Something different you will notice about this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival program is that every film selected has been screened through the Bechdel Test. For those unfamiliar with the test, it asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man, and the results are interesting to say the least.
The gesture is just one way the festival, headed by Lucy Fisher, is addressing the industry’s much talked about gender divide. There are numerous female filmmakers on the bill, there’s talks dedicated to exploring the issue, and it even filters through to the structure of the festival, which is offering on-site childcare to aid women possibly wanting to attend professional development opportunities.
The program itself features a mix of arthouse, genre pics and crowd-pleasers, with Eddie The Eagle set to open the festival on March 31. The feel-good pic stars Taron Egerton as the courageous British ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics with the aid of his coach, played by Hugh Jackman.
Homegrown highlights include Spear, the genre-bending debut feature from Stephen Page of Sydney’s Bangarra Dance Theatre, which stars Hunter Page-Lochard, star of the upcoming ABC TV series Cleverman; Heath Davis’ locally produced drama Broke starring Steve Le Marquand as a disgraced rugby league star; Joseph Sims-Dennett’s chiller Observance which has taken the international festival circuit by storm; and Rosemary Myers’ quirky comedy Girl Asleep, which screened at the Berlin Film Festival and has drawn comparisons to Wes Anderson.
Star power is on show in the action comedy Mr. Right featuring the talents of Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell; Louder Than Bombs starring French legend Isabelle Huppert alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Gabriel Byrne; and the black comedy The Legend of Barney Thomson starring Emma Thompson, Ray Winstone and Robert Carlyle (who also directs).
International highlights include the German thriller Victoria, which unfolds in real time and in one virtuoso shot; the French/Belgium comedy The Brand New Testament (pictured) starring Catherine Deneuve and Benoit Poelvoorde; and Academy Award nominee Mustang, a confronting coming-of-age tale where five sisters’ lives of innocent fun are shattered.
Along with a host of panel discussions and workshops, the festival is also hosting a handful of family events (E.T. or Ghostbusters under the stars anyone?), a movie trivia night and SIPFest, their annual short film comp that transforms Surfers Paradise beach into a vibrant cinema.
The Gold Coast Film Festival runs from March 31 to April 10. To check out the full program and purchase tickets, visit http://www.gcfilmfestival.com/.
Check out the festival’s trailer below.
