! Listen to two dudes who chat about whether it's good or not and ask whether The Best Years of Our Lives matters any more. We aim to bring more episodes in the future, including a promised discussion on It's a Wonderful Life very soon. And while we mention AwardsDontPod on Twitter, well, that place doesn't really exist anymore, so just make sure you're subscribed to The Curb podcast feed for updates. Clips presented in this episode: The Best Years of Our Lives trailer // Homer and Wilma scene // "And f