Sydney Film Festival 2018

Winter in Sydney is not devoid of event highlights: ViViD Festival is blossoming in all its glory illuminating the Sydney in all its glory literally and with a high calibre of an eclectic international festival line-up.

Then there is the Sydney Film Fest for the cinema-philes.

While previous incarnations have never lacked highlights, the 2018 instalment made it particularly difficult to feel like you are not missing out on the offerings from the realm of local and international cinema. In numbers this meant well over two-hundred and fifty movies from sixty countries in more than one-hundred and sixty languages.

Yup, that is quite a handful and I shall try to focus on personal favourites to give an idea of the territory covered and the wide range on offer:

Terror Nullius is a must-see: Video installatiors Soda Jerk’s innovative exercise in taking cut and pasting techniques to a whole new level by recontextualising and reframing classic texts to infer new dimensions of meaning and making them relevant to seemingly irrelevant current events and developments. In essence, DJ-ing, sampling and remixing techniques applied to movie making with a great electronic soundtrack to match. It was about time that Terror Nullius emerged out of the confines of Melbourne’s ACMI cinemas, where it was first released.

The Pure Necessity is – as you might have not guessed – a take on Disney’s Jungle Book with the twist of extracting all human characters from each individual frame. Director David Claerhout thereby gives the classic movie a whole new dimension, making it more of a nature documentary and what you as a viewer make of it and take away from.

The Iranian movie Three Faces is a political drama shedding light on limitations, lack of freedom of expression and individuality following the Werdegaenge of three actors at different points of their lives and careers.

Joaquin Phoenix, known for his experimental approach to movie projects, makes an appearance in Gus Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot and You Were Never Really Here as a former soldier and law enforcement officer who tracks down missing teens in the hands of sex trafficking rings on behalf of wealthy parents. A role that won him the 2017 Cannes Best Actor Award.

Half the Picture tries to find answers to the question as to the gender inequality in the movie industry, especially when it comes to directors along with the trials and tribulations that come with the territory of being a female leader.

Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno is Tunisian-French film-maker Abdellatif Kechiche’s three-hour long LGBT drama, which is a bit tedious at times but an enjoyable take on the topic.

Searching by director Aneesh Chaganty proved to be an interesting flic as it was shot entirely from the point of view of computer screens and smartphones.

Julian Burnside’s 'Graveyard of dreams' focuses on the heartbreaking plight of refugees – a touching piece of cinema to say the very least.

Foxtrot is Israeli writer-director Samuel Maoz’s movie is an intense, absorbing oeuvre that sheds light on the implications of bureaucracy, grief and the many difficulties of living in a state of perpetual conflict.

Not being big on Japanese animation, I found Mamoru Hosada’s Mirai an eye-catching, entertaining spectacle that makes me want to delve deeper into the genre.

Another outstanding offering was [Censored], which zeros in on what is being cut out when, well censors decide that the general public should be spared from it: A documentary focused on the compilation of clips that fell prey to the scissors of censorship from 1951 to 1978 in Australia.

Paraguayan director Marcelo Martinessi's film, The Heiresses!, won the Sydney Film Festival's official competition and Sydney filmmaker Ben Lawrence took out the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary with the complex and dark Ghosthunter, which was rewarded for its storytelling approach that did not lack in the suspense department without sacrificing ethos.

2018’s sixty-fifths Sydney Film Fest was another step up from previous incarnations of the festival catering to both a mainstream audience, Arthouse aficionados and an array of nuanced special interests in-between – be it Japanese animation, documentaries or crowd pleasers.

Protein

Yup.

Need to get it in, especially when being on the road in places less traveled.

Let’s look at the basics.

Aight, protein is one of the pillars of your humanly vessel, being an integral component of literally every cell you are made of with extensions like hair and nails being almost completely made of it.

No matter if you are a gym junky bulking up or laying low when it comes to physical exercise, protein is needed for its ability to repair tissue and to build bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.

The problem is that one’s body does not store protein, which means that you need to constantly replenish to remain a functioning unit and to prevent muscle loss, maintain a healthy weight while curbing hunger and ensure speedy recovery.

Some ways to ensure that your protein levels are in the green region are more fun than others.

Sure, you can scoop various flavours into that unsightly shaker of yours, but one of the more delicious and palatable ways I’ve found is ice-cream!

As the telling name FroPro suggests, this ice-cream is high in protein and natural ingredients and as an added bonus 99% sugar free, i.e. it has a fraction of calories that regular ice-cream contains.

There are a lot of novelty protein items crowding the market but what makes it a preferred treat for me post-workout is the range of flavours:

The Chocolate variants clocks in at 81 calories per serve while not damping the delicious dark chocolate taste and creamy consistency, which is enhanced by the use of whey protein isolate and a hint of coconut cream.

The FroPro Green Tea & Mint derives its flavours from the adage of 100% pure peppermint oil. Made with the antioxidant Matcha Green Tea, it promotes fat metabolism and only has 71 calories per serve. It might be the best thing next to eating celery, where the act of eating it actually consumes more calories than what you are devouring.

