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MELBOURNE / SYDNEY 20 FEBRUARY – 4 MARCH 2020
WELCOME— Genre cinema has a unique ability to act as a monument; marking the social, cultural and political climate within which it exists. It has the power to conjure truth that is raw; truth that gets under our skin. As we take a step into a new decade, we can look to those on the fringes to call out our bullshit, kill our darlings and question our reality. Without spoiling some of the exciting revelations and twists the program has to offer, I can assure you that there is not only something for everyone, but also something just for you. Enjoy the festival, keep taking risks, and for all you mind-breakers, trendsetters, razor-walkers, loose wires, truth-talkers, trailblazers and envelope-pushers, I hope you find a new home at FFFA. Hudson Sowada Festival Director COVER: Saint Maud (page 25).
FIND US— fantasticfilmfestival.com.au @fantasticfilmfestaus @fantasticfilmfestaus FESTIVAL TEAM— Festival Director Hudson Sowada Executive Director Lindy Tamir Catalyst Eddie Tamir Festival & Marketing Manager Erin Rosenberg Publicity Original Spin Design Kylie Holmes & Lauren Doherty Web Development Chook Trailer Hudson Sowada Materials & Conversion Roar Digital SPECIAL THANKS— Richard Sowada Amari Sleiman Ben Buckingham Emily Milledge The Lido and Ritz Cinemas teams We're grateful for the inspiration and support from Fantastic Fest, U.S. Fantastic Film Festival Australia has received a classification exemption from the Classification Board. Films screening at FFFA are Unclassified 18+. Nobody under 18 (including infants) can legally attend a session with this exemption.
CONTENTS— Films (in alphabetical order).......................................................................... 6 Events.....................................................................................................................31 Session Times.....................................................................................................32 Tickets & Venues............................................................................................... 34 Code of Conduct ............................................................................................. 34
AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
7 REASONS TO RUN AWAY (FROM SOCIETY)
(7 RAONS PER FUGIR (DE LA SOCIETAT))
DIR Esteve Soler, Gerard Quinto, David Torras | Spain | 2019 | 75 min
LANGUAGE Spanish, Catalan (English subtitles) CAST Emma Suárez, Sergi López, Alain Hernández
“Black, terrifying and absurd.” SESSIONS
—Cineuropa
Lido Cinemas
“Mean but funny but mean… Tuesday 3 March, 9PM
Seventy-five minutes of absurd bliss.”
—Birth. Movies. Death. Ritz Cinemas
Saturday 22 February, 4:30PM
Reminiscent of Monty Python’s The Monday 2 March, 7PM
Meaning of Life, 7 Reasons takes a caustic
and nihilistic look at contemporary western FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
society. In seven short episodes, each 2019 SXSW, 2019 Fantaspoa, 2019 Karlovy
about a human trait we prefer not to talk Vary International Film Festival, Neuchatel,
about, this Spanish anthology film explores 2019 Raindance Film Festival
the flipside of our satisfied lives. This
surrealist horror comedy pulls no punches: CONTENT WARNING
its bizarre stories are inventive, funny,
Graphic violence, coarse language,
sometimes harsh, and always ruthlessly
contains themes of suicide.
honest—no matter whether the equally
bizarre protagonists are crotchety retirees
dozing by the TV, a dogged real estate
agent selling a flat with a hanged man
inside, or a bride and groom who aren’t so
sure about the decision they’re about to
make.
6
AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
ACHOURA
(ACHOURA LA NUIT DES ENFANTS)
DIR Talal Selhami | Morocco, France | 2018 | 90 min
LANGUAGE French (English subtitles) CAST Sofiia Manousha, Younes Bouab, Omar Lotfi
“It’s a serious, somber meditation on the Werewolves, vampires, golems and ghouls
death of innocence, bleaker than what converge in an entirely unique North
Stephen King offers and full of powerful, African chiller.
evocative imagery all the way to its final
moments.” —Bloody Disgusting SESSIONS
Lido Cinemas
“A dark, uncompromising and beautifully
Monday 2 March, 7PM
executed monster movie.”
—Morbidly Beautiful Ritz Cinemas
Sunday 23 February, 8:45PM RITZ LANEWAY
Somewhere in the Moroccan countryside,
Saturday 29 February, 9PM
four children scare the living daylights out
of each other, just for fun. In a house that FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
is rumoured to be the dwelling of ghosts,
one of them mysteriously disappears. A 2019 Cinepocalypse, Winner Special Jury
quarter-century later, the three remaining Prize—2019 Sitges Fantastic Film Festival
friends bump into their long-lost playmate.
His reappearance coincides with a series CONTENT WARNING
of child kidnappings. Could he have Graphic violence.
something to do with that?
Achoura is the second feature film by
French-Moroccan director Talal Selhami.
Dissatisfied with the lack of genre movies
in the land of his forebears, he vowed to
make the first Moroccan creature feature.
7
AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
AREN’T YOU HAPPY?
(DAS MELANCHOLISCHE MÄDCHEN)
DIR Susanne Heinrich | Germany | 2019 | 80 min
LANGUAGE German (English subtitles) CAST Marie Rathscheck, Nicolai Borger, Malte Bündgen
“An ironically ironic commentary on SESSIONS
feminism, consumerism, art and sex.”
