Following its Australian premiere at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, Fergus Halliday sat down with director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami to talk about her award-winning documentary, Sonita. Winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Ghaemmaghami’s documentary explores Sonita’s journey as a young undocumented exile living in Tehran, with big dreams of breaking into the rap industry. What drew…
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Pixar is no stranger to sequels. For over 20 years, Pixar have dominated animated cinematic releases with their critical and box-office success. With the massive acclaim behind sequels like Toy Story 2 & 3 and Monsters University, Pixar has now (much to everyone’s excitement) released Finding Dory after a 13-year wait since its predecessor, and…
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Pixar Studios has long been regarded as one of the best animation studios in the world today, alongside Studio Ghibli, which in my denial still exists. But ever since the release of Cars 2, a disappointing sequel to a film that wasn’t that good to begin with, the seemingly infallible quality of Pixar has fallen….
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Sharon Jones isn’t a household name, nor an artist with a breakout radio hit. But those who do know of her and her talent, will attest to her brilliance. She has been likened to a female James Brown, belting out soul and funk tunes and thrashing and shimmying like a pint sized Tina Turner. However…
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Paterson is the new film from acclaimed auteur (and Iggy Pop fan) Jim Jarmusch. A man who enjoys character studies that are never rushed for the sake of plot progression, existing in some semblance of real time, watching a Jarmusch film involves a lot of patience on behalf of the viewer. If you’re a fan of…
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Defusing an explosive in western cinema is very rarely as tense as it should be. With the exception of brilliant films The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) and Gallipoli (Peter Weir), the suspense surrounding characters handling something so volatile, which with the slightest fault could literally blow them apart in an instant, is often suppressed by…
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Even at just a surface level, Me Before You feels like a movie that’s just ticking boxes than it is engaging heartstrings. You’ve got three big franchise stars (from Game of Thrones, Doctor Who and The Hunger Games, respectively), a picturesque British backdrop and premise that all-but-guarantees a tragic end. However, it never really feels like the film is genuinely leveraging…
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Miles Ahead might have a few tricks (and some strong casting) up its sleeve, but it never quite manages to triumph. Set in the late 1970s, the very-loose biopic introduces us a disillusioned and drug-addled Davis (Don Cheadle)who hasn’t made music in almost five years – despite the best efforts of his label. When a recording of…
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Taken from their debut album Raw Nerve, Melbourne’s metal powerhouse Jack The Stripper have just released a new music video in “Nibiru”, and to celebrate they’re touring Australia, Europe and Japan in the coming months. Jack The Stripper’s ‘Nibiru Tour’ starts this month in Australia before the band embarks on their first ever European tour which includes shows with fellow Aussie…
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Canberra three-piece Safia continue to make waves and move to the forefront of Australia’s next biggest musical exports with their blend of indie rock, delicate soul, and various styles of electronica. Last year, the group travelled to the USA for a run of shows that included SXSW, and the trio kept the AU review in the…
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In today’s Flight review on AU Abroad, we take you on Delta Air Lines‘ brief connection service from Burlington, Vermont to La Guardia Airport in New York City in the USA. Airline: Delta Air Lines (Shuttle America Connection) Route: Burlington, Vermont (BTV) to La Guardia, New York (LGA) – DL3377 Seat: 15C (window, 1-2 layout) Aircraft: Embraer ERJ145…
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Heather and Dave are expecting. Finding the perfect home for their growing family, they settle down to await the new arrival. But tragedy strikes and a grieving Heather finds no comfort in the new house they were so excited to share with their first born. The Paper House, the debut novel from Anna Spargo-Ryan, follows…
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Lance Horne is a ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, lyricist…everything. The Emmy award winner is on his way to Adelaide this weekend for an unforgettable show at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival – an opportunity to showcase his new album, First Things Last, not to mention some extra special surprises along the way. His one-night-only show in…
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Hosted by the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts, in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, choreographers Stephanie Lake and Ross McCormack will present an intensely personal double-bill, in a brief run of shows from June 23rd to 25th. Deriving their work from a challenge set by Dancenorth artistic director Kevin Page, Lake and McCormack were asked to to…
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SWELL Sculpture Festival, the largest outdoor art exhibition in Queensland, has revealed the 55 artists that will be taking part in the 2016 event, held in September on the Gold Coast. Over a ten day period, Currumbin Beach will be transformed into a free outdoor gallery, featuring 50 works by both Australian and international artists….
