Viewer Advice: Contains scenes of sexual violence and depictions of violence towards women.

A traumatised young girl manifests a dragon in this wildly imaginative fable from acclaimed visual artist Del Kathryn Barton, starring Simon Baker and Yael Stone.

Blaze accidentally witnesses a brutal rape while walking home from school. Struggling to make sense of what she’s seen, she becomes catatonic with shock. But the 12-year-old finds renewal by conjuring a defender that personifies her wrath: a dragon that lives in her bedroom and becomes her fiercest friend. Rather than treating Blaze as a victim robbed of innocence, Barton (Red, MIFF 2017; Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose, MIFF 2015) insists that the trauma of misogynist violence can be faced without fear, through the power of the imagination.

The double Archibald Prize winner’s feature directorial debut – which recalls magic-realist precursors Where the Wild Things Are and A Monster Calls – juxtaposes her trademark depictions of sensuality and intricate, kaleidoscopic colours with the harsh, mundane reality of her young protagonist, played with precocious poise by Julia Savage (Netflix’s Sweet Tooth). Blending live action, CGI, puppetry and stop-motion animation, and with Savage, Baker and Stone joined by Josh Lawson, Remy Hii and Heather Mitchell among the cast, Blaze is both wrenching and revelatory, filled with spectacular moments that have undeniably come from a visionary’s mind.

“Blaze marks the feature directing debut of a distinctive new voice … A mix of sensitivity and barely suppressed fury.” – Variety

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Director Del Kathryn Barton will introduce the film and participate in a Q&A with cast member Julia Savage and producer Sam Jennings for the screening on Tuesday 16 August. Barton will also introduce the film and participate in a Q&A following the screenings on Thursday 18 August and Sunday 21 August.