Ab Film Review & The Last New Wave

Director Justin Kurzel has crafted a filmography built on exploring the impact of trauma and violence on a nation. Whether it be his excoriating debut film Snowtown or the acts of cautionary storytelling with Nitram and The Order, Kurzel’s work questions how violence and trauma lingers in our bodies, our minds, and in our lands. That’s a notion that he explores with impressive strength with his first foray into documentary filmmaking, Ellis Park.There’s catharsis in Ellis Park, partially because of Warren Ellis and his healing violin, but – as the man says himself – his presence is minimal compared to the presence of Femke and the conservationists. Yet, when paired with Kurzel and editor Nick Fenton, they collectively bring light to a horrifying trade that scars the environment. I’m shaken by Ellis Park because of its presentation of trauma, but equally so for its depiction of empathy, consideration, and support.This is, oddly, my first time talking to Justin Kurzel. Having listened to and read countless inte

There's a delirious level of dark comedy that thrives in the new short film DIY from director Tony Gardiner and writer Lachlan Marks. A woman, played with a disarming ease by Claire Lovering, is mourning the passing of her dog. As she drills into the wall to hang up a picture of her pup, she is surprised to find blood coming out of the hole. Heading to the other side of the wall, she finds the dead body - the first of the dilemmas she encounters. The next is Damon Herriman's organised crime cleaner. From here, DIY unfurls in a delirious level of bleak comedy that splashes the audience with acidity as we're invited to laugh along with the depths that Tony and Lachlan's characters fall into.I caught up with Tony and Lachlan ahead of DIYs screenings at both the St Kilda Film Festival on 8 June and the Sydney Film Festival on 14 June, where the film is a finalist in the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films. In the following interview, Tony and Lachlan talk about their collaborative approach to horror-comedy fi

Chad Freidrichs is a documentarian who has crafted a filmography built with a series of fringe stories that unveil fascinating narratives that exist just outside the periphery of normalcy. His first feature doc, Jandek on Corwood, sees a reclusive folk and blues musician gain a following, all the while he never truly engages with his followers fascination with his work. In 2011, Chad crafted the ethnographic documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, which looks at the urban racism that existed in social housing in St Louis. Then, in 2017, with The Experimental City, Chad explores the rise and fall of societal ideas as witnessed with The Minnesota Experimental City, a grand vision that was never truly realised.Each of these stories have paved the way for his latest film, The Cinema Within, an exploration into the way editing works. Chad explores the language of cinema with Walter Murch, whose book In the Blink of an Eye equally explores the role blinking plays in editing, and also scholar David Bordwell who explores t

Part of why Coming & Going feels like a quiet revolution of a film is the manner that Andy presents vulnerability, loneliness, and tenderness on screen. 'Baby, you are gonna miss that plane' is what Julie Delpy said to Ethan Hawke as she danced in the climax of Before Sunset, creating one of cinemas finest romantic moments. Andy pulls from the echo of that scene, creating the pivotal moment within Coming & Going with a scene that has Harry taking a guitar off the wall and playing a song for Julian, gifting his momentary boyfriend lyrics and a tune that will exist only in that moment and only for him. Moments. They're what memories are made out of. They're anchor points in time which we stare endlessly at as we walk backwards into the future, its impact having forever changed how we form new memories in our present.Part of why Coming & Going feels like a quiet revolution of a film is the manner that Andy presents vulnerability, loneliness, and tenderness on screen. 'Baby, you are gonna miss that pl

Matthew Rankin is a Canadian filmmaker who hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His work, which includes the acclaimed award-winning 2019 feature The Twentieth Century, has often been called 'experimental' or a slice of 'absurdist comedy'. That's partially true, but I'd go a step further and say that there's a touch of humanist storytelling to his work, one that's crafted from a globalist perspective. That mindset is accentuated with Rankin's latest film, the tender and superb Universal Language, a Canadian film where characters speak in Persian rather than English or French, where a guide shows a group of bored tourists the banal sites of Winnipeg, where turkey shop owners wear pink cowboy hats, and where two young kids, Negin (played by Rojinia Esmaeili) and Nazgol (played by Saba Vahedyousefi), find money frozen in ice and seek a way to retrieve it so they can buy their classmate a new pair of glasses.This is our world knocked off its axis ever so slightly. It's a place which is familiar, yet distinctly differen

