A four-day festival celebrating all things Godzilla is taking over the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) this spring.
From 31 October to 3 November, GodzillaFest at ACMI will unleash a line-up of free and ticketed activities, including films, talks, trivia, videogames, and an after-hours Halloween party.
Held exactly 70 years after the release of the first film, the ACMI event aims to trace the monster’s impact across screen and pop culture, giving insight into the craft behind the films and why the themes they play with still resonate deeply today.
On November 3, 1954, Ishirō Honda’s ambitious monster film Godzilla opened in Japan. Audiences were quickly captivated by the storytelling and visual effects, and equally hushed by the film’s timely anti-nuclear stance personified by Godzilla. The international release of the film saw the monster’s popularity soar, becoming the first character to spawn a global film franchise (which now has a Guinness World Record for being the longest running film franchise).
What’s on at GodzillaFest?
ACMI Cinemas will screen five key films from the eight-decade franchise, including the original 1954 film. The full program is as follows: Godzilla (1954), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Shin Godzilla (2016) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), all of which will screen across one weekend.
Film lovers can learn more about the monster and his profound impact on filmmaking in a series of free talks hosted by ScreenHub’s very own Silvi Vann-Wall. Over three separate panels, these talks will aim to shed light on how the beast was made, dissect why he still stands as a rich metaphor for destruction, and unpack the global cultural phenomenon that is Godzilla.
Read: Godzilla Minus One review: roar and emotional
On 31 October, the Halloween Monster Bash will bring together DJs, Godzilla-inspired craft from Kitiya Palaskas, pop-ups, food trucks, and playable vintage videogames for a celebration of both Godzilla and Japanese culture.
Then, the Godzilla Movie Marathon & Trivia will put kaiju enthusiasts to the test in a quiz hosted by comedian Alex Hines, alongside screenings of Godzilla (1954), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971).
Alongside the massive movie marathon and ticketed party, there’ll be an array of free events like the talks mentioned above; a scavenger hunt to find Godzilla hidden throughout ACMI’s centrepiece exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image; an origami creature workshop; a Godzilla-themed retro arcade including pinball; and a photo booth where you can pose as a kaiju looming over a miniature city.
‘Godzilla is one of the most recognisable screen icons of the 20th century, appearing in 38 films and countless comic books, TV shows, videogames and advertisements spawning the kaiju genre,’ ACMI Director & CEO Seb Chan said.
‘ACMI’s celebration of the undisputed King of Monsters gives fans, old and new, a fun look into Godzilla’s enduring legacy on filmmaking, and our social and cultural imagination. GodzillaFest foregrounds ACMI as a place for intergenerational fandoms – where screen culture enthusiasts, makers and players can feel at home. Get ready to unleash your inner monster!’
Free GodzillaFest Talks with Silvi Vann-Wall:
Godzilla: Global Pop Culture Icon
3 November 2024, 11.30am
A deep dive into the massive impact Godzilla has had on pop culture and the continuing evolution and success of the franchise. Hosted by Silvi Vann-Wall. Speakers include Dr Andrew Lynch, a lecturer in cinema and screen studies in the department of Media and Communication at Swinburne University of Technology.
Building Godzilla
3 November 2024, 1pm
Discover the special effects that changed how films are made. From Eiji Tsuburaya’s development of tokusatsu (or suitmation) and the use of miniatures to bring Godzilla to life, to the VX innovations that have transformed special effects on film. This talk explores the impact monsters have had on global film design. Host Silvi Vann-Wall will be joined by tokusatsu expert Dr Sophia Staite and Brendan Seals from Luma Pictures, the visual effects supervisor for Godzilla vs. Kong.
Godzilla: Monster as Metaphor
3 November 2024, 2.30pm
A look at how the threat of nuclear war has been explored in feature films and how Godzilla continues to embody fears of warfare and climate destruction. Hosted by Silvi Vann-Wall. Speakers include Dr Naja Later an academic tutor at Swinburne University of Technology, and Dr Jason Jones, lecturer in Japanese Studies in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University.
GodzillaFest at ACMI begins on 31 October 2024. For more information, visit the ACMI website.
