16, 17, dance little lady dance

film 16: varese, the one all alone. a doco at greater union. oh my goodness, i was falling asleep during this one. no really. i was nodding off as soon as the lights went down. um.. .assaulted by sounds of all descriptions, the vision as obscure as the music at times. probably would've made more sense had i been semi-awake.


film 17: stolen. australian doco at greater union. an amazing story. the film makers say they travelled to western sahara to film a family reunion and ended up embroiled in a country covering up present day slavery. it premiered at the sydney film festival a couple of months ago - and a contingent from west sahara showed up to deny the film's content, including the woman from the original story. very interesting.

then i managed to find my way back to the dance floor and the funpit. yahhh... thanks to those who put up with my frenetic energy. ;)

14, 15

film 14: van gogh: brush with genius. doco at IMAX. really just an overview of his life as a painter - only 8 or 9 years of the 37 he spent on earth. beautiful close ups of some of his more unfamiliar pieces. makes a visit to amsterdam hit the list of the many place to see, the van gogh museum.

i've been walking in the rain all evening. it's been raining all afternoon and into the night. the water on the pavement reflects back at me as i walk, just amazing.


film 15: rem koolhaas: a kind of architect. doco at acmi. too much to take in, but not enough either. felt self-indulgent in a way, even though it wasn't the architect shooting the film. a couple of interesting koolhaas buildings, it seems he considers the whole being of the project, not just the facade.

film free day

met mark, elissa and jamie at section eight before heading to shanghai dumpling for dinner. oh wow! what a fantastic experience. it's a ship 'em in, ship 'em out establishment. tasty, hot food (burned my tongue on the crispy beef) and they stole my half full lemonade off the table before i could grab it. it's like a challenge being thrown down i feel, so i'll be back.

then onto festival hall and...


...the flaming lips concert.


i did hear that flaming lips patrons have a tendency to dress up... there was also a santa claus in the crowd.


this is a pic (courtesy of jamie) of the lead singer walking out over the audience, how cool. there were people dressed as geckos and sheep on the stage, a slide, confetti cannon (i want one of these), huge balloons, fabulous light show. it was a great night, really entertaining. and a break from staring at a screen. ;)

13 (+ trivia)

walked into the city for trivia at the sherlock holmes. pub meal with friends before 4 rounds of questions. we won. YAH us!!


film 13: examined life. another doco at greater union. there were parts i enjoyed, when i was awake. but it was kinda draining to be asked to think wisely or even thoughtfully at 9.30 on a tuesday night. i may have come away with something, i'll have to mull it over a little longer. :)

10, 11, 12

film 10: little joe. a doco at acmi. wasn't too impressed. his 15 minutes of fame rolled out into about 5 years in his late teens, early 20s - making strange films with andy warhol and paul morrissey in the factory. after that there wasn't really anything more to say. a comment i took was when dallesandro was talking about the craziness that was east village ny, "a cup of tea could get you married in a minute".


film 11: balibo. a new australian feature at the forum. besides the fact it was running 45 minutes late (due to the lateness of stupid politicians) this film was SPECTACULAR. heart breaking and engaging and so well told i am very proud to know it's an australian film. you MUST see it. you HAVE to see it. (note the caps for emphasis). a sad and true story. anthony lapaglia was amazing.


film 12: visual acoustics. a doco at greater union. i missed the first 5 or so minutes of this, wasn't even sure i'd go in since i was running so late from the last film, but i'm so glad i dragged my butt up those stairs and into another darkened theatre. a beautiful film on a photographer who brought modernist architecture to a lot of the world. sigh... one day i'll have a glorious home.

(i have a sneaking suspicion they know me at GU now).

6, 7, 8, 9

film 6: the promised land: a swamp pop journey. a doco at greater union. bit of a self-indulgent ramble at times, but some of the music was fantastic. would like to try dancing to it. a couple of quotes that i really liked from the film are -

"after silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
- aldous huxley -

"take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves".
- lewis carrol -



film 7: alphaville. a french noir sci-fi feature from the late 60s. another anna karina film. it was slllooowwww... "i'm fine thanks, don't mention it". catch phrase of the film. caught up with david and carla, dave and claire and jamie for this.


film 8: prime mover. a new australian feature at the forum. a light rom-com about following your dreams and how they can affect others. some dreams change, some don't. enjoyed this one. "i thought you were a gypsy? i'm in real estate". classic.


film 9: no one knows about persian cats. an iranian feature at acmi. bloody FABULOUS. and you must see it. about the underground music scene in tehran. the struggle for permits to play, or visas & passports to get out of the country. a couple trying to put a show together before they leave are attempting to get band members, so they travel the city listening to different types of music. it's a side to the country one doesn't normally see. it shows that we're all the same. very powerful.

1,2,3,4,5

film 1: our city of dreams. a doco at greater union. 5 female artists linked in some way to new york. 2 american born and 3 migrants. the one i didn't find i connected with was the performance artist in her 60s - self flagellation as art. just odd to me, didn't click at all. liked swoon - late 20s, early 30s - street art moving towards stenciling on wood.


film 2: sweet rush. a feature at the forum. i think a polish film and at 3.48 (started at 2.30) the changing reel played backwards and upside down. lights came up and there was a 5-7 minute break where quite a few in the audience took the opportunity to escape. a slow film, and all i was thinking besides am i cold, is i want some sex. well maybe just in the film. :) on the way out i heard someone say... "aha the first of the festival films"... love it.


film 3: anna. feature at acmi. a kooky french musical from the 60s. fantastical. a q&a afterwards with anna karina, more a curiousity really. i swear i had one of those coloured visor bucket hats in the early 70s. and now i want a seethrough coat, technically a raincoat i guess. a film about not seeing what's right in front of you, or beside you. hmm... message in there for some people don't you think? yes, i am aware of the irony.


film 4: thirst. a feature at greater union. mad korean vampire flick. a priest turns "dracula", falls in love, makes up for years of abstinence with a married woman (who actually looks like she's about 12), kills said married woman's husband and then the adventure just gets zanier. hilarious. really enjoyed the insanity.


film 5: black dynamite. another feature at greater union. a bit of a spoof on the 70s blackploitation films, black dynamite was a brilliant ride. karate chopping, breasts heaving, bullets flying. cliche upon cliche upon cliche. and it worked. a fabulous late night audience pleaser.

need sleep.