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New retro restaurant/cafe/bar Zebra Green makes its home in the heart of Bondi Junction, giving surrounding eateries a run for their money with their niche comfort food offering. The brainchild of Shane Lurie from Blue Orange, this new venue draws on Lurie’s experience as a world traveller and childhood in South Africa, where he learned about fine dining at his parents’ restaurant, Les Marquis….
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One of Double Bay’s most loved restaurants, Vine, are launching a new collaborative dinner series with some of the best chefs across the city, kicking off over the latter half of 2016. A concept spearheaded by Executive Chef Drew Bolton, the Origins Dinner Series will be aimed at celebrating local produce and mold to suit…
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Nestled within Q Station, a heritage retreat and Australia’s first and oldest Quarantine Station, Boilerhouse Harbourside Restaurant & Bar has upped the ante with Matt Kemp at the helm. With an impressive list of lauded restaurants under his belt, Matt Kemp took on the role of Executive Chef of Q Station in March 2016. Formerly…
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Most people love it but what do people really know about chocolate? The team at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney look set to change all that with a fun and informative new exhibition. Sweet Addiction allows people to experience chocolate as a botanical adventure that fuses together art, education, theatre and flora. The exhibition is…
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The States have been loving Marlon Williams so far this year, most recently falling further for the New Zealander while on tour with Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop. Come September however, American and Canadian fans will have some unmissable opportunities to see Williams and his band, The Yarra Benders, perform in a headline capacity. On tour over a run of…
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The Creases, man. With today’s announcement that they’ll be on the road with Ball Park Music later on this year, not to mention their own single launch tour this July, we’re keen to simply know there’ll be ample opportunities to get our dose of Brisbane goodness. Most recently, The Creases have released the official music video for…
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It’s a happy Wednesday for Ball Park Music fans – not only do they get details of the Brisbane favourites’ new album, but there’s a huge tour reveal also hitting them this afternoon too! First up, the new album. Entitled Every Night The Same Dream, fans have already gotten some pretty epic tastes of what Ball Park Music…
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We first were introduced to Adelaide group The Unset earlier in the year, when their music video for tune “Solipsism” took out the major prize as part of our CAPTURED competition. Their music displays a solid sense of musicality and songwriting – channeling some great post-rock and alternative vibes reminiscent of the likes of Cog and Mogwai. Next month,…
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Seattle four piece Chastity Belt will be making their way out from the US to Australia later on in the year! The band, who have been making waves Stateside since the release of their debut album No Regerts in 2013, properly shot to critical acclaim last year, with the release of their sophomore Time To Go Home. Courtney Barnett‘s…
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Methyl Ethel have been having a dream run overseas in 2016 so far, having won over many more fans in both the UK/Europe as well as in the States off the back of successful shows at The Great Escape, Primavera, London Calling and SXSW so far. Now, the Perth trio are kicking things up another notch…
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Melbourne’s Pretty City are hitting the road again with their debut album Colourize, celebrating its release onto vinyl this August! Following well-received album launches on the east coast, the band will be adding in a set in Adelaide and Brisbane on this run too, bringing the good times to more fans. Off the back of a successful…
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Hello, SAATSUMA. Let’s cut to the quick – where have you guys been all my life? In new single “Floating”, the Melbourne group have given us an electronic track full of texture and richness. The vocals ooze soul, while the production adds to the haunting and and oddly hypnotic nature of the track’s arrangement. It’s darkly enticing,…
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The first names confirmed to perform at this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards have been released and already, it’s looking to be quite the diverse and entertaining night under the stars in Darwin this August! With 2016 standing out as being quite the significant year for Indigenous people, it’s expected that this year’s NIMAs will…
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UK band Catfish and the Bottlemen, named after lead vocalist Van McCann’s encounter with an Australian busker called Catfish the Bottleman, have recently released their follow-up album to 2014’s debut, The Balcony. The Ride is a stonkingly good collection of tunes which are so polished and mature in their sound and production that I was…
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Over five days, at the start of the Northern Hemisphere Summer, Primavera Sound took over Barcelona in Spain with one of the world’s finest and most eclectic music festivals. Earlier this month, we outlined why every Australian should make the pilgrimage to the event – which was without question one of the best events I’ve…
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