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Richard Lowenstein to appear at 30th Anniversary Screening of Australian Made at AMW Film Festival

The first annual Australian Music Week Film Festival just got bigger today with the announcement that legendary Australian Director Richard Lowenstein will be taking part in a Q&A following a special 30th Anniversary Screening of the classic Aussie Rock Documentary Australian Made, which will be closing the festival on Friday November 3rd at Cronulla’s GU Film House cinemas.

In addition to Australian Made, Lowenstein has directed a slew of iconic Australian films including Strikebound (1984), Dogs in Space (1986) and He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001). He also directed the 1989 concert film U2: LoveTown. He’s currently working on the eagerly awaited Michael Hutchence biopic. Tickets to the special screening and Q&A are just $10 and on sale now.

Taking over Cronulla’s GU Film House for three nights, and preceded by an opening night gala at the Event Cinemas on George Street, the Australian Music Week Film Festival is entering the festival scene in Australia with a incredible program of films from all over the world.

Lowenstein joins a slew of special guests already announced for the festival, including Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association, will introduce the film Take Me To The River (USA) at its Australian Premiere at the Event Cinemas on George Street on Tuesday, October 31st. The film is a documentary about the soul of American music, and follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis’s iconic music scene, as they pass on their musical magic to stars and artists of today. Snoop Dogg, Mavis Staples and many more feature in the acclaimed film narrated by Terrance Howard.

At the first NSW screening of Something Quite Peculiar: The Life and Times of Steve Kilbey, the film’s subject, Steve Kilbey of The Church will be joined by Mike Brook (Director) and Wayne Dickson (Cinematographer) for an in conversation after the screening of the critically acclaimed film. Other members of The Church may also be in the room – so expect a pretty special discussion here from the hit of the Melbourne International Film festival. 

“The success of the film is not in Kilbey’s redemption, but in its accurate, unblinking portrayal of a somewhat faded Australian music star.” – **** Daily Review

At the world premiere of Breaking The Mould on November 1st, director Jessie Ryan-Allen will appear in a Q&A following the film. Inspired by Lindy Morrison’s legendary documentary, Australian Women in Rock & Pop Music which was released in 1995, the film celebrates the evolution of gender and how it has shaped Australian music by creating a national conversation.

The documentary features interviews with The Jezabels, Katie Noonan, The Grates, Jebediah, Abbe May, Stonefield, Grace Knight (Eurogliders), Regurgitator, Mia Dyson and Mental As Anything. The film is narrated by Zoë Norton Lodge, best known for her work on the ABC (The Checkout, Story Club & Chaser’s Media Circus). Breaking The Mould will be screened alongside the German short film audio engeneering and is part of a cinematic evening focusing on gender in the music industry

The directors of the film Decks and the City, James Corbett and Glen Scrymgour, will fly in straight from the film’s Adelaide World Premiere to attend the screening, and take part in a Q&A following the film on November 2nd. Decks and the City is a timely and beautifully constructed film that explores the passion for electronic music within the night life of Adelaide, and the obstacles that DJ’s, producers, venue owners and patrons face from lawmakers and a conservative society.

World-renowned vocalist, musician and Uyghur bard, Shohrat Tursun, the inspirational subject of the short film Adrift, will be in attendance for the Short Film event on November 3rd. Directors Triana Hernandez (Suss C*nts “Sh*t Friend”), Roxanne Halley (Hachiku – “Moonface”), Jason Fados (Stevie and the Sleepers “Young Again”), Samuel Bright (Curt Manor “Adelphi Hotel Nightmare”) as well as the team behind CLYPSO “YOLO” will also appear alongside their music videos at the same event, introducing their films and taking part in a discussion about their works.

Tickets to all screenings at the Cronulla cinemas are just $10+bf. Tickets to the opening night gala at the Event Cinemas on George Street attract normal cinema prices. All tickets are on sale now!

What: Australian Music Week Film Festival
When: October 31st to November 3rd
Where: Event Cinemas George Street (Oct 31), GU Film House Cronulla (Nov 1st-3rd)
$$: Regular Cinema Prices at George Street, $10 for all sessions in Cronulla, plus applicable booking fees.

The full list of included films and music videos are below.

Feature Films
Take Me To The River (USA)
Play Your Gender (Canada)
Breaking The Mould (Australia) accompanied by the short audio engeneering (Germany)
Something Quite Peculiar: The Life and Times of Steve Kilbey (UK/Australia)
Decks and the City (Australia)
Garage Rockin’ Craze (Japan/Canada)
Australian Made (Australia)
Trenches of Rock (USA)

Short Film Program
Sound of the Future: HAITI (USA)
Adrift (Australia/France)
Shout at the Ground (New Zealand)
The Music Stops Here (UK)
Partycipation (UK)
Western Jubilee (USA)
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets present “Buzz” (Australia)

Short Film Program
Wet Lips – Here If You Need
Suss Cunts – Shit Friend
Hachiku – Moonface
Curt Manor – Adelphi Hotel Nightmare
Daggy Man – A Lazy Kind of Pain
Dead Language – The Man Who Killed My Father
WAAX – Wild & Weak
Caves ft. Hannah Joy – Here We Are
Stevie and the Sleepers – Young Again
Cosmo Thundercat – Warning Bell
Vera Blue – Private
Explosions in the Sky – The Ecstatics
Confidence Man – Boyfriend
CLYPSO – YOLO
Hawksey Workman – Small Town Dracula

The short film and music video program will screen together on Friday, November 3rd at 8.30pm.

The Australian Music Week Film Festival is presented by Australian Music Week, Event Cinemas, OzTix and Heath Media.

For more details about all the film screenings, head to http://www.australianmusicweek.com/film/ or for tickets, head straight to the Event Cinemas Website:
https://www.eventcinemas.com.au/EventsFestivals/AustralianMusicWeek

MORE ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MADE:

Australian Made was a festival concert series held during 1986–1987 in the six state capitals of Australia and featured local rock acts Mental as Anything, I’m Talking, The Triffids, The Saints, Divinyls, Models, Jimmy Barnes and INXS. The series started in Hobart on 26 December 1986 and concluded in Sydney (Endeavour Field – Cronulla) on 26 January 1987. Rock journalist Jeff Jenkins rated it as one of his 50 most significant events in Australian music history, “It showed that an all-Australian festival could work.” Australian Made was conceived to counter tours of international acts, like Dire Straits’ 1985–1986 world tour, which were drying up funds for Australian groups.

As from October 2010, the following artists have been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame: INXS and The Saints (both in 2001), Barnes (as a member of Cold Chisel in 1995 and solo in 2005), Divinyls (2006), The Triffids (2008), Mental As Anything (2009), and Models. To promote the tour, INXS and Barnes recorded a cover of The Easybeats song “Good Times” which was released in December 1986 as a single and used as the theme song. “Good Times” peaked at #2 on the Australian charts. The single peaked at #47 in the United States Billboard Hot 100 on 1 August 1987.

Arguments ensued between various band managers over the film and the tour ended in acrimony with two managers, Chris Murphy (for INXS) and Jeremy Fabinyi (for Mental As Anything), arguing backstage in Sydney and coming to blows. The film of the tour, Australian Made: The Movie, directed by Richard Lowenstein, was released in July 1987, but contained no footage of Mental As Anything performing.

Published in Events Press Release