Feast of fine films await fans at Adelaide festival

Opening night guests will be immersed in the 360-degree world of The Summation of Force VR, sharing a simultaneous connection through the world premiere screening.

Then follows 11 days of festival fervour featuring 23 world premieres and 40 Australian premieres among 142 feature films, documentaries, virtual reality, shorts and moving image works.

Closing night features the Australian premiere of Sophie Fiennes’ stunning documentary Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami followed by a gala party.

The world premiere of Matthew Sleeth’s Guilty is a portrait of the days leading up to the execution of Bali Nine drug smuggler Myuran Sukumaran, who became an accomplished artist while in prison.

The impact of climate change on farmers in Kenya is documented in Thank You For The Rain, shot with a camera given to farmer Kisilu Musya by Norwegian filmmaker Julie Dahr.

The documentary follows Musya all the way to the Paris Climate Conference, where he was invited to share his story.

In keeping with this year’s festival theme, Vive Le Punk, marking the 40th anniversary of the punk movement, there will be a host of punk screenings including The Decline of Western Civilisation (1981), The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (1980) and the first British punk movie, Jubilee (1978).

The festival will be staged at GU Film House, Hindley St, Adelaide. There will also be sessions at Mercury Cinema, Morphett St, and limited sessions at Palace Eastend, Rundle Street and Hart’s Mill and The Manhattan Room.

Special $10 daytime tickets are available for seniors to attend films presented before 4.30pm weekdays. These include: Buena Vista Social Club: Adios (Oct 6, 12.30pm); Thank You For The Rain (Oct 9, 1.30pm); Guilty (Oct 11, 11am); My Mother’s Lost Children (Oct 11, 12.45pm); It’s Not Yet Dark (Oct 12, 11am); Newton (Oct 12, 12.45pm); and The Lovers (Oct 13, 12.45pm).