Saint-Tropez and the cinema: The 19th Festival des Antipodes

Saint-Tropez and the cinema:
The 19th Festival des Antipodes

Mahana - The Patriarch

It’s in the city of Saint-Tropez that you can immerse yourself in the best of cinema from down under – and you can do that without leaving the historic centre of Saint-Tropez and its famous Place des Lices!

 

Some of the titles already programmed for this year’s festival include the intriguing, stylish and surprising thriller by Sotiris Dounoukos, Joe Cinque’s Consolation, one of Australian cinema’s rare forays into the nation’s capital, Canberra. Inhabiting a different world, Mahana, the new film by Once Were Warriors director Lee Tamahori, centres on a Maori family ruled by an authoritarian patriarch, Tamihana Mahana. The 1960s are also the focus of Jasper Jones by the indigenous Australian filmmaker Rachel Perkins (director of Bran Nue Dae), an adaptation of an Australian literary classic that plunges us into the life of a small town during a scorching summer that pushes its characters to extremes. We’ll even be taken to Hollywood in the refreshing comedy by Gregory Erdstein, That’s Not Me, a quirky story of twin sisters… and actresses! The notion of twinship comes up again in the bizarre universe of Saara Lamberg’s Innuendo, which brings to mind that of David Lynch! We’ll take to the road with musicians in a reggae band in The Pa Boys by Himiona Grace, as they travel from Wellington to Cape Reinga at the northern tip of New Zealand. We’ll enter the world of Aboriginal people in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Fred Schepisi, a remarkable screen adaptation of the Thomas Keneally novel in which a young Aboriginal man raised by a white Methodist minister aspires to be accepted by a society that rejects him. A masterpiece by the director of The Eye of the Storm, this film was selected in the Official Competition at Cannes in 1978. Another Australian cinema classic, Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940) by Charles Chauvel, will give us an opportunity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba, which was brought to an end in October 1917 by a brave and successful mounted charge at dusk by an Australian cavalry brigade. Spectators will also discover a restored print of the magical film The Last Wave by Australian cinema giant Peter Weir, as well as another great classic and an iconic depiction of Melbourne, Nadia Tass’ superb comedy, Malcolm.

That's Not Me - The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith - The Pa Boys

In another vein, New Zealand cinema brings us a rare gem, The Catch, a film with deep meaning and a great sense of humanity and humility that recounts the life of fishermen and residents of a small community in the picturesque Kaipara Harbour. Then there’s the lively, upbeat world of Australian director Sophie Mathisen’s stunning romantic comedy Drama, which was shot none other than in Paris!

And, of course, you will also find the Antipodes Junior Section aimed at young audiences, with its Short Film Competition, a selection of documentaries, cinema classics, films from Australia and New Zealand that have not previously been screened, and a window onto Australia’s neighbouring countries. School audiences can also take advantage of our customary exhibition held in the Salle Despas, which this year focuses on Aboriginal painting and includes an educational component that will enhance our knowledge of these cultures whose artworks are part of collections at museums around the world.

Jasper Jones

So, let’s get ready to head to Saint-Tropez to experience the Antipodes and to make every day a festival of cinema, culture and dialogue across the oceans…

Bernard Bories
President of the Cinéma des Antipodes Association