Movies in the open

Film lovers, rejoice! Combining my two favourite activities – being outdoors and enjoying good cinema – I am stoked that Moonlight Cinema (in Centennial Park) and Open Air Cinema (in the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens), have announced their summer screening programs last week. Let me tell you, which ever you prefer, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a chance to watch all the missed new releases and enjoy your favourite classics.

Moonlight has already kicked off last week and has its last screening scheduled for Sunday 20 March, while Open Air starts on Wednesday 12 January and ends on Saturday 19 February. Screenings generally start about 8pm, but check the websites for more details like screening times, exact locations and ticket prices. Tickets are still available for many sessions for both outdoor cinemas, however if you’ve got your heart set on a movie, I’d suggest you be quick.

The American

Moonlight Cinema
Based on the novel by pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me, is a confronting psychotic thriller that won’t please the faint-hearted. Released earlier this year, the film is directed by Michael Winterbottom (Genova, A Mighty Heart, 9 Songs, 24 Hour Party People) and stars Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. The Killer Inside Me screens this Sunday 19 December.

For anyone who missed Christopher Nolan’s complex and mostly confusing sci-fi thriller Inception, you have a choice of two nights to see it on: Thursday 30 December and Wednesday 16 February. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Ken Watanabe, earlier this week Inception was nominated for four awards at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture (Drama), Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.

In the new year, Moonlight will be screening many new releases like: Oliver Stone’s 1987 Wall Street sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Tuesday 4 January); the highly engaging story about the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, The Social Network (Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 January); Anton Corbijn’s impressive drama set in Italy and starring George Clooney The American (Saturday 29 January); Gainsbourg (Tuesday 8 February), the odyssey of the father of French pop; Sofia Coppola’s gorgeous new film Somewhere (Friday 4 March); Blue Valentine (Tuesday 8 March) starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; Black Swan (Wednesday 16 March) with Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel; and so on and on. A full list of features can be found here.

Highly acclaimed documentary Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie will be showing on Monday 28 February and the musical Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera is scheduled for Tuesday 15 March. Classics like Pulp Fiction (Tuesday 1 March), The Godfather (Thursday 3 March) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Tuesday 22 February) to name a few, will also screen.

Desert Flower

Open Air Cinema
Open Air has decided to open the season in style with a premier of the very anticipated Burlesque musical (Wednesday 12 January). Also premiering will be the autobiographical Desert Flower (Sunday 16 January). This inspirational film is a true life story of the Somalian born Waris Dirie who fled to London aged 13, in order to escape an arranged marriage, becoming a supermodel and later a human rights activist – a UN spokeswoman against female circumcision, which she underwent in her native country at the age of three.

In February, Open Air will premier two outstanding features. A US drama Conviction (Tuesday 1 February) based on a true story of a working mother and her incredible commitment to save her brother from being wrongfully convicted of murder, and a beautiful French documentary about the life under water, Oceans (Sunday 6 February).

Other new releases worth highlighting are The Tourist (Tuesday 8 and 15 February), a spy thriller/drama set in Paris and Venice and starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp; the amazing 127 Hours (Monday 7 February) based on a true story of an adventurer’s efforts to survive; The King’s Speech (Wednesday 16 February) starring the exceptional Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Multi-award winning Australian drama Animal Kingdom will be showing on Australia Day, Tuesday 25 January, thus expect fireworks as a backdrop.

Pre-sale tickets to Open Air Cinema went on sale this morning, Thursday 16 December, and almost all have sold out. Check here for more ticket releases.

Sydney Festival 2011

Beach House © Sydney Festival

My absolutely favourite time of the year is nearing and I thought it’d be nice to share with you my best-loved events for everyone staying in Sydney over summer.

Just like every January, Sydney Festival will light up our city with over 80 events across venues like the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre, CarriageWorks and temporary venues like Beck’s Festival Bar and The Famous Spiegeltent. We will have the opportunity to see a very diverse and attractive mix of Australian and international artists covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts and more over three weeks of the festival.

Firstly, let me tell you how stoked I am about the Baltimore-based dream-pop duo Beach House hitting our shores this summer. With its atmospheric and dreamy marvel, the band’s third and highly acclaimed album Teen Dream has received outstanding reviews and won them a ‘band to watch in 2010’ tag from big industry guns. They are here for the sold-out St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in February and will do a few side gigs at the Sydney Festival. They play Beck’s Festival Bar with Parades on Wednesday 26 January and City Recital Hall Angel Place on Thursday 27 January.

Wire is a 70s English post-punk band whose live performances are said to be “full of urgency and vitality”. The band has been around for over 30 years and has over 10 studio albums, and has influenced the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and REM. Wire will play with the Los Angeles four-piece HEALTH at the Beck’s Festival Bar on Thursday 20 January.

