Celebrate, connect and discover new perspectives and memorable experiences when the curtain rises on the 27th Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) with the Queensland premiere of The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson on 21 October.
The highly anticipated Australian drama, written, directed and co-produced by Leah Purcell, reimagines Henry Lawson’s classic from the perspective of an Indigenous bushwoman raising her children and running her family farm in the face of unrelenting adversity.
The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson gala event at Reading Cinema Newmarket is one of four world-class films announced ahead of the Festival’s official program launch in October.
Leah Purcell is looking forward to sharing her work with local audiences.
“The Brisbane International Film Festival is my home festival, and I am so thrilled and humbled to be a part of it; this, for me, is an important moment.
I am a proud born and bred First Nations Queenslander, so to have my debut feature be the Opening Night film for 2021 BIFF is a profound highlight in my career. This film has a Murri heart and soul running through it along with my family’s history.” Leah said.
Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman said “We are delighted and honoured that The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson has been selected as the Opening Night film at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2021.
Leah Purcell is a powerhouse writer, director, producer and actor, and has assembled a remarkable cast to bring this seminal work to the screen.”
Over 11 days, BIFF returns to celebrate the storytellers and filmmakers who seek to inspire, entertain and provoke audiences.
BIFF is run by organising body Film Fantastic and supported by the Queensland Government through Founding and Principal Sponsor Screen Queensland, together with Screen Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said BIFF provided an opportunity to celebrate what has been the most successful year yet for the Queensland screen industry.
“BIFF is one of Queensland’s major annual events, attracting eager film fans to Brisbane and providing an essential platform for our local filmmakers to network and showcase their skills and talent,” the Premier said.
“With the support of my Government through Screen Queensland, Queensland’s screen industry is thriving and experiencing an increase in local and international production, bringing millions into the economy and creating hundreds of jobs for locals.
“With projects such as Universal Studios Group’s Joe Exotic filming right now at Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane, it’s clear that Brisbane is a fantastic place to film.”
This year’s program spans brilliant, unforgettable and diverse films from award winners and festival favourites to cult and classic films, dramas, documentaries and dark comedies.
BIFF hosts the Australian premiere of Norwegian comedy-drama, The Worst Person in the World, featuring a Cannes Film Festival award-winning performance by Renate Reinsve who plays Julie, a young woman trying to discover who she is and her place in the world.
Also making its Australian screen debut is Compartment No. 6, a Russian drama about two strangers on a life-altering train journey that won director Juho Kuosmanen two Cannes Film Festival awards.
Festival circuit favourite Petite Maman, from the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire Céline Sciamma, is a heartwarming fantasy about family, loss and unexpected discoveries, rounds out the first look at BIFF’s Australian Premieres.
Film Fantastic CEO Josh Martin says this year’s Festival will celebrate connection with audiences and filmmakers through shared experiences in-cinema, after a challenging 18 months for the industry.
“The 27th annual BIFF is a celebration of this amazing city and the deeply entrenched film community that lives and breathes it. BIFF also provides a wonderful opportunity to connect emerging talent with the broader Australian film industry.”
“I am delighted to be releasing this sneak peek of our upcoming BIFF film program and what an honour it is to be showcasing such a wonderful and iconically Australian opening night film” Mr Martin says.
BIFF Program Manager Sasha Close says the final program will be bold and unforgettable, hinting at a huge number of Australian and Queensland premiere films.
“Audiences will have the chance to discover something new, something unexpected, something real,” Ms Close says.
“This year’s program has been carefully curated by the programming team and is diverse, fresh and entertaining. People of all ages and all cinematic tastes will find something to amuse, distract, or educate them.
“I invite Brisbane to connect with incredible filmmakers and storytellers, be inspired by the diversity of BIFF’s program and – most importantly – to expect the unexpected this October.”
The last 18 months has been a difficult time for many industries, particularly the arts, with one of the biggest events on the film circuit, Melbourne International Film Festival, being hampered by COVID restrictions.
‘While the impact of covid was felt acutely in the disruption of MIFF’s screening plans this year, we are thrilled that Queensland audiences will get to experience Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s
Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson as the Opening Night presentation of the Brisbane International Film Festival in October.’ Al Cossar, Artistic Director of MIFF.
Brisbane International Film Festival is an 11-day celebration of film from 21-31 October 2021.
www.biff.com.au
