DECKIE DAYS ARE [ALMOST] DONE
This month, the projector dims on another year at the iconic Deckchair Cinema, so get your final flick fix before the Wet season kicks in.
WORDS TIERNEY WHITE
THIS YEAR HAS gone like a flash, and despite screening films pretty much every night since April, the arrival of November brings on a sense of FOMO as the last days of the Deckie arrive.
With little over two weeks left in the 2025 program, this is your friendly reminder to grab a ticket and pull up under the stars for some sweet seaside cinema.
Co-Operations Manager and Darwin International Film Festival (DIFF) Manager Erin Lucas says 2025 has been a hoot.
“It has been a bumper season, a record season. And we've just had so many tourists and locals through, and all our regulars returning, which just makes a really big difference. Especially with our staff as well, getting to know all the regulars that come through, every week is great,” she says.
“I didn't remember so many sold out nights, kind of continuously!” Lisa You, Co-Operations Manager, adds.
This year has also attracted an impressive list of special guests, with Peter Greste and Richard Roxborough kicking things off for the season’s Opening Night, David Wenham for the NT Premiere of his hilarious flick Spit, and Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris for the screening of documentary Deeper last month.
“It's just been really nice, meeting these different people and hearing their stories. And then, you know, the audience … getting to hear from different people that they might never get an opportunity to in a bigger city because there's just so much noise … we get so many special moments here,” Lucas says.
Not only have we been able to enjoy the stories of special visitors, locals have importantly had the chance to shine on the big screen.
“It's been really lovely this year to see the success of local film, Tracy – the community's really gotten around that movie. We had three sold-out screenings here, we had a special fundraising night, we had a special presentation during DIFF. And so, to see that from a film society, you know, supporting local filmmakers and also seeing the community to get behind them with a local story, it's just beautiful.”
Not only did the Deckie run its regular program alongside a chockers DIFF program, it also ran regular fundraising events on Sundays to give back to the community, with more than $80,000 raised for local community groups. Off The Leash was a beneficiary of one such event, with a screening of Kneecap back in August that raised over $5,000 for our not-for-profit organisation.
Closing out the 2025 season is a screening of The Ballad of Wallis Island, a beautiful film about grief, particularly from a male perspective.
“We go out on a really nice film, that looks at the changes people go through in their lives. The central characters are two men that are both going through very different experiences of grief, and how to handle it and having a positive outcome at the end … the whole idea is about how we can be supporting other people and not just being self-centred. It's a really positive story about male relationships,” Lucas says.
“There are beautiful, sweet, comedic moments … and then, just to see someone discover, ‘actually, I'm going to get way more out of life for myself by being kind and giving to others’ is just gorgeous. I can't recommend it enough.”
If you already know you’re going to miss the Deckie over the Wet, firstly, get in there while you can, go see the last fundraiser, go to closing night. Secondly, why not get ahead for the 2026 season by nabbing a Deckie gift voucher, which you might like to spend on a Darwin Film Society membership?
Time to drop some hints for Santa, we reckon.
Deckchair Closing Night - The Ballad of Wallis Island
WHEN SUN 16 NOV | 7PM
AT DECKCHAIR CINEMA
COST $11-$20 | $45 FAM
INFO deckchaircinema.com
Image: Paz Tassone
