Summerland at the British Film Festival
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
Perth movie goers have been lucky enough to enjoy going back to the cinemas. Yay!
It’s that time of the year again and the British Film Festival has nearly descended on us in Perth despite the closed borders.
The movie Summerland is set during WWII and the story centres around Alice, a reclusive writer immersed in her isolated, creative world, who suddenly has Frank - a young boy evacuee from London – thrust upon her.
Alice’s life is turned upside down as she grapples with the challenging task of looking after a young and impressionable Frank – not something that she was prepared for in any way.
The on screen presence and developing friendship between Alice and Frank makes this film a joy to watch.
The Climb at Luna
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
A portmanteau of the words brother and romance.
= bromance
That is the subject matter of the contemporary American movie "The Climb", which follows the friendship between Kyle and Mike who have been best friends since high school.
They enjoy each other's company and are pretty tight until the shit hits the fan over Kyle’s fiancee.
Throughout the movie, there are some laugh out loud moments as well as some serious issues on hand, as the two key characters grapple with the complexities of adult life.
Relationships and friendships are the lifeblood of what makes life worthwhile and “The Climb” poses the challenging question of when is the time to call a friendship quits?
The Big Hoo Haa - 18th Birthday Show!
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
In these uncertain times of covid-19 and social distancing, my partner and I were looking forward to getting out of the house and watching a real live performance for the first time in many months.
Strangely enough, in a time where performers have had many months away from the spotlight to rehearse and hone their roles, our first foray back to the theatre was to watch a night of improvisational comedy – The Big Hoo-Haa! 18th Birthday Show, at the Dolphin Theatre in the Nedlands UWA campus.
Improv comedy is one of those real seat-of-the-pants things, especially when performed troupe style like the way The Big Hoo-Haa does it.
Lucky Grandma at Luna
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
Recently in the film world, we have been privy to some enjoyable Asian American movies of the likes of Farewell (a touching grandma story) and Crazy Rich Asians (the rom com with an all Asian cast).
This time - the adventures of a feisty and stubborn grandma in Chinatown hits the screen at Luna Leederville – in the Asian American comedy “Lucky Grandma”.
Tsai Chin, well known for her role as Auntie Lindo in Joy Luck Club (1993), stars in the role as an 80 year old widower “Grandma Wong”, keen to live her life as independently as possible in spite of the worry of her family.
On a day that has been deemed auspicious by her fortune teller, she sets off to the casino to try her luck!
23 Walks at Luna
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
Knowing that it’s never too late to find love whatever your age, and throwing in for good measure some cute pooches with personality, and you’ve got the makings of a great feel good movie.
That is the essence of “23 Walks”, which follows the relationship that blossoms between Dave (Dave Johns) and Fern (Alison Steadman) (both in their sixties) who get to know one another over the course of 23 dog walks.
It was the first time that my partner and I had been to the movies since covid-19 struck and it was a very nice experience to return back to Luna Leederville after what has seemed like an eternity.
There were quite a few interesting themes that were woven throughout the movie – love, the joy of owning dogs, and the challenges of growing old.
Love comes in many shapes and forms, and when it arrives later in life – each individual brings to the table some battle scars and baggage – but oftentimes are a little wiser about the intricacies and challenges of daily life.
Black Swan unveils Unsung Heroes – a Digi Fest of WA Stories
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
In a world premiere season, Co-Directors Emily McLean and Joe Paradise Lui have risen to the challenges of covid-19 in order to tell the story of some unique and every day West Australians who have achieved extraordinary things. "Unsung Heroes" is Black Swan State Theatre Company's first outing in its series of "Black Swan Home Theatre".
Emily and Joe have been encouraged to grow and adapt to working during covid times by transforming a series of staged monologues into a series filmed on stage, that will be live streamed during the next fortnight from tomorrow Tuesday 21 July onwards.
As Emily McLean Co-director of Unsung Heroes explains:
" Working closely with Joe Paradise Lui to ensure a shared language across the project that still has room for each individual story's quirks and demands has been a rare treat.
It has been freeing to have the ability to cut and zoom to a close up - like really, really close up.
Building a relationship with the audience member found down the barrel of the camera has been an interesting use of the form and the best (and only) possible path to our audience.
And in fact it isn't one audience member down there - we have put the whole Studio Underground audience onto one seat and we are telling the story to that seat."
The performances tell stories of courage, life’s music, adventure, new beginnings and dignity and is a timely reminder of our shared humanity and of our uniquely Western Australian identity.
The works have been written by local playwrights Gita Bezard, Barbara Hostalek, Chris Isaacs, Hellie Turner and Mararo Wangai.
The program line up is as follows: