News in Brief: Screen Aus’ new Head of Documentary, a first look at MIFF 2021, and more

TOP 3 NEWS STORIES 

• Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex West joins Screen Australia
  Screen Australia has a new Head of Documentary in Alex West, bringing with him more than 25 years of practical experience.
• E3 2021: All The Big Game Announcements From Nintendo, Xbox, Square Enix, and more
  June is the most significant month for the videogame industry. With announcements from publishers large and small, here are the biggest releases and events that will define the next year.
• First look at the MIFF 2021 program: from Nitram to Zola
  MIFF’s 2021 program, running 5-22 August, already boasts a particularly strong showcase of local films, reinforced by some key international features.

REVIEWS 

• Film review: Fast & Furious 9 makes no sense but so what?
  The franchise that takes jaw-dropping action seriously had lost a bit of its fizz. This one isn’t perfect, but it’s a welcome course-correction, says Anthony Morris.
• Hug the Sun Review: A Circus of Chaotic Comedy
  From the Aunty Donna production house, Hug The Sun’s brand of sketch comedy disguised as a fictional children’s program is hilarious, absurd, and sometimes uncomfortable.
• TV Review: Jack Irish gets more than a farewell tour
  It’s the end of an era for the Fitzroy lawyer turned private investigator. A sharply scripted final series gives him a great wrap-up, says Anthony Morris.
• TV Review: Eden Finds New Perspectives on the Missing-Girl Mystery
  While it starts off a bit stale, Eden’s looping, iterative narrative structure helps to enrich its characters and themes, writes Mel Campbell.

• Game Review: Backbone is a vicious, unpredictable new breed of neo-noir
  Backbone is a noir obsessed with change, transformation, and looking inward and out in equal measure.
• Game Review: Operation: Tango perfects the spy fiction experience
  Operation: Tango’s unique approach to cooperative multiplayer creates an exciting spy fiction experience that’s never been achieved before. 

CAREERS 

EVENTS and announcements 

• Death of Adelaide producer David Lightfoot
  Producer David Lightfoot died in hospital on Sunday 13 June after a series of heart related problems.
• Queens Birthday Honours 2021 awarded to Mandy Walker and Russell Boyd
  The Queens Birthday list might be thin but the awardees have dense, interesting careers with a swerve towards cinematographers, financiers and the late John Caldon.
• The Drover’s Wife leads MIFF’s opening night, plus a brand new trailer
  Leah Purcell’s reimagining of the Henry Lawson classic will show on MIFF’s opening night. The subversive film is the culmination of years of reflection and artistry.
• 2021 Freeplay Awards finalists announced, led by Dana McKay’s ‘A Long Goodbye’
  The 2021 Freeplay Independent Games Festival concluded over the weekend, but the Freeplay Awards are still to come. Here are the nominations.
• David Gulpilil celebrated in new Adelaide mural
  A striking new piece of public art celebrates the legacy of actor David Gulpilil AM in both the early and later stages of his career.
• Melbourne Queer Film Festival shifts to early summer dates
  Begone sad March! Behold the first flush of summer in the crisp Melbourne evenings.

Industry ANALYSIS 

• Russell Crowe and crew hit Coffs Harbour in Studio Crusade
  Will Coffs Harbour get a studio complex with virtual production and added golfcarts? The bid opens with a key ceremony.
• Foxtel in for the kill in debate over Australian content quotas
  At one minute to policy midnight, the screen sector resists cut to Foxtel obligations, wants to deal with streaming regs first.
• Box Office: Peter Rabbit sprints into US theatres
  Peter Rabbit 2 is loosed on the world as if the bunny was born under a Coolibah tree to the distant howl of kelpies and the scream of petrol engines. In their hearts, these films are a bit feral.
• Independent cinemas get emergency support from Victorian government
  $12,000/venue will be a useful morsel for some city complexes, but a saving grace deep in rural Victoria.
• Interactivity in film, theatre, and games needs emotional connection to work
  What can filmmakers and playwrights looking to add interactive elements into their work learn from videogame designers? Quite a lot.

ON SCREEN

•  Aquarius acquires Clementine Ford’s ‘Fight Like a Girl’ for TV series
  The provocative feminist memoir is being turned into a six-part comedy drama with Clementine Ford, Lou Sanz, Nayuka Gorrie and Nina Oyama as creators.
• Bringing Indigenous cultural expertise to videogame development
  Drop Bear Bytes recently hired Indiginerd’s Cienan Muir as a narrative consultant. The team spoke to us about the role of Indigenous perspectives in their upcoming game, Broken Roads
• Playing with Sharks: beauty, archives and a life redeemed
  Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor story is much more than a toothy adventure. Producer Bettina Dalton muses on hero(ines), modern archival techniques and some wonderful interviews.
• Matt Nable’s creative expansion continues with Stan Originals movie
  The former rugby player turned novelist, screenwriter and actor is now directing his first feature, Transfusion starring Sam Worthington and Phoebe Tonkin.
• You should watch… StartUp on Netflix
  Martin Freeman and Adam Brody star in this gritty drama about money and corruption in the tech world.