SEPTEMBER 2011

SEPTEMBER PRESS ROOM BULLETIN

This month we are reflecting on how truth and tragedy can often shape and influence culture, and in-particular, filmmaking. On the one hand, this approach can yield inspiring, life-affirming stories that manage to capture hope and joy – however, it can sometimes take us to very dark places indeed. Whilst unpleasant and oftentimes painful, it is human nature to find a certain fascination and more than this, an education, in the darkness.

The controversial and confronting film SNOWTOWN arrives on DVD this September. With a notoriously sensitive subject matter, its approach to the truth behind these horrifying events is based upon several key questions. Rather than attempting to get inside the mind of John Bunting, the film explores his influence as a father figure to Jamie Vlassakis – the core focus of the story – and asks just how he could have charmed friends and family to the extent that they would become unaware, even initially sympathetic to his terrible cause. Nevertheless, an incredibly grim story, it could be said that this vicarious exposure to Bunting’s influence is even more informative than the details of the events themselves.

At the other end of the spectrum entirely, we’re also pondering the precious elation that new life brings. From birth to age 1, BABIES documents the development of four babies from four very different countries. It provides a fly on the wall insight into the truths that – while these four infants live in completely disparate lands with vastly different upbringings – their developmental progress, methods of learning, wonderful idiosyncrasies, and the sheer celebration and joy which they each bring into the world are one and the same.

SNOWTOWN

Disenfranchised  teen, Jamie Vlassakis, lives with his mother and two younger brothers in a small, low socioeconomic housing community in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.  Longing for an escape from the ugliness and the malaise that surrounds him, when Jamie is introduced to his mother’s charismatic new boyfriend, John Bunting, a friendship immediately begins to blossom.

As John assumes the father-figure role that the family so desperately needs, he soon becomes a mentor to Jamie, indoctrinating him into a world of righteousness, bigotry and malice that will escalate into the events that will become Australia’s most notorious serial killings.

Release Date: 21st September, 2011

BABIES

Exploring the world of its tiny heroes in locations that are continents apart – the Namibian savannah, the Mongolian steppe, a Japanese megalopolis and sunny California – BABIES makes a universal statement with strength and passion.

BABIES is a visual and sensorial experience that revels in the most basic human emotions. BABIES is composed of the unique moments that, as every parent knows, punctuate a child’s first year. Every shot tells a story by its content and its framing, confronting the baby with a world that seems gigantic, potentially hostile or simply needing to be explored.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

HEARTBEATS

Highly regarded French-Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan has achieved an insightful and unique voice in his first two films I KILLED MY MOTHER and HEARTBEATS. Beautifully stylish and imbued with a youthful freshness, they mark the arrival of an impressive and exciting new talent.

Loosely based on his own challenges coming out, Dolan’s I KILLED MY MOTHER focuses on the experiences of protagonist Hubert as he drifts through the mysteries of adolescence – artistic discoveries, illicit experiences, the opening-up to friendship, and ostracism.

HEARTBEATS is the story of best friends Francis and Marie, who seem to have it all: good looks, youth and style in abundance. But one night they both fall for the gorgeous Nicholas, and soon find themselves declaring war on one another for Nicholas’ love, threatening the friendship they once considered indestructible.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

THE ROUND UP

Starring Jean Reno (LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL), Gad Elmaleh (COCO) and Mélanie Laurent (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) and based on the terrible true story of the Vel d’Hiv Roundup, THE ROUND UP – recently also portrayed in SARAH’S KEY – is the saddening tale of this notorious wartime incident, where public anti-Semitism in France was at its peak.

1942. Joseph Weisman is 11 years old. On the morning of June 6, he must go to school with a yellow star stitched to his chest. Like all Jews in France, Jo learns that he is banned from parks, cinemas, fairgrounds and public gardens. Despite this, Jo and his family lead a happy life in Paris, until dawn on July 16, when they are awakened by shouts and banging on doors as men in black uniforms burst into apartments. Jo and his family are hauled out of their beds and herded onto buses by French gendarmes. Crammed into Paris’ Winter Velodrome, 13,000 Jews suffer inhuman conditions prior to be herded off to the hellholes of concentration camps. This is their story.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

THE MISSING PERSON

Starring Academy Award-nominee Michael Shannon, THE MISSING PERSON is a classic hard-boiled film noir, full of straight-talkin’ PIs, scotch-swillin’ crooks and loose and lethal femme fatales.

Shannon is John Rosow, a private detective hired to tail Harold Fullmer, on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles. Persuaded by a large reward, Rosow is charged with bringing Harold back to his wife in New York City against his will. Ultimately Rosow must confront whether the decision to return Harold to a life that no longer exists is the right one.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

BEDEVILLED

Over the last 10 years, South Korea has become a powerhouse of filmmaking, showcasing a knack for everything from creature-features (THE HOST) sensual thrillers (THE HOUSEMAID) and black comedy (THE QUIET FAMILY), proving that the national cinema is also diverse as it is brilliantly executed, and brutal vengeance horror BEDEVILLED is
no exception.