Now, my favourite flavour is by far the decadent tasting Peanut Butter Chocolate, which despite its rich name only has 87 calories per serve. It is made of whole Kingaroy nut butter mixed with chocolate.

Sure, you can tell that it is not as rich as a tub of Ben & Jerry’s or as flamboyant as an emission from the local ice-cream designer powerhouse Messina, but it is surprisingly flavourful and makes the perfect treat either by itself or after dinner.

I do like a bit of trekking and hiking, preferably in areas off the beaten track where you find yourself at times in the particularly challenging situation that chow is hard to come by, especially the variant with nutritional value for what Diamond Dave referred to as a “result oriented performance”, i.e. ones low on sugar and carbs and a bit easier on the jaw than beef jerky and a bit less perishable than fruit.

Chief Bar tends to tick quite a few boxes in that regard: Despite being devoid of what is commonly considered to add flavor, e.g. enhancing yet hormone destroying chemicals, dairy, a truckload of sugar and gluten, cheap bulking agents.

The aforementioned ingredients are being replaced with natural, whole food, nuts, minimally processed essential amino acids, nuts, dried fruit and grass-fed meat with some of the variants of their protein centric range.

After doing a bit of homework on the brand, it was reassuring to see that the design of Chief Bar’s emissions is based on a sound nutritional basis and evidence-based science along with the Chiefs’ intrinsic interest in creating a product they would first and foremost like to consume themselves.

It might not sound particularly enticing but some bars contain hydrolysed collagen, which aids in decreasing joint pain after exercise, helps with skin elasticity, makes cartilage more dense, and basically keeps tendons, muscles and bones together along with firming the tissue in skin – in layman’s terms: Collagen is the fundamental cornerstone of the protein family and you want it in your system especially as the protective lining of the gastrointestinal tract stars wearing thin.

Vegetarians avert your eyes:

Chief Bars meat containing flavours are surprisingly flavoursome and enjoyable:

They comes as 100% Australian grass-fed and hormone free lamb, with the adage of  almonds for their good fats to stabilize blood sugar levels and dried currants for the benefits of their   phytonutrients, antioxidants, fibre and calcium.

The 40g Beef bar is the big whopper of the family and the hint of chili add a bit of a kick to the game.

I am currently en route to Tibet and got a stack of Chief Bars with me to get me through when the going gets tough.

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Photos by T

Read High Adventures in the Great Outdoors: Part 1 -- Weathering the Elements.

Kandinsky

Random House

For me, the art compositions of Kandinsky has always had a connection to music, not just due to the names of his paintings which are pervaded by musical terminology and, from a distance, could be interpreted to add to a holistic, seamless symphony and conglomerate.

This approach and take on Kandinsky was not disputed by the man himself, whose theoretical works on colours, i.e. assigning spiritual qualities to them and their combinations and shade nuances.

Given the above, it is not further wondrous that he also hinted at the phenomenon of synesthesia, i.e. hearing colors or seeing music, and his art being aimed at purposefully touching your soul, and his friendship with the Austrian composer Schoenberg helped to break down barriers between the realm of painting and music.

This opulently illustrated tome displays Vasily Kandinsky’s brilliant use of color, shape, and composition through approximately 250 full-color illustrations on 320 pages and is framed by extensive essays penned by leading experts.

The focus of the essays is on Kandinsky’s evolution throughout his varied career from the humble beginning in Russia via his immigration to German, where he fell in love with the Art Nouveu movement, culminating in the formation of the Blue Rider group, his love affair with the Bauhaus movement and the final period of his oeuvre in France.

What makes it a quality resource is that all components are meticulously researched yet presented in an accessible manner, portraying the power of Vasily Kandinsky’s vision.

Albrecht Dürer

Prestel Publishing

Interesting, a book on the signer of Nickelback?

No wait – Albrecht Dürer, the Germanic renaissance artist you would know from his striking self-portraits.

From 1471–1528 his artistic impact via painting, printmaking and woodcut illustrations, which was elevated by expanding the range of tones and expressionist range to become an art form of itself, left an indelible mark on the European landscape that reverberates through the art world to his day.

Dürer was a maverick who pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be technically possible and a virtuoso craftsman, drawing heavy influence from the era and realm of Italian renaissance, which were intended more for connoisseurs and collectors than for popular devotion.

The technical intricacy, intellectual vision, and psychological focus were unmatched by earlier printed work.

This certainly helped along with his ambition and resourcefulnessto eventually ascend to become the official court artist of the Holy Roman Emperors and aided in striking up friendships with the artistic and philosophical elite, which enabled him to create artwork on an even grander scale.

Prestel Publishing’s tome on Albrecht Dürer is based on a solid foundation of academic research that sheds light on the man as both an artist and man and does illustrate the reasons behind  the national and international influence he still exerts.

The focus to detail with the reproductions of his work is a thing of beauty.

Zooming in via close-ups of tiny engravings and woodcuts, this is the catalogue raisonné you want to have on the man and worth its price for the depictions alone.

Art and Design -- Part 2

Circada Books

Hidden Museum

Shaun Parr

Museum can be spiritual places.

