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Australia’s catastrophic Black Summer bushfires are the inspiration for a new six-part ABC drama that co-creator Tony Ayres and actor Hunter Page-Lochard say focuses on the stories of heartache and heroism of ordinary people caught up in the disaster.
Film & TV
Steeped in a small-town reality with swirling latent violence, this indie gem tells a riveting story about a marriage in trouble which one partner wants to save more than the other.
Film & TV
Iggy & Ace is a zany new Australian comedy about two gay best friends joined at the hip flask. It also looks at addiction with unflinching honesty.
This film does for the rolling hills and river hideaways of New Zealand what Wolf Creek did for the red-dirt splendour of outback South Australia: namely, provide an excellent backdrop for scenes of panic, terror and fear.
This confronting new documentary traces the 30-year battle for justice following the murder of three Aboriginal children in an outback town and a police investigation marred by ingrained racism.
Nine Perfect Strangers – the new mini-series based on Australian author Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel – tries to be a satire on wellness culture, yet at the same time celebrates its trappings.
Rising Sun Pictures visual effects artist Julian Hutchens has been nominated for a 2021 Emmy Award for his team’s work creating effects for delinquent superheroes – which it turns out was just as much fun as it sounds.
Film & TV
The ABC takes viewers back to the future through a 1980s newsroom in its latest compelling six-part drama The Newsreader.
Film & TV
Streaming services are full of retro viewing opportunities, but this is one ground-breaking crime drama that arguably still surpasses anything made since.
These three offbeat – and off-the-beaten-track – series, all hosted by comedians and free to stream, will take you from the back streets of Havana to the Scottish Highlands.
In the midst of the COVID crisis, Kiwi post-pandemic comedy series Creamerie might be just what the doctor ordered – especially if she was a proponent of alternative medicine of the madcap kind.
Netflix’s new dating show Sexy Beasts – a kind of ridiculous modern-day Perfect Match – tries to tell us you can take physical attraction out of love. The reality, says one expert, is far more complicated.
New film In The Heights draws on almost 100 years of movie musical choreography – from Million Dollar Mermaid to West Side Story. Here are some highlights.
Film & TV
The darker the drama, the colder the climate, the more audiences seem to enjoy the screen genre known as Nordic noir.
Film & TV
From Australian western The Drover’s Wife to a new film by Wes Anderson, the long-awaited Dune, the latest Bond thriller, and a string of sequels, there is a feast of new releases on the way to the cinema in the second half of the year.
Starring a young Cate Blanchett in her first film role, writer-director Kathryn Millard’s 1996 film Parklands remains a surprisingly evergreen — and very Adelaide — reflection on memory and place.
The stark drama and lyricism of Cousins make it an unusual and powerful film that shines a light on a new wave of New Zealand filmmakers, most of whom are women.
Renowned Indigenous photographer Colleen Strangways has levelled up her storytelling, spotlighting Aboriginal Arabana culture in virtual reality.
A rom-com with a robot as the leading man is one of the more unexpected international premieres screening at this year’s German Film Festival, the first since 2019.
