Revelation Perth International Film Festival announces full 2021 program

Revelation Perth International Film Festival announces full 2021 program

Last Updated: 08 Jun 2021
Cate Tweedie

Perth is set to welcome the best of independent international films this July, as the Revelation Perth International Film Festival returns for its 24th iteration. 

Although the festival was intended to open with a launch party on July 1, in light of lockdown restrictions, the festival has been postponed to start on July 3 and will run until July 11 as planned.

Known for celebrating independent filmmakers and boundary pushing storytellers, the theme of this year’s festival is Distant but Connected. Reflected through a line-up of over 35 feature films and documentaries from 21 different countries, the festival will also feature a specially commissioned artwork from acclaimed Augmented Reality artist Marc-o-Matic.

“It may be a long time before we see international screen artists physically again, but at the very least in the interim, Rev can provide a vibrant conduit to global conversations and relationships,” says Festival Director, Richard Sowada.

“After commissioning 4 short VR works last year and mounting a VR games conference with XR:WA, the commissioning of this artwork continues to embed this convergence and experimentation into every fibre of our Festival,” Sowada continues.

The full line-up features over 35 feature films and documentaries, plus an array of short films. Alongside these, Revelation is presenting a selection of panels, discussions and industry workshops.

The Festival opens with Freshman Year (USA), Grand Jury Prize Winner at the 2020 SXSW (virtual) Film Festival. Produced by Jay Duplass, this romantic comedy announces a bright new star of American indie drama in writer, director and lead actor, 24-year-old Cooper Raiff, who plays Alex, a lonely Texas freshman studying in LA having difficulty navigating college life.

Closer to home, our friends across the ditch give us The Justice of Bunny King (NZ), a female-led drama starring Essie Davis (The Babadook, Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears) as a mother-of-two with a sketchy past and the world against her; and from our very own back yard we have the theatrical version Warwick Thornton’s NITV series, The Beach (AUS); Women of Steel (AUS), a documentary about a group of women from Wollongong who took on mining giant BHP; The Last Horns of Africa (S.AF/AU), which takes us inside a hidden rhino orphanage and on a journey alongside those who are putting their lives at risk to protect this endangered species; and We’re Not Here to F**k Spiders (AUS), a tense, claustrophobic drama created from surveillance footage.

Design enthusiasts will revel in Aalto (FIN), a documentary on the life and work of one of the greatest modern architects, Alvar Aalto; and Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide (USA), which provides an in-depth insight into the visionary and brilliant American painter and iconic street artist.

Perth’s international party icon Tomás Ford asks you to Have A Bath With Me? on Saturday 3 July in a night that promises to deliver an immersive cinema experience full of hyper colour musical adventure.

Get Your Shorts On! and the City of Vincent Film Project provides the opportunity to support some of WA’s talented emerging filmmakers on Wednesday 7 July and Revelation’s Westralia Day on Saturday 10 July at The Backlot continues to shine a spotlight on locally- produced short films and long form content.

WIFT Australia presents WIFT V-Fest on Sunday 11 July, showcasing the work of women in the film industry both in-front and behind the lens; and Rev’s unique creative experiment Blind Date falls on this same day, and is bound to be something special as we bring together musicians and filmmakers.

Check out more festivals coming up across Western Australia

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