This diversity of programming at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA has built a deeply loyal audience that returns again and again — some dedicated patrons to virtually every screening — and has positioned QAGOMA to now proudly present the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF). A much-loved institution in its own right, BIFF was a fixture in Brisbane cinemas from 1992 to 2013, taking a three-year hiatus before returning in 2017. Now calling GOMA home, BIFF has been embraced by the Australian Cinémathèque team, who are looking forward to building the Festival further over the next three years.

GOMA has been an active supporter of BIFF since 2007, presenting curated programs in conjunction with the Festival such as ‘Buñuel in Mexico’ and ‘Andrei Tarkovsky: Poet of the Cinema’. GOMA has also supported screenings by the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF), Queensland Film Festival (QFF) and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA).

Shoplifters | BIFF 2018

Screening Saturday 20 October, Japanese auteur Hirokazu Koreeda’s Palme d’Or–winning film Shoplifters is a warm and moving depiction of a makeshift family living on the outskirts of society. After sporadically-employed father Osamu takes his young son out shoplifting one evening, they stumble across an abandoned five-year-old girl on their trip back home. Taking her into their ramshackle house — shared also by Osamu’s wife Nobuyo, her younger sister Aki, and frail grandmother Hatsue — the family adopts the young girl and immerses her into their life of cheerful petty thievery. Koreeda has crafted a sumptuously lived-in world for these characters, with an empathetic honesty shining through every frame. Filled with both good humour and touching melancholy, Shoplifters is an irresistible tale about the meaning of family.

In 2018, QAGOMA will present a dynamic Festival program of films and events, celebrating exceptional films from Australia, the region and the world. Under the guidance of BIFF artistic director Amanda Slack-Smith, Curatorial Manager of the Australian Cinémathèque, the Festival brings together the best of screen culture. Drawing on a love of the moving image, and of sharing these experiences with others, BIFF 2018 extends the cinema experience to include VR theatre performances, silent films presented with new live scores, platforms for filmmakers to engage with audiences, discussions about emerging trends in the industry, and social events.

Casanova Gene | BIFF 2018

Screening Saturday 13 and Friday 19 October, Casanova Gene deftly interweaves documentary with performance, a tantalising exploration of nature, gender, culture and desire. In a research facility, two caged finches court each other. Actor John Malkovich discards his Casanova disguise during a backstage interview with a young female reporter. An S&M mistress and her client barter the terms of submission. With the lightest of touches, this debut feature from Luise Donschen is governed by scenes of suggestion rather than argument. Images and ideas flutter to and fro in this evocative examination of the laws of attraction and sensuality. The film combines documentary and fiction highlighting the spaces between performance and curiosity.

Festival Patrons Academy Award-nominated director Bruce Beresford and Chauvel Award-winning producer Sue Milliken AO also offer a rare opportunity for audiences to hear from two internationally renowned Australian film professionals as they discuss their extensive history of working together and their new film Ladies in Black 2018. Beresford will also be joined by internationally acclaimed dancer Li Cunxin, artistic director of the Queensland Ballet, to discuss the director’s feature film Mao’s Last Dancer 2009, which tells Li’s extraordinary life story.

Dan Cameron is Senior Communication Officer, QAGOMA

Be part of BIFF 2018 at QAGOMA — the new home of Brisbane’s flagship film festival.

BIFF 2018

The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) has long been a vital moment in the city’s cultural calendar, a time for cinema lovers to congregate, contemplate and debate screen culture. BIFF 2018 is 11 days of award-winning and first-look films alongside acclaimed titles by established and emerging directors from Australia and the world.

Our program highlights over 100 features, documentaries and shorts, with curated programs celebrating trends from Iran, Asia and Africa, and we explore big philosophical questions alongside playful and political works. Festival Patron Bruce Beresford, besides his in conversations, also curates a selection of his favourite films and career highlights: ‘Bruce Beresford Selects’ and ‘Bruce Beresford Directs’, and we bring you a number of recently restored features and beloved Australian classics.

