The Eaglehawk Neck Film Society

Storyline:

• Two drag-queens (Anthony/Mitzi and Adam/Felicia) and a transgender woman contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. They head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla. En route, it is discovered that the woman they’ve contracted with is Anthony’s wife. Their bus breaks down, and is repaired by Bob, who travels on with them.—Randy Goldberg 

   

  • Director

    • Stephan Elliott

  • Writer

    • Stephan Elliot 

  • Stars

    • Hugo Weaving

    • Guy Pearce

    • Terence Stamp

• Review 

  Improbably great

  …and I don’t say “great” lightly. This isn’t merely some tired road comedy in drag, it’s a fun, at times surprisingly moving story.

  Part of my immense surprise comes because I’d never really understood the appeal of drag shows. While I’m not sure I’m any bigger a fan, I definitely found myself drawn into the little universe created here.

  The central characters are real people who manage to play to stereotypes without succumbing to them. I was frankly amazed by Terence Stamp, an actor who has made a career playing dangerous, macho types, and made a surprisingly compelling and believable ageing transsexual. The novelty quickly wore off; it was one of those rare performances that was just totally without affect. Honestly, one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.

  Fun, as I expected, but there’s a genuine affection and depth here. A very pleasant surprise.

   

Storyline:

• Follows Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild blue grouper while diving. When Abby realizes that the fish is under threat, she takes inspiration from her activist mum, Dora, and takes on poachers to save her friend.

   

  • Director

    • Robert Connolly

  • Writer

    • Robert Connolly 

    • Tim Winton

  • Stars

    • Mia Wasikowska 

    • Albert Mwangi

    • Ariel Donoghue

• Review 

  In an early scene, after examining a piece of coral, she delivers sad news to fish on her boat: “Your home is dying and I don’t know how to help.” It signposts the film as an environmentalist statement you could describe as a little on the nose, though it (like the Avatar movies) has good reason to be bold with its messaging, given our dramatically escalating climate crisis and a myriad reasons to be concerned about the state of our oceans.

  Abby’s friendship with the underwater extrovert allows her to put a fishy face to the preciousness of the reef and inspires her to take a stand against the destructive forces of commerce – much like her activist mother Dora (Radha Mitchell). Mitchell imbues Dora with headstrong warmth, humanity and vividness as she engages in direct action – including chaining herself to a truck in front of a crowd chanting, “Save our bay”. Later, an older Dora – who has suffered a stroke – is played in a smaller and more limited role by Liz Alexander.

   

Storyline:

• JOHN FARNHAM: FINDING THE VOICE tells the untold story of an Australian music icon. In this first authorised biopic, we follow Farnham’s life from the quiet suburbs of Melbourne to ’60s pop fame, through incredible highs and lows, and ultimately to record-breaking success as ‘Australia’s Voice’. John Farnham was 38 years old when Whispering Jack was released. Nobody ever questioned that Farnham could sing — but the challenge to find his artistic voice and become Australia’s most trusted and beloved performer took half a lifetime. Whispering Jack is still the highest selling Australian album of all time, and this powerful documentary tracks the personal and public journey that has made Farnham Australia’s greatest and most beloved musical artist.

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  • Director

    • Poppy Stockell 

  • Writer

    • Paul Clarke

    • Poppy Stockell 

  • Cast & Crew

    • John Farnham 

    • Jimmy Barnes

    • Celine Dion 

• Review 

  I have been a fan of John Farnham for many years. This was a wonderful and well made documentary that gave an intimate and in-depth look at John and his journey. We see how John started with simple beginnings and how he found his voice and achieved the fame and glory he deserved. I learnt more about the iconic song, You’re the Voice’ and other great songs he performed. It was so interesting to see how he became a young sensation with ‘Sadie The Cleaning Lady’ but this sadly held him back for almost two decades. People have long memories in the music business. It was beautiful seeing the strong enduring friendships he made that helped him succeed. It was also wonderful seeing the historical context and other greats who featured during his journey. A well made documentary, would definitely recommend.