CINEMA REBORN, a program of rare cinema masterpieces, will be presented in partnership with Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS), from May 3 – 7 at the AFTRS Theatre in Sydney.
This unmissable season of recently restored films and rare archived-sourced films by international and Australian directors has been developed by a community of cinema enthusiasts – programmers, filmmakers, screen historians and critics – alongside AFTRS.
The Opening Night film on May 3 is the 1939 French classic SANS LENDEMAIN/NO TOMORROW by director Max Ophüls.
Over the four following days Cinema Reborn will present 16 films. All will be screened following best practice in the presentation of archival or screen heritage titles.
“Cinema Reborn is intended to shine a light on the long history of the art of the cinema, the world-wide activity of film restoration and the treasures that exist in the world’s film archives,” said Geoff Gardner, Chair of the Cinema Reborn organising committee.
Neil Peplow, CEO of AFTRS, said: ““The School is proud to be hosting this wonderful program of films. It’s a rare opportunity for film lovers, students, alumni and industry to experience these classics from the world’s finest filmmakers, which would otherwise not be available to audiences.”
The program will include panel discussions devoted to issues of interest to cinephiles, professionals, audio-visual archivists, film historians and the media.
OPENING NIGHT – THU 3 MAY 6.30PM
SANS LENDEMAIN/NO TOMORROW
Dir: Max OPHÜLS, France, 1939, 82 mins, b&w, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), French with Eng. subtitles, UC/18+.
4K Restoration by Gaumont
Evelyn/Babs works as one of four topless nude dancers at “La Sirene”. Babs has a fatal chance meeting with an old flame, Georges, and fate throws up an opportunity she should not take but memory and desire compel her. The greatest of Ophuls’ pre-war masterpieces. Sydney Premiere
Introduction by David Hare
FRI 4 MAY
10.00AM
THE NUDE IN THE WINDOW
Dir: Peter TAMMER, Australia, 2015, 61 mins, ProRes, Col., Sd., Eng, U/C18+
Shortly before film director Paul Cox died, he received a visit from his friend Peter Tammer and they spent an afternoon discussing Cox’s life. A remarkable record of that day and a fitting final tribute to Paul Cox’s life. Sydney Premiere
Introduction by Peter Tammer
11.45AM
YACKETY YACK
Dir: Dave JONES, Australia, 1974, 86 mins, HD (orig. 16mm), b&w, sd, English, UC/18+.
Restoration by the Library of the University of Technology Sydney. Restoration supervised by Margot Nash
American Dave Jones came to Australia in 1971. Yackety Yack was made in the La Trobe University’s film studio by Jones, staff and students with Jones himself in the lead role as Maurice an aspiring film director. “the Hellzapoppin’ of poor cinema, a frequently hilarious spoof on the low budget film… a sheer delight.” (David Stratton)
Introduction by Rod Bishop
2.00PM
SOLEIL Ô
Dir: Med HONDO, France/Mauritania, 1973, 98 mins, DCP (orig 35mm) Col., b&w, sd, French with English subtitles U/C18+
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with Med Hondo. Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.
Med Hondo’s experiences trying to make a living in a range of menial jobs infuse his first film Soleil Ô. “From the stylized and surreal opening sequence to the episodic adventures of a particular man, the director presents a series of imaginative set pieces, linked by voice-over narrative, that investigate and dramatize a complex of interrelated themes. A scathing attack on colonialism, the film is also a shocking exposé of racism…” (Harvard Film Archives notes)
Introduction by Peter Hourigan
4.15PM
SANS LENDEMAIN/NO TOMORROW
Dir: Max OPHÜLS, France, 1939, 82 mins, b&w, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), French with Eng. subtitles, UC/18+.
4K Restoration by Gaumont
Introduction by David Hare
6.30PM
TOKYO BOSHUKU/TOKYO TWILIGHT
Dir: Yasujiro OZU, Japan, 1957, 140 mins, Col, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), Japanese with Eng. subtitles, UC/18+.
