Australia on Screen Film Festival
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Australia’s film industry has a remarkably long history. The Tait brothers produced what was the world’s first full length feature film in 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang was a tale about a notorious band of criminals, known as “bushrangers”. It was a huge success in Australia and Britain and spawned an early cinema boom by filmmakers who were interested in forging and exploring Australian identity.
However, the industry soon found it difficult to compete in what was to become a market dominated by American production. Home-grown films, such as Happy Feet, Crocodile Dundee and The Great Gatsby do still make a big international splash. Australia’s best actors, directors and cinematographers are also lured by Hollywood while Australia’s skill at filmmaking is well recognized with major Hollywood titles, like the latest in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, filming in Australia.
Domestic filmmakers continue to make their mark with quality low-budget films that don't steer too far from the original focus on Australian identity which inspired the Tait brothers more than a century ago.
Australia on Screen, presented by the Australian Consulate-General and Asia Society Hong Kong Center, brings to Hong Kong a small snapshot of Australian identity and culture through the Aussie filmmakers of today.
Paper Planes (Opening Film)
Friday, June 26, 2015 7:30pm
Sunday, June 28, 2015 2:30pm
Family / 96 mins / 2014 (Family audience)
Classification: IIA, English with Chinese subtitles
Director / 導演: Robert Connolly
Produced by / 監製: Robert Connolly, Liz Kearney, Maggie Miles
Screenplay / 編劇: Robert Connolly, Steve Worland
Cast / 主演: Sam Worthington, Julian Dennison, David Wenham, Ed Oxenbould
Paper Planes is a family film that tells the story of a young Australian boy’s passion for flight and his journey to compete in the world paper plane championships in Japan.
Eleven-year-old Dylan meets the junior Japanese champion Kimi in the national paper plane championships in Sydney, Australia. They develop a close bond, challenging each other to create a plane that has never been seen before.
Directed by one of Australia’s leading filmmakers Robert Connolly, the film is set in iconic locations, with engaging characters and a powerful story of friendship between two countries. It stars a globally renowned cast including Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans), and Ed Oxenbould (Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day).
Saturday, June 27, 2015 7:30pm
Adventure, Biography, Drama / 113 mins / 2014 (Mature audience)
Classification: IIA, English with Chinese subtitles
Director / 導演: John Curran
Produced by / 監製: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
Screenplay / 編劇: Marion Nelson
Cast / 主演: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Rolley Mintuma
Starring Mia Wasikowska and directed by John Curran, Tracks is the true story of Robyn Davidson, who trekked from Alice Springs, in Central Australia, through almost 4,000 kilometres of sprawling desert to the Indian Ocean.
Accompanied only by her loyal dog and four unpredictable camels, this epic and remarkable journey into Australia’s last great frontier was captured by charismatic National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan. These challenging and emotional nine months in the desert marked a new beginning for Robyn that would change the rest of her life.
Saturday, June 27, 2015 2:30pm
Sunday, June 28, 2015 5:30pm
Family, Adventure, Mystery / 93 mins / 2011 (Family audience)
Classification: IIA
English and Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles
Director / 導演: Mario Andreacchio
Produced by / 監製: Liu Zhi Jiang, Mario Andreacchio, Mark Patterson, Shan Tam, Pauline Chan, William W. Wilson III
Screenplay / 編劇: Philip Dalkin
Cast / 主演: Sam Neill, Wang Ji, Robert Mammone, Jordan Chan, Li Lin Jin, Louis Corbett
Josh (Louis Corbett) and Ling (Li Lin Jin) thought they were in for a boring vacation with each of their parents at an archaeological dig in China. But the new friends soon discover they're right in the middle of an adventure when they find a mysterious monster that's been hidden deep in a temple for thousands of years.
Josh tries to warn his father (Sam Neill) about the strange and magical creature, while Ling senses bigger forces at play. They soon realise that the monster is really an ancient Chinese Dragon, trapped because it's been separated from its magical pearl.
On a breathtaking journey of good and evil, Josh and Ling must uncover the mystery of the pearl so that the dragon can finally return to its rightful place.
Saturday, June 27, 2015 5:30pm
Sunday, June 28, 2015 7:30pm
Family, Comedy, Drama / 92 mins / 2011
(Parental guidance recommended)
Classification: IIA, English with Chinese subtitles
Director / 導演: Kriv Stenders
Produced by / 監製: Julie Ryan, Nelson Woss
Screenplay / 編劇: Daniel Taplitz
Cast / 主演: Koko (The Red Dog), Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, John Batchelor
When Red Dog (Koko) first arrives in the dusty Western Australian mining town of Dampier in 1971, he has no master and jumps into any lap or any car that wants him. But when American John (Josh Lucas) comes to town to work as the driver of a workers' bus, Red Dog befriends him.
The locals, like publican Jack (Noah Taylor) and hardman Peeto (John Batchelor) love him, except for the caravan park manger and his cat. John and newcomer Nancy (Rachael Taylor) become a couple and Red Dog becomes their much loved pet. So when John fails to come home one day, Red Dog waits for him ... and waits ... and waits. Despondent, he finally sets off to track John down on an epic journey.
A quirky and endearing tale about man's best friend, Red Dog is the true story of a dog that befriends a whole mining community until he chooses his own master.
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