Summer Films 2015-16

This summer, the Australian Centre for the moving image (ACMI) will screen a hand-picked selection of soul music biopics, punk rock classics, sound art documentaries and award-winning foreign language films, all of which are exclusive to ACMI from December to January 2016.

MAVIS!
With a chart-topping career spanning over 60 years, the legendary soul singer Mavis Staples is a woman who shows no signs of slowing down. A performer since her teens, first with her family band The Staple Singers and then numerous solo ventures, her career is the stuff of music legend. Director Jessica Edwards offers an unguarded and joyous exploration of woman whose voice defined a generation, helped break the racial divide and continues to bring joy everywhere she goes.

WATTSTAX R18+
Seven years after the Watts riots, the 1972 Summer Festival reinvigorated public consciousness around issues of race in a legendary day-long concert that celebrated the music, people and pride of the black community of Watts and greater Los Angeles. ACMI will screen this special 35mm presentation of the legendary film featuring the Staple Singers and Richard Pryor. Staged by Memphis-based Stax Records, the event was a showcase for the label's star power and a bold proclamation about African-American empowerment.

CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR M
History, dreams and contemporary politics coalesce in this gently comic tale from acclaimed film and visual artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives). Set in the director's hometown in Northeast Thailand, he tells the story of a group of souls (earthly and otherwise) orbiting a military hospital where the soldiers are beset with a mass sleeping sickness and the ground below rages with ancient royal battles.

TEHRAN TAXI M
Winner of the Golden Bear for Best film at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon, Offside) offers another clandestine cinematic jewel to international audiences. Banned from filmmaking since 2010 Panahi follows This is Not a Film and Closed Curtain with this playful and politically charged tale of a Tehran taxi driver (Panahi) as he goes about his daily rounds.

DECLINE OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION TRILOGY UNCLASSIFIED 18+
Growing up in a travelling circus might have given West Coast director, Penelope Spheeris all the skills she needed to become a filmmaker. Widely known for the hit comedy Wayne's World her definitive record of the L.A. punk scene is the stuff of film and music legend.

HOCKNEY: A LIFE IN PICTURES UNCLASSIFIED 18+
British painter David Hockney stands as the very embodiment post-war freedom. His distinctive artworks which grace the walls of the most prestigious international collections are bold, complex and chart a history lived on both sides of the Atlantic completely outside of the confines of societal conservatism. Through recollections from the artist, various subjects, friends and contemporaries, director Randall Wright weaves a portrait of the artist that is as effervescent and intelligent as the man himself. Screening at ACMI in its Australian premiere.

IMAGINE WAKING UP TOMORROW AND ALL THE MUSIC HAS DISAPPEARED UNCLASSIFIED 18+
Music maverick Bill Drummond has had his fair share of controversy as part of the legendary KLF, a wildly successful pop band that infamously ended when they filmed themselves burning 1 million pounds. His post KLF life has consisted of projects that directly challenge the music industry. Screening at ACMI in its Australian premiere, this engaging documentary follows Drummond as he attempts to pull off one of his most provocative stunts involving a choral project called The 17.