By Travis Johnson
The Australian premiere of Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake: China Girl is the highlight of MIFF 66, with the prestige TV series being among the first titles announced for the venerable film festival. It joins James Gray’s archaeological adventure, The Lost City of Z; Kriv Stenders’ twofer Australia Day and The Go-Betweens: Right Here; Mountain, Jennifer Peedom’s follow-up to Everest, and more – certainly a promising opening salvo.
Michelle Carey, the festival’s artisic director, said, “We’re hoping that this sneak peek of the 2017 program gives you a taste of what’s to come. The calibre of films on offer this year is very impressive, from Australian stalwart Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake: China Girl to breakout hit Patti Cake$, MIFF brings you the story of the world through curated and unforgettable screen experiences.”
And the films are:
Top of the Lake: China Girl (Australia)
A crime mystery story that finds Detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) investigating the body of an Asian girl washed up on Bondi Beach Also starring Nicole Kidman, Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), David Dencik (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Ewen Leslie (The Daughter) and Alice Englert (The Boyfriend Game, MIFF 16).
Golden Exits (USA)
The latest film from Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Phillip MIFF 14; Queen of Earth, MIFF 15), an unnerving ensemble drama shot on 16mm that boasts a star-studded cast led by Emily Browning, Chloë Sevigny, Jason Schwartzman with Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz and a moody score by Keegan De Witt.
The Lost City of Z (USA)
James Gray’s (The Immigrant MIFF 14) sumptuous and poignant Amazon adventure based on real life explorer Percy Fawcett’s quest to find the fabled city of El Dorado, starring Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson and featuring lush 35mm cinematography by Darius Khondji.
The Go-Betweens – Right Here (Australia)
Kriv Stenders’ documentary charting the four-decade long story of beloved indie rock band The Go-Betweens, in their own words and with never-before-seen archival footage.
Australia Day (Australia)
Again from Stenders, an excoriating, illuminating take on our country’s most fraught debate, set over a pulse-racing 12 hours on 26 January with a powerhouse ensemble cast including Bryan Brown, Matthew Le Nevez, Sean Keenan, Shari Sebbens and Jenny Wu (who also features in Top of the Lake: China Girl).
Ali’s Wedding (Australia)
Based on the real-life experience of lead actor Osamah Sami’s ill-fated arranged marriage the absurd and poignant tale about family in multicultural Australia stars Don Hany with direction by Jeffrey Walker (Jack Irish: Bad Debts, MIFF 12).
That’s Not Me (Australia)
Gregory Erdstein’s (Two Devils, MIFF 14) charming feature debut about a young woman and aspiring actor who takes advantage of her identical twin sister’s success and fame, featuring an impressive performance by writer/star Alice Foulcher in dual roles.
Mountain (Australia)
Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa, MIFF 15) returns to the mountains that so captivate her in a unique cinematic and musical collaboration. Narrated by Willem Dafoe.
The Silent Eye (Australia)
Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Hail MIFF 11; Ruin, MIFF 13) captures two legends – free jazz pioneer Cecil Taylor and modern dance artist Min Tanaka – in an intimate performance piece like no other.
Song to Song (USA)
Terrence Malick brings us a beautiful love story set against the backdrop of the Austin music scene, with a luminous cast including Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett.
The Party (UK)
Sally Potter’s (Ginger and Rosa, MIFF 12) caustic comic satire of a broken, post-Brexit England features a fanstastic ensemble headed by Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson and Timothy Spall.
Call Me By Your Name (Italy)
A sensuous story of first love and the end of adolescence. The director of A Bigger Splash, Luca Guadagnino, presents a passionate Italian summer romance headed by Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet.
But A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
Featuring a determined, defiant titular character and a stunning performance by transgender actress Daniela Vega, Sebastián Lelio’s latest is beguiling character study, delivering a nuanced and moving account of a vital fight for love, acceptance, and respect that won both Best Screenplay and Best LGBT Film at Berlin.
Daphne (UK)
Peter Mackie Burns’ nuanced debut feature is character study about a dissatisfied young woman in present-day London featuring a superb performance from Emily Beecham in title role.
Patti Cake$ (USA)
A triumphant tale of how music can give a nobody a voice, the film belongs to Australian acting discovery Danielle McDonald, who was dubbed the breakout star of Sundance for her sensational performance as the New Jersey battler and hailed as the “Next Big Thing” by The Hollywood Reporter.
Pop Aye (Thailand)
The warm and ever-so-strange tale of a Bangkok architect, his elephant and 300 miles of mid-life crisis, which won the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at Sundance and the Big Screen Award at Rotterdam.
God’s Own Country (UK)
Francis Lee’s emotionally rich feature debut captures the quiet yearning of forbidden romance with heated sex scenes and a documentary-like depiction of British rural life that subverts the familiar path taken by queer love stories.
The Endless (USA)
An engrossing high-concept horror centered on two brothers following their escape from a cult. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead write, direct and star in a film of creeping dead that is part horror, part science fiction, which skirts the supernatural and keeps the audience guessing until the very end.
Loving Vincent (UK).
Oscar-winning filmmaker Hugh Welchman (Peter and the Wolf) and Polish painter Dorota Kobiela bring the story of Vincent Van Gogh’s last days to the screen in the world’s first feature-length painted animation, where every single frame is an oil painting.
STEP (USA)
Charts the senior year of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women step-dance team as they chase dual dreams – to be state champions and to be the first in their families to go to college – against the backdrop of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
I Am Not Your Negro (USA)
A stirring portrait of the writer, civil rights activist and queer icon James Baldwin and his lifelong fight against racial and sexual injustice, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
City of Ghosts (USA)
Filmmaker Matthew Heinemann’s (Cartel Land, MIFF 15) new film focuses on the anonymous activists of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently in the heartland of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate.
A Gray State (USA)
A riveting murder mystery, a political thriller and an unparalleled psychological profile of a mind descending into paranoia. In 2012, Iraq veteran David Crowley posted a YouTube trailer for his planned libertarian opus, Gray State, warning of America’s looming Second Civil War. Three years on, the rising alt-right filmmaker, his Muslim wife and their daughter were found slaughtered, “Allahu Akbar” smeared on the walls in blood.
Pecking Order (New Zealand)
Follows the members of the 148-year-old Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon Club as they prepare for the National Show. Their president has brought them championship glory over the years, but is now facing off against the next generation of poultry fanciers who seem determined to knock down this award-winning cock of the walk.
Spookers (New Zealand)
Welcome to a former psychiatric hospital outside Auckland, where visitors gather to be petrified by killer clowns and zombies at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest ‘scream park’. Spookers reveals the personalities beneath the costumes, wigs and greasepaint with characteristic affection and humour in this funny, compelling documentary.
Also announced are several titles from the short film program: A Gentle Night (China), Small Town (Portugal), DeKalb Elementary (USA), and The Hedonists (Hong Kong).
The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from from August 3 to 20, 2017. The full program will be announced on Tuesday 11 July, with public tickets on sale Friday 14 July. For more info, hit up the official site.
