Regional venues are stepping up to act as the new home of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal is among regional theatres that will now premiere films for the festival, while the greater metropolitan area remains under lockdown and unable to hold in-cinema screenings.
The Royal will host a selection of additional films over the next fortnight, including world premieres and live Q&A’s with some of the directors and crew located in regional Victoria.
Venue operator Felicity Cripps said her team felt incredibly fortunate to be able to host such a prestigious festival in their town.
“While we can’t help but get super excited about this amazing program, we would like to extend our sympathies and love to all our friends and fellow entertainment venues in the city,” Felicity said.
“This is an exhausting and harrowing time for those in the arts, entertainment and hospitality sectors.
“Please remember to support local businesses and artists whenever you can and to be kind and thoughtful to each other, especially during such uneasy times.”
One of the starring films of the festival is Little Tornadoes (pictured), an affecting period drama depicting a newly-single father’s efforts to weather the turbulence of change – in his life and in the world around him.
Co-written by The Slap author Christos Tsiolkas, this accomplished second narrative feature from MIFF Accelerator Lab alumnus Aaron Wilson (Canopy) distils the many upheavals of 1970s Australia – from immigration and post-war resettlement, to urbanisation, anti–Vietnam War protests and the women’s liberation movement – into a narrative about one man’s struggle to adapt.
The moody, textural cinematography by Stefan Duscio (The Dry) conjures a rural backwater that is both specific to its time period and almost untethered from time, while the performances by Mark Leonard Winter (Balibo, MIFF Premiere Fund 2009) as protagonist Leo, Robert Menzies (Glitch) as his traumatised WWII-vet father and Silvia Colloca (Van Helsing) as Maria inject spirit into a story with loss at its core.
Supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund, Little Tornadoes is a portrait of a country at a turning point and the human desire for connection.
See the full festival program on the theatre’s website at: theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au
