Hear My Eyes brings its sonic reinterpretation services to MIFF 2024, presenting the classic Australian film Wake in Fright. Local soul-seekers Surprise Chef will take the stage therewith, tasked with broadcasting new frames of reference over revitalised imagery. Thusly heard anew, but also seen anew, this unique screening doubles as the world premiere of the film’s 4K restoration.

Occupying a dark cupboard of the white Australian psyche, the 1971 film Wake in Fright – an iconic work coated in a slick of sweat and the stink of stale beer – hardly needs introduction. Canadian director Ted Kotcheff captured a disquieting version of the interior of this country that is as hard to look away from as it is to watch. The claustrophobia of endless open space and small-town minds serves as backdrop for an outsider’s tightrope walk on razor-thin divides: between urban and rural, hypermasculinity and homosexuality, larrikin and brute, human and animal. The descent into chaos is paved with green and gold.

Already taking their cues from 70s film scores, Coburg’s best-loved five-piece cinematic soul supergroup are the obvious choice to lend Wake in Fright some new suede loafers. But don’t expect to know what to expect, because this groovy ensemble is huddled in their soul kitchen week in, week out, cooking up hitherto-untraversed soundscapes in response to the surreal swill of Kotcheff’s film.

“It left me speechless.” – Martin Scorsese

Friday 16 August, 6.30pm or 9.30pm

Tickets can be booked via Arts Centre Melbourne.

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Venue partner: Arts Centre Melbourne
Hear My Eyes productions are curated and directed by Haydn Green.