Hae-won needs to get away from it all and finds herself drawn to Moo Island, where she once spent an idyllic childhood holiday. On arrival she’s reunited with her old friend Bok-nam (THE CHASER‘s Seo Yeong-hie), but Hae-won soon discovers that the island paradise hides a darker, more grotesque society, learning that the hapless Bok-nam is ritually abused by the island’s population. With nothing left to lose, Bok-nam begins a reign of gruesome, blood-drenched revenge.

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

OFFSPRING S2

Nina Proudman is back! Fresh from her 2011 Silver Logie win for Most Popular Actress, Asher Keddie steps back into Nina’s shoes for another season of fun, romance, heartache and laughs in OFFSPRING
SEASON 2.

Six months after fleeing from her unhinged family and fraught love-life, Nina is enjoying a calm existence in Baltimore, but when an emergency brings her back home, Nina is quickly reminded why she left…

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

FEAR OF A BROWN PLANET RETURNS

After a season of critical acclaim and sell out shows, comedy duo Fear of a Brown Planet bring their tongue-in-cheek irreverence to your living room in their first ever DVD! Tackling the topics of immigration, race relations, and the War on Terror head on, FEAR OF A BROWN PLANET RETURNS promises uncompromising, ruthless and cheeky entertainment, and guarantees to be more fun than a night in Guantanamo. Leave your prejudice at the door.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

NEIL PERRY: ROCKPOOL SESSIONS

Have you ever wondered what goes into running one of Australia’s most celebrated restaurants? Well sit back, unfold your napkin, pick up your knife and fork and get ready to feast with NEIL PERRY: ROCKPOOL SESSIONS. Full of delectable dishes, perfect produce and Perry’s trademark ponytail, this seven-part series profiles the world-class restaurant and its signature offerings. From produce through to preparation to presentation, NEIL PERRY: ROCKPOOL SESSIONS is a dedication to the finest dining experience.

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: MEGAFACTORIES – EURO LUXURY CARS

As renowned for their glamour and style as they are for their automotive handling, Mercedes, Audi, Rolls Royce and Bentley are four of Europe’s most enviable luxury car brands, and in MEGAFACTORIES: EURO LUXURY CARS, we are privy to a rare glimpse inside the factory doors of these motoring super powers.

Release Date: 31st August, 2011

HERO 108 VOL 1 & 2

Welcome to Cartoon Network’s latest hit boys’ adventure series – HERO 108! Long ago in The Hidden Kingdom, animals and humans lived together in peace… until the evil HighRoller tricked the animals into believing that the humans were their enemies. HighRoller convinced his animal armies to attack the humans and drive them from their homes. Most humans were so down-trodden, they gave up all hope for better days. That is until Commander ApeTrully created a base of strategic operations in a giant abandoned turtle shell, submerged in a seemingly quiet lake. He called upon rebel humans and animals to fight the villainous HighRoller and dubbed his rebel force ‘Big Green’. Their mission? Restore peace to the land.

Big Green’s most elite team of warriors is called First Squad and consists of Lin Chung, Mighty Ray, Mystique Sonia and Jumpy GhostFace. Together they face off against all manner of fierce creatures, like fire-breathing Ligers and magic lantern-wielding Zebras!

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00 THE MOVIE: AWAKENING OF THE TRAILBLAZER

Featuring the first-ever appearance of alien life forms in the Gundam saga, this long-awaited theatrical event is a mind-expanding adventure through the solar system and beyond!

2314 A.D. The new government of the Earth Sphere Federation is carrying out a program of peaceful reconciliation, and preparing for the appearance of the Innovators who will lead the human race into a new era. But the return of a derelict Jupiter exploration ship marks the beginning of an unprecedented crisis. What are the alien entities known as Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shape-shifters? What do they want? And will Setsuna F. Seiei and his fellow Gundam Meisters be able to answer these questions before humanity is wiped out?

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

RIDEBACK

Atop her robotic RideBack motorcycle, an ex-ballet dancer ignites the fires of rebellion in a nation held captive by its own oppressive government.

After an injury forces Rin to trade her stage career for college life, she finds new thrills as a member of the RideBack Club. When she discovers an unusual connection with one machine in particular – Fuego – she is forced into the middle of a revolution. The tyrannical new government rules with an iron fist, and Rin is reluctant to take them on. But as her dearest friends suffer and the insurgency struggles to topple the increasingly powerful regime, Rin may have no choice but to gun Fuego’s engines and speed directly into the heart of the fight for freedom.

Release Date: 14th September, 2011

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