In My Room | BIFF 2018

Screening Sunday 14 and Wednesday 17 October, Ulrich Köhler’s Cannes-premiering In My Room is an atmospheric piece of modern German cinema in which a layabout cameraman finds himself totally alone on the planet after a mysterious apocalyptic event. Armin (Hans Löw) is living a dishevelled and discontented life in Berlin when he returns to his small hometown to visit his father and ailing grandmother. His daily malaise now punctuated by petty arguments, Armin wakes one morning to find the township deserted without explanation, an apocalyptic event that forces him to begin a new life on his own in an empty world. Both a Robinson Crusoe-esque survivalist tale and a biting social commentary, In My Room is a film like no other.

We open with the Queensland premiere of Celeste, a compelling North Queensland love story. Directed by Brisbane’s Ben Hackworth with a stellar cast, it celebrates the beauty of Queensland and the quality of filmmaking in the state. Another highlight is the powerful and timely documentary Wik vs Queensland, which screens alongside a panel of distinguished guests who were involved in the momentous land rights decision in 1996.

The Festival experience comes to life with dynamic events including VR performances, classic silent films with live scores, and industry-led workshops and discussions such as the Queensland Emerging Screen Talent Conference, the YouTube Creator Day for Filmmakers and much more.

I thank the many filmmakers, special guests and industry professionals featured in the Festival, most importantly, I thank you, our cinema audience, whose energy in engaging with audacious ideas will make the Festival a true success.

Amanda Slack-Smith is Artistic Director for BIFF 2018, and Curatorial Manager of QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA.

The Wurlitzer console at the Gallery of Modern Art / Photograph: Joe Ruckli © QAGOMA / View full image

The Cameraman | BIFF 2018

Screening Saturday 20 October, Buster Keaton explores the art of cinematography and the rollercoaster of romance in this 1928 silent film. The last film in which Keaton had full creative control and one of the final films of the silent era, The Cameraman — shot on the streets of Los Angeles — is full of technical innovations, physical acrobatics, on-screen romance and an exuberant monkey. A love letter to the movie camera and silent cinema, this delightful comedy finds Keaton at his very best. The film screens with a new live score on the Gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer organ by David Bailey.

Explore the Australian Cinémathèque’s ongoing program of film and video / Delve into BIFF and our past programs

QAGOMA presents the 2018 Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) from 11 to 21 October. BIFF 2018 will launch on Thursday 11 October at GOMA with tickets to the BIFF program now on sale.

The Festival is presented at QAGOMA’s purpose built Cinémathèque, the only facility of its kind in an Australian art museum, and city-wide at partner venues including Event Cinemas at Brisbane City Myer Centre; Five Star Cinemas (New Farm Cinemas and Elizabeth Picture Theatre); Reading Cinemas at Newmarket; Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre; State Library of Queensland and the Brisbane Powerhouse.

QAGOMA is the only Australian art gallery with purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image. The Australian Cinémathèque provides an ongoing program of film and video that you’re unlikely to see elsewhere, offering a rich and diverse experience of the moving image, showcasing the work of influential filmmakers and international cinema, rare 35mm prints, recent restorations and silent films with live musical accompaniment.

The festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland in association with the Australian Federal Government through Screen Australia.

Feature image: Production still from Jirga 2018 / Director: Benjamin Gilmour / Image courtesy: Footprint Films

Screening Saturday 13 October, Jirga 2018 is a tale of regret and redemption, telling the story of a former Australian soldier still haunted by the death of an unarmed man during a raid on a small village in Afghanistan three years prior. Former soldier Mike (Sam Smith) sets off on a harrowing journey through war-torn Afghanistan to seek forgiveness from the victim’s family and to place his life in the hands of the village justice system, the Jirga. Don’t miss director Benjamin Gilmour, actor Sam Smith and producer John Maynard after the screening as they talk about the dangerous and challenging journey when they were left stranded in Pakistan because their local financier pulled out at the last moment.

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