5:00 PM, 6th August, 2022
Writing with Fire is the story of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit (lower caste) women. It was founded in 2002 by Nirantar, a non-government organisation which focuses on gender and education. Since then, chief reporter Meera Devi and her journalists have boldly challenged Indian social and gender stereotypes to cover the issues that affect their communities.
Filmmakers Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas followed journalists over a period of five groundbreaking years, as the newspaper shifted from print to digital journalism using smartphones.
Nominated for Best Feature Documentary at this year’s Oscars, this is an uplifting story that shows how journalism can empower both the people telling the stories, and the people whose stories they tell. If you’re sick of the all the bad news recently, come along to see some very good news about a team of women who are changing the way their news is told.
7:30 PM, 6th August, 2022
In an effort to rekindle the spark in their troubled marriage, Laura (Jackie Van Beek) and Bruno (Damon Herriman) decide to head a three-day couples’ retreat in the mountains of Ẅønđeulä. There, they meet new age relationship guru Bjorg Rasmussen (Jemaine Clement) and quickly discover that their path to reconnection may include a few detours along the way.
On paper, this may seem like many other couples retreat comedies that have come before it, but where Nude Tuesday distinguishes itself – and hilariously so – is in its unique execution. The entire film is spoken in an improvised, gibberish language, with the actors basing their performances during filming on a basic story outline. After filming had concluded, the production enlisted British comedian Julia Davis to create subtitles for the dialogue. The end result is an utterly singular cinematic experience packed with miscommunication, self-discovery and, of course, full frontal nudity.