Founded in 1952, the Melbourne International Film Festival is among the longest-running film events in the world, championing Australian cinema while also showcasing the best international work on the fest circuit. The 2015 edition opens today, Thursday, July 30 and runs through Sunday, August 16, and presents approximately 80 new and retrospective feature length documentaries as part of its impressive line-up. A selection of world premieres, regional filmmaking, and less familiar titles are noted below.
Australia’s troubled relationship with its indigenous community is addressed in Molly Reynolds’ ANOTHER COUNTRY, a personal account of the disconnect between governmental policies of assimilation and community traditions; and Nicole Ma’s PUTUPARRI AND THE RAINMAKERS, about a man straddling Australian and traditional cultures. Other portraits of Australians include the fellow world premieres of Lynn-Maree Milburn and Richard Lowenstein’s ECCO HOMO, about a still misunderstood artist and performer; and Margot Nash’s THE SILENCES, about her experiences with her parents’ mental illness. The premieres are rounded out by Lawrence Johnston’s NEON, a study and appreciation of the elemental lighting source; and George Gittoes’ SNOW MONKEY (pictured), the noted photojournalist’s exploration of Afghan child gangs.
Michael Ware and Bill Guttentag deliver a portrait of another war correspondent in ONLY THE DEAD; Christopher Pryor explores New Zealand masculinity and sports via rugby in THE GROUND WE WON (pictured); and Jennifer Peedom chronicles the summiting of Everest through the eyes of mountain guides in SHERPA. Finally, the festival presents a pair of international hybrid projects: Martti Helde’s IN THE CROSSWIND, which recreates Stalin’s genocide of the Baltic states via a series of tableaux vivants; and Luo Li’s LI WEN AT EAST LAKE, an exploration of the cost of development in China set around a fictional investigation.
what (not) to doc 