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Samson and Delilah to open Message Sticks
Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival will this year open with acclaimed new film Samson and Delilah.
Australia's only Indigenous Film festival, Message Sticks, will open this year with the acclaimed new feature film Samson and Delilah. The film will screen at Sydney's Opera House on 7th May to launch the tenth Message Sticks Film Festival.
The festival will host numerous premieres this year including 8 world premieres, one Australian premiere and one Sydney premiere. With its collection of premiere films, Message Sticks remains one of the most important events on the yearly film calendar.
The tenth anniversary of the festival will again be curated by Rachel Perkins and Darren Dale from Blackfella Films and will feature 18 features, documentaries and shorts from emerging Indigenous directors. Warwick Thornton's award winning first feature Samson and Delilah will be opening the festival, and will be part of a retrospective program looking at the director's work including his collections of short films (Greenbush, Nana, Pay Back, Mimi and Country Song) which have all screened at Message Sticks.
Director Richard Frankland will also make his feature film debut at the festival with his as yet untitled road movie starring David Page (Greenbush) and Luke Carroll (Australian Rules). It follows Frankland's short film No Way to Forget which was selected for the Cannes Un Certain Regard.
New Indigenous filmmakers will also have an opportunity to show their stories to large audiences with the New Black program. This program will include a series of seven 10 minute shorts showcasing the work of new Indigenous writers, directors and producers. This program was initiated by the Indigenous branch of Screen Australia and features stories from all over Australia.
Actress Deborah Mailman (The Secret Life of Us, Radiance) will also make her directorial debut at the festival with her short film Ralph, about a young girl who is infatuated with Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio.
The festival will also include a program of international features made by Indigenous filmmakers, including Tibet In Song, a documentary which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Other international films are the features Barking Water and Before Tomorrow.
All the films will be screening for free at the Sydney Opera House. "We are committed to screening the films for free, in order to give access to the stories our filmmakers have to tell and to develop and encourage an Indigenous audience at the [Sydney Opera] House. Another important part of the festival is the chance for audience members to meet and talk with artists," says Sydney Opera House's Chief Executive Richard Evans.
The festival runs from May 7 to May 10, and each session will include a Q&A session after the screening. For more information on Message Sticks, keep an eye on the Sydney Opera House website www.sydneyoperahouse.com.