Titicut Documentary Blog. Documentary film reviews & filmmaking

Safina Uberoi’s documentary, A Good Man, will be screening at The Chauvel in Sydney on Saturday the 5th September. Press release follows:

A Good Man, by Safina Uberoi, is the true story of a struggling Australian farmer, his quadriplegic wife, their newborn baby and their plans to open a brothel in a small country town. The film will be captioned for the hearing impaired and will be followed by a Q&A with the film-makers. All proceeds from the screening will go towards creating a fully accessible version of the film with captions for the hearing impaired and audio-description for the vision impaired.

Accessible Arts is pleased to provide support and sector information to the producers of A Good Man for the incorporation of access technology in the film; marketing to key organisations and for future accessible screenings of A Good Man in cinemas and television.

When: Saturday 5th September. 6.30pm
Where: The Chauvel Cinema, cnr Oxford st and Oatley rd, Paddington
Cost: $20/15
Bookings: Call 02 9361 5398 or online at http://www.chauvelcinema.net.au

Documentary Screenings Australia, Safina Uberoi, The Chauvel Cinema

Bastardy is a feature documentary from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson. The film focusses on pioneering Australian Aboriginal actor, Jack Charles, a troubled character who lives out his post-thespian glory days as a cat burglar and junkie in Melbourne.

Filmed over a number of years, Bastardy is a film that suggests a close relationship between the director and his subject. We see Charles shooting up heroin in the film’s opening moments and as similar scenes repeat throughout the documentary, a sort of symbiosis between the filmmaker / character is implied. As a director, Courtin-Wilson has obvious respect for the aging actor and reciprocation from Charles, who candidly exposes himself (criminality and all) is what gives the film its legs.

In one irksome scene, the director confronts Charles from behind his lens about a robbery, which the actor-cum-thief admits to. Without fishing for audience sympathy, the two then embark upon returning the stolen goods in an effort to redeem Charles.

This is less your typical fall from grace story and more a chronicle of fallibility. Moments of tribulation are interspersed with elements from the poetic mode of documentary representation; pickups are captured with the aesthetic beauty afforded by 16mm film stock and rendered with subtle filmic effects.

The sum of these parts is a sincere and beautiful film which, despite the foibles of it’s central character, shows him in an endearing, humanist light. It is no wonder the film has taken out so many festival awards.

http://www.bastardydocumentary.com

Titicut Rating: 3.5 / 5

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Documentary Reviews aboriginal, Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Australia, Jack Charles, participatory

Sydney techno collective Clan Analog have a documentary coming out entitled Plug In & Switch On. It’s only 26 minutes long so the scope is probably firmly on the music and less about the warehouse in which the collective blossomed. Let’s hope the filmmakers have done justice to Clan, who were a seminal underpinning of the 90’s electronic music scene in Sydney.

Documentary Trailers Australia, music

I’ve really been taking it easy on the documentary front recently. As mentioned in the last post, I’ve even stooped so low as to watch documentaries online. While that isn’t bad in and of itself, it’s certainly a far cry from the 3 documentaries a day that I’d been watching before working full time. Yes, you read that right… full time work… it’s a massive thorn in the side of watching films and blogging.

Anyway, in my online travels, I’ve scoped some gems from a fairly well-known Australian director, David Caesar.

His films, Body Work, Car Crash and Fences are fine examples of the participatory documentary form, with more than a hint of Errol Morris stylings, circa 1980s. All films above are crafted with masterly direction and are well worth checking out if you’re into the sort of documentaries that seek to inform the human condition. I mean that too.

Uncategorized Australia, David Caesar, participatory

It’s been a long time between drinks hasn’t it? I’ve still been watching docos and writing review notes which one day soon I’ll turn into real reviews. I’ve actually been watching nature type documentaries on ABC iView.

Yes, it’s come to that. The nature documentary part I mean, not iView, which is pretty sweet.

Uncategorized ABC iView, Australia

A Good Man is the story of Chris Rohrlach, a farmer from Inverell in rural New South Wales who also happens to be the full-time carer for his quadriplegic wife, Rachel. When times got tough on the farm, Chris decided to change industries and opened a brothel.

You read that right. Sounds like doco gold.

The film premieres at the 2009 Adelaide Film Festival on February 21. Chris Rohrlach will be in attendance for a post-screening Q & A.

Documentary Screenings Australia, Chris Rohrlach, farming, prostitution, Safina Uberoi