Step Inside The Silver Screen

April is an exciting time for Sydney cinemaphiles as the city is set to be treated to a vast array of new ways to experience film, ranging from the traditional to the immersive.

During the month we are treated to number of boutique film festivals (which the City Hub will be covering both here and in separate in-depth pieces in our Screen section over the coming weeks) as well as some extremely exciting immersive experiences for those wanting to engage with film on a much deeper level.

One of the most exciting immersive film events coming up is Underground Cinema, which blends a traditional film screening with a live action experience. Guests are physically placed into the cinematic world with a cast of actors on a specially made set replicating that of the as yet unannounced secret film. Event director Tamasein Holyman explained how it all works: “The event itself is a two-hour immersive participatory experience with about 30 actors in the space at our secret location, where the guests can interact with the actors and each other before sitting down to watch the film, nobody will know what it will be until it’s actually on screen.”

Since its inception seven years ago in Melbourne, the Underground Cinema experience has grown and evolved to better cater to the guest’s experience. “In the last two years our designs have been centred around our guest’s experience in every possible way. Our main focus now when designing is ‘what is the guests journey? How do they engage in this world and how do we make them the heroes of the story?’” said Holyman.

Holyman explained that events like this allow film buffs a unique new way experience a film playing in a setting that blows away the cinema experience. “For example, once you see Casablanca in an airplane hanger with a DC-2 vintage plane, a beautiful jazz band and all the characters and guests in beautiful vintage outfits, you think this is the only way to watch this movie.”

Not only do events like this provide a unique opportunity to the film viewers, they also provide opportunities for upcoming actors, directors and writers to get a foot in the door of the industry on a professional level. “We have 13 different departments and nearly 200 team members working on Underground Cinema events and we’re very focused on the development of peoples careers. Our original acting troupe from seven years ago are still with us, even though they are all working professionally in film and TV, because they love it. We also invite casting agents along to our shows and I know actors have got work because of that. We also forward on CV’s and help our team members make connections in the industry that new talent may find difficult to do,” explained Holyman. “A lot of young actors are stuck between a rock and a hard place, they can’t get work in a professional environment because they need experience in a professional environment first, so we act as that bridge that allows them to knock on doors they wouldn’t be able to otherwise.”

On a more traditional front, Sydney will be treated to some boutique festivals such as the upcoming Young At Heart film festival, which has a program specifically curated for film lovers aged 60 and up. The program includes 10 new feature films, a selection of Australian short films starring seniors, and filmmaker Q&A’s.

Local filmmaker Joseph Sims-Dennett knows all too well that boutique festivals like this can be crucial to a filmmaker’s career taking off. It was a festival just like this that his film Observance exploded onto the international scene last year. “We started at Fantasia Film Festival, which is a wonderful festival that is all about discovering and celebrating new films, and the next wave of filmmakers whose ideas reflect our culture. The fact that Fantasia is a fan-driven festival but also has a strong film journalist and industry presence…meant we were so proud to have Observance among them,” said Sims-Bennett. “The film’s world premiere at Fantasia went absolutely nuts and we got some insane reviews which got us a lot of attention, which has seen us go from poor pieces of crap living out in Rozelle without a job to getting to go the London Film Festival, standing next to Meryl Streep, and all of this really surreal stuff.”

Finally, technology has also allowed for cinema to make a dramatic jump off the traditional silver screen – virtual reality technology places the viewer inside the film. An event to look out for in April which will show off this technology is the Australian Musuem’s upcoming David Attenborough’s Virtual Reality Experience. The Australian Museum will be the first venue outside of London to host the event, which uses cutting-edge technology to put the viewer side-by-side with the well-known documentarian in his Great Barrier Reef Dive and First Life films.

Stay tuned to City Hub’s Scene section to keep up to date with more upcoming film festivals and events in Sydney.

Underground Cinema
Apr 7–9. Secret Location. $70+b.f. Tickets & info: undergroundcinema.com.au/next-event

Young At Heart Film Festival
Apr 1-7. Palace Verona, 17 Oxford St, Paddington & Palace Norton St, 99 Norton St, Leichhardt. From $6. Tickets & info: palacecinemas.com.au or venue box office.

Observance – FilmInk Presents Australian Red Carpet Premiere
Apr 3. Randwick Ritz, 45 St Pauls St, Randwick. $20. Tickets & info: ritzcinema.com.au

Observance – Encore Screening
Apr 8. Golden Age Cinema, 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills. $16.63-$21.84. Tickets & info: ourgoldenage.com.au

David Attenborough’s Virtual Reality Experience
Apr 8. Australian Museum, 1 William St, Sydney. From $15. Tickets & info: australianmuseum.net.au