Catching Brooklyn-based Sufjan Stevens and Holly Miranda this time around would also be good. It’s their second visit to Sydney and both will be playing material from their new albums, The Age of Adz and The Magician’s Private Library, respectively. Set in the beautiful Sydney Opera House and backed by a large orchestra and video projections, Sufjan’s performance should be a treat for the senses. Dates to look out for are Thursday 27 and Friday 28 January. Holly Miranda will play at The Famous Spiegeltent on Saturday 15, Sunday 16 and Tuesday 18 January.

I am also very excited about seeing two of my favourite Australian acts, Paul Kelly and Gotye. Both will be on stage at the City Recital Hall Angel Place, Gotye with one show on Thursday 27 January, and Paul Kelly with a few from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 January.

Live: An intimate video study of the art of performing is precisely that … a large-scale video installation showing a collection of performances of over 20 of the world’s best singers and musicians—Jarvis Cocker, Peaches, Róisín Murphy, Sarah Blasko, Warren Ellis, Rufus Wainwright to name a few. Its purposes is to create an intimate connection between the performer and their audience, and offer a profound, larger-than-life front row experience. Live will be showing from Friday 14 to Sunday 23 January at Sydney Town Hall.

Free Sydney Festival events are always great fun. For photography lovers like myself, Exposed will be a delight. It’s an engaging and diverse collection of images showing the role photography has played in capturing different interpretations of the classic nude. Works included are by some of the greatest photographers like Max Dupan, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. Exposed will be on from Tuesday 4 January until Friday 11 March at The Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney.

And if you’re into large-scale picnics in the park with some form of music or entertainment in the background, then head to Festival in The Domain. Especially if you are fond of Latin beats and rhythms and don’t mind a bit of a dance to the late 80s hit La Bamba! Catch the East-LA Chicano rock legends Los Lobos and the Sydney-based mariachi band The Real Mexico for a true fiesta experience on Saturday 15 January, in the Domain.

If Latino isn’t quite your cup of tea, what about a Symphony in The Domain instead? Bring your picnic rug and set up camp early to get the best spot for a night of Sydney Symphony with Bell Shakespeare and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs under the stars. Relax to tunes from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Then watch John Bell enact scenes from Shakespeare’s Henry V, accompanied by the mesmerizing Sydney Symphony and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Symphony in The Domain is happening on Saturday 22 January.

Well, so much to see and do and so little … Enjoy!

Surry Hills Festival

Surry Hills Festival

Any plans for next weekend? The annual Surry Hills Festival is on, where you can check out some live bands, savour delicious multi-culti foods, bump into familiar faces and enjoy the last of warm and sunny days (probably not). The festival has temporarily moved to its old location, Shannon Reserve on Crown Street, with the addition of a second entertainment stage and more stalls located in Ward Park on Devonshire Street. In live bands world, my highlights are Belles Will Ring and Jonathan Boulet in Ward Park, and The Paper Scissors and The Ray Mann Three in Shannon Reserve. Make sure you get there nice and early if you’re into dog shows and pick up poo races. The weather forecast for Saturday is not so great, maybe opt for a pair of gumboots and a brollie. More info and full entertainment lineup is right here.

Outdoor cinema experience

Moonlight Cinema

You know summer’s truly kicked in when you’re over your first sunburn,  your carpet is full of sand and when your flatmate leaves flippers in the bathtub. That’s if you’re lucky to live by the beach. But what to do when the night falls, you ask? We’re super lucky to live in a gorgeous, outdoors-loving city. So when the sun goes down, head to your local  for some garden/courtyard dining and beverage action, or organise a picnic with some mates and head to Centennial Park for Moonlight Cinema. It’s the annual outdoor cinema located in a very gorgeous Belvedere Amphitheatre, screening all sorts of cool new and classic movies. It kicked off last Thursday (4 December), and it runs until Sunday 14 March, almost every night, with movies starting after sunset. Romantic, isn’t it? My fave Tarantino cult, Pulp Fiction, will screen on Thursday 17 December, Nolan’s The Dark Knight will show on Thursday 18 February and the Coppola masterpiece, The Godfather (part I), will screen towards the end of the festival, on Thursday 11 March. I might check out Mao’s Last Dancer (Friday 15 January) and Almodovar’s new film Broken Embraces (Thursday 4 February) due for release in Australian cinemas next week. For full list of movies and screening dates, go here. Tickets are $15.

St. George OpenAir Cinema

St. George OpenAir Cinema will also be happening from Tuesday 12 January until Saturday 20 February. Check out the screening program, out tomorrow, Friday 11 December. Although a bit pricier ($25) than Moonlight, OpenAir’s location is more than brilliant. If you’ve got visitors over the summer months, take them to the pictures and impress them big time! Bet they won’t be able to resist gazing into the stunning Sydney harbour backdrop.

Sculpture by the Sea walk

Last chance to check out Sculpture by the Sea this weekend folks. Take a walk along the most beautiful coastal stretch and take part in the world’s largest annual free-to-the-public outdoor sculpture exhibition. Exhibition ends Sunday 15 November.

Sculpture by the Sea -- Photo © Frances