They certainly are for me.

A place where I can lose my head, going from void to void to be filled.

There is obviously an array of museums with their own specializations and if we go back in time, say, roundabout four hundred years, collections were curated according to, how shall we put it, more eclectic and subjective criteria across a wide range of disciplines, e.g. anthropology, natural history, religion and everything in between.

Those collections were more cabinets of curiosity, also known as “Wunderkammern”, than “museums” by contemporary standards and this little book is dedicated to those wondrous phenomena, shedding light on specimen, samples from the realm of geography and history with an added twist:

They are portrayed in manners, which reveal a secret about their evolution or historical context.

The thoughtful gimmick the book comes equipped with is a little red magnifying glass that can be used to unveil illustrations hidden within taxidermic and scientific illustrations, which would normally remain hidden to the human eye, offering insight into a secret world.

Atlas of The Human Body

Kanitta Meechubot

According to Sigmund Freud, anatomy is destiny.

Honore de Balzac took it a tad further in his usual non-chalant manner and claimed that no man should marry a woman without having studied anatomy or even having dissected one. He would have loved Kanitta Meechubot’s book.

The beautifully illustrated large format book takes you on a curated journey through your bodily vessel in more than a literal way.

With a lot of attention to detail and with the employment of pencils with Kanitta Meechubot at the helm of the operation, we discover the human shell in all its different layers, which offers a unique perspective on something we all perceive to have seen a million times before.

What makes the book both interesting and endearing is the fact that despite the expertise that went into its creation, there is a childlike simple approach to it, which, along with the minimalism the design is informed by, makes it a book to be treasured and a nice addition to any eclectic library.

The Road Cyclist's Companion

Peter Drinkell

Guess you could call me a bike enthusiast.

Yup, I do think there is something borderline romantic about bikes – they are both things of beauty and utility.

Needless to say that The Road Cyclist’s Companion is right up my alley:

Despite not using my bike for racing but for the daily commute, once you do it on a regular basis you discover that there is quite a bit of etiquette and form to it.

Even if you are not a hardcore cyclist, it is interesting to learn not only fun- but also more serious facts about cycling in pacelines, techniques, training and the components comprising the kit every cyclist should own, et cetera.

A clear and accessible guidebook, richly illustrated with both illustrations and photographic evidence.

Peter Drinkell is also the man behind The Bike Owner's Handbook.

Whereas the previous title takes a holistic approach towards biking in general, The Bike Owner’s Handbook is more of a useful, distinct manual for bike maintenance, upkeep and repairs that might be needed.

Peter Drinkell explains in detail and in a way that speaks to both the professional as well as the newbie about the essentials of adjustments, repairs and anything that can be done to your two-wheeled vehicle.

Even if you perceive yourself as a luminary that knows all there is to know about your bike, it is interesting to see how Drinkell’s holistic approach illuminates how the individual components work together and which parts can have a seemingly unrelated impact on others.

More information on Circada can be found on their website.

For more, read Art and Design – Thames and Hudson special (Part 1).

What’s Sumatra With You? -- Part 3

Black, hot liquid gold makes the world go round.

Most like it hot but does it always have to be?

Ever tried cold extracted coffee?

I had not until I came across the liquid emissions of First Press Coffee, a company based out of Melbourne, Australia.

To explain what they do in a nutshell, picture First Press sourcing specialty graded coffee and letting it run through a specifically crafted and designed dripping apparatus to have the pure, black coffee gain a clean finish with subtle taste nuances.

The process itself is a time consuming one – we are talking ten hours plus – but the outcome is worth every minute of patience and based on First Press’ expert judgment on when to roast which specific bean strand to ensure that the nuances and complexity of the coffee can be tasted sans any overwhelming side-effects like bitterness or acidity that often accompany hot coffee extracts.

It took me a minute to get used to it, but once you transcend that initial threshold, you find yourself discovering nice little subtleties that usually get lost when coffee is served in a traditional manner. The fact that it lacks the acidity is an added bonus that your digestive system will thank you for.

Funny thing is that despite First Press’ cold drip being stronger than what I usually have, I do not find the need to add any other ingredients, e.g. milk or sweetener, as there is not need for neutralization.

I find the energy that First Press bestows on you to be sustaining, as it is less than a jolt and fells more like timed release that gives clarity and focus instead of resulting in jitters and agitation.

Needless to say that it is also convenient, as the little bottles can be stored in the fridge.

First Press comes in different variations, e.g. made with Brazilian coffee beans, The Little Kicker a double 100ml shot not only provides hints of hazelnut but also packs a solid punch to keep you going.

The Big Boy, is, well as the name suggests, the bigger equivalent.

If you cannot do without added flavor, The Black Cacao variant is a nice way to change it up. Based on the foundation of what goes into The Little

Kicker and The Big Boy, is has cocoa and a hint of coconut sugar added, which is subtle and not overpowering.

While cold drip coffee will certainly not replace my traditional habit of consuming coffee, it is a nice addition and has found its place in my fridge.

Read previous installments of What's Sumatra With You?, Part 1 & Part 2.

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Images from First Press website