—ScreenDaily Lido Cinemas
Sunday 23 Febuary, 4:30PM
“Explicitly anti-capitalist, feminist, and Tuesday 25 February, 9PM
personal.” —Women and Hollywood
Ritz Cinemas
With a bubblegum colour palette, Tuesday 25 February, 9PM
self-consciously kitsch staging and a big
band jazz score, writer-director Susanne FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
Heinrich’s film is clever and witty, delving 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam,
into life, love and relationships for the 2019 Edinburgh Film Festival
modern woman. A nameless young woman
(Marie Rathscheck) is a writer with writing CONTENT WARNING
issues. She searches for meaning to life
Nudity, sex scenes.
and a bed for the night, meets various
men, rides a unicorn, and is encouraged to
have a child as a cure for her narcissism.
Always ironic and playful, Aren’t You
Happy? is an oddball delight.
8
AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
AWAY
DIR Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia | 2019 | 75 min
LANGUAGE No dialogue
“Somewhere between Hayao Miyazaki SESSIONS
and Terrence Malick lies Away, a
gorgeously made minimalist cartoon Lido Cinemas
that’s long on beauty and breathtaking Sunday 1 March, 4:30PM
scenery.” —The Hollywood Reporter
Ritz Cinemas
“A wondrous, wordless animated Sunday 23 February, 4:30PM
work of bright simplicity and subtle
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
sophistication.” —Cineuropa
2019 Annecy International Animation Film
“One of the most impressive feature Festival, 2019 Fantasia International Film
debuts in recent years… [with] plenty Festival, 2019 Sitges Film Festival
of heart to captivate its audience, and a
large world filled with possibility.”
—SlashFilm
A boy winds up lost on a mysterious island,
inhabited only by a few animals and a
giant who insistently pursues our hero. This
boy's journey across a strange landscape
gives rise to a minimalist and evocative
animated film, made entirely by Gints
Zilbalodis.
9
OPENING NIGHT
FILM
VIC/NSW
PREMIERE
CHAINED FOR LIFE
DIR Aaron Schimberg | USA | 2019 | 91 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Jess Weixler, Adam Pearson, Stephen Plunkett
“Extraordinary. Schimberg points toward reality and fiction, fair representation and
a grass-roots cinematic revolution – exploitation cinema, become excessively
movies made by people about their own porous.
experiences.” —The New Yorker
SESSIONS
“Schimberg's film is odd, darkly funny
Lido Cinemas
and – when it means to be – a little
Thursday 20 February, 7PM
frightening.” —The New York Times
Ritz Cinemas
On the set of a horror film with artistic
Thursday 20 February, 7PM
pretensions, beautiful Hollywood actress
Mabel admits to being outside her comfort FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
zone. She plays the role of a blind woman
and the film she’s in, already anticipated 2019 Fantasia Film Festival, 2019 BFI
by the media to be in bad taste, deals London Film Festival, 2018 Fantastic Fest
explicitly with deformity. The production
has even cast several disabled actors, CONTENT WARNING
including Rosenthal, a nervous comedian Graphic violence, coarse language, nudity.
with a major facial deformity. Mabel
struggles to identify with him, but as their “Chained for Life is a wholly unique
characters connect on camera, the actors experience with an earnest charm
do the same behind it. while speaking an incredibly moving
truth. An ode to the adventurous spirit
As the film crew walks on the eggshells of of filmmaking that calls out wayward
political correctness and strange rumours attitudes in a way that pushes the whole
begin to circulate about the abandoned medium forward.”
hospital serving as a backdrop to the —Hudson Sowada, Festival Director
production, the boundaries between
10AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER
DIR Mickey Reece | USA | 2019 | 90 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Ginger Gilmartin, Mary Buss, Ben Hall
“Climate of the Hunter never sacrifices SESSIONS
its smarts for fun (or vice versa), but with
its dazzling visuals and hypnotic descent Lido Cinemas
downwards into a seemingly inevitable Thursday 27 February, 7PM
chaos, the film’s delights are ultimately as Tuesday 3 March, 7PM
sensorial as they are intellectual.”
Ritz Cinemas
—Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Wednesday 26 February, 7PM
Two sisters, Alma and Elizabeth, are
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
enjoying a stay at their family cabin,
eagerly anticipating the arrival of a man 2019 Fantastic Fest, 2019 Nashville Film
from their past, Wesley. It is rumoured Festival
that Wesley's wife, Genevieve, has ended
up incapacitated in a mental institution, CONTENT WARNING
rendering Wesley, to some extent, a new
Graphic violence, nudity.
bachelor. Throughout their time spent
together, Alma begins to suspect Wesley
may be a vampire, though she also suffers
from mental health issues. Elizabeth is
aware of Alma's deteriorating condition
but has her own demons to face in this
gothic, psychological drama.
11AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
CUTTERHEAD
DIR Rasmus Kloster Bro | Denmark | 2019 | 84 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Christine Sønderris, Kresimir Mikic, Samson Semere
“As simple as it is relentless, the story SESSIONS
told in Cutterhead awakens certain
instincts and uncomfortable sensations Lido Cinemas
that almost seem to break through the Sunday 23 February, 8:45PM LIDO ROOFTOP
screen.” —Cineuropa Friday 28 February, 7PM
“A terrifyingly claustrophobic Ritz Cinemas
experience.” —The Wee Review Saturday 22 February, 9PM
Friday 28 February, 9PM RITZ LANEWAY
Rie, a PR coordinator, visits Copenhagen
Metro’s new tunnel boring construction FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
site to portray the company’s efforts as 2019 Prague International Film Festival,
a perfect example of a well-oiled intra- 2019 Festival of Tolerance
European collaboration. When an accident
occurs, she takes refuge in an airlock inside CONTENT WARNING
the tunnel boring machine with a Croatian
Graphic violence.
miner and a worker from Eritrea. They put
their lives and bodies in each other’s hands
to survive the heat, pressure and mud in
the cramped cutterhead, exposing their
radically different world views and forcing
them to reconsider their lives. A survival
film of nail-biting claustrophobia.
12AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
DINER
DIR Mika Ninagawa | Japan | 2019 | 118 min
LANGUAGE Japanese (English subtitles) CAST Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kanata Hongô, Nobuaki Kaneko
“A Tarantino-esque romp… [a] madly SESSIONS
colored, frantically paced and urgently
orchestrated faux-horror-comedy.” Lido Cinemas
—The Hollywood Reporter Friday 28 February, 9PM
“A cracked ode to feminine power... Ritz Cinemas
gaudy to the nth degree.” Wednesday 26 February, 9PM
—The Japan Times
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
Kanako is all alone, and thinks her life 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival,
can't get any worse...until she applies for 2019 L'Étrange Festival
a dubious part-time job on a whim, and is
instantly torn from her mundane existence. CONTENT WARNING
She ends up being sold to a restaurant
Graphic violence.
with fortress-like walls, thick iron doors,
and an intensely colorful interior. Trapped
within, she has no choice but to work
as a waitress for the owner Bombero, a
genius chef who also happens to be a
retired assassin. The diner is visited by a
succession of deadly and highly unusual
assassins. Before long, Kanako realises she
has been hurled into a world of insanity, in
which every day is a fight for survival.
13AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
THE GOLDEN GLOVE
(DER GOLDENE HANDSCHUH)
DIR Fatih Akin | Germany | 2019 | 110 min
LANGUAGE German, Greek (English subtitles) CAST Jonas Dassler, Margarete Tiesel, Katja Studt
“Vomitous.” —The New York Times SESSIONS
“So disgusting you can smell it… one of Lido Cinemas
the most putrid and willfully unpleasant Wednesday 26 February, 9PM
things ever projected onto a screen.” Monday 2 March, 9PM
—Indiewire
Ritz Cinemas
“Fatih Akin’s The Golden Glove is the Friday 28 February, 9PM
rawest, most real, and most brutal serial
killer movie since Henry: Portrait of a FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
Serial Killer... Unflinchingly gruesome, 2019 Berlin Film Festival, 2019 Fantastic
and covered in a thick layer of grime.” Film Festival
—SlashFilm
CONTENT WARNING
Acclaimed director Fatih Akin (In the
Fade) takes us on a dark and depraved Graphic violence, nudity, sex scenes,
journey into the world of Fritz Honka, an contains sexual violence.
alcoholic serial killer who terrorised the
“Proceed with extreme caution, this film
female patrons of his local dive bar in
is not for the faint of heart. But as serial
1970s Germany. Featuring an astonishing,
killers consolidate themselves into our
booze-soaked performance by young
popular culture, The Golden Glove is a
German actor Jonas Dassler, who is
wake up call that will make you question
completely unrecognisable in his portrayal
the very meaning of violence.”
of the unfortunate-looking Honka, The
—Hudson Sowada, Festival Director
Golden Glove is a deeply disturbing look
at a deeply disturbed individual, which
becomes even more horrifying when you
consider that it is based on true events.
14AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
HOMEWRECKER
DIR Zach Gayne | Canada | 2019 | 76 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Precious Chong, Alex Essoe, Tony Matthews
“The twists and turns of irrationality SESSIONS
and intricacies are endless as these
two women explore sisterhood through Lido Cinemas
forceful interactions, obsessions, and Sunday 23 February, 7PM
subversions.” —Black Girl Nerds Saturday 29 February, 4:30PM
Michelle is in her early 30s. Linda is in her Ritz Cinemas
late 40s. Michelle is an interior designer Thursday 27 February, 9:15PM
and newlywed to Robert. Linda lives
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
alone; she fills her days with painting and
exercise classes. Seeking a new friend, 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival,
Linda pursues Michelle after one of their 2019 Fantastic Fest
classes together. When Linda coerces the
reserved, deferential Michelle into visiting CONTENT WARNING
her home for a spontaneous interior design Graphic violence.
consultation, it quickly becomes clear that
Linda has something more sinister on her
mind than throw pillows.
15AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
HORROR NOIRE
DIR Xavier Burgin | USA | 2019 | 83 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Meosha Bean, Ashlee Blackwell, Robin R. Means Coleman
“People go to horror films to scream and renaissance signalled in the late 2010s by
squirm and have a good time. Horror films like Get Out.
