2017 marks the 20th year of the Revelation Perth International Film Festival. With Rev poised to unleash its biggest year yet, we took a look at the program which launched over the weekend. More a novella than a pamphlet, the program is packed with more than 200 films, short films, events, art installations, and workshops that will take place between July 6-19. There will also be a number of special guests of the festival, the most notable of which is Australia’s own James Bond, George Lazenby.
With so much on offer, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Here’s a few quick recommendations from us.
Becoming Bond: A documentary on George Lazenby, his early career, and his turn at playing the renowned secret agent. Also keep an eye out for a screening of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Q&A by Lazenby.
Suspended Voices (Installation): A video installation artwork suspended in St George’s Cathedral by audiovisual artist/musician Roy Skender.
Night Of The Living Dead (Re-Composed): The classic George A Romero zombie film, with a soundtrack provided by experimental arts/ music collective Genrefonix.
Club Rev @ Babushka: A collection of paid and free events at Babushka during the run of Rev, involving 16mm film, panels, and live music.
Mini Rev: Revelation is not just for the adults, but a number of films and workshops are being pitched to the kids, just in time for holidays.
The Girl With All The Gifts: A horror/ Young Adult genre mash-up set in a near future England over-run by the zombie apocalypse.
Lazybones: a low-budget Australian comedy drama about a twenty-something aspiring stand-up comedian that deftly nails both genres.
My Life As A Zucchini: The Oscar nominated animated film tells the story of the nine year old orphaned Courgette (Zucchini).
Patty Cake$: A girl from the wrong side of the tracks dreams of being a rapper. As she joins with a group of fellow outsiders, this film promises to twist between drama and raucous comedy.
Top Knot Detective: The greatest cult show that never was, Top Knot Detective is an amazing comedy and a great insight into Australia’s fascination with Asian cult TV. Come experience the joy of “Deductive Reasoning!!!!”
78/52: A deep delve documentary into Hitchcock’s famous Psycho shower scene (78 shots in 52 seconds).
Meal Tickets: 10 years in the making. The near rise of the Perth band The Screwtop Detonators, and the tale of Will Stoker, all in one documentary.
The Last Laugh: What is the role of humour when looking at The Holocaust? From Mel Brooks to Jerry Lewis’ The Day The Clown Died, this is a documentary that looks at how comedians have used humour to examine the horrific.
Dave Made A Maze: A thirty-something unemployed artist builds a maze out of cardboard in his apartment, and becomes trapped when it takes on a life of its own. Think Labyrinth via Clerks covered by the doco team from Poltergeist, and you’re very close to the mark.
So there’s a sample of what perks our interest, but with a whole gamut on offer, it’s worth picking up a program and seeing for yourself.
DAVID O’CONNELL
