Brisbane Film Festival honoured Ledger with Chauvel
By Rama Gaind
THE late Heath Ledger – who has generated rave reviews as The Joker in The Dark Knight – was honoured for his contribution to the Australian film industry with the 2008 Chauvel Award.
Speaking at the official program launch for the 2008 St George Bank Brisbane International Film Festival, the Queensland Arts Minister, Rod Welford, said Ledger would join other Australian film luminaries – including George Miller, Geoffrey Rush, Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson – in receiving the honour.
Ledger’s portrayal of the face-painted, scarred villain in The Dark Knight is evil to the core and sends shivers down the spine – he’s so believable!
This superhero action is a good versus evil story which sees Christian Bale playing down the role of billionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman.
On a brief visit to Brisbane, I had a delightful time seeing some of the features on offer at the 17th St George Bank Brisbane International Film Festival which finished at the Brisbane City Regent on August 10.
Not only were the tastes of hard-core film buffs satisfied with the program, but there was also enough on offer to gratify the casual moviegoer.
The opening night was politically-charged with Morgan Super Size Me Spurlock’s Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? The closing night saw the romantic war time drama The Edge of Love.
The program was an entertaining delight with favourite categories such as Galas and Showcases, along with new themes. Cinephile Delights was full of award winners and internationally acclaimed titles from Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Sundance.
There was also an assortment of globally feted films from the lavish martial artistry of Ashes of Time Redux to the witty animation Persepolis, while special screening provided a rare opportunity to see the silent classic Siren of the Tropics on the big screen with live musical accompaniment.
A walk on the wild side of genre cinema unravelled Ozploitation and Not Quite Hollywood. You also discovered the bold, eclectic style of well-known French auteur Olivier Assayas. Then there were films on show from Britain, a strong line-up from Kazakhstan to Korea and the richness of contemporary Thai cinema was also highlighted.
There was also an international selection of films, by and about, indigenous peoples, along with cult films and documentaries. In fact, there was something to attract every interest.
