Even hours before her departure, Western Sydney film director Bina Bhattacharya still can’t believe she’s going to the Cannes Film Festival.
“I never thought I would do something like this in my life,” she says. “It’s a dream.
“It’s also terrifying. It’s the longest period I’ve been away from my two young children. I ended up going for 11 days, so I had to buy a new wardrobe. I was working on a Western film production. I was worried about my appearance, and I actually had to go buy some proper clothes. ”
Bhattacharya’s goals in attending the world’s most prestigious film festival are two-fold. Seeing Andrea Arnold’s film “Bird” and finding an international buyer or distributor for her crowdfunded debut, “From All Sides.”
Bina Bhattacharya says she felt compelled to make her first feature-length film while her two children were still young, and felt a sense of urgency in making From All Sides. (Included)
This is a drama about an interracial bisexual couple living in an open marriage in south-west Sydney. The title, written and directed by Bhattacharya, whose previous credits include 2021’s Here Out West, comes from a phrase she repeatedly used while talking to other mothers. He describes the experience of being criticized while juggling many dishes.
“A lot of race-related films in Australia are about young people and their strict parents. A lot of[the filmmakers]talk about things that happened in their younger years, like, ‘People made fun of me about my food.’ But there wasn’t a lot of work that explored racist women, who are middle-aged people negotiating cultural issues,” she says.
“That’s where the plot came from. It’s about people who have an alternative lifestyle but have to tone it down in a way because they’re ethnic and live in the suburbs. I thought… “Okay, let’s write about it.” This is a movie that only I can write about the suburbs and my daily life. ”
“I wanted to make a film about racism and how I experienced it. It wasn’t about people slandering me or spitting on me, it was about people is condescending to me. And that’s how most people of color will experience racism in Australia in 2024.” ”
From All Sides is one of eight Australian films to take part in the Goes to Cannes program. Under this program, seven film festivals will be invited to submit five works in progress to the Marché du Film. Coinciding with the festival’s glamorous world premiere, the market is the business side of Cannes, where sales, financing and distribution deals take place. Our motto is “the center of the film industry.”
Commentator: 2024 Cannes Film Festival
This year’s market will feature more than 4,000 films and projects from 140 countries. Goes to Cannes offers budding filmmakers the chance to make their mark with the support of a respected film festival.
Last year, Australia made its debut on the program of Queer Screen, the organization that runs the Mardi Gras film festival. This year’s Goes to Cannes line-up sees the return of Queer Screen alongside the Adelaide Film Festival. Together they will be screening a collection of Australian films at the Marche with a focus on LGBTIQ+ stories and South Adelaide productions. This is an unparalleled opportunity to introduce new voices to the world stage.
Lisa Rose, director of the Queer Screen Festival, said the Cannes Film Festival selection speaks to “the wide range of gay, lesbian, pansexual, bisexual and transgender experiences.” (Courtesy of Queer Screen)
“It’s a really great event, especially for Australians, because it makes you feel connected to the global film industry,” says Queer Screen festival director Lisa Rose.
“I’m very happy to be back for a second year. It’s a very unique experience, and there’s certainly a bit of a chaotic, celebratory, hard-working atmosphere. With cafes, superyachts, etc. A lot of meetings take place on park benches.”
In addition to “From All Sides,” Queer Screen will also produce “Heart of the Man,” a semi-autobiographical film written, directed and starring Buturaman’s David Cooke, and Henry Boffin’s “Metrosexual” “Strange Creatures,” a road movie directed and written by “Strange Creatures.” A place where a pansexual man and his brother travel to scatter their mother’s ashes.
Strange Creatures writer and director Henry Boffin said the film was loosely inspired by a road trip he took with his brother. (Courtesy of Queer Screen)
As the only LGBTIQ+ festival in the market, Queer Screen opened submissions to international filmmakers and also screened Under the Influencer (US) and Arms of a Man (India).
Most of the films selected for 2023 have distribution deals and deals thanks to their participation in the Cannes market, including the five-episode web series Triple O! starring Brooke Satchwell, currently streaming on SBS On Demand. secured selection for the festival.
Mr Rose said ‘Goes to Cannes’ goes beyond a single contract and is an international partnership for Australian queer filmmakers and Queer Screen itself, a not-for-profit organization that provides funding programs for filmmakers. He points out that it will attract more attention.
Adelaide Film Festival CEO and Creative Director Matt Kesting believes this is a tangible benefit that will benefit South Australian films beyond the five selected.
Heart of the Man writer and director David Cook (pictured) says he is excited to “represent emerging Queensland creators” at Cannes. (Courtesy of Queer Screen)
“The Adelaide Film Festival is already well known around the world,” he said, referring to the festival’s investment fund supported by the State Government. Since 2003, it has financed films such as Talk to Me, Trucks, and Samson and Delilah.
“Being selected as one of only seven film festivals to officially partner with Cannes Marche has helped to strengthen this position and sparked significant interest in future South Australian films.” Kesting says.
Recommended films from the Adelaide Film Festival include: Kangaroo Island is a drama about a fallen Hollywood starlet who returns to her hometown. Fantasy animated lesbian space princess. Mockbusters, mockumentaries about the chaotic set of parody films. “The Iron Winter” is a documentary about the pastoralists of Mongolia’s Tsakhir Valley. and “With or Without You,” a drama about a mother-daughter road trip across Australia.
Lesbian Space Princess sees the titular character embark on a galactic journey to save a bounty hunter’s ex-girlfriend from straight white mariens. (Courtesy: Adelaide Film Festival)
Diverse in genre, scope and presentation, all eight Australian films tell a unique story to Cannes, relying on the support of festivals such as Queer Screen and Adelaide Film Festival to receive funding and reach audiences. This is the type of thing you do.
“Many filmmakers are under a lot of pressure to water down their work and appeal to some kind of widest audience because it’s a numbers game,” Bhattacharya says.
“We live in a small country. There are over 330 million people living in America. So if something has a cult following there, 10 million people are now… But you’re watching it.”
Bhattacharyya says there is a lack of “really great bisexual films” in Australia and he hopes From All Sides will fill that gap. (Courtesy of Queer Screen)
Ms. Bhattacharya said her film had a niche at Cannes, given that it deals with her experiences as a “third culture child” that millions of people around the world can relate to. I hope you don’t see it.
She said: “What better way to connect with this globally disparate but unified audience than at the world’s largest film festival?”
