SYDNEY FRINGE: UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL

Avid filmophiles, take heed. Don’t be a slave to the megaplex; rebel and take part in the counterculture movement today! Assembling together a rich program of experimental and independently-made films from across the globe, the 2010 Sydney Underground Film Festival promises to transgress the status quo and subvert the populist Hollywood paradigm. Featuring ten feature-length films and 79 shorts by local and international provocateurs, the festival will explore the politically contentious, the perverse, and the utterly eccentric in a way that will galvanize and (most importantly) entertain audiences. In addition, those in attendance are invited to participate in Q&A sessions with key alternative-film directors, party-out to DJ sets, and share food and drink with kindred spirits. Kicking off the festival is the Australian premiere of Oliver Stone’s South of the Border, a controversial documentary that looks in part at the positive achievements of the oft-vilified Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. Think you know all there is to know about film? Think again. (JH)

Sep 9-11 & 18, The Factory Theatre (Marrickville) & Sydney College of the Arts (Sydney University, Rozelle), $5-75, 9797 9428, suff.com.au