December 2

BILL MORRISON: ARCHIVAL ALCHEMY

7:00PM BILL MORRISON: ARCHAEOLOGIES
(1995–2012) 80 mins

Morrison’s astonishing and generous oeuvre is characterised by his cunning appropriation of footage recovered and rediscovered from archives around the world, often scored by distinguished composers and musicians. This selection of four works showcases the depth and range of an artist Variety dubbed “one of the most adventurous American filmmakers”, and includes: Just Ancient Loops (2012), which combines high-res scans of nitrate footage with new CGI renderings to depict different views of the heavens; the neo-noir CinemaScope “trip” movie, Ghost Trip (2000); and Gotham (2004), Morrison’s majestic symphonic study of New York City.

CTEQ ANNOTATION:
‘Bill Morrison: Ghost Trip and Just Ancient Loops’ by Darragh O’Donoghue.


8:30PM SPARK OF BEING
Bill Morrison (2010) 68 mins

Morrison’s use of the often decaying visual remnants of bygone eras retells and reimagines historical tragedies, filmic fantasies and the metaphysical and emotional recesses of human experience whilst at the same time highlighting the very materiality of the medium he so carefully choreographs. His version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is unlike any adaptation you will have seen before; gorgeously combining found footage, a dialogue-free “narrative” and trumpeter Dave Douglas’ score.

Preceded by

Who by Water
Bill Morrison (2007) 18 mins.

A mesmerising and haunting collage of historical footage of ships’ passengers gazing directly into the camera.

Wednesday 5 February
OPENING NIGHT 2025

12–26 February
BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA

5–19 March
THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT: THE EVOLUTIONARY CAREER OF ROBERTO ROSSELLINI

26 March – 9 April
OUT OF THE PAST AND INTO FLARES: NEO-NOIR IN 1970s AMERICA

16–30 April
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE: THE UNFLINCHING VISION OF MICHAEL HANEKE

7–21 May
BARBARA STEELE: THE QUEEN OF SCREAM

28 May – 11 June
VÍCTOR ERICE: COME TOWARDS THE LIGHT

18 June – 2 July
REBELLIOUS MUSE: DELPHINE SEYRIG AS ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND ACTIVIST

Wednesday 9 July
DEEP DIVE: THE RESTLESSLY INVENTIVE WORK OF DIRK DE BRUYN

16–30 July
APPETITE FOR DECONSTRUCTION: SEIJUN SUZUKI

3–17 September
CINE DE ORO: TREASURES OF MEXICAN CINEMA’S GOLDEN AGE

24 September – 8 October
ONE FOR THE AGES: THE BALLADIC, PAINTERLY CINEMA OF FRANTIŠEK VLÁČIL

15–22 October
“ON THE EDGE OF FICTION”: ELIA SULEIMAN’S CINEMA OF BELONGING

29 October – 5 November
MARX, MELODRAMA AND MARCOS: LINO BROCKA FROM THE MID-1970s TO THE EARLY 1980s

12–19 November
IT’S TIME: AUSTRALIAN CINEMA IN 1975

Wednesday 26 November
MOTHER TONGUE: AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN ANIMATION

3–17 December
THE COURAGE TO TAKE THINGS SERIOUSLY: JOHN M. STAHL’S UNIRONIC MELODRAMAS