Noire shows that to many, horror films
are more than just blood and guts. It's a SESSIONS
matter of life and death.” —Detroit News Lido Cinemas
Monday 24 February, 7PM
“The best kind of film documentary—
one that both entertains and informs. Ritz Cinemas
This is a must-see for all horror fans.” Monday 24 February, 7PM
—SlashFilm Saturday 29 February, 4:30PM
“A thoughtful, exhilarating watch, which FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
finds hope in even the bloodiest maw.”
—The Verge 2019 Toronto International Film Festival,
2019 Sitges Film Festival
Based on Robin R. Means Coleman’s
landmark book Horror Noire: Blacks in CONTENT WARNING
American Horror Films from the 1890s to Graphic violence.
the Present, this new documentary traces
the under-represented history of African
American artists in Hollywood through
their connection to the horror genre.
Horror Noire provides a critical look at a
century of films that by turns caricatured,
exploited, sidelined, and eventually
embraced Black culture — from the
silent era through to early genre cinema,
blaxploitation, urban horror, and the horror
16AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
IT COMES
(KURU)
DIR Tetsuya Nakashima | Japan | 2018 | 135 min
LANGUAGE Japanese (English subtitles) CAST Jun'ichi Okada, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki
“The film is horror as relentlessly busy his happiness, which, as it turns out, may
extravaganza, crammed with everything not be as genuine as it seems.
from wordy explanations to a blizzard of
visceral shocks.” —The Japan Times SESSIONS
Lido Cinemas
“A brilliantly told, complex, and surprising
Saturday 22 February, 9PM
journey… Just when you think it's going
to zig, it zags; just when you think you've Ritz Cinemas
got a handle on where the film is going, Thursday 20 February, 9PM
Nakashima grabs you by the hand and
whips you around.” —ScreenAnarchy FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
Hideki and Kana are the embodiment of 2019 Fantasia Film Festival
happiness. Recently married, the Taharas
are now waiting for their first-born. When CONTENT WARNING
a mysterious guest at work talks to his Graphic violence.
colleague about a certain Chisa, Hideki
is dumbstruck. Chisa is the name he and
Kana had planned to give their daughter,
a decision they had kept to themselves.
What's worse, the friend who had spoken
to the stranger suddenly dies under horrid
circumstances. Two years later, convinced
that a supernatural force is threatening
his family, Hideki reaches out to Nozaki,
a writer specialising in the occult, and his
clairvoyant girlfriend Makoto to rid himself
of the entity that is casting a shadow on
17JALLIKATTU
DIR Lijo Jose Pellissery | India | 2019 | 95 min
LANGUAGE Malayalam (English subtitles) CAST Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose,
Sabumon Abdusamad
“As exciting and unusual an experience as into frenzies of communal bluster, building
you're likely to get this year. Grab it by its towards a fiery climax in which violence
horns and don't dare let go.” breeds its own kind of ecstasy.
—Globe and Mail
SESSIONS
“Alluring, unconscionable, and impossible
Lido Cinemas
to avert your eyes from.” —SlashFilm
Saturday 22 February, 7PM
“Get ready to be gored by cinema’s
Ritz Cinemas
horns, trampled under a stampede of
Friday 21 February, 9PM
deliciously grotesque, fleshy imagery
and tossed aloft on a buffalo-snort of FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
bravado.” —Variety
2019 Busan International Film Festival,
‘Jallikattu’ is a ritual or a game that has 2019 Toronto International Film Festival,
been played since before the common 2019 Fantastic Fest
era in India’s Tamil region. Similar to a
rodeo, the person who stays the longest CONTENT WARNING
on the back of an ox is considered the Graphic violence, coarse language.
winner. The film begins in a quiet village
in the countryside, with a buffalo fleeing
a slaughterhouse. The village men try to
capture the beast, and even the men from
neighbouring villages join in, creating
chaos intermingled with confusion,
violence, and hatred beyond control.
But the buffalo proves more elusive than
anyone expected, goading its pursuers
18AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
THE LAST BERLINER
(DER LETZTE MIETER)
DIR Gregor Erler | Germany | 2018 | 97 min
LANGUAGE German (English subtitles) CAST Pegah Ferydoni, Sebastian Achilles, Tom Keune
“Funny, tense, sad and sympathetic at the SESSIONS
same time… a surprising gem.”
—The Movie Isle Lido Cinemas
Thursday 27 February, 9PM
The last un-renovated building in a trendy
Berlin neighbourhood is being vacated. Ritz Cinemas
The former tenants are moving out, but Tuesday 25 February, 7PM
Dietmar refuses to budge. His son Tobias
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
tries convincing him to move into social
housing. However, his father resists and the 2019 Manchester Film Festival
situation between Tobias, Dietmar, and the
building's realtor, who seems to be there CONTENT WARNING
by chance, escalates and gets completely Graphic violence, coarse language.
out of hand.
A highly suspenseful and compelling
hostage thriller about the issue of
gentrification – and the good souls who
lose along the way. Nail-biting and tragic
right until its very surprising end.
