Local talent shines brightly in BBFF2021 shorts selection
As the Byron Bay International Film Festival returns in 2021, its range of feature-length films is again complemented by outstanding shorts from Australia and around the world.
As the Northern Rivers becomes known as ‘Aussiewood’, filmmaker and recent Byron Bay arrival Joelene Crnogorac finds much to mock in the casting process with the first episode of her series All the Way to the Top.
Filmed in Hollywood, it is inspired by Crnogorac’s personal experiences of casting sessions. As would-be stars endure a humiliating interrogation and respond in their own ways, it is a bold and hilarious female-driven comedy that anyone who has worked in film will recognise as one of the industry’s more ridiculous and cringe-worthy traditions.
Crnogorac began working professionally at 13 in the beloved children's television series Round the Twist before going on to star in The Man From Snowy River, Ocean Girl, Raw FM and Neighbours, with feature film credits including The Extra and Irresistible (alongside Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt).
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Tuesday 21 December at 6:30pm
Screens with Only Human (HOMO)
McLeods Shoot resident Robert Sherwood’s visually stunning work has been highlighted in previous festivals, to much acclaim. A graduate of SAE Byron Bay, Sherwood co-directed Our Country with Toby Finlayson.
A film that explores the importance of connecting with country and culture to the South West Rocks community of Dunghutti Country, Sherwood’s own connection to nature helps define his strong style of cinematography.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 19 December at 4:00pm
Screens with Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness
Ryan Lee is another local cinematographer whose work shines in Andrew Kaineder’s Mourning Country. A highly acclaimed and awarded surf filmmaker, Kaineder steps into charred bushland to follow Budawang elder Noel Butler after the loss of his home and the local Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
In this passionate, heart-wrenching story, Butler mourns not for the structures that once stood, but for the flora and fauna we share this land with.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Saturday 18 December at 6:15pm
Screens with Green Is The New Black
R J Poole’s usual spot is behind the camera, capturing striking images of others, and creating mythical or topical stories from them.
In the short documentary Inner Portraits, the charismatic Lismore photographer becomes the subject as, interspersed with some of his compelling photos, he relates his mainly enjoyable but occasionally horrific experiences as a young soldier in Australia’s SAS Regiment.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 19 December at 6:35pm
Screens with I’m Wanita
Further afield, the festival features an eclectic and entertaining mix of films from other parts of Australia and throughout the globe.
Writer and director Max Hemmings cut his teeth as an editor in London after graduating from the Australian Film & Television School’s (AFTRS) Directing program.
The Kicked Dog, his black comedy about two aged East End gangsters stars Alan Ford (Snatch, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels) and Clive Russell (Game of Thrones).
The feuding brothers, relics from a bygone era and consumed with toxic male pride, embark on a low-rent heist and make some headway at reconciliation. But they may have left it too late?
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Tuesday 21 December at 6:30pm
Screens with Only Human (HOMO)
Created by fellow AFTRS graduate Nicholas Clifford, The Handyman stars Alison Whyte (The Dressmaker) and Nathaniel Dean (Alien: Covenant, The Nightingale and Walking on Water).
Alone at her country estate, Evelyn is about to end her life but is interrupted by the arrival of an awkward but endearing handyman. Evelyn’s desire to make him leave collides with his need of a job and Evelyn discovers the poor man has problems of his own.
The collision of two wounded souls provides both with a moment of reprieve from their unhappiness to find a new perspective. Equal parts amusing and heart-warming, it’s an account of best-laid plans being forced off-course.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Monday 20 December at 6:30pm
Screens with The Seeds of Vandana Shiva
Shelter takes us to the living rooms of the world, where 176 dancers perform solo lockdown dances as a way to deal with COVID-19 induced isolation and both express their sense of loss while finding a means of escape from it.
Martin Ponferrada’s poignant film takes the simplest of materials - a lone dancer, at home - and transforms it into art that uplifts and adds to our own personal portfolio of ways to cope with solitude and uncertainty.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Tuesday 21 December at 4:00pm
Screens with Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness
Continuing the theme of pandemic-imposed isolation, Perfect Storm demonstrates the endurance of the beauty of nature and humanity’s interconnectedness.
Directed by Morag Brownlie, it follows one man’s enforced isolation on the wild west coast of Auckland. Pacing into the unknown, he wonders if those dear to him will ever be seen again.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 19 December at 4:00pm
Screens with Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness
Mirador
An equally experimental look at performance art comes in Mirador, a dreamlike ballet featuring performance artist, Angela Goh, as she uses movement to navigate through the labyrinthine interior of the Phoenix Central Park building in New York.
Goh’s exploration takes us down stairwells, corridors, dark corners and doorways that suddenly open out onto rooftops, conveying the mysterious truth of some buildings — that there is always more to discover.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Tuesday 21 December at 4:15pm
Screens with A Machine to Live In
Drama, rivalry, ambition – with sponge cakes and marmalade. Step inside the secretive world of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) ladies who judge its cooking and baking competitions. How did they secure their role? Who judges the judges?
Self-described ‘chicks with attitude’, the everyday CWA members are a force to be reckoned with, a quality monumentally embodied by the judges.
Adelaide-based Marion Pilowsky’s CWA: Judgement Day is a funny and fascinating look at the not-so quiet Australian women who are the backbone of rural living.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 19 December at 6:30pm
Screens with Meet the Wallers at Palace Cinemas
Local free divers will appreciate Lotus, an invitation to dive deep within, reconnect with the soul and experience the profound power of life.
Created by Angelika Furstler and Austin Ahlborg, the French production was filmed underwater in the sacred Mayan Cenotes and tells the story of growth from pain, anxiety and fear to surrender, coherence, harmony and flow.
The Lotus flower is regarded in many cultures as a symbol of rebirth, growth and transformation and this film is an expression of that process. Just like the lotus seed grows from dark waters to become the most beautiful flower, we too have the ability to grow to our full potential.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Tuesday 21 December at 4:00pm
Screens with Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness
Finally, Jane Ballentyne’s comedy drama Dandelion is a story about supporting the one you love through their mental health journey.
Interested in creating serious comedy that exposes universal vulnerabilities through quirks, Ballentyne revels in showcasing female protagonists as shambolic and nuanced - a dishevelled and relatable antidote to the ‘strong female character’ trope.
SESSION TIMES
Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 19 December at 1:45pm
Screens with Meet the Wallers
Opening with a special screening event in Lennox Head on Friday 17 December, BBFF2021 continues for another four days at Palace Cinemas Byron Bay.
Up to two short films will precede most feature length sessions, with session times and tickets available through the BBFF website and via Palace Cinemas.