DUNGOG FILM FESTIVAL 2008 MAKING AN IMPACTBorn in 2007, the Dungog Film Festival has grown in one year from a baby fest with a dozen films and 1,400 visitors, into an adolescent of 80 films and an estimated 4,000 visitors, doubling the population of Dungog for the duration (May 29 – June 1). Andrew L. Urban reports on the world’s biggest showcase of Australian filmmaking centred on the country’s oldest cinema, The James.You may hear extravagant claims about this year’s Dungog Film Festiv...

Of the stars of Little Fish, only Cate Blanchett was unable to turn up, but Hugo Weaving, Noni Hazlehurst, Joel Tobeck, Lisa McCune and Daniela Farinacci were the main attraction on the red carpet for the Opening Night of the Melbourne Film Festival (July 20-August 7) at the Village City Centre, the event hosted by the new current affairs mag, The Monthly.Little Fish director Rowan Woods, screenwriter Jacquelin Perske, producers Liz Watts, Richard Keddie and Vincent Sheehan were also carpeted, a...

The 2005 Melbourne International Film Festival takes place from july 20 to August 7. EDGY EUROPE, CHAN FROM CHINA – NOTHING LIKE SYDNEYFrom Lukas Moodysson’s provocative A Hole in My Heart to Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s confronting 4, this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival explores edgy European cinema, as well as films direct from Cannes, and takes a look at Chinese cinema, with a focus on the revealing and entertaining director, Fruit Chan – among many other things, as Executive D...