2024 Program
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Ballarat Film Society
Venue: The Minerva Room, Ballarat Mechanics' Institute
117 Sturt St, Ballarat
Films are screened on the second Thursday of the month.
A short AGM will be held at 7pm before the May screening. Volunteers for the organising committee are always welcome.
Doors open at 7.00pm for membership and pre-film snacks/drinks - please arrive by 7.15 if you need to join or renew your membership.
Screenings commence at 7.30 pm sharp
8 February 2024: Scrapper
London Indie Comedy-Drama UK, 2023, 84 min. Dir: Charlotte Regan. The debut film for this 29-year-old director, with performances by Lola Campbell, Harris Dickinson and Alin Uzan, Scrapper premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Following the death of her mother, the central character, 12-year-old Georgie, secretly lives by herself in a flat on the outskirts of East London. Pretending to social services that she lives with her uncle, ''Winston Churchill," Georgie steals bikes in order to buy food, gets into fights, and generally survives on her wits. Her secret is known only to her best friend, Ali, until the unexpected (and unwelcome) arrival of her estranged father, Jason, who had been working at an Ibiza nightclub and insists on moving into the flat. The film traces shifts in her friendship with Ali and the complexities of her relationship with her father as she learns more about him. Charlotte Regan, who admired Taiko Waititi's 2010 film Boy, set out to make an ‘imperfect film that took risks’. Its visual whimsy, humour, and Georgie’s flights of fantasy, soften the grimness of her story. Described by one critic on Rotten Tomatoes (where it scored 7.1/10) as the cinematic equivalent of a hug, this is a charming film to launch our 2024 program. Madman. |
14 March: Le Bleu du Caftan (The Blue Caftan)
Moroccan Drama (Arabic, subtitles) Morocco, 2022, 123 min. Dir: Maryam Touzani. In 2021, we screened Touzani's first film, Adam; this, her second feature film, is a 'tender, dignified drama' about a master tailor, Halim (Saleh Bakri), his wife Mina (Lubna Azabal), and his young male apprentice Youssef (Ayoub Missioui). Set in a caftan shop in Morocco's oldest medina, the film traces the drama of an love triangle while exploring the nature of love, both troubled and unconditional. Touzani's background as a screenwriter and documentary maker informs her practice in this fictional drama, and she has a keen eye for stories about unconventional relationships. The film won the Un Certain Regard award in Cannes in 2022. Potential Films. |
11 April The Wild Goose Lake Chinese Neo-noir Crime Thriller China/France, 2019, 113 min. Dir: Diao Yi’nan. When small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) accidentally kills a cop, a bounty is placed on his head, forcing him on the run from both the police as well as dangerous gangsters out for the reward. Hiding out in China’s densely populated (and deeply divided) Wuhan province, Zhou becomes entangled with an enigmatic woman who has mysterious intentions of her own. Wild Goose Lake is a lawless area of Wuhan: a perfect place to situate a high-paced crime thriller. Featuring gorgeous, neon-drenched cinematography and bursts of shocking, expertly choreographed action, The Wild Goose Lake is ‘spellbinding’ (Rolling Stone), ‘brilliant’ (Indiewire) and ‘downright Hitchcockian’ (AV Club). Umbrella. Trailer |
9 May Shayda
Iranian-Australian Family Story Shayda Australia, 2023, 117 min. Dir Noora Niasari. Stars Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider), Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, and Jillian Nguyen. Executive producer: Cate Blanchett. Opening the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival, Niasari ‘s debut film Shayda was selected by Australia to enter the Best International Feature Film Oscar race in 2023. Iranian-Australian born writer and director Noora Niasari tells the personally inspired story of a young Iranian mother and her 6-year-old daughter who find refuge in an Australian women’s shelter during the two weeks of an Iranian New Year. Set in the 1990s in Melbourne, its central theme is that of defining one’s own path; a theme deeply rooted in the Australian psyche. Under the protective wing of the refuge’s no-nonsense Joyce (Leah Purcell), Shayda puts on a brave face for young daughter Mona and experiences small pockets of sanity and self-worth in her life. Madman. |
13 June Alcarràs
Catalan, Spain/Italy/France, 2022, 120 min. Dir: Carla Simón. The Solés are peach farmers who have occupied their land for generations on the basis of a handshake deal with the original owners. The sighting of a looming mechanical crane ushers into their lives an uncertain peach season and future. This ensemble drama with six prominent characters is set in a lush Catalan setting where the young family witnesses the intrusion of modernity on their traditions. The father, Rogelio, retreats into old customs, while teens Mariona and Roger take on new responsibilities. The camera provides an eloquent view of the rhythms of family life and playtime, set in the midst of generational and economic change in Spain. The film was inspired by the director’s own family experiences. Winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival. Palace Films. |
11 July The New Boy
Australia, 2022, 116 min. Written and directed Warwick Thornton. Indigenous drama/fantasy Stars: Aswan Reid, Cate Blanchett, Wayne Blair and Deborah Mailman. Filmed near Burra in South Australia. The New Boy is set on a remote mission for Aboriginal children in the 1940s, which is run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett) - a renegade because she is actively concealing the mysterious death of a priest who is still officially in charge. A collaboration between Blanchett and Thornton, the film is at times quite aethereal, with elements of magic that exist uneasily alongside the mission's Christianity. These are most notable in the supernatural powers of the 'new boy', who had mysteriously appeared in the middle of the night. Aswan Reid was the second boy auditioned for this role and Thornton was amazed at his performance. The New Boy is a complex film and an intriguing exploration of Aboriginal spirituality and the coming of a new cosmology (Christianity) through the eyes of an innocent Aboriginal child. Understanding the removal of children during the colonial era through Thornton’s eyes is a necessary education. The musical score is a Nick Cave and Warren Ellis collaboration, so this is truly a film of modern Australia. Roadshow. |
