NAIDOC Week and Beatles Doubles
Deckchair screens two innovative, and at times surreal, indie trailblazers this month as part of double feature celebrations.
In recognition of NAIDOC Week, a screening of Tracey Moffat’s beDevil takes three ghost stories from Aboriginal and European culture and through them challenges racial stereotypes. This playful yet unsettling film is filled with rich colour and imagery and was represented at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. It’s also the first film directed by an Aboriginal woman and marks the early career of one of Australia’s most famous contemporary visual artists.
Cinematographer Geoff Burton (Storm Boy, The Year My Voice Broke) who also worked on beDevil, is a special guest and will give an insight into the film.
Director Tracey Moffatt has gone on to have an international career in experimental photography and video work, and recently represented Australia in the 2017 Venice Biennale, as well as holding her own solo exhibition at the Museum of Metropolitan Art in 2012.
NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Following beDevil, Deckie will screen Rachel Perkins’ Jasper Jones, an adaptation of Craig Silvey’s hit novel.
Perkins is an Arrernte woman and founded Blackfella Films, as well as directing feature films such as Bran Nue Dae.
Later in the month, a rollicking double feature and live music performance takes viewers back to the early heights of the Beatles. Going behind the scenes, Ron Howard’s Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years, uses found footage and interviews to shed light on the band’s early years in Liverpool and Germany.
Afterwards, A Hard Day’s Night (1964) sees the Fab Four spoof the Beatlemania that engulfed them as their fame hit the big time.
Directed by American Richard Lester, the black-and-white film was a surprise hit with critics for its irreverent take on what a music film could be.
For added delight, Darwin musician Jordan Ravi performs from 6pm on the cinema’s Sunset Deck.
NAIDOC Week Double | Sat 8 Jul, 7.30pm | Deckchair Cinema
Beatles Double | Fri 21 Jul, 7.30pm | Deckchair Cinema
Thumbnail: beDevil