Restoration by Shochiku
For quite some time this film was almost the missing masterpiece of Ozu’s career. This restoration premiered in Berlin in 2018. It tells of three sisters, one played by Ozu’s favourite actress Setsuko Hara, and follows their paths as they reunite with a mother who abandoned them in childhood.
Introduction by Jane Mills
SAT 5 MAY
10.00AM
THE TREASURE/NIDHANAYA
Dir: Lester James PERIES, Sri Lanka, 1970, 110 mins, DCP (Orig 35mm) Col., Sd., English subtitles, U/C18+
Restored in 2013 by the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at Cineteca di Bologna /L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. In association with Lester James and Sumitra Peries, the National Film Archive of India and the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, Cinemas Ltd. Additional restoration elements provided by Degeto Films.
Restoration funding provided by Doha Film Institute.
The Treasure revolves around a murder which is committed for the purpose of gaining access to a fortune. The film won the Silver Lion of St. Mark award at the 1972 Venice International Film Festival. Awarded Best Sri Lankan film of the last 50 years
Introduction by Adrienne McKibbins
1.00PM
JAN MÜLLER IN CONVERSATION
Approx. 50 mins.
The new CEO of the National Film and Sound Archive talks to producer Sue Milliken about the new agenda and long-standing challenges for the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, and the preservation and restoration of Australian cinema heritage.
2.30PM
BETWEEN WARS
Dir: Michael THORNHILL, Aust., 1974, 100 mins, 35mm, col., sd., English, M.
Vintage 35mm print of Between Wars courtesy of the British Film Institute National Archive.
The collaboration between filmmaker Mike Thornhill and writer Frank Moorhouse was a rare, but also uniquely creative partnership in Australian cinema. Their debut feature, Between Wars is now one of the most neglected of the breakout films of the Australian New Wave; a contrarian’s read of 1920s and 30s Australia. A film demanding revival, restoration and re-evaluation.
Plus The American Poet’s Visit (Dir: Michael THORNHILL, Aust., 1969, Digibeta, 20 mins, U/C18+),
Thornhill and Moorhouse’s first collaboration satirized the Sydney Push. Based on the writer’s short story.
In the anticipated presence of Michael Thornhill and Frank Moorhouse. Session moderator Mark Pierce.
5.30PM
THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES
Dir: Sergei PARAJANOV, USSR, 1969, 77 mins, DCP (orig. 35mm), col., sd., Armenia/ Georgian/ Russian with Eng. Subtitles, U/C18+.
Restored in 2014 by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, in association with the National Cinema Centre of Armenia and Gosfilmofond of Russia. Restoration funding provided by the Material World Charitable Foundation and The Film Foundation.
Sergei Parajanov was exiled to Armenia where he made The Color of Pomegranates. The film was confiscated and recut by Soviet censors and it was not until 2015 that the director’s original vision finally emerged. It depicts the life of revered the 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. “If The Colour of Pomegranates were a building, it would be a world heritage site.” (Tony Rayns)
Introduction by John McDonald
7.30PM
ONE FROM THE HEART
Dir: Francis COPPOLA, USA, 1982, 98 mins, 35mm, col., sd., English (M).
(35mm copy from Francis Ford Coppola’s personal archive)
One from the Heart was originally envisioned as an intimate endeavour, a tender look at a subject Coppola had never addressed: romantic love. In the end he decided to make an old-fashioned studio picture using cutting-edge technology and sleight-of-hand visual trickery. The score is by Tom Waits and sung by Waits and Crystal Gale.
Introduction by Eddie Cockrell
SUN 6 MAY
10.00AM
IN A YEAR OF 13 MOONS
Dir: Rainer Werner FASSBINDER, West Germany, 1978, 124 mins, DCP (orig. 35mm) Col., sd, German with English subtitles U/C18+
Restoration by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation.
StudioCanal.
