by Oscar Dow
If you are contemplating a career behind the camera, or are simply interested in how the magic happens, the Inside Cinema program at this year’s Noosa International Film Festival (NIFF) is an absolute must for your calendar (25-28 October, 2018).
NIFF focuses primarily on the production elements of filmmaking, while also providing a venue for Australian films to be screened and appreciated. Being shown at NIFF this year are a collection of short films, as well as 2 feature length pictures.
With a backstory as colourful and surprising as her films, Axel Grigor’s Jill Bilcock: Dancing the Invisible is a wonderful insight into the incredible career of award-winning film editor Jill Bilcock (Strictly Ballroom, Head On, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Elizabeth and Road to Perdition), a name that you need to know.
The feature length documentary also offers a rare glimpse into the rebirth of the Australian film industry in the ‘70s, and includes commentary from Fred Schepisi, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Phil Noyce, Shekhar Kapur and many other notables. The experience of viewing this essential film buffs doco will be vastly improved as the candid Bilcock will speak with Noosa local and fellow ‘70s cinema trailblazer David Williamson after the film.
NIFF will also screen the critically acclaimed TERROR NULLIUS – Soda_Jerk’s political revenge fable which offers an “unwriting” of Australian national mythology. This experimental film samples and remixes some of the most iconic characters, moments and imagery in Australian cinema, and will only be viewable through film festival such as this. Following the screening, a Q&A will be held with Heath Davis (Book Week, Broke) and four-time Academy-Award nominated and Oscar-winning cinematographer, John Seale whose film Mad Max: Fury Road features in Terror Nullius.
Noosa also offers several industry workshops on production, ranging from colour grading to VFX [‘Colour Grading with Blackmagic Design’]. Also available is the Marketing for Creatives workshop which presents an interactive insight into financing and pre-sales within the film industry.
And for a glimpse into the future (and the present for many), Benjamin Richards, Director of Innovation at Cutting Edge, will present the Immerse Yourself 2-hour Virtual Reality Masterclass. If anything, this is an opportunity to give VR a whirl to experience firsthand what all the fuss is about.
All workshops will be held at the Peppers Noosa Resort and Villas on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 October, 2018.
Find all the details of the NIFF program and tickets at www.niff.com.au
