by Dov Kornits
Following their recent first look announcement, Perth’s celebration of everything cinematically wonderful, interesting and progressive, has revealed their full selection for the festival kicking off on July 12 with the Australian premiere of Devil’s Peak by local director Ben Young (Hounds of Love).
Altogether screening 17 documentaries, 16 feature films, a locally made web series (Love Me Lex), the annual Industrial Revelations industry programme of talks/workshops, a family friendly and free animation showcase, 80+ short films and a number of rich retrospectives, Rev ’23 promises to be one of the best yet.
NEW FILMS
Devil’s Peak – Ozark meets Winter’s Bone in this American crime drama starring Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright, Jackie Earle Haley and Hopper Penn, with local actors Emma Booth and Harrison Gilbertson also featuring, this is produced by See Pictures (Breath) and directed by Western Australian Ben Young.
The Integrity of Joseph Chambers – Highly anticipated follow up collaboration between director Robert Machoian and Producer/Star Clayne Crawford (The Killing of Two Lovers), this is another examination of masculinity in crisis, also starring Jordana Brewster and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Unidentified Objects – American indie multiple award winner about a couple of oddballs who hit the road and encounter various social outcasts, could be the surprise packet of the fest.
Mammalia [above] – Romanian cult curio that premiered at Berlinale, also exploring masculinity in crisis, although this time through a surreal lens.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline – Co-written and starring Ariela Barer, and also starring Lukas Gage and Sasha Lane, this US environmental thriller is exactly what it says on the box, with added character development.
An Untitled and Perfectly Legal Coming of Age Parody Film – Originally titled The People’s Joker, which upset our friends at Warner Bros., resulting in the film being pulled from its second screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Vera Drew’s post-modern story of a transitioning stand-up comedian is an essential Rev experience.
Riceboy Sleeps – Festival darling from Canada, set in the ‘90s, about a young kid and his determined Korean emigre single mother.
I Like Movies – How can you resist with a title like that? Another nostalgic piece from Canada, this one set in the 2000s, about a movie obsessed teenager who gets a job at a video store; remember those, the most desirable job for a teenager ever!
Holy Shit! – Speaking of irresistible titles, this horror is from Germany, a cousin to our own Kenny, about an architect who wakes up in a portaloo.
Enter Mycel – Micro budget dystopian psychological drama from Austria, which marks an auspicious debut from Daniel Limmer.
Shin Ultraman – Manga comes to life in this superhero film from the team behind Shin Godzilla.
Bolan’s Shoes – Bittersweet UK comedy inspired by seventies culture and specifically T-Rex and glam rock mania. Features the ubiquitous Timothy Spall.
Frank and Frank – Sophomore feature from Albany writer/director Adam Morris (Edward and Isabella), a bromance starring Myles Pollard and Trevor Jamieson, filmed on location in Albany and Mt Barker, WA.
RETROSPECTIVES
Maniac Cop – Cult crime horror from 1988, directed by William Lustig, written by Larry Cohen, featuring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell and Richard Roundtree.
Merry Christmas: Mr. Lawrence – Recently departed muso cult figures David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto feature, alongside Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano and Australia’s own Jack Thompson in this 1983 war drama shot in New Zealand.
The New Americans – 7 (!!) hour documentary from 2003, a prophetic time capsule if you will, “about a diverse group of immigrants and refugees who leave their home and families behind to learn what it means to be new Americans.”
Show Me the Magic: The Adventures of Don McAlpine – Cathy Henkel’s 2013 documentary on one of Australia’s great cinematographers. Made in 2013, screening to coincide with a masterclass by Henkel.
The Mummy – This 1959 classic from Hammer Studios will be screening at the WA Museum Boola Bardip, to align with their Discovering Ancient Egypt exhibition.
DOCUMENTARIES
Manifesto – Timely found footage documentary utilising videos uploaded by Russian teens to social media platforms.
Dùthchas – There is no English word for Dùthchas, as one of the subjects in this Scottish documentary tells us. However, there is plenty of heart in this nostalgic portrait of community and culture from the late 1960s and ‘70s on the island of Berneray.
De Humani Coporis Fabrica – No doubt a favourite of Revelation programmer Jack Sargeant, this documentary explores five hospitals in Paris, “which literally opens the human body to cinema and offers an examination of the human body as an extraordinary landscape that is also otherworldly and harrowing.”
Werner Herzog Radical Dreamer – He ate his shoe, made cult classics such as Fitzcarraldo, cast famed madman Klaus Kinski in some of his best movies, has made classic documentaries himself, and now the lens has been turned on the filmmaker/actor/dreamer, with commentary from some of cinema world’s greatest.
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood – Estonian documentary which artfully records women sharing their innermost thoughts and experiences. Premiered at Sundance.
IX XI – Acclaimed author Sean Wilsey will be a guest of Revelation, presenting the world premiere of his documentary about 9/11.
The Space Race – National Geographic documentary about the experiences of the first Black astronauts.
Citizen Sleuth – Premiering at SXSW, this American documentary blurs the line between fact and fiction as it follows a true crime podcaster in Appalachia.
Lee Fields: Faithful Man – Musical docos are always a Rev highlight, and this portrait of Little JB and his influence on American soul music, will have you tapping your toes in delight.
Little Richard: I Am Everything – Similarly, this stirring documentary about Richard Wayne Penniman and his ambiguous life as an entertainer and influence on modern music, is not to be missed.
What You Could Not Visualise – Intimate portrait of short-lived British post-punk 4AD band Rema-Rema
Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV – Portrait of the trailblazing 20th century Korean artist, who coined the term ‘electronic superhighway’. Premiered at Sundance and narrated by Steven Yeun.
Circus of the Scars – Jim Rose and the rest of the freaky carnies that rose out of the ‘90s US grunge rock scene.
Fragments of Paradise – Premiering at Venice and Telluride and featuring interviews with Jim Jarmusch, John Waters and Martin Scorsese, K. D. Davison’s film follows Jonas Mekas, the godfather of avant-garde cinema.
EXPERIMENTAL
Hello Dankness – US based Australian artist collective Soda_Jerk (whose 2018 dark comedy with subtext, Terror Nullius played the fest circuit and galleries for a number of years) return with this damnation of Trump’s America, using pirated film samples, lending popular culture with something meaningful. Soda_Jerk’s films are not made available to the public outside festivals and art gallery exhibitions, so don’t miss this one, Perth, especially since the artists will accompany the screening.
Heavenly Resentments – Another Jack Sargent fave, this experimental feature comes courtesy of New York underground filmmaker and musician Carey Burtt.
Sunlight: Yes – a local 50 minute documentary from writer/filmmaker/academic Kenta McGrath and director Joseph London, exploring WA based bio-artists Symbiotica’s ‘Sunlight, Soil & Shit (De)Cycle’ – Award of Distinction in the Artificial Intelligence & Life Art category of Prix Ars Electronica 2023 – exhibition which transpired in Fremantle in February 2022.
Paco – Tim Carlier’s feature directing debut is an Australian meta comic odyssey, “in which a sound recordist goes in search of his most crucial possession, his radio microphone.”
The full programme 2023 Revelation Perth International Film Festival is online at www.revelationfilmfest.org