Fassbinder’s 38th film was made near the end of his tragically short career as a reaction to the suicide of the director’s former lover Armin Meier, the film follows the last few days in the life of transsexual Erwin/Elvira who pays one last visit to the people and places who were important. Probably the most intensely personal film Fassbinder ever made. “Its only redeeming feature is genius” (Vincent Canby, The New York Times)
Introduction by David Hare
12.45PM
TWO FRIENDS
Dir: Jane CAMPION, Australia, 1987, 78 mins, DCP (orig. 16mm) col, sd, English, U/C18+
Restoration by the ABC.
Campion’s feature-length debut was made for ABC Television from a script by Helen Garner. A tale of an unravelling friendship told in reverse with unblinking exactitude.
Introduction by producer Jan Chapman
2.45PM
PEOPLE OF THE AUSTRALIAN WESTERN DESERT
Dir: Ian DUNLOP, Australia 1966/1969, 125 mins approx, b&w, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), English, UC/18+.
From the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection. Presented in collaboration with the National Archives of Australia.
Master Australian ethnographic documentary filmmaker Ian Dunlop introduces a selection of episodes from his milestone film series. Newly restored through a partnership between Australia’s two major national audiovisual archives, People… remains a unique and beautifully photographed record of the traditional customs and way of life of the Ngaanyatjarra people as it endured in the late 1960s in the region around Warburton, WA.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are advised that these films contain the images and voices of those who have since died.
In the anticipated presence of Ian Dunlop. Introduction and session moderation by Rachel Perkins
5.45PM
LE CRIME DE M. LANGE/THE CRIME OF M. LANGE
Dir: Jean RENOIR, France, 1936, 82 mins, DCP (orig. 35mm) b&w, sd, French with English subtitles, U/C18+
Restoration by StudioCanal.
Renoir’s first out and out masterpiece, made under the aegis of the French Popular Front, tells of the life of the residents of a working class courtyard and their travails in the nearby printing shop owned by the evil Batala. The restoration now shows off Renoir’s most fluid film of that era, with its dynamic editing and use of depth of field.
Introduction by Geoff Gardner
8.00PM
WOMAN ON THE RUN
Dir: Norman FOSTER, USA, 1949, 82 mins, b&w, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), English, UC/18+.
Restoration by UCLA Film Archives/The Film Noir Foundation supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Distributed by Flicker Alley
An almost unseen film noir, produced by and starring Ann Sheridan and directed by one of Orson Welles’ longtime associates, Woman on the Run, is especially praised for the luminous black-and-white cinematography of mid-century San Francisco from Hal Mohr, Foster’s no-nonsense yet expressive direction and a storyline of continuing surprise.
Introduction by Eddie Cockrell
MON 7 MAY
3.00PM
IN THIS LIFE’S BODY
Dir: Corinne CANTRILL, Australia, 1984, 147 mins, b&w, sd, HD (orig. 16mm), English, UC/18+.
Restoration by the Library of the University of Technology, Sydney. Restoration supervised by Margot Nash
Corinne and Arthur Cantrill have long occupied a place as Australia’s leading experimental film-makers. In 1984 Corinne made one of their most extraordinary films, a recreation of her own life’s journeyand a film of unrelenting truth.
Introduction by Margot Nash
6.00PM
THE ELOQUENT PEASANT/EL-FALLÂH EL-FASÎH
Dir/Sc: Shadi Abdel SALAM, Egypt, 1970, 21 mins, Col, sd, Digibeta (orig. 35mm), Arabic with English subtitles, UC/18+.
Restored in 2010 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with the Egyptian Film Center. Restoration funding provided by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways and Qatar Museum Authority.
In preparation for the following screening of Shadi Abdel Salam’s first and only feature, this short film is his only other dramatic film, an adaptation from the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic Literature of the Middle Kingdom 2200 BC.
