The Sydney Film Festival is coming up in June, and to satiate us until then, the powers that be have released teasers for four new films that are set to screen at the festival.
Deathgasm is directed by Jason Lei Howden, who previously worked on visual effects for The Hobbit trilogy and The Avengers. This New Zealand comedy film recently premiered at South by Southwest festival, and has been called a “vividly violent blast”. Deathgasm takes the parental misconceptions about heavy metal music and metalheads and puts them on the screen. With Lei Howden’s experience in visual effects, you can be sure that there’ll be lots of blood, gore and everything in between.
Paul Dano and John Cusack share the role of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson in Love and Mercy, a feature-length biopic. Set during the making of iconic Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, Love and Mercy follows Wilson through the depths of his mental issues, and his manipulation by his trusted doctor. The film explores the dependent and twisted relationship Wilson had with his therapist, with Dano playing the younger Wilson and Cusack playing the older. This US film is directed by Bill Pohlad and also stars Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti.
Eisenstein in Guanajuato chronicles the life of Russian silent filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, and his homosexual exploration during his time in Mexico. Directed by British director Peter Greenaway, Eisenstein in Guanajuato is equal parts biopic and comedy, and is a unique blend of Russia and Mexico, black and white and colour, and original and historical footage. Most unique is the merging of Russian and Mexican culture and music, and this is what makes Greenaway’s project truly unique.
Sudanese/South African film Beats of the Antonov is a feature length documentary about the prevalence of music and culture during and after a time of civil war. The film, which is set in Sudan and during the longest civil war in Africa, has been called “uplifting, touching, and inspirational”. Beats of the Antonov, which is directed by Hajooj Kuka, won the People’s Choice Award for Documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014, and the film’s producer and director are both up for awards for this exploration of cultural perseverance.
All four films have trailers available online. The Sydney International Film Festival runs from 3-14 June. More information can be found at www.sff.org.au.
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