Wednesday @ AIMC 2019

Research Presentation – Opportunities to Grow the Pie!

Now in its fourth year, the industry Australian Cinema Health Tracker research highlights new opportunities to increase cinema visitation and differentiate from other entertainment options, with implications for distributors and exhibitors.

Classification News

Review of the Film Guidelines
The Government has announced a review of the Film Classification Guidelines, to ensure they reflect contemporary Australian community values. A discussion paper will be published prior to the end of 2019 and public comments sought.The Classification Board encourages people and companies to participate in the submission process, the details of which will be on the department’s website: www.communications.gov.au and on the Classification website: www.classification.gov.auNew Classification Website
The launch of the new Classification website is imminent. The site will provide the public with more information about all theatrically released films and is intended to be a valuable and reliable source for people to consult, prior to choosing to attend a cinema to watch a film.

Margaret Anderson (Director, Classification Board) is at the convention today and available to provide further information.

Wednesday screenings

Today, we will screen six films across two session times – an eclectic selection curated for your enjoyment:

10.30am – 12.30pm
My Spy (Roadshow Films)
Blackbird (Icon Film Distribution)
Martha: A Picture Story (Umbrella Entertainment)
Hearts and Bones (Madman Entertainment)

1.00-3.00pm
La Belle Epoque (Rialto Distribution)
Blackbird (Icon Film Distribution)
Martha: A Picture Story (Umbrella Entertainment)
Hearts and Bones (Madman Entertainment)

MY SPY

MY SPY follows JJ a hardened CIA operative who has been demoted and finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, named Sophie where he has been sent undercover begrudgingly to surveil her family. When Sophie discovers hidden cameras in her apartment she uses her tech savviness to locate where the surveillance operation is set. In exchange for not blowing JJ’s cover Sophie convinces him to spend time with her and teach her to be a spy. Despite his reluctance JJ finds he is no match for Sophie’s disarming charm and wit.
Director: Peter Segal
Cast: Dave Bautista, Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Chloe Coleman and Ken Jeong.

BLACKBIRD

Lily (Susan Sarandon) is terminally ill. Having considered her remaining options,and with the support of her husband Paul (Sam Neill), she has decided to end her life on her own terms. Lily and Paul summon their loved ones to their countryhouse for one final gathering. Tensions quickly boil over between her two daughters, Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska), whose long-standing unresolved conflicts come surging to the surface and threaten to derail what was intended to be a peaceful collective farewell.

MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY

Three decades after publishing her book, Subway Art, photographer Martha Cooper discovers she’s become an unexpected icon of one of the biggest art movements in history. In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first vivid images of graffiti appearing on the city’s subway carriages. Decades later, Martha realises she’s become an unexpected icon of the street art world – her visionary photography having inspired the spread of graffiti around the globe. Now, at age 75, Martha must navigate her way through this vastly changed culture.

HEARTS AND BONES

A war photographer, Daniel (Hugo Weaving), has just returned home to prepare for his latest exhibition when a South Sudanese refugee, Sebastian (Andrew Luri), appears at his door with a request – that he not exhibit any photographs of the massacre in his village, taken 15 years earlier. What emerges is an unlikely friendship between the two men. While sifting through Daniel’s archive, they make a startling discovery – Sebastian’s daughter, thought dead, may still be alive. As more revelations arise, both men begin to question their past and in their search, they discover salvation.

LA BELLE EPOQUE

Victor, sixtysomething, has his life turned upside down the day that Antoine (Guillaume Canet), a flourishing entrepreneur, offers him a unique new brand of entertainment. Using a combination of theatrical artifice and historical re-enactment, his company gives its clients the opportunity to delve back into the period of their choice. Victor decides to relive the most memorable week of his existence, 40 years earlier, when he met the love of his life.