arts in focus
free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Natalia Morawski, Anna Wilson and Chris Martin
Beardyman
five minutes WITH
W
hat can you tell us about the concept and history behind the Footprints Film Festival competition? The first Film Festival was in 2012. It was initially supposed to be part of World Environment Day celebrations in June, but ended up being added to the Footprints Ecofestival. Ecofestival is an annual event and attracts a few thousand people, which we realised would be the perfect audience. So now the Footprints Film Festival competition opens for a few months to get submissions, with finalists’ films screened at the Footprints Ecofestival. How important are issues around the environment and
EMILY WILLIAMS FROM FOOTPRINTS FILM FESTIVAL
sustainability in the Inner West? Caring for our local environment is crucial and everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. It’s especially important in cities and built-up areas where our green spaces are limited and we consume such a large amount of resources. I know it sometimes feels like you can’t make a difference as an individual and it’s too hard to make big changes. But if each person were to make small changes at home and in their communities, we would have an incredibly positive impact. Whether it’s planting a tree for our native animals to use or choosing to walk instead of drive, it all makes a difference. What tips can you offer filmmakers to help them create a successful entry? It can be about anything – get creative! We’ve had some really quirky films, like one about
MAMILs (middle-aged men in lycra) and another about a hipster bicycle race to win the last barrel of oil in a world without fuel. We’ve also had quietly haunting films that showed the local environment and how nature is losing out to man-made structures. Choose something you love and feel passionate about. The finalists’ films will screen in a bicycle-powered cinema tent. How does it work? We use a cycle-in cinema from local company Milkcrate Events. They bring bikes, converters and a portable cinema. Everyone is encouraged to have a go on the bikes, which power the projector and sound system. If you don’t pedal, components like the sound will shut off – it’s happened once or twice when someone has slowed down too much! But the audience cheers the cyclists on and it comes back. We screen about ten minutes of film at a time so no-one gets too tired. There
will be a list of show times outside the cinema tent. Where does the Footprints Film Festival fit in with the other events planned on the Footprints Ecofestival program? Footprints Ecofestival has main stage entertainment, free workshops, and food and local retailers in a market-style area. The cinema tent will be on the netball court showing films on a continuous loop all day, with winners announced at 2:30pm. Stop by anytime and hop on a bike to power your favourite film! What: Footprints Film Festival 2016 Where: Whites Creek Valley Park, Annandale When: Sunday August 21 And: Entries close Sunday July 31. See leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/ footprints-film-festival for details
Untitled from Animals I Have Known by Noel McKenna
TRICK OR TREAT
Alternative clothing retailer Off Ya Tree has announced a fun design comp to get your creative juices flowing in time for the return of T-shirt weather. Halloween is one of Off Ya Tree’s biggest periods of the year, and your own Halloween-themed T-shirt design could be front and centre on the Off Ya Tree website. For the chance to show off ya chops, and win a $200 Off Ya Tree voucher, enter your design (to be printed on a white T-shirt) by uploading it via offyatree. com and to social media with the hashtag #OYTHalloweenComp. You can enter as many times as you like, so think outside the box.
Beatboxer and comedian Beardyman is heading to Sydney with his One Album Per Hour show, turning audience whims into quality songs on the spot. Audiences are asked for song title suggestions and from there Beardyman uses his musical skills and comedic flair to create an entire album within the hour. One Album Per Hour is coming to town as part of Just For Laughs Sydney, and playing at the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday September 7 and Thursday September 8. We have a double pass to give away to the first night – enter at thebrag.com/freeshit.
Neruda
CINE LATINO
Cine Latino is launching its inaugural festival program of Latin American film in August. More than 30 films will showcase the bright and colourful worlds of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Festival highlights include The Violin Teacher and Neruda (which opens the program), plus sports-focused flicks including The Football Boys and Maracanzo: The Football Legend. Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona will host the Sydney program from Tuesday August 9 – Wednesday August 31. We’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away, and you can be in the running at thebrag.com/ freeshit.
xxx
and thoughtful purchases. The Dear Pluto Mini Market is on Saturday July 30.