Introduction by Rod Bishop
6.30PM
THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS/AL-MUMMIA
Dir/Sc: Shadi Abdel SALAM, Egypt, 1969, 102 mins, Col, sd, DCP (orig. 35mm), Arabic with English subtitles, UC/18+.
Restored in 2009 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at Cineteca di Bologna /L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with the Egyptian Film Center. Restoration funding provided by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, Qatar Museum Authority and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
“The Night of Counting the Years, which is commonly and rightfully acknowledged as one of the greatest Egyptian films ever made, is based on a true story: in 1881, precious objects from the Tanite dynasty started turning up for sale, and it was discovered that the Horabat tribe had been secretly raiding the tombs of the Pharaohs in Thebes. A rich theme, and an astonishing piece of cinema.” (Martin Scorsese)
Introduction by Phillip Adams
Admission is by Advanced Subscription only. Subscriptions: $85 (excluding Opening Night) or $105 (including Opening Night). Subscriptions must be booked on line, via Eventbrite website: www.eventbrite.com.au
PATRONS OF CINEMA REBORN ARE:
Phillip Adams, Film Producer and Director, Founding Father of the modern Australian film industry, former Chair of the Australian Film Commission, Presenter of Lateline a nightly discussion program devoted to current political, social and cultural issues on the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s Radio National network.
Sue Milliken, Film Producer and Financier, Producer of The Odd Angry Shot, The Fringe Dwellers, Paradise Road, Sirens and Black Robe amongst many others. Member of the Australian Media Oral History Group.
David Stratton, Film Critic and Historian, Author of critical studies The Last New Wave and The Avocado Plantation and an autobiography I Peed on Fellini. Presenter of University of Sydney Continuing Education Course A History of World Cinema.
Neil Peplow, CEO of AFTRS and major supporter of any move to ensure that the classics are brought back for following generations
David Stratton, Film Critic and Historian, Author of critical studies The Last New Wave and The Avocado Plantation and an autobiography I Peed on Fellini. Presenter of University of Sydney Continuing Education Course A History of World Cinema.
ORGANISING COMMITTEE:
Geoffrey Gardner (Chair), Former Director Melbourne Film Festival, Founding Partner Ronin Films, Programme Advisor to Sydney Film Festival, Brisbane International Film Festival, Former Principal Private Secretary to the Australian Government Minister for Finance, Minister for Trade and Minister for Education & Employment, Member of the Australian Media Oral History Group
Karen Foley (Treasurer), Former Administrator, National Film Archive (National Library of Australia), Former Librarian State Film Centre of Victoria, Former Manager Electric Shadows Cinema (Canberra), Former Proprietor Electric Shadows Bookshop
Rod Bishop, Film Producer Body Melt, Salt Saliva Sperm and Sweat, Beginnings, Lecturer in Film Studies, Former CEO Australian Film Television & Radio School, Member of the Sydney Film Festival Film Advisory Panel
Kirsten Downie, Director of Marketing, Australian Film Television & Radio School, former Marketing Manager for the Sydney Opera House and Director of Marketing, Development and Memberships at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Simon Taaffe Film Researcher, Independent Book and Cultural Heritage Valuer
Quentin Turnour, Foundation Member Melbourne Cinemathèque, Former Director of the ARC Cinema, National Film & Sound Archive, Canberra, Manager Audio-Visual Collection, National Archives of Australia.
Andreas Giannopoulos, Master of Arts Screen student at the Australian Film Television and Radio School with an interest in social media. He is a former Committee Member of the Melbourne Cinematheque and a lifelong cinephile.’
Zoe Wallin, Recent PhD graduate in Cinema Studies
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR Eddie Cockrell
PROGRAM CONSULTANTS
Quentin Turnour (Chief Program Consultant), Michael Campi, Greg Dolgopolov, Kiki Fung (Hong Kong), David Hare (New Zealand) Peter Hourigan, Neil McGlone (UK), Tony Rayns (UK), Shivendra Singh (India).