8 August Army of Shadows
Existential Thriller Classic France, 1969, 140 mins. Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville. Jean-Pierre Melville is the ultimate cult auteur in the French cinema, acknowledged as a key influence on directors such as Godard, Scorsese, and Tarantino. With Army of Shadows, the master of the philosophical gangster film drops the metaphor of the criminal underworld and deals directly with his experiences as an underground soldier of the Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. This atmospheric and gripping thriller is now widely recognized as the summit of Melville’s career, channelling the exquisite minimalism of his earlier films to create an unsparing tale of defiance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. “Lovers of cinema should reach for their fedoras and sneak to this picture through a mist of rain. You are in the hands of a master.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker. Studiocanal. |
12 September Stop Making Sense
Classic Talking Heads Concert USA, 1984 (Digital Remaster 2023), 88 mins. Dir: Jonathan Demme. Actors include David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Talking Heads musicians. Viewing a filmed music concert has been a tradition of the BFS, so this year we are fortunate to have Stop Making Sense, a new remastering of the famous 1983 concert that Talking Heads did over three live shows at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Director Jonathan Demme is known for his film Silence of the Lambs (1991) which won 5 Academy Awards and best picture. David Byrne asked the band to wear neutral coloured clothing to ensure an optimum camera recording, and quite a lot of editing took place but the reviews of the film are astounding. On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator, Stop Making Sense holds an approval rating of 100% based on 66 reviews: an average of 9.3 out of 10. Enjoy! Madman. |
10 October L'Ombra di Caravaggio (Caravaggio's Shadow) Lavish art history drama.
Italy, 2022, 128 min. Dir. Michele Placido. Stars Riccardo Scamarcio, Isabelle Huppert and Michelangelo Merisi. The famous 17th century Italian artist Caravaggio is well known for his intense realism and use of strong contrasts of light and dark. Living in Milan, Naples, Malta and Sicily he was a rebellious man with an eye for beauty, the streets and high drama, and was hugely influential on succeeding generations of painters all over Europe. Years ago, BFS screened Derek Jarman’s biopic Caravaggio (1986) on 16mm, so in this anniversary year it is fitting to screen the latest interpretation of this artist’s colourful life. In this film, the Catholic Church secretly investigates Caravaggio, recruiting ‘The Shadow’ to interview patrons and associates of the artist to establish if he is worthy of a pardon for causing the death of another young man. Expect to see the visceral, extreme, beautiful, disturbing, genial, sacred and the blasphemous. Italian cinema at its richest. Palace Films. |
14 November EO
Cinematic Odyssey by Donkey Poland, 2022, 86 min. Dir: 86-year-old Jerzy Skolimowski. EO is played by six donkey actors featuring cameos by Isabel Huppert and a robotic dog. Described by Sight and Sound as a "sensuous reimagining of Robert Bresson’s Au hazard Balthazar" (1966), this film is centred on EO, a donkey liberated from a circus and separated from his devoted trainer Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska). We follow EO as he wanders through Poland and beyond, on the way confronting views of inhumanity and violence, as well as moments of kindness and grace. His long journey across Europe takes him through woods at night, and scenes of ugly industrialisation, including football pitches and a fur farm. Reviewed Sight and Sound, March 2023. As Manohla Dargis wrote for the NY Times: "This wild, boldly expressionistic movie conveys the life of its largely silent protagonist, EO the donkey, with a bare minimum of dialogue." High Gloss. |
12 December Smiley
Australian 1950s Outback Drama Australia, 1956, USA/Britain, 93 min. Dir: Anthony Kimmins. Stars: Ralph Richardson, Colin Petersen (Smiley), John McCallum, Chips Rafferty, Charles Tingwell. To conclude this year marking our 70-year existence, let’s watch a 1956 Australian film classic about an imaginative young boy who lives in the fictional small town of Murrumbilla in the Australian outback. Listen to an older generation of Australian accents; watch two-up games and immerse yourself in a 1950s country sensibility. Smiley has an alcoholic drover father and an overworked mother. He saves up for a new bike by working odd jobs and slowly raises the money for his dream. In doing so, he unknowingly helps a dodgy publican called Rankin to sell opium to the local Aboriginal people living nearby. Smiley’s adventures are just beginning. Smiley, and the 1958 Smiley Gets A Gun were released in the UK and US and went onto become international successes at a time when few Australian films were being made. One item of trivia: young Colin Petersen went on to become drummer for the Bee Gees. Roadshow. We hope you enjoy our 2024 season of films. |
Ballarat Film Society gratefully acknowledges Fletcher Printers for design and printing of our poster, the Ballarat Mechanics' Institute for the venue and publicity, and the Federation of Victorian Film Societies for support and affiliation.
The Ballarat Film Society is a not-for-profit organisation, screening quality films to enrich Ballarat's cultural life. We acknowledge we are screening on the land of the Wadawurrung and pay respect to all First Nations Communities and their filmmakers. |
The Ballarat Film Society is a member of the Federation of Victorian Film Societies and is a not-for-profit organisation.
No single admission tickets are allowed to be sold by Film Societies - members and guests only.
All films subject to availability and public health management issues.
No single admission tickets are allowed to be sold by Film Societies - members and guests only.
All films subject to availability and public health management issues.