2023 Special Events, The Darwin International Film Festival
2023 Special Events
Opening Night Gala7pm, Thursday 14 September
The Darwin International Film Festival opens with an incredible gala event! A powerful short film by Yankunytjatjara artist Derik Lynch and Australian artist Matthew Thorne that explores (in dream and memory) Derik's childhood growing up in the heart of central Australia and the empowerment of coming back to country. Partially based on the childhood experiences of Director Noora Niasari. A brave Iranian mother Shayda (Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) finds refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her six-year-old daughter. Over Persian New Year, they take solace in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings, but when her estranged husband (Osamah Sami) re-enters their lives, Shayda’s path to freedom is jeopardised.
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Spark Film Showcase7pm, Friday 22 SeptemberRustAfter another argument with her long-suffering dad, 15-year-old Xanthe storms out of the house and stumbles upon a rusted-out old robot in the bush. Balancing humour, drama and heartbreak, Rust proves that making new friends isn’t always easy – even when you have an instruction manual. FiascoIt's the end of the world and everyone knows it. Determined to uphold a sense of order, Zara drags her parents to the high school's last concert. But emotions run high, and when nothing goes as planned, Zara is forced to embrace the chaos. First DropSet in Alice Springs, Ted, a reclusive and bitter retiree is tasked with caring for his Pakistani neighbour’s 10-year-old daughter, Saleha. After attempts to limit his engagement with Saleha, Ted’s defences are broken down as he realises the two share a mutual love of cricket. Thus begins the blossoming of an unlikely friendship. HephaestionTwo actors meet in a tent to discuss a film they are working on; a younger man playing Hephaestion, and a more mature one playing Alexander the Great. As the thespians dissect their roles Hephaestion argues against the use of 'friendship' as a label to hide genuine romance.
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The Girraween Lagoon StoryScreening at the Museum and Art Gallary of the Northern TerritoryGirraween Lagoon, 35 kilometres southeast of Darwin, is known as the ‘place of flowers’. It’s a unique site: a waterbody where the seven seasons observed by the Larrakia people manifest clearly on the surface of the lagoon and surrounds, and where evidence of past environments is preserved deep below the water’s surface.
In this immersive media experience, presented in a portable planetarium-style dome, Larrakia Elder Lorraine Williams leads viewers through the Gulumoerrgin seasonal calendar year and 140,000 years of regional environmental history uncovered through recent scientific research.
Duration: 7 minutes
Free admission
Produced by the Deakin Motion Lab for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). The Girraween Lagoon story is created in collaboration with the Larrakia and Wulna communities
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Closing Night Gala7pm, Sunday 24 September
DIFF closes with an incredible gala event - the NTE Premiere of The Rooster with special guests Hugo Weaving AO, Mark Leonard Winter and Mahveen Shahraki! |