by Dov Kornits
Australia’s longest running ‘underground’ film festival, Perth’s Revelation has unveiled this year’s impressive selection of films from around the world and Australia.
This year’s international films are spearheaded by Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, which picked up an award at Cannes for actor Jesse Plemons. Also screening, certain future US cult films, Hundreds of Beavers, Sasquatch Sunset and Lousy Carter starring David Krumholtz, Martin Starr and Olivia Thirlby.
Revelation favourite Bruce La Bruce’s latest film The Visitor will also screen, as will Brazilian queer drama Power Alley, which screened at last year’s Cannes. Turkish courtroom drama Hesitation Wound will also screen, following its international film festival run, including in competition at 2023 Venice.
New Zealand period pieces Head South from Australian based writer/director Jonathan Ogilvie, and writer/director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s 1950s set tale of female friendship We Were Dangerous will also feature, following its premiere at SXSW Austin.
On the Australian front, there’s Birdeater, also following its international premiere a SXSW Austin, the micro budget Stubbornly Here from writer/director Taylor Broadley, and the enigmatic The Lies We Tell Ourselves from Saara Lamberg. Opening the festival is Paul Goldman’s Kid Snow, from a semi-biographical screenplay by John Brumpton.
“We’re so pleased with the calibre of this year’s program,” says Revelation Director Richard Sowada. “It’s a bumper year for local films of all shapes and sizes and we’re backing the creatives behind them with our biggest professional development program to date. There’s an undeniable momentum driving this year’s program and we can’t wait to experience it with audiences.”
Revelation has always featured a strong non-fiction selection, and this year is no different: from music-related docos Born Innocent: The Red Kross Story or I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago about underground rocker Stuart Gray (AKA Stu Spasm and his psychotronic ground Lubricated Goat), to Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound and Green: The Fight for Rock and Rock about almost famous Aussie Wayne Green.
There are also art-themed docos The Man I Left Behind about Canadian photojournalist Larry Towell, and Australian films Blak Douglas Vs. The Commonwealth, and You Should Have Been Here Yesterday, a homage to early Australian surf culture.
US doco Kim’s Video also screens, exploring the influence of the iconic video store, as will So Unreal, Amanda Kramer’s mesmeric video essay featuring narration by Debbie Harry, about technology’s representation in late 20th century cinema.
There are also 80+ short films screening, young children appropriate animation from both Australian and abroad, horror films Primevals and Tenement, along with retrospectives of Kids, Lake Mungo, Your Sister’s Sister and a rare 50th anniversary big screen showing of Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View.
This year’s Revelation will host special events at the WA Museum Boola Bardip, Scitech, State Library of WA and the Perth Library, as well as the annual Industrial Revelations program designed for both emerging and established practitioners.
Revelation Perth International Film Festival is on 3-14 July 2024. Head to https://www.revelationfilmfest.org/ to book your tickets now.