Acmi Podcasts

Twenty First Century Dysfunctional Superheroes - AlvinRendell, RMIT University

Women in Comics Panel - Hope Larson, Nicola Scott, Tom Taylor, Sarah Richardson, Naja Later

Taking inspiration from cinema, science fiction, architecture, and cybernetics, acclaimed French artist Philippe Parreno merges reality and fiction to produce exhibitions that radically challenge our notions of memory and the passage of time. Parreno has become internationally renowned for producing exhibitions as durational experiences in which time is both subject matter and medium, as important an element as space in the creation and experience of his art. Listen to this In Conversation event to hear Parreno discuss and deconstruct his newest exhibition, Thenabouts with Dr. Amelia Barikin.

Gender, Paratexts and Everyday Superheroes from #WheresRey to “the Chewbacca Mum” - Tama Leaver & Luke Webster, Curtin University

Contested Identities: the importance of continuity and adaptation in serialised superhero narratives - Jack Teiwes, University of Melbourne Was a talk held as part of Superhero Identities Symposium It is hard to imagine a time when superheroes have been more pervasive in popular culture. As one of our most beloved folkloric traditions these costume-clad adventurers have become a means to negotiate and articulate identities in response to fictional heroes. From big screen heroes to lesser-known comic book vigilantes and real-life costumed heroes, this special two-day symposium, featuring award-winning creators and academic experts, will unmask superheroes across all eras and media platforms. Featuring industry interviews and panels alongside presentations from leading superhero scholars, the symposium will see over 50 experts presenting on topics ranging from Netflix’s Jessica Jones, to convention cosplay and Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary.

Delia Hou, NVIDIA VR Business Development & Sales, discusses NVIDIA‘s investment in developing NVIDIA VR Works to help the VR ecosystem grow, improve, and succeed. Delia will also share how NVIDIA is helping VR developers to create world class content, as well as providing opportunities to showcase their work at NVIDIA events and facilitate global business partnerships. Mike Chi, VR New Technology, discusses the HTC VIVE, its role in VR and how it can be applied to a range of other industry applications including VR gaming, film production and education. Mike will introduce the VIVE X Accelerator program - designed to support startups and to provide education, investment and mentorship - and share his thoughts on the next big trends in VR technology.

Whilst VR technology is still relativity in its infancy, it is the entrepreneurs, innovators and technical enthusiasts at the forefront of content creation as they test, trial and experiment with this rapidly emerging technology. In this session, VR specialists discuss VR technologies including 360 filming, interactive VR experiences (real time engines), spacial audio techniques and post production pathways. Moderated by Emily Harridge, Founder of Visual Playround and PLaTO Realityand featuring Piers Mussared, Jumpgate VR, Emre Deniz, Opaque Media Group and Sally-Anne Kellaway, Zero Latency.

How can traditional screen content creators utilise their skills in the contemporary screen form of VR? Moderator Christy Dena (Writer-Designer-Director at Universe Creation) and VR content creators including Oscar Raby and Katy Morrison VRTOV, Nathan Anderson StartVR, Dan Koerner Sandpit and Michael Beets PLaTO Reality share the creative possibilities and complexities of writing, shooting and editing VR for dramatic and meaningful effect.

What is the current state of play of VR both here and abroad and how is VR being applied to immersive and interactive filmmaking? Moderator Astrid Scott (Senior Producer and Strategist, ABC Research and Development) will be joined by Katy Morrison, VRTOV, Emre Can Deniz, Opaque Media Group, James Boyce, Grumpy Sailor and Scott Vandonkelaa, Zero Latency as they discuss the breadth of VR experimentation, different production approaches and the current funding and distribution landscape.

Presented as part of Hey Girl, this panel discussion, hosted by comedian Judith Lucy, will look at girls on screen in a special evening dedicated to dissecting some of the funniest and fetchest pop-culture favourites. Featuring Mel Campbell, Jessica Knight, Billie Tumarkin and Candy Bowers this conversation is suited to girls, anyone who was once a girl and anybody who knows a girl. It’s hard to know whether to cheer or groan at the success of Lena Dunham’s hit TV show Girls. On one hand, it’s encouraging to see real, imperfect female bodies on screen. On the other hand, it’s depressing that such images are still revolutionary. ‘There's people who don't want to see bodies like mine, or bodies like their own bodies,’ Dunham has said. Girls is just one show that has inspired some fiery debates about female representation and diversity in popular culture. Our panel – comprising some of the smartest young women we know – will also respond to clips from Broad City, Freaks & Geeks, The Katering Show, Puberty Blu

Lauded by the Museum of Modern Art in New York as “one of the great modern masters of the cinema” Roman Polanski has over the course of five decades refined a formal film language and expressed a mordantly ironic worldview in genre-defining films that are provocative, compelling and inventive. ROMAN: 10 x Polanski proposes ten key films drawn from Polanski’s filmography – from the director’s Polish New Wave debut, Knife in the Water to his 2010 political thriller, The Ghost Writer, by way of the director’s British films of the ‘60s, New Hollywood classics Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown and Paris-set thrillers The Tenant, Frantic and Bitter Moon. In this podcast Roberta Ciabarra who curated the season talks to Spiro Economopoulos about her reasons for picking these 10 films and how the extraordinary circumstances of Polanski's life are reflected in his work.

