TRAVELLING FILM FESTIVAL VISITS…NT Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine QLD Bundaberg, Cairns, Mackay, Nambour, Toowoomba, Townsville NSW Huskisson, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Sawtell, Tamworth, Ulladulla, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong TFF AT SEA Sydney to Tasmania

Distinguished Partner

Travelling Film Festival acknowledges the financial assistance of Screen Australia, Screen Queensland and Mackay Regional Council, and is supported by Media Partner ABC Tropical North and Distinguished Partner Princess Cruises.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVESave 30% and see the entire Festival for just $9 per film with a subscription.

FULL SUBSCRIPTION $63 Adult $56 Concession

SINGLE TICKETS $14 Adult $12 Concession $10 Kids/Student/Under 26 Subscriptions are transferable but admit only one person per film. Concessions: unemployed, pensioners, seniors and members of Film & Arts Mackay – upon presentation of ID. All films start at the advertised time.

HOW TO BOOKOnline: sff.org.au/mackay  By Phone: 02 8220 6600In Person: Mackay City Cinemas

Mackay City Cinemas 30 Gordon Street Mackay QLD 4740 (07) 4957 3515

PRESENTED BY Sydney Film Festival

Phone: 02 8220 6600 Email: tff@sff.org.au Website: sff.org.au

Cover image: West of Sunshine

MACKAYMACKAY CITY CINEMAS26 - 28 OCTOBER 2018

Tropical North

OPENING NIGHT : WEST OF SUNSHINESCHEDULE

SPECIAL GUESTFinke: There & Back co-producer Isaac Elliot, who also stars in the film, will attend the session on Sunday for an audience Q&A following the screening.

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 7:00 PM  

Please join us from 6pm for the Opening Night Reception. 

Directed by Jason Raftopoulos | Australia | In English | 78 mins | 15+Jim’s a decent guy who works for a courier company. But he has one terrible problem that’s cost him his marriage. Jim’s gambling addiction has also left him $15,000 in debt to a loan shark. Full payment is due today – or else. Jim’s first thought is to place a big bet on a sure thing in race two at Ballarat. He has no plan B. It’s also school holidays, forcing Jim to take young son Alex around town in search of a solution – or a miracle. Marked by excellent performances and filmed in vibrant, little-seen Melbourne locations, West of Sunshine beautifully captures a father-son relationship and those moments in a child’s life when the adult world comes suddenly and sharply into focus.

“Small scale, big-hearted, thematically ambitious and formally deft...” – FILMINK

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER6:00 PM  OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION7:00 PM WEST OF SUNSHINE (15+)  

SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER  1:00 PM ÁGA (15+)3:15 PM WOMAN AT WAR (15+)  Screens with short film SECOND BEST (15+)6:30 PM THE INSULT (15+)

SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER  11:00 AM FINKE: THERE & BACK (15+) + SPECIAL GUEST1:15 PM THE HEIRESSES (15+)   Screens with short film LOST & FOUND (15+)6:30 PM AMERICAN ANIMALS (MA15+)

ÁGA WOMAN AT WAR THE INSULT FINKE: THERE & BACK

THE HEIRESSES AMERICAN ANIMALS

SAT 27 OCTOBER 1:00 PMDirected by Milko Lazarov | Bulgaria, Germany, France | In Yakut with English subtitles 96 mins | 15+

SELECTED: OFFICIAL COMPETITION, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL AND BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2018

In the snowy Northern wilderness, one of the coldest places on Earth, couple Nanook and Sedna live isolated from the rest of humanity. Each day for them is a difficult one, as their traditional way of life erodes, and the environment becomes more and more unpredictable with the ice melting earlier each year. Their only connection to the outside world is Chena, who visits them regularly, and updates them on their estranged daughter, Ága. Sedna longs to see her daughter again, despite Nanook’s stubborn refusal. Eventually, a long journey ensues in the hope of a reunion. Lazarov and his superb cinematographer take full advantage of the dramatic snowy landscape in this captivating tale.

“Ága emerges as a winning combination of the cozily intimate and the sublimely epic.” – THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

SAT 27 OCTOBER 3:15 PM Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson | France, Iceland, Ukraine | In Icelandic with English subtitles | 100 mins | 15+

WINNER: CANNES CRITICS’ WEEK AWARD, CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2018

SELECTED: SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

50 year-old Halla lives in the beautiful Icelandic Highlands. The warm-hearted choir leader also leads a secret life as a passionate hardcore environmental activist. Armed with her bow and arrow, deftly wielded, Halla sabotages the industry that she feels threatens her beloved landscape. As she embarks on her boldest sabotage plan yet, the stakes are raised when she finds out that she is on the verge of realising a long-cherished dream to adopt a child. Erlingsson takes a wildly daring approach, bringing musical, comedic and social justice elements together in a visually lush film. This gloriously funny film is sure to be one the year’s most memorable.

