The 23rd annual Revelation Perth International Film Festival presents over 30 features, documentaries and short films from December 9 – 13, screening as part of a curated program celebrating independent filmmakers from across the globe and around the corner.
 
The full line up is online at www.revelationfilmfest.org with tickets for all screenings available now.
 
In this year’s program you can journey to Istanbul with STRAY – a documentary that follows the life of three dogs as they roam free and offers a unique take on the Turkish city and its inhabitants; or get LOST ON THE ROAD TO SHANGRI LA with Kai Smyth (best known to Rev audiences as the Hairy Soul Man) and his musical partner Tim Mager as they search for inspiration for their new comedy show with a trip through Asia and India.
 
Audiences are invited to explore the powerful possibilities of Artificial Intelligence with iHUMAN; speculate on developments in political and social power of corporations in the chillingly relevant documentary THE NEW CORPORATION, THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL (which comes 17 years after the ground-breaking documentary, THE CORPORATION); investigate a deadly fire at Bucharest’s COLLECTIVE nightclub that plays out like a True Detective novel which is equal parts thrilling and disturbing; or revisit the Iran hostage crisis of 1980 and the audacious US military action designed to rescue 52 Americans held captive in their own embassy with DESERT ONE.
  
Follow the unsatisfied Australian housewife who, in middle age, reinvented herself as a sex positive porn star, becoming a contemporary feminist icon for her ethically produced porn in MORGANA; or experience what it means to be queer in Russia with A WORM IN THE HEART and celebrate all things fabulous with 90s flop SHOWGIRLS screening as a double with companion doco YOU DON’T NOMI on Saturday 12 December with pre-screening entertainment courtesy of DAFAQ Entertainment and Fanta-Sea and prizes for ‘Best (read: most trashy) Dressed’.
 
American indie features include THE FLORIST – who earns a living selling hypnotic flowers to fashionable eateries in LA; SAVE YOURSELVES – about millennials addicted to their phones; and coming-of-age drama DINNER IN AMERICA.
 
Get a glimpse at the cut-throat world of international art with MY REMBRANDT; take in a personal documentary, born from a filmmaker’s own close brush with mortality, about people who are living their fascinations and are the ‘best’ at what they do with THE WORLD’S BEST FILM; experience the controversial film some critics are saying is the world’s worst film (which was banned from MIFF) THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN or take in 80 minutes of Mexican B Grade with BAT WOMAN.
 
Discover Johnny Cash’s first love with MY DARLING VIVIAN; explore the ground-breaking, controversial career of Lydia Lunch and New York no-wave/post-punk scene in LYDIA LUNCH THE WAR IS NEVER OVER; and be inspired by the opening night selection FIRESTARTER – the story of Sydney’s Bangarra Dance Company.
 
Dance is a continuing theme for this year’s festival, with the controversial documentary BARE screening as part of the online program (which runs until 20 December), and Rev producing 4 experimental VR dance projects with FourByFour which will be screened as part of XR:WA 3-6 December.
 
Q&A screenings with local filmmakers behind THE XROSSING and LAURA’S CHOICE will take place at Luna Leederville on Thursday 10 December and Saturday 12 December respectively.
 
Rev’s popular LONG SHORTS program returns on Sunday 13 December with THE SAND AT THE SEA – a drama set in an opal mining red dirt of South Australia; NORM – about the joys of married life; IDOL – which follows a Chinese celebrity called into emergency after a fan commits suicide and BROKEN LINE NORTH – where two strangers form an unlikely connection over one night in a roadside motel.
 
GET YOUR SHORTS ON! and the City of Vincent Film Project provides the opportunity to support some of WA’s talented emerging filmmakers and Revelation’s WESTRALIA DAY features sessions of locally-produced content including CARMENTIS, THE KIMBERLEY MAN, ANTECEDENTS, MYSTIC PINES, SPIRIT OF HAPPINESS, RAISING JOEY, SPIRIT OF THE STREETS, THE XROSSING, COCKRAT and AN IDEAL HOST at The Backlot on Saturday 12 December, accompanied by an all-day sausage sizzle.
 
Rev presents an ANIMATION SHOWCASE of short films from across the world on Friday 11 December as well as two EXPERIMENTAL SHOWCASE sessions of shorts examining form, structure and material on Saturday 12 December and Sunday 13 December and family friendly shorts FREE of charge at Luna Leederville daily from 10.30am Thursday 10 December – Sunday 13 December. 
 
Uniting filmmakers and musicians will be a celebration of the art of music video making will take place with VISION FOR BEATS on Saturday 13 December at Johnny Ma Studios.
 
The festival culminates with the inaugural WA Screen Culture Awards on Sunday 13 December, marking the first time in five years that the Western Australian screen industry has had an official awards platform. Geared specifically towards recognising excellence across the WA screen sector in a new media environment, the WA Screen Culture Awards embrace all forms from new, established and emerging screen practices with 18 categories including documentary, feature film, computer game, moving image or installation.
 
After the theatrical screenings conclude, REVonDEMAND continues online until 20 December, showcasing titles in the comfort of your own home including documentary masterpiece RUSSIA FROM ABOVE – a 120-minute continuous flight capturing never-before-seen stunning aerial images of the largest country on earth.

These are just some of the highlights of the 2020 Revelation Perth International Film Festival program which continues to redefine what a film festival can be, even during the most challenging of cultural times.