CLAY (M)

(Australia, 80 min)

A sculptress living in a remote artists' compound provides refuge to a wounded stranger, setting the scene for a dangerous love triangle.

When Margot provides the exhausted Nick with shelter, little does she know that she's inviting into her home a murderer on the run from police. Soon the two have fallen in love, triggering a furious burst of jealousy from her infatuated fellow artist Chris. More >

DETROIT WILD CITY

(France, 80 min)

What would the apocalypse look like?

Home to the US automobile industry, Detroit was once the gleaming hub of America's industrial engine. But as the economy disintegrates, Detroit has become the symbol of the collapse of the American Dream. The city lies in ruins. Empty factories and abandoned neighbourhoods are being reclaimed by vegetation and wildlife. More >

FOREIGN PARTS

(USA, 80 min)

"Gentrification, economic inequality, class conflict, and the rusty reality of the American Dream." - Village Voice

Willets Point is an almost forgotten industrial corner of Queens, tucked behind the New York Mets' shiny and commercialised Citi Field Stadium. Here a multicultural array of workers and scavengers live off the wreckage of America's cars, under the shadow of a $3 billion urban re-development plan which threatens their way of life. More >

I WISH I KNEW

(China, 138 min)

Jia Zhang-ke, China's most acclaimed contemporary filmmaker, turns his gaze toward the ultimate mega-city: Shanghai.

Commissioned for last year's Shanghai World Fair - but overcoming its roots as an 'official' film - this documentary from Jia Zhang-ke (Filmmaker-in-Focus, MIFF 2005; Still Life, MIFF 2007) collates the memories of 18 people - including filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, singer Rebecca Pan and Jia's muse Zhao Tao - to construct a melancholic history of Shanghai, from the brutalities of 1930s Japanese occupation through to its current place as one of the most powerful cities in the world. More >

INTO ETERNITY

(Denmark, 75 min)

"Jaw dropping... one of the most extraordinary factual films to be shown this year." - Guardian

Around 150 km northwest of Helsinki, the Finnish government is building a solution to the world's nuclear waste problem: an underground repository called Onkalo (or 'hiding place'), intended to safeguard the country over the 100,000 years that nuclear material remains harmful. But the problem remains - will those people who stumble upon Onkalo in an unknowable future recognise the danger that waits for them underground? More >

MELBOURNE ON FILM SHORTS 1

(96 min)

Presented by

See Melbourne through the decades with these shorts focusing on the environs of our fair city. Spanning the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, these films capture the streets and architecture of Melbourne in all their glory. More >

MELBOURNE ON FILM SHORTS 2

(100 min)

See Melbourne through the decades with these shorts focusing on the environs of our fair city. Spanning the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, these films capture the streets and architecture of Melbourne in all their glory.

Read more about the Melbourne on Film program in Senses of Cinema. More >

NINETY-NINE PERCENT (M)

(Australia, 44 min)

In Ninety-Nine Percent, Mangiamele's only comedy, Italian widower Joseph Pino and his young son Peter live a chaotic and deeply opposed life. However their relationship begins to heal as they embark on a quest to find Joseph a wife.

D/P Giorgio Mangiamele Dist NFSA TD 35mm/1963 More >

POOL PARTY

(USA, 75 min)

An abandoned swimming pool becomes one of New York's most significant music venues since CBGBs.

When the McCarren Pool opened in Williamsburg in 1936, it was the size of a football field with the capacity to hold 6,800 bathers. When it closed abruptly in 1983, it became a hang out for gangs, junkies, graffiti artists and the homeless. More >

RUHR

(Germany, 120 min)

"The artist is someone who pays attention and reports back." - James Benning

Experimental filmmaker James Benning moves from 16mm to high-definition video in his first film shot outside of the USA - an unhurried, meticulously composed meditation on the industrial landscapes of the Ruhr Valley. More >

THE SPAG (M)

(Australia, 36 min)

A portrait of growing up as a newly arrived migrant in 1950s Melbourne, The Spag revolves around Giovannino, a young Italian paperboy. When his father dies, his mother wants to return to Italy, but Giovannino wants to stay, despite always being the 'dago' and 'spag'.

D/P Giorgio Mangiamele Dist NFSA TD 35mm/1962 More >

THE TRIANGLE WARS

(Australia, 90 min)

A celebrity photographer. An eccentric politician. A high-powered property developer. An epic battle to decide the fate of a St Kilda parking lot.

In May 2007 the Port Phillip City Council unveiled plans for a large-scale commercial development on the St Kilda foreshore - a $400 million mega mall that would comprise 180 shops, a hotel, a supermarket, eight cinemas, a gallery and five bars. Local residents were outraged, and with developers preparing to push the project through council, the community galvanised to stop it going ahead. More >