Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will present four of its most exciting films in Geelong next weekend.
“Every year we like to bring a little taste of the film festival out to the regions,” said MIFF artistic director Michelle Carey.
In an era when so many films go straight online, Ms Carey said, it was a treat for audiences to see quality local film in cinema.
“They’ll be amongst the first in the world to see these films. They’re probably not going to see them any other way than on the big screen.“
The Death and Life of Otto Bloom will hit the road with the festival after its premiere at MIFF’s Opening Night
The MIFF Premiere Fund-supported film follows Otto Bloom, a man experiencing his life in reverse, going backwards in time while remembering the future.
Otto Bloom is the first feature film for director Cris Jones and features Rachel Ward, her daughter Matilda Brown and Xavier Samuel.
“This ingenious chronicle is a magnificently brain-twisting, deeply moving and wildly inventive tale of love in the time of retrochronology,” Ms Carey said.
The festival will showcase Ella: the journey of The Australian Ballet’s first Indigenous dancer, Ella Havelka.
“This story will inspire the budding young ballerinas among us,” Ms Carey said.
The Family, directed by Melbourne filmmaker Rosie Jones, investigates one of Australia’s most notorious cults from the ’60s-’70s, and the scars its victims bear today.
The true crime doco filled the cinema during the festival, Ms Carey said.
“It sold so quickly, people couldn’t get enough of it.”
“It’s just fascinating viewing. I think true crime is really having a moment as genre and this is a great Australian version of that.”
For family audiences, the showcase features Long Way North; the animated tale of 15-year-old Russian aristocrat Sasha, who travels to the Arctic to find her missing grandfather.
The festival airs at Geelong Performing Arts Centre on 9 and 10 September.
“We’ve been coming out to Geelong for a number of years. We have a long time relationship with GPAC and the numbers seem to be up any year,” Ms Carey said.
“Bring a curious mind and we guarantee you a good night.”
