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Sophie Hyde's films have often explored identity, self-realisation, and the path to finding your place in this messy, mucked up world. 52 Tuesdays sees a child growing to understand the gender transition that one of her parents is going through, while Good Luck to You, Leo Grande sees Emma Thompson's 55-year-old Nancy reclaim her sexuality.
In Jimpa, Sophie's finest and most mature film yet, we follow Aud Mason-Hyde's Frances, child to Olivia Colman's Hannah and Daniel Henshall's Harry. Frances is finding their place in the world as a nonbinary queer kid, eager to push out of the restrictive boundaries of Adelaide and engage with queer culture that they feel part of and as if they can grow within. A trip to Amsterdam to meet Hannah's father, Jim (John Lithgow), has Frances feeling that his proudly gay lifestyle and advocacy for gay rights would make for a suitable place for them to spend a gap year, growing, learning, and studying.In the following interview with Sophie and Aud, we talk about that kaleidoscopic nature of the film, what it's like to grow up with a parent like Sophie Hyde, and finally, what it's like to have a story captured on screen by the stunning cinematography of Matthew Chuang.
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Filmmaker Jordan Giusti's Floodland is an impactful documentary that takes audiences to the flood-prone landscape of Lismore, NSW. Thousands of people call the region home, and yet, due to the climate crisis and government inaction, they find themselves in horrifying situations where their homes are swept away, they lose friends and family, and pets and livestock end up as collateral damage for an ongoing emergency that has no solution in sight. Resilience is a word that's used for those who call Lismore home, the flood capital of Australia, but Jordan's documentary shows that there is a way to solve this crisis.
Shot with an immediacy and the level of compassion and understanding that elevates the crisis at hand, Floodland is a powerful document for the region, the people who call it home, and their future.
The following interview sees Nadine Whitney, someone who lived in the region, interview Jordan and producer Rachel Forbes about making the film. This interview was recorded ahead of the films screenings at the Sydney Film Festival, and is being published now ahead of Floodland's release around Australia this week.
For screening dates and information, visit Floodland.com.au.
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Haydn Green has been the creative force of Hear My Eyes, a sonic-visual, hybrid experience which blends film and music in creatively intriguing and boundary pushing ways. As the founder and artistic director of Hear My Eyes, Haydn reaches out to contemporary musicians to craft new scores for pre-existing cinema.
Collaborations include Sampa the Great rescoring Céline Sciamma's Girlhood, The Murlocs putting their spin on Gregor Jordan's Two Hands, while Springtime and Mick Harvey explored a new sonic landscape for Andrew Dominik's Chopper.
For its tenth anniversary, Haydn Green has tapped Belgian electronic musician Peter Van Hoesen, powered by the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, to reimagine the music of James Cameron's iconic sci-fi classic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (the original theatrical cut).
Visit HearMyEyes.com.au for all tickets to the screenings taking place on the below dates:
Melbourne: Feb 25-28, Hamer Hall
Sydney: March 7, City Recital Hall
Canberra: March 18-19, Canberra Theatre
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This interview has been a long while in the can, waiting to be published. This in depth discussion with filmmaker, creative, and fearless storyteller Lucy Coleman was recorded early in 2025 and due to reasons you'll hear in the long intro (recorded in the foyer of Luna Cinemas Leederville, a home away from home), it's now finally being released into the world.
Lucy Coleman is the creative vision behind films like Hot Mess and Lean In, both featured in the best films list of their respective years, with Hot Mess getting a mention in the Best Aussie Films of the 2010s list. These are biting, searing comedies that tear apart what we think Australian comedy can or should be.
Then, there's Lucy's Stan. series Exposure, a change of pace, a drama which she wrote. This powerful series follows Alice Englert's Jacs Gould as a photographer returning home to find out why her best friend took her life. It's powerful, but also flips the script of the routine and tired 'cop returns to his country town home to solve a murder that he discovers is linked to him'. It's always a man solving these crimes. Always small town. Exposure changes that: it's not a murder, but a suicide. It's not a woman trying to figure out what's happening, but a friend, a very close one at that. It's a devastating series that left me hollowed out by its end.
Exposure, like Hot Mess and Lean In, is an experience which lingers in my mind, changing how I see the next film or TV show that I watch.
This interview, like those works, hasn't left me. And now, I'm releasing it into the world. Enjoy.
Thank you Lucy for your patience with me getting this into the world.
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One of the standout films from the 2026 batch of Flickerfest shorts has been Damien Power's docu-drama Return of the Champ. With this excellent hybrid experience, the stand up comedian turned director spins the cameras on his relationship with his brother, Will Power, a world champion and Indy 500 winner, who spins a story about a crash that he once witnessed. It's a story that Damien hadn't heard before, and within Return of the Champ he utilises that story to explore sibling rivalry, masculinity, and what it means to be vulnerable or open with one another.
If I'm painting the film to be a deep experience, the rest assured, it definitely is. What Damien has crafted here is something that will stick with me for quite a while, with the resulting film creating a fascinating and memorable nexus points of the quiet space of ocker comedy, reserved masculinity, loud cars, laughter at stand up comedy gigs, and frustration about fathers. There's a lot going on under the hood of this flick, with the film simmering along at a neat 18-minutes and creating a lasting impact.
Amplifying the vibe of the film is cinematography by Julian Panetta which is both immersive and observational in tone, pulling viewers into the Power's brothers world. Equally amplifying the tone is the score by Adrian Diery which adds a rather chill and contemplative backdrop to the whole experience.
Return of the Champ is the first film by Damien Power, and if this is the style of film we might get from him, then I'm looking forward to seeing where his filmography takes us.
This interview was recorded ahead of the films world premiere at Flickerfest 2026. Keep an eye out for it as it rolls out through the festival circuit. You'll not want to miss this one.
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