Nyarri Nyarri Morgan is a Martu man from the Western Desert who lives in the remote Parnngurr Community of W.A. He lived his early life with no contact with western culture until he witnessed an atomic test held by the British government in the South Australian desert. It was an experience that had a profound impact on Morgan and, over half a century later, led to a collaboration with Sydney-based immersive technology artist and director, Lynette Wallworth. His story is now the subject of the Virtual Reality film, Collisions. Collisions drops audiences in the middle of the Pilbara desert – home of Morgan and of the Martu people. This conversation will take Morgan’s experience filming Collisions as a starting point for a broader discussion of the issues facing the Martu people in this remote region of Western Australia. Joined by Wallworth, Nyarri's wife Nola and young filmmaker and Martu leader Curtis Taylor, Morgan will speak about his life, his work as an artist and the fate of the Martu people since the

Our latest VR Commission, Ghosts, Toast and the Things Unsaid is an intimate virtual reality experience that invites audiences to become the ghosts of couple, Steve and Maude, and revisit the kitchen where they fell in love, grew old and apart. The work provokes a meditation on our propensity to keep secrets, the words that go unheard, and what this means for our relationships.

Theatre Director, Enrique Vargas and Artist and Filmmaker, Lynette Wallworth both create immersive works that explore bold new ways of telling and experiencing stories. In Echo of the Shadow, Vargas invites the audience to enter a sensorial labyrinth, a singular experience of looking, listening, smelling, tasting and touching. In Collisions, audiences are taken on a virtual journey to the remote Western Australian desert where Martu elder, Nyarri Nyarri Morgan, shares the story of the impact of the 1957 atomic bomb testing on his homelands. Join Enrique and Lynette in a conversation moderated by Artistic Director Jonathan Holloway about creating immersive worlds, audience interaction and experiential storytelling and their most recent works showing at ACMI as part of Melbourne Festival. Lynette Wallworth is an acclaimed Australian artist and director whose immersive installations and films reflect connections between people and the natural world, while also exploring fragile human states of grace. Her work

Warning: This podcast contains coarse language and adult themes and is not suitable for children under 18 years of age. Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures screens at ACMI from the 22nd September. ACMI's Head of Film Programs, James Hewison shares his thoughts on the film and the man.

Winner of the Best Documentary prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, Weiner is a wonderfully stranger-than-fiction tale of political scandal and contemporary morality. Anthony Weiner was a democratic congressman on the rise when a ‘sexting’ scandal forced a humiliating resignation. Two years later, he ran for New York City mayor, betting that his ideas would trump his indiscretions. With unprecedented access, Weiner takes us inside this fascinating political comeback-turned-meltdown. In this post screening Q and A ACMI's Head of Film Programs James Hewison talks about the film, politics and life in the public eye with Adam Bandt, Federal Member for Melbourne.

Celebrate the SCORSESE exhibition and join one of the master filmmaker’s long time collaborators, BAFTA and Oscar winning designer Sandy Powell OBE, as she delivers a masterclass on costume design and gives a fascinating insight into her extraordinary career. From working closely with Scorsese on films including The Aviator, Gangs of New York and Wolf of Wall Street, to the collaborative process of designing costume for celebrated films such as Carol and Cinderella, the acclaimed designer will appear at ACMI for a special night of conversation hosted by Associate Professor Jessica Bugg (School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT) to explore her iconic work, her influences, and her creative partnerships with Scorsese and a range of legendary filmmakers. Powell, who has won the Academy Award for Costume Design three times for Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Aviator (2004), and The Young Victoria (2009), and has been nominated a total of twelve times, is renowned for her ability to form long lasting, creative collab

DOOM has long been one of the most innovative, and most loved, titles in video games. In celebration of the launch of the newest entry in the franchise, we're proud to present a chance for audiences to explore the development of the game with Marty Stratton, Executive Producer at id Software. Marty will be connected via live video conference from Dallas. In addition to following the development journey and challenges involved in maintaining the legacy of DOOM, we will be exploring Marty’s career highlights to date and his tips for getting into the industry, as well as having a broader discussion around AAA development in the modern age. Developed by id Software, the studio that pioneered the first-person shooter genre and created multiplayer Deathmatch, DOOM has made its return this month as a brutally fun and challenging modern-day gaming experience. Marty Stratton has been a passionate and driven game developer for more than 20 years. In his current role as Executive Producer and director at id Software

Renowned for his visual, kinetic style, his deeply informed passion for screen history and his tireless championing of film preservation, Scorsese’s innovative and multifaceted work has defined him as one of the world’s greatest filmmakers. In this talk, our experts are uncovering the range of influences that have helped shaped Scorsese’s own films, discussing the iconic collaborations that have defined his work, and exploring the rich cinematic history that routinely inspires the filmmaker. Examining the distinctive cinematic impact of the screen legend, Dr Mark Nicholls (University of Melbourne) will lead a group of special guests including Dr Bruce Isaacs (Film Studies, University of Sydney), Dr Adrian Danks (RMIT) and writer, editor and critic Rebecca Harkins-Cross in a cinematic exploration of the indelible cinematic legacy of the prolific and passionate auteur. Featuring a special address from renowned film scholar Professor Ian Christie (UK), editor of Scorsese on Scorsese (Faber and Faber, 1996).

"Martin Scorsese's films, from Mean Streets to The Aviator, are explosive in their impact, crammed with information and detail. Scorsese is torn between the sacred and the profane. On the one hand, his Catholic upbringing leads him to tackle religious subjects, while the Saturday matinee kid in him revels in the trashy gore of his gangster films." - David Stratton Describing Scorsese as the most passionate of the post-1960’s new wave of young directors, which included cinema luminaries such as Bogdanovich, Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas, Stratton anoints the great director as “the cinema’s greatest proselytiser”, a film maker consistently converting audiences with his rapid fire style and palpable passion for the art form. In this rare opportunity to hear from one of Australia’s leading voices on world cinema, Stratton will survey the master filmmaker’s impactful catalogue of films, examining the body of work on show in Essential Scorsese and exploring the impact of one of contemporary cinema’s most influenti