Isabella Tree is a noted conservationist and the author of the acclaimed book Wilding, which tells the story of Isabella and her husband as they undertook the immense and impressive journey to rewild their failing four-hundred-year-old estate in England, bringing beavers and cranes back to the country for the first time in years.Wilding, alongside the work of fellow conservationist Derek Gow, author of such books as Birds, Beasts, and Bedlam and Bringing Back the Beaver, have become foundational texts for me, having guided my perspective as a wannabe conservationist, albeit with a minimalist perspective as someone trapped in the midst of suburbia and rental life. Wilding is a lovely film, green and grand with its ideas and vision. I was lucky to be able to speak with Isabella ahead of the films run in Australian cinemas from 22 May. The following interview kicks off with a nod to our respective stacked bookshelves which stood behind us in our Zoom windows to our lives and the importance of not just rewilding

Co-writer and actor Archie Lush, director Alex Power, and producer Mark Zanosov take us to the streets of Fremantle, Western Australia, where their short film Blunt pushes us into the simmering heat of the kitchen. Under the spatter of duck fat and the glint of sharp knives is the mounting pressure of being a top tier chef, a notion that's amplified by Archie Lush's emerging culinary creative need to try and save his fathers struggling restaurant. Shot with a vivid realisation from one of Australia's finest emerging talents, cinematographer James Dudfield, and edited with precision by Hamish Paterson, Blunt is a rapid fire short that immerses you in the world of fine dining in a way that'll scratch that itch between seasons of The Bear.In the following interview, Archie, Alex, and Mark talk about shooting in Freo, the importance of having stylistic and stunning food - as created by key food stylist Iara Arruda, and where they each see their creatives journeys going over the coming years. They also talk about

Nadine Whitney had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Karan Kandhari and Radhika Apte about Sister Midnight and how as original and ‘weird’ as it is, it’s also representative of people who are rarely seen as (essential) inhabitants of Mumbai. Both Karan and Radhika are an absolute joy to listen to.  Kandhari’s film is a marvel of inventiveness. The work itself breaks the rules of what is considered genre cinema by never settling on one. Sister Midnight is much like the artist who performed the song after which it is named. Igwald Popstar – known to people who haven’t chosen a ridiculous nickname for him as Iggy Pop or James Newell Osterberg Jr., – a man for whom conformity is as anathema as wearing a shirt. It’s punk, it’s unpredictable, and it has no time to explain itself to people who aren’t feeling its strange and wonderful rhythms.Uma and Gopal barely speak to each other but when Uma does open her mouth the crude (but funny) invectives pour out. Her spikiness doesn’t bother her neighbour S

Genevieve Bailey is a documentarian who has drawn attention to the impact of societal struggles with mental illness through her empathetic and nurturing body of work. With feature films like I Am Eleven and Happy Sad Man, Gen embraces a supportive mindset, using the power of cinema to bring real stories to audiences. It's that sense of support that is keenly felt in her latest documentary, Always Listening, a short film about the history of Lifeline Australia. Gen takes us to the end of the telephone where we meet the many counsellors and support people who volunteer their time, emotions, and empathetic listening skills to guide people through mental health crisis events, suicidal ideation, and other critical mental struggles.Like Gen's previous film Happy Sad Man, Always Listening is a beautiful and moving experience, opening audiences up to the power of understanding emotion and empathy, while also guiding people who live with their own mental health struggles to understand that there is help available and

Lorcan Finnegan's wild and weird trip-fest flick The Surfer is one that's had local audiences salivating at the prospect of its arrival. That anticipation went into hyperdrive when Oscar winning actor and walking cult-factory Nicolas Cage was announced as the leading man, a bloke returning home to the South West to buy his family home, reconnect with family, and surf a little. His idea of a Christmas sojourn is scarpered when 'the locals', headed up by Julian McMahon at his career best, thwart his chance of escaping the heat and securing the home he has his eyes on.The Surfer is, admittedly, a divisive flick, with reactions ranging from comparisons to Wake in Fright, to our own critic Cody Allen voicing displeasure with it. I personally found the film akin to that of a dehydrated fever dream, as if you're continually out of reach of hydrolytes and salvation, so instead you have to resort to drinking dog shit filled water and maybe chowing down on local rodents to get by. It's sweaty, filthy, and at times, odd