19CLOSING NIGHT
FILM
AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
MUTANT BLAST
DIR Fernando Alle | Portugal | 2019 | 83 min
LANGUAGE Portuguese (English subtitles) CAST Pedro Barão Dias, Maria Leite, Joaquim Guerreiro
“Gloriously low-brow and creatively SESSIONS
gnarly… a surging splatter romp.”
—Flickering Myth Lido Cinemas
Wednesday 4 March, 8:30PM
“So much invention and craziness…
a trashy delight.” —Exclaim! Ritz Cinemas
Monday 2 March, 8:30PM
Maria, a fearless soldier, and TS-347, a
man with superhuman strength, are being FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
pursued by a military cell responsible for 2019 Sitges Film Festival, Best Screenplay
scientific experiments that have resulted in –Fantaspoa 2019
a zombie apocalypse. On the way, they will
meet Pedro, a man with few ambitions and CONTENT WARNING
a brutal hangover. Together, they will try to
Graphic violence, coarse language, nudity.
escape to a safe place, but complications
cross their path in the form of a nuclear
bomb.
“Mutant Blast will have your jaw to the
floor, slides splitting with laughter and
mind deep fried melted like only the
best Troma films can.”
—Hudson Sowada, Festival Director
20AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
THE MUTE
(KREW BOGA)
DIR Bartosz Konopka | Poland | 2018 | 104 min
LANGUAGE Polish (English subtitles) CAST Krzysztof Pieczynski, Karol Bernacki, Wiktoria Gorodecka
“Strikes with brutal clarity.” SESSIONS
—ScreenAnarchy
Lido Cinemas
“A stunning showcase of experiential Friday 21 February, 9PM
horror… with impressive cinematic flair, Sunday 1 March, 8:45PM LIDO ROOFTOP
mounting dread, and captivating style.”
—Bloody Disgusting Ritz Cinemas
Sunday 1 March, 8:45PM RITZ LANEWAY
In the early Middle Ages, two Christian
knights (an elder one, Willibrord, and a FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
novice, Nameless) set off to christen a 2019 Sitges Film Festival
small pagan village hidden deep in the
mountains. Despite the differences in their CONTENT WARNING
views and perspectives on religion, the two
Graphic violence.
men become travel companions and create
a father-son relationship. As they settle
into the local community, their faith, belief
system and the bond between them are
all put to the test. Soon, love is confronted
with hate, dialogue with violence, madness
with rules and many will have to die.
21AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
NOBADI
DIR Karl Markovics | Austria | 2019 | 89 min
LANGUAGE German (English subtitles) CAST Heinz Trixner, Borhanulddin Hassan Zadeh, Konstanze Dutzi
“Markovic's Nobadi is a film you'll never SESSIONS
forget. It's going to make your head
spin and possibly cause you to lose your Lido Cinemas
lunch.” —Film Threat Saturday 29 February, 7PM
Robert, a 91-year-old, set-in-his-ways Ritz Cinemas
pensioner, lives on a small allotment in Saturday 29 February, 7PM
Vienna. When his beloved dog dies during
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
the night, he is determined, despite his
failing body, to dig a hole on his property 2019 Toronto International Film Festival,
to put his dear friend to rest. He soon 2019 Fantastic Fest
realises he is incapable of the strenuous
task, and begrudgingly enlists the services CONTENT WARNING
of Adib, a migrant from Afghanistan. As Graphic violence, coarse language.
the two dredge through prejudices to find
common ground, Adib finds ways to pacify
Robert, whose humanity briefly surfaces
when he becomes concerned about a
gaping, unattended wound on Adib's foot.
When the situation suddenly becomes life-
or-death, their day takes an unexpected
turn—with tremendous, irreversible
consequences.
22VIC/SYD
PREMIERE
O BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
(DOCH WIR LÄCHELN ZURÜCK)
DIR Xavier Böhm | Germany | 2019 | 89 min
LANGUAGE German (English subtitles) CAST Noah Saavedra, Marko Mandic, Vanessa Loibl
“A striking and self-contained SESSIONS
psychological drama.” —Cineuropa
Lido Cinemas
Although Juri is young, he lives in constant Saturday 29 February, 9PM
fear of dying. Nightly panic attacks for him
are routine—but one night he meets a dark Ritz Cinemas
figure who claims to be Death incarnate. Friday 21 February, 8:45PM RITZ LANEWAY
So begins a bizarro-Faustian trip together Sunday 1 March, 7PM
through the night, during which Juri meets
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
Nina and falls in love with her. But come
dawn, one of them must die. 2019 Berlin Film Festival
CONTENT WARNING
Graphic violence, drug use, nudity.
23AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
S HE
(NV TA)
DIR Shengwei Zhou | China | 2018 | 95 min
LANGUAGE Chinese (English subtitles) CAST Fuyang Lyu, Shengwei Zhou
“An inspired, one-of-a-kind creation, SESSIONS
its bravado art direction, eruptive colour
scheme and unsettling, onomatopoeic Lido Cinemas
sound design certain to stain the memory Saturday 22 February, 4:30PM
cells of those daring enough to dive in.” Sunday 1 March, 7PM
—Fantasia
Ritz Cinemas
“Accomplished and inventive... Sunday 23 February, 7PM
conceptually bizarre.” —Variety Sunday 1 March, 4:30PM
In the authoritarian world dominated FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
by male shoes, female high heels are 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival,
forbidden to work or even exist. Newborn 2019 Fantasia Film Festival
baby girl shoes are transformed into
male shoes so that they can work in
the cigarette factory. In a birth prison, a
high heel mother murders the male shoe
chief to protect her daughter from being
transformed into a male shoe. To feed
her daughter, she uses the chief’s leather
coat as a gender disguise and works in
the cigarette factory. When her identity
is exposed, she is ruthlessly ridiculed and
tortured by her colleagues and superiors.
Finally, she discovers her inner energy and
begins to plan revenge in the name of her
daughter.
24AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
SAINT MAUD
DIR Rose Glass | USA | 2019 | 83 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle
“An unholy cross between First Reformed SESSIONS
and The Exorcist, Rose Glass’ taut and
trembling Saint Maud transmutes a young Lido Cinemas
woman’s spiritual crisis into such a refined Friday 21 February, 7PM
story of body horror that genre fans Friday 28 February, 8:45PM LIDO ROOFTOP
might feel like they’re having a religious Wednesday 4 March, 6:30PM
experience.” —Indiewire
Ritz Cinemas
“Maud is like Carrie White and her mother Friday 21 February, 7PM
Margaret rolled into one unholy holy Tuesday 25 February, 8:45PM RITZ LANEWAY
terror; as played with brilliant, blood- Sunday 1 March, 9PM
freezing intensity by Morfydd Clark, she's
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
a genre anti-heroine to cherish, protect
and recoil from, sometimes all at once.” 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
—Variety
CONTENT WARNING
The debut film from writer-director Rose
Coarse language, sex scenes, contains
Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling and boldly
themes of suicide.
original vision of faith, madness, and
salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly
devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed
with saving her dying patient’s soul — but
sinister forces, and her own sinful past,
threaten to put an end to her holy calling.
The latest horror film by indie production
company A24 (The Witch, Hereditary,
Midsommar).
25AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
SATOR
DIR Jordan Graham | USA | 2019 | 85 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Michael Daniel, Rachel Johnson, Aurora Lowe
“Burning a slow wick towards a vile end, cinematic feat by filmmaker Jordan
Jordan Graham's calling card becomes Graham.
dreadful sorrow and invasive haunts.”
—Slate Film SESSIONS
Lido Cinemas
“It's scary and sleepy and utterly strange,
Friday 21 February, 8:45PM LIDO ROOFTOP
a dusky little dream of a film that no one
Sunday 1 March, 9PM
on earth could make but Jordan Graham.”
—Bloody Disgusting Ritz Cinemas
Sunday 23 February, 9PM
“Think Krisha meets The Blair Witch
with some “gang-gang supernatural FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
cultishness” stirred in.” —SlashFilm
2019 Fantasia Film Festival
Deep in the woods, it’s hard to really
say what’s whispering in the night. Ask CONTENT WARNING
Grandma, though, and she’ll tell you it’s Graphic violence.
Sator—a protective dark force among the
trees, a satanic presence, a ritualistic killer
who’s haunted their family for generations.
A young man ventures back to the forest
in an attempt to rebuild a relationship
with his brother who’s been hibernating in
seclusion after traumatic events led to the
disappearance of their mother years past.
A disturbing mediation on family bonds
and mental illness, Sator is an impressive
26AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE
DIR Staten Cousins Roe | UK | 2019 | 81 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Katie Brayben, Poppy Roe, Ben Lloyd-Hughes
“Thelma and Louise meets Natural Born SESSIONS
Killers, A Serial Killer’s Guide is set to
become a British cult classic.” Lido Cinemas
—The Hollywood News Thursday 20 February, 7PM
Wednesday 26 February, 7PM
Self-help addict Lou leads a mundane
existence, dreaming of a more fulfilling Ritz Cinemas
life but reluctant to make the necessary Friday 28 February, 7PM
plunge into the unknown. All that changes
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
when she meets Val, an ambitious life
coach with a genuine killer instinct, and Fright Fest 2019, Grimm Fest 2019
finds herself embarking on a murder
spree with her unhinged new mentor as CONTENT WARNING
they traverse the south coast of England,
Graphic violence, coarse language.
leaving a trail of death and destruction in
their wake.
A jet-black comedy thriller guaranteed to
satisfy the self-help generation, and the
modern human's blood lust.
27HIGH DEFINITION
RESTORATION
SONS OF STEEL
DIR Gary L. Keady | Australia | 1989 | 104 min
LANGUAGE English CAST Rob Hartley, Roz Wason, Jeff Duff
“Nuts. The last great Australian post- Director Gary Keady and cast and crew
apocalyptic/heavy metal action sci-fi.” will be in attendance at the Ritz Cinemas,
—SBS Films Randwick for a post-screening Q&A.
Celebrating 30 years since its release, SESSIONS
Australian sci-fi metal-musical Sons of
Lido Cinemas
Steel returns to the big screen!