“Offbeat, poignant and visually exquisite.” – THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Screens with short film SECOND BEST

SAT 27 OCTOBER 6:30 PMDirected by Ziad Doueiri | France, Lebanon In Arabic with English subtitles 112 mins | 15+

WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST FEATURE, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

When Palestinian Muslim foreman Yasser installs a new drainpipe on Lebanese Christian Tony’s balcony without his permission, Tony’s dislike of Palestinians triggers what appears to be a minor disagreement. But insults are hurled, and the situation soon escalates out of control. What begins with a petty argument leads to a highly publicised trial that captivates a nation, and also gives a range of people an opportunity to settle old scores. Doueiri masterfully takes this private clash of wills as a starting point to explore historic rifts amongst Lebanese communities, and the aftermath of the civil war. Intelligently using humour and pathos, The Insult is ultimately a plea for empathy, forgiveness and peace.

“A gripping drama that offers plenty of food for thought.” – FILMINK

SUN 28 OCTOBER 11:00 AMDirected by Dylan River | Australia | In English 90 mins | 15+

SELECTED: SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

Join us after the film for a Q&A session with our festival guest, co-producer Isaac Elliott who also stars in the film.

The Finke Desert Race is the largest off-road motor race in the southern hemisphere, and Australia’s fastest and deadliest off-road motor sport event. The route from Alice Springs to the Finke River looks spectacular, but the track is rife with soft sand and corrugations. Finke is more than a race; it is a way of life. Director Dylan River (a competitor himself) explores the race from within: the contestants, organisers, paramedics, and the drive to win against the desert at all costs. It’s a visual adventure of inspiration and danger, excitement and spills. Dylan River’s previous work includes 2013 SFF Foxtel Documentary Prize winner Buckskin, Berlinale-selected short film Nulla Nulla (2015), and cinematography work alongside his father Warwick Thornton on the acclaimed Sweet Country last year.

As a not-for-profit organisation, the Travelling Film Festival exists through support from you – its audience. Your donations are an investment in the Festival’s future and enable it to keep bringing the best and most important stories from around the world to town each year.

Be a part of the TFF’s future by making a tax-deductible donation today online at sff.org.au/tff/support

For more information about donations and bequests, email us at: donate@sff.org.au

SUPPORT THE TFF

SUN 28 OCTOBER 1:15 PMDirected by Marcelo Martinessi | Paraguay, Germany, Brazil, Uruguay, Norway, France In Spanish with English subtitles | 95 mins 15+

WINNER: SYDNEY FILM PRIZE, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018; AND BEST ACTRESS, BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2018

Chela and Chiquita have been together for over 30 years, living a life of privilege in Paraguay. Times have changed though, and things come to head when Chiquita is imprisoned on fraud charges and sheltered Chela must for the first time fend for herself. This leads to Chela finding a new sense of freedom and independence, as she is forced to and contemplate her life and the choices she’s made. Director Marcelo Martinessi tells a story of a long relationship finally called into question, and the beginnings of new desire.

“A finely-crafted, beautifully realized debut that exquisitely balances character study with shrewd commentary on class, desire, and the lingering privileges of Paraguay’s elite.” – VARIETY

Screens with short film LOST & FOUND

SUN 28 OCTOBER 6:30 PM Directed by Bart Layton | USA | In English 116 mins | 15+

SELECTED: SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

An unbelievable but true story of four college students who are determined to transcend their boring middle class existence. They hatch a plot to pull off an incredible heist: stealing a number of incredibly valuable volumes from their college’s under protected rare books collection. Using a great cast of young talents like Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) and Blake Jenner (Glee), Layton’s brilliant strategy is to also incorporate the four actual subjects into the film. Older, and perhaps wiser, these four men reflect on their past misdeeds, frequently contradicting each other in their Rashomon-like testimonies. Quite unlike any other heist film, American Animals is an energetic, boundary-pushing thriller.

“Both as a writer and director, Layton delivers the dramatic goods here with the skill of a pro at the top of his game, while adding the rueful perspective of time’s reassessment of youthful indiscretions; this has to rate among the most accomplished and fully realized big-screen debuts of recent times.”

– THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

SHORT FILMSSECOND BESTDirected by Alyssa McClelland | Australia | 20 mins | 15+

A dark comedy about the power of identical twin sister and their unbreakable bond, no matter what might try to come between them.

WINNER: DENDY AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018 FILM FESTIVAL 2018

LOST & FOUNDDirected by Andrew Goldsmith & Bradley Slabe | Australia 8 mins | 15+

A bumbling knitted dinosaur must completely unravel itself to save the love of its life.

WINNER: YORAM GROSS ANIMATION AWARD, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

@travellingfilmfestival #travellingfilmfestival

eNews or postal program: sff.org.au/mackaySTAY IN TOUCH /TravellingFilmFestival