Jacob Richardson's feature film debut The Aegean sees the Queensland based writer-director embrace the Grecian story of a widower, Hector (Costas Mandylor), who finds himself in the orbit of Khristos (Light), a refugee who finds himself in the waters of the Aegean Sea. As Khristos finds himself becoming embedded in Hector's life, he discovers an unexpected bond that will give him a sense of place and purpose that he was missing.In the above interview, Jacob talks about the personal connection to the narrative of The Aegean, how he worked with Costas Mandylor and Light to create their characters, and what it was like working with cinematographer Oliver Hay and composer Allister Harrison on the film. Jacob also talks about his journey from being a film critic to a filmmaker, and how each creative endeavour impacts on the other.The Aegean is released by Radioactive Pictures in Australian cinemas on 16 May 2025. Check your local cinema for screening dates.Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky @thecurbau.

With her essential website Infinite-Women.com, Allison Tyra has built a deep database that contains more than 6000 biographies from around the world and throughout history, documenting the biographies of women who have made a mark in history. Her debut book, Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work, expands on the database within Infinite Women and explores the stories of over 600 women who have had their work or achievements be overlooked, misattributed, or stolen, ultimately leaving their legacy as an uncredited and unacknowledged one.In the following interview, Allison talks about her creative process of documenting the biographies of women from around the world and throughout history while also talking about the cataloguing and database work that she undertakes to track the growing stories of the women she has documented. Allison then also talks about some of the entries that can be found within Uncredited, and what her future book plans are.With Infinite Women and Uncredited, Alliso

Kelly Schilling's feature debut film With or Without You is the powerful and impactful story of a mother, Sharon (Marta Dusseldorp) and a daughter, Chloe (Melina Vidler), who are forced to navigate the complicated reality of alcohol addiction, an affliction that Sharon uses to manage her anxiety alongside Valium and men. For Chloe, the man in her life, an ex-boyfriend, turns violent and aggressive, inflicting abuse on her by burning down her caravan, destroying her life savings and home in the process. In a bid to get to some kind of safety and sanctuary, Sharon and Chloe head on the road, meeting Dalu (Albert Mwangi) on the way, a West African man who is looking for work in the Australian countryside.With or Without You had its world premiere at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival, the end result of a decades long journey for Kelly Schilling, who has written the script and directed the film from a lived-in perspective. It's that script, which has changed over the years into the text that it is today, that gives

One of the more exciting news points in recent weeks has been the announcement of the new First Nations initiative Damulgurra Stories. Founded by Larrakia man Cian Mungatj McCue, of Moogie Down Productions, and award-winning casting director and producer Sarah Price of Castaway NT, Damulgurra Stories aims to transform the way productions work with First Nations cast, crew and creatives both on and off screen— providing resources, protocols and training rooted in cultural integrity, collaboration and empowerment.Andrew caught up with Cian and Sarah ahead of the launch of Damulgurra Stories at Screen Forever on the Gold Coast this week to talk about the foundation of Damulgurra Stories, the change in First Nations storytelling in Australia, and how young and emerging First Nations talent can engage in storytelling.For more information, read the press release here.If you want to find out more about the work we do on The Curb, then head over to TheCurb.com.au, or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, a

Lars and the Real Girl is Craig Gillespie's 2007 indie comedy-drama about a man who has an unconventional relationship with a sex doll. That man is a young Ryan Gosling, who is supported by Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Patricia Clarkson, and Bianca the Doll.Umbrella Entertainment have released an impressive collectors edition of the film which features custom artwork, a poster, artcards, essays, an audio commentary by Thomas Caldwell, and more.Nadine Whitney reviews the film, the disc, and the extras in this podcast discussion.Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky @thecurbau. We are a completely independent and ad free website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. For an exclusive, extended interview with Jane Larkin, visit Patreon.com/thecurbau, where you can support our work from as little as $1 a month. If you are unable to financially support us, then please consider sharing this interview with your film loving friends.We’d also love it if you cou

