10 great movies to see at the Brisbane International Film Festival
By Nick Dent
Luke Wheatley well recalls the glory days of the Brisbane International Film Festival.
“I still vividly remember being a kid in 1997 and seeing the lines of people to see The Full Monty, which premiered at BIFF,” the festival’s new CEO says. “And I want that magic to come back.”
Kitty Green, director of The Royal Hotel, an Australian thriller starring Julia Garner (left), will attend the Brisbane International Film Festival. Credit: BIFF
The festival started with a bang in 1992 with the premiere of Strictly Ballroom, but in the past decade it has experienced what the Marilyn Monroe of Some Like It Hot would describe as the fuzzy end of the lollipop.
Cancelled by Screen Queensland in 2014 and replaced with the short-lived Brisbane Asia-Pacific Film Festival, BIFF made a comeback in 2017, albeit on a tight funding model.
“I want that magic to come back,” says BIFF CEO Luke Wheatley.Credit: Fantastic Film
Delivered at the time under the auspices of QAGOMA 2018-2020, BIFF, like the Gold Coast Film Festival, is now run by Film Fantastic, of which former board chair, Wheatley, became CEO in late June with the departure of Josh Martin after a two-year stint.
Wheatley’s strategy for 2023 is simple: fewer movies, but with bigger appeal.
“Last year we had 70-odd feature films. How do you market 70 or 80 feature films to a market that’s a million people? It’s just impossible. So we capped it at 40.”
BIFF’s program of 43 features and two sessions of short films puts it at a much smaller scale than Melbourne (which screened more than 215 feature films in 2023), Sydney (roughly 190), and even Adelaide (over 80).
“If we had 100 films, they wouldn’t get all the attention they deserve,” Wheatley says. “And people won’t come.”
“Right now we’re outselling where we were this time last year, and we’ve got less films.”
Opening night film Uproar is a New Zealand comedy starring Minnie Driver and Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and is set during the 1981 anti-apartheid protests.
Closing night also has a Kiwi connection: it’s Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, about a Dutch-American coach (Michael Fassbender) trying to turn around the fortunes of the American Samoan soccer team.
Veteran director Phillip Noyce will attend a 21st anniversary screening of his stolen generations drama Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Another Australian director, Kitty Green (The Assistant), will be present for the screening of her new thriller, The Royal Hotel, about two American backpackers who take jobs at an outback pub.
Other highlights of the festival, which runs from October 26 to November 5, include The Ending Goes Forever: The Screamfeeder Story, a documentary about the Brisbane grunge band.
Julian Dennison (above) stars with Minnie Driver in Kiwi comedy Uproar.Credit: BIFF
Wheatley says he hopes to build the festival back into something that people look forward to.
“The third-largest city in Australia needs an international film festival. And it needs a film festival that people want to come to,” he says.
Luke Wheatley’s top 10 picks of BIFF 2023
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, Justine Triet’s thriller is about a woman whose husband is found dead at the base of their chalet in the French Alps with the couple’s blind son as the only witness.
Anatomy of a Fall, a courtroom whodunit.Credit: BIFF
“It’s a courtroom whodunit that will have you guessing until the very end,” says Wheatley.
Madeleine Gavin’s documentary follows people trying to escape from North Korea.
“This gripping thriller is must-see filmmaking and is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A true tale of the human spirit and how resilient we can be.”
Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 classic concerns a French screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) whose marriage goes belly-up when he works with German director Fritz Lang (playing himself) and a vulgar American producer (Jack Palance).
“It’s a landmark in world cinema that has been remastered, featuring one of cinema’s most celebrated stars, Brigitte Bardot,” says Wheatley.
Late Night With The Devil, which is set in the 1970s on Halloween night.Credit: BIFF
From Brisbane-born filmmakers the Cairnes Brothers comes a found-footage horror flick purporting to be a missing episode of a 1977 live talk show that went satanically wrong.
“Who doesn’t love a good horror, especially one that is set in the 1970s on Halloween night? See it without any spoilers,” Wheatley says.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days.Credit: BIFF
German auteur Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas) delivers an understated urban charmer about a contented Tokyo toilet cleaner (Koji Yakusho) whose niece comes to stay with him.
“I have been a fan of Wim Wenders ever since I can remember. A beautiful, true story that is just wonderful.”
The new film from Yorgos Lanthimos and Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara stars Emma Stone as a woman resurrected by a scientist (Willem Dafoe) who embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery.
“From the director of The Lobster, The Favourite and Killing of a Sacred Deer. I don’t think I need to say more.”
From Mexican director Christopher Zalla comes a film with echoes of Dead Poets Society and Stand and Deliver.
“It’s a true story about a Mexican teacher who attempts to change the lives of his students in a different way.”
This dialogue-free, family-friendly animated feature from top Spanish director Pablo Berger (Blancanieves) is about a dog who builds himself a robot companion, only to have things unravel during a day at the beach.
“A film for everyone, this is a story about friendship,” says Wheatley.
The follow-up to Promising Young Woman has an Oxford student drawn into the world of his aristocratic friend and spending a summer at his stately family home.
“It’s a psychological thriller written, directed and produced by Emerald Fennell, starring Barry Keoghan, Rosamund Pike and Jacob Elordi.”
Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke in the queer Western Strange Way of Life.Credit: BIFF
An English-language short by a filmmaking great, this queer Western has a powerhouse cast.
“It’s a cowboy movie directed by Pedro Almodovar starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. Masterpiece! Running time is 30 minutes, so it’s perfect to partner with another film.”
BIFF runs October 26-November 5 at Dendy Portside, Dendy Coorparoo, Reading Newmarket, The Angelika Film Centre, and Five Star New Farm.
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