Sunday 23 February, 8:30PM
In the year 2112 AD, a group of four post-
Ritz Cinemas
apocalyptic survivors accidentally fall
Thursday 27 February, 6:30PM
through a hole in the desert floor to be Q&A SCREENING
trapped underground in the dark remains
of Sydney's subway system. Wandering FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
through this ominous underworld in search
1989 Brussels International Fantastic Film
of an exit, they come upon the holographic
Festival
form of Black Alice, a violent anti-nuclear
leader from the pre-apocalypse. Once
CONTENT WARNING
materialised, Black Alice discovers that
members of his own peace movement Graphic violence, coarse language, nudity.
collided with a nuclear submarine and
triggered the nuclear reaction that all but
destroyed the world. In a desperate bid
to save mankind, Black Alice is returned
to the 21st century. He arrives at the exact
time he had left and faces a race against all
odds to avert the tragedy.
28AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
SUICIDE TOURIST
(SELVMORDSTURISTEN)
DIR Jonas Alexander Arnby | Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France | 2019 | 90 min
LANGUAGE Danish, English (English subtitles) CAST Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Ashfield, Tuva Novotny
“All class.” —Cineuropa SESSIONS
“A disturbing psychological wake-up call Lido Cinemas
about the meaning of life.” —Films List Tuesday 25 February, 7PM
Insurance detective Max (Nikolaj Coster- Ritz Cinemas
Waldau, Game of Thrones) is investigating Saturday 22 February, 7PM
the disappearance of Arthur. The
assignment takes him on a long and FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
mysterious journey into the clandestine 2019 Sitgès, 2019 Zurich Film Festival
Hotel Aurora. A unique secretive facility
that specialises in elaborate assisted CONTENT WARNING
suicide fantasies. While in the midst of an
Graphic violence, drug use, contains
existential crisis, Max starts to question
themes of suicide.
his own perception of reality... Is death the
only way out of the hotel?
29AUSTRALIAN
PREMIERE
ZOMBI CHILD
DIR Bertrand Bonello | France | 2019 | 103 min
LANGUAGE French, Haitian, English (English subtitles) CAST Louise Labeque, Wislanda Louimat
“The kind of lithe and lucid dream that SESSIONS
gets its tendrils round your brain stem, so
that when all hell finally breaks loose, you Lido Cinemas
can't jolt yourself awake from its grip.” Monday 24 February, 9PM
—Daily Telegraph
Ritz Cinemas
“Provides a bold and compelling bridge Monday 24 February, 9PM
between the living and the dead...
FESTIVAL APPEARANCES/AWARDS
There've been a lot of movies about
Voodoo culture and its colonialist history, 2019 Cannes Film Festival, 2019 San
but only Bertrand Bonello's includes a Sebastian International Film Festival,
speech about Rihanna." —Indiewire 2019 New York Film Festival
Haiti, 1962. A man is brought back from CONTENT WARNING
the dead to work in the hell of sugar
Graphic violence.
cane plantations. 55 years later, a Haitian
teenager tells her friends her family secret
—not suspecting that it will push one of
them to commit the irreparable.
30EVENTS—
Dungeons and Dragons
Create your own fantastic adventure at our one-off night of Dungeons and Dragons.
Hosted by the most experienced Dungeon Masters of Melbourne, experts at introducing
new heroes to the game and challenging the most seasoned globetrotters, open to lone
wolfs and pack animals, there’s never been a better time to meet new people, start new
quests, and join the hype. Rooftop tables available.
All tickets come a metal treasure coin from Campaign Coins, yours to keep, and prizes by
Mind Games for those most in character!
THANK YOU TO SARAH WAHJUDI AT MELBOURNE MINI PAINTER.
Tickets $15
Thursday 27 February, 4:30PM–8:30PM, Lido Cinemas
Sons of Steel Director Q&A
Celebrating 30 years since its release, Australian sci-fi metal-musical Sons of Steel returns
to the big screen! Join director Gary Keady with cast and crew for a post-screening Q&A
at Ritz Cinemas, Randwick.
Tickets at standard pricing
Thursday 27 February, 6:30PM, Ritz Cinemas
Analogue Orgy
Take a trip back into the truly analogue world of 16mm film as we present this specially
curated program of rare and wonderful education and information films, TV commercials
and all manner of oddball moments from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Presented on lovely
16mm film, these rare nuggets will explain to you everything you need to know about
being a success in life. With titles the calibre of How to Meet Your Marriage Partner,
Personal Hygiene for Boys, Shy Guy and How Do You Do? and the Disney classic The
Story of Menstruation, this collection will have your jaw on the floor and go a good way
in explaining how we got to where we are today. Great music, great architecture, great
furniture and mood, these teenagers from yesterday are today’s leaders…that’s right…so
see where it all began as it unfolds on original formats.
CURATED BY RICHARD SOWADA, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL.
FREE!
Saturday 29 February, 3:30PM–9:30PM, Lido Cinemas
Trivia
Put your knowledge of the strange and the absurd, the horrific and the hilarious, and all
things fantastic to the test at our Trivia night. Hosted at Lido by Swinburne and at Ritz by
resident trivia maestro Talia, join us for a night that’ll have you scratching your head and
clenching your sides in this battle of trivial prowess.
Tickets $10 per player, with complimentary drink on arrival (teams of 2-6).