Before commencing her career as a filmmaker, Jane Larkin was an Australian representative sprinter, pushing her body to the limits on the track. In the moments of preparation, cooldowns, and every minute in between, Jane was building friendships, learning from fellow athletes, and seeing a world of sports that we rarely get to see in cinema.After shifting over to acting in 2018, Jane embraced roles in films like Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives and the Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe, before commencing on her biggest creative project yet: The Edge. Jane wears multiple hats on her feature film debut, embracing the role of director, writer, producer, and co-lead actor, as she plays the role of Annie Murphy.Like Jane, Annie is a sprinter, and it's her performance, alongside fellow athletes-turned-actors, Lily Riley a powerlifter who plays Sylvia, and paralympic swimmer Mei Ichinose who plays Yui, that gives The Edge a docu-drama feeling. This is ultimately a film about the world of sport, and to get that holisti

Andres Veiel's latest documentary, Riefenstahl, delves into the dark and deep archive of the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, exposing the deep ties the filmmaker had with the Nazi regime. Andres uses footage and correspondence from Riefenstahl's own personal records, including hidden interviews and documents that present a different side of a director who has been both acclaimed and criticised for her role in the rising Nazi regime.Riefenstahl is a powerful and impactful film that shows just how deep the director was within Hitler's regime, and how much she tried to micro-manage her own public facing image, down to the point of giving precise direction to those who were interviewing her. This is captivating work from Andres Veiel.In the above interview with Andres Veiel, recorded ahead of Riefenstahl's Australian screenings at the German Film Festival, which Andres will be in attendance for, the documentarian talks about the importance of creating the final statement on Leni Riefenstahl's filmography at t

Saskia Archer is an actor on the rise. From the streets of Sydney, to the turf of Tasmania where she embarked on a path to become a paramedic, to a shift to WA where she built her acting skills at the WA Academy of Performing Arts, and now, to the bustling city of New York, Saskia is seeing the world and forging a path in acting doing so.Genre-fans might know Saskia from the 2022 flick The Reef: Stalked, where she played Annie, while others might know her as her turn as Hanabeth in Bali 2022. For these roles, and more to come, including a turn in Shane Black's upcoming film Play Dirty, Saskia leans on her foundations as an empathy-first actor, utilising her skills to change audiences moods and emotions.In the following interview, Saskia talks through her path into acting, what kinds of roles and actors she looks up to, how her initial training as a paramedic informs her acting work, and a lot more. Follow Saskia on Instagram to keep up with her future projects.We are a completely independent and ad free websi

Eli Craig smashed onto the slasher scene with his genre-defying comedy event Tucker & Dale VS Evil, and he's back with another slasher that upends expectations: Clown in a Cornfield.Clown in a Cornfield is based on the first entry in Adam Cesare's Frendo series which chucks a group of teens into the mayhem of a Midwestern American town where they find themselves picked off by a growing group of killer clowns. Eli Craig then takes that terror from the page and supplants it brilliantly with a satirical and savvy stance, making one of the most enjoyably subversive horror flicks of the year so far.It's also one of the most timely too, as it's a horror film about the flyover states of America, yet it's shot in Canada. That added layer of political devilishness is one of the things that I ask Eli about in the following interview.This chat is an open one from Eli, with the horror director talking about the journey of Tucker & Dale VS Evil from being an unseen flick to a cult classic which has fans demanding

Every so often, you sit down to watch a film, and find that it unexpectedly fills a hole you didn't know you had in your life. You might not know you needed a charming, dose of positivity in that moment, but as the seconds tick over, you find yourself being swept along in a wave of joy that your day shifts and things that would usually bother you suddenly bounce off you, even if it's just for a day.That's what I experienced when I watched Jesse Leaman's delightful short film, Mother of Chooks, a pure hearted documentary about Elaine James, a Geelong local who becomes connected with her local community thanks to her strong relationship with her flock of chickens. She's got frizzles, wyandottes, bantams, and a glorious Isa Brown named Flapper, and each morning she bundles up her feathered friends and heads out into the world. Elaine and her chooks chat together at a local cafe, or take to the beach for a spot of swimming. For the chooks that aren't partial to the waves, they go for a spin on the local playgroun