Our Four Picks for the Canberra International Film Festival

The Canberra International Film Festival is a celebration of the big screen with a focus on independent releases while highlighting the community.

A focus on local and emerging talent, while staying true to the past creates the Festival foundations this year. With Restore, a series of classic pieces of cinema that have been remasted, to a stack of Q&A sessions and some handy workshops, the 2018 edition of CIFF is lining up to be the best yet.

With so much showing over the ten days, we’ve trawled the trailers so you don’t need to and have a handy top four not to miss:

Oyster

Director Kim Beamish, the local Canberran who was behind The Tentmakers of Cairo is back with something so close to home it stole our attention. Oyster tells the tale of a family reliant on their oyster farm. Though with a changing climate and warming waters, are oysters the canaries of the estuary?

My Year With Helen

Ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is nothing short of inspiring. Gaylene Preston spent a year documenting Helen Clark’s pursuit of the UN. Smashing glass ceilings and taking a passionate stance on overly important issues, this documentary is a standout and honestly gave us chills.

We Don’t Need A Map

Is the Southern Cross a symbol of racism in modern Australia? It’s a loaded question and one that this pick aims to answer by asking what it means to different groups of society. Warick Thorton, the much-celebrated filmmaker premiered this film at the Sydney Film Festival, where it was given the opening slot.

The Square

There is very little that Elizabeth Moss can’t do and we here at QT love her for it. The Square is a black comedy that plays with the conceptual world of the contemporary art scene and the oddities that pass it by. It’s clever and cheeky, with a mirror attached, for the art folks to look through.

For tickets, times and more information, head over HERE

The Canberra International Film Festival kicks off on October 26 – November 5.

words by ben stephens