BEARDYMAN
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
STORIES FROM ABORIGINAL WOMEN
CLOSE TO HOME
The Art Gallery of New South Wales has announced the exhibition Close To Home, the second event of its kind that celebrates the tradition of the Dobell Prize for Drawing. This curated exhibition presents the work of six Australian artists whose practice is connected by narrative, memory and experience. Close To Home brings together the contemporary works of Jumaadi Maria Kontis, Richard Lewer, Noel McKenna, Catherine O’Donnell and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, whose drawings collectively investigate the possibilities of the medium to express complex themes that resonate on a personal and shared level. The exhibition will be on view from Saturday July 30 – Sunday December 11.
WINTER MINI-MARKETS
A mini version of the usual quarterly Dear Pluto Pop Up Markets will take place at 107 Projects this weekend. The winter-themed markets will feature a selection of local makers, picklers, collectors and brewers. The markets will even feature a pop-up nail salon. Other stalls will offer
up the likes of homemade glühwein, pastrami buns and veggie burgers by Westmont Pickles, Japanese-style ceramics from EM Pottery, organic edible skincare from Parva, sustainable fashion and hand-painted socks from Inside Jo.B, and loose leaf tea from T Totaler. The markets are aimed at encouraging a slower way of living
John Cleese, the British comedy genius behind Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the Ministry of Silly Walks, will appear live on the Sydney Opera House stage in August. John Cleese In Conversation: From Monty Python To Fawlty Towers Live will take place in conjunction with Cleese’s visit to Australia for the world tour of Fawlty Towers – Live, which brings Basil Fawlty and co. to the Roslyn Packer Theatre from Friday August 19 with an all-new cast. And while Cleese won’t be reprising his legendary role as Fawlty himself, his Opera House appearance will give audiences a broad insight into his storied career, from the Cambridge Footlights to Python, James Bond and beyond. Cleese will be joined by James Valentine at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House on Monday August 15.
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IT’S A PERFECT MATCH
The Inner West’s favourite street art festival, Perfect Match, is set to once again play creative cupid as it returns to Sydney next month. Partnered residents, businesses and property owners of the Inner West will showcase visual artists of multiple media who transform walls into works of bold expression. Returning this year are the likes of Sid Tapia, Peque and Jumboist, whose colourful creations transformed the façade of Newtown’s Asylum Seeker Centre into a masterpiece in 2015. This year also sees some of Australia’s best female street artists taking to our streetscapes with the talents of Mandy SchöneSalter, Akisiew and Capiche. Free events take place across the Marrickville area on the weekend of Saturday August 6 and Sunday August 7.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
John Cleese
He’s walked on water, strolled down the side of the LA Times Building, predicted the outcome of the 2014 World Cup and casually taken a trip across London levitating off the side of a double decker bus. Now, mind-boggling street magician Dynamo is coming to Sydney on his first-ever Australian tour. Dynamo will impress fans across the country with the opportunity to see his magic skills in what promises to be a spectacular and unique live stage production. To date Dynamo has only taken the tour across the UK and Ireland, playing a massive 111 shows, with more than 400,000 tickets sold. He’ll play a matinee and an evening show at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday November 5.
WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE
Kip Williams has already put on successful productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet and Macbeth, and now the Sydney Theatre Company resident director will take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Williams will bring to the stage the universal story of yearning and desire that comes forth when young people defy parental expectations, pursuing a different future for themselves. The part of Lysander will be played by Rob Collins, who is currently on ABC TV’s Cleverman. Regular Shakespearean actor Honey Debelle will take on Helena, while Brandon McClelland will play Demetrius and Rose Riley will portray Hermia. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is in season at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Monday September 12 – Saturday October 22.
thebrag.com
A Midsummer Night’s Dream photo by Cybele Malinowski
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Winyanboga Yurringa will premiere at Carriageworks in August, featuring video portraits by Bindi Cole. The play, written and directed by Andrea James, centres around six Aboriginal women, through which the intergenerational pulse of their kin is explored. On a camping trip, the all-female cast takes on women’s struggles, desires, temptations and love for people and land. The cast includes Kyile Coolwell, Matilda Brown and Tessa Rose, plus up-and-comers Alexis Lane, Pamela Young and Angeline Penrith. Winyanboga Yurringa runs from Wednesday August 3 – Saturday August 6.