Monday 2 March, 7:30PM
Lido Cinemas hosted by Cinema and Screen Studies at Swinburne University.
Ritz Cinemas hosted by the Ritz trivia team.
31SCHEDULE—
Lido Cinemas Hawthorn
Thursday 20 February Friday 28 February
7:00PM Chained for Life 10 7:00PM Cutterhead 12
9:00PM A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life 27 8:45PM Saint Maud LIDO ROOFTOP 25
9:00PM Diner 13
Friday 21 February
7:00PM Saint Maud 25 Saturday 29 February
8:45PM Sator LIDO ROOFTOP 26 3:30PM Analogue Orgy
9:00PM The Mute 21 Special Event 31
4:30PM Homewrecker 15
Saturday 22 February 7:00PM Nobadi 22
4:30PM S He 24 9:00PM O Beautiful Night 23
7:00PM Jallikattu 18
9:00PM It Comes 17 Sunday 1 March
4:30PM Away 9
Sunday 23 February 7:00PM S He 24
4:30PM Aren't You Happy? 8 8:45PM The Mute LIDO ROOFTOP 21
7:00PM Homewrecker 15 9:00PM Sator 26
8:45PM Cutterhead LIDO ROOFTOP 12
9:00PM Sons of Steel 28 Monday 2 March
7:00PM Achoura 7
Monday 24 February 7:30PM Trivia 31
7:00PM Horror Noire 16 9:00PM The Golden Glove 14
9:00PM Zombi Child 30
Tuesday 3 March
Tuesday 25 February 7:00PM Climate of the Hunter 11
7:00PM Suicide Tourist 29 9:00PM 7 Reasons to Run Away
(From Society) 6
9:00PM Aren't You Happy? 8
Wednesday 4 March
Wednesday 26 February
7:00PM Saint Maud 25
7:00PM A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life 27
9:00PM Mutant Blast 20
9:00PM The Golden Glove 14
Thursday 27 February
4:30PM Dungeons and Dragons
Special Event 31
7:00PM Climate of the Hunter 11
9:00PM The Last Berliner 19
32Ritz Cinemas Randwick
Thursday 20 February Thursday 27 February
7:00PM Chained for Life 10 6:30PM Sons of Steel
9:00PM It Comes 17 with director Q&A 28
9:15PM Homewrecker 15
Friday 21 February
7:00PM Saint Maud 25 Friday 28 February
8:45PM O Beautiful Night 7:00PM A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life 27
RITZ LANEWAY 23 8:45PM Cutterhead RITZ LANEWAY 12
9:00PM Jallikattu 18 9:00PM The Golden Glove 14
Saturday 22 February Saturday 29 February
4:30PM 7 Reasons to Run Away 4:30PM Horror Noire 16
(From Society) 6 7:00PM Nobadi 22
7:00PM Suicide Tourist 29 9:00PM Achoura 7
9:00PM Cutterhead 12
Sunday 1 March
Sunday 23 February 4:30PM S He 24
4:30PM Away 9 7:00PM O Beautiful Night 23
7:00PM S He 24 8:45PM The Mute RITZ LANEWAY 21
8:45PM Achoura RITZ LANEWAY 7 9:00PM Saint Maud 25
9:00PM Sator 26
Monday 2 March
Monday 24 February 7:00PM 7 Reasons to Run Away
7:00PM Horror Noire 16 (From Society) 6
9:00PM Zombi Child 30 7:30PM Trivia 31
9:00PM Mutant Blast 20
Tuesday 25 February
7:00PM The Last Berliner 19
8:45PM Saint Maud RITZ LANEWAY 25
9:00PM Aren't You Happy? 8
Wednesday 26 February
7:00PM Climate of the Hunter 11
9:00PM Diner 13
33TICKETS & VENUES—
Book now at fantasticfilmfestival.com.au
MELBOURNE
Lido Cinemas
675 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
(03) 8658 0000
lidocinemas.com.au
SYDNEY
Ritz Cinemas
45 St Pauls Street, Randwick
(02) 8324 2500
ritzcinemas.com.au
ALL VENUES
Single tickets
Adult $21.50
Concession and Member $16.50
Festival film passes
5 pass $70
VIP pass (valid for redemption on all films) $250
Terms and conditions
Single ticket concession rates apply to students, healthcare and pension cardholders and
seniors, as well as Lido and Ritz Cinemas members. All tickets are non-refundable. Tickets
can be exchanged for a film at the same venue for a fee of $2.50 per ticket at least 24
hours prior to screening. VIP festival passes are for separate sessions for one person and
can be redeemed on special events.
CODE OF CONDUCT—
Fantastic Film Festival Australia does not tolerate inappropriate or unacceptable
behaviour, nor any off-screen activities that cause anyone to feel uncomfortable or
unsafe. If you experience any of this behaviour, we encourage you to approach festival
staff. Please know that these experiences will be treated seriously, with sensitivity and
confidentiality. We insist that you work with us to keep these spaces safe and inclusive.
We reserve the right to remove anybody who does not adhere to our code of conduct.
34Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn 20 February – 4 March Ritz Cinemas, Randwick 20 February – 2 March fantasticfilmfestival.com.au
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