From critically acclaimed feature and foreign language films, to genre classics and locally produced indie gems shot right here in Queensland, you can find them all at the Gold Coast Film Festival.
The annual festival celebrates film and filmmaking, and runs screen cultured activities over ten days, which includes free seminars and workshops for budding artists, and a range of different visual arts and transmedia to engage participants and spectators alike. This year will be the Festival's 13th year, and it looks to be best yet, with 43 films from 15 countries being screened, including a world premiere, 10 Australian premieres and 10 Queensland premieres.
The festival will open with Queensland's premiere of 'Clouds of Sils Maria', which follows the story of a veteran actress who comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier. The drama stars Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, and has already won Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the International Cinephile Society Awards.
To conclude the festival, the UK film, 'Ex Machina' will screen its Australian premiere. 'Ex Machina' is about a young programmer who is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I. Lead by Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson. The sci-fi prompts questions of artificial intelligence through intelligent and entertaining screenplay.
Above: Penelope Mitchell in 'The Fear of Darkness' will world premiere at Gold Coast Film FestivalThe complete list of screenings for the week is extensive, and are separated into categories such as indie films, documentaries and animation. Here is a taste of what can be expected at the festival:
Ryan Reynolds stars in the feature film,'The Voices', which narrates the story of a well-meaning man who pursues his office crush with the help of his evil talking pets – but things turn sinister when she stands him up for a date. Despite being a dark comedy, it is being said that 'The Voices' is Reynolds' best work to date, and has critics marvelling at the humour portrayed in the heinous acts throughout the film.
Under the foreign language category you will find films like 'The Noble Family', a Spanish picture that follows three spoiled children who are cut off from their family fortune and forced to do the unthinkable – get a job. It's release in Mexico in 2013 resulted in it becoming Mexico’s biggest box office success ever.
Above: 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night'.Indie films have presented an array of different genres this year including the fantasy/ drama/ horror, 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night'. The American film is based in the Iranian ghost-town, Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, where the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire. 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night' is Ana Lily Amirpour's debut, and as a result, she has been named an emerging star in indie cinema.
'The Fear Of Darkness' will have it's world premiere at the festival, being the festival's highlight for the week. The film follows a brilliant young psychiatrist who is forced to confront the dark creature that dwells deep within her own unconscious when she investigates the supernatural disappearance of a university student. Produced and filmed in Australia, 'The Fear Of Darkness' is expected to showcase a fine example of independent Aussie thrills.
WATCH:Testament Of Youth
The Gold Coast Film Festival offers a diverse, interactive and engaging program of film and film related events, which will be held at nine different locations around the Gold Coast, 9-19 April.
