It’s that time of year where Adelaide truly comes to life. The humbled streets of our city are fiercely awoken and a vibrant energy settles in for the coming months, colouring our days and lighting up our nights in a way that we almost become our very own city-that-never-sleeps – almost. Still, it’s around this time I start to believe that Adelaide really isn’t too bad after all, and that there is a legitimate reason we’re often referred to (most commonly by ourselves) as the City of Festivals.

That’s right, it’s festival time! And what better way to spend my Sunday morning than nibbling on French Toast, sipping on home-made chai and perusing the thirty-nine pages that makes up this years official program for the 2009 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival.

The cover itself suffices to entertain, with giant iconic BAFF eyeballs replacing the heads of a couple of avid South Australian movie-goers. I do a double-take as I recognise the girl standing in the middle, a brilliant red-lipped smile spread eagerly upon her face – didn’t she go to my primary school?

Adelaide really is too small.

But enough on our city’s rather well-known proximity, I pick up my favourite blue pen and open the program, beginning my own personal hunt for this years’ treasures.

Gomorrah

The first thing that catches my eye is an image of two, scrawny half-naked men – Italian, as they turn out – grasping guns and splashing their way through a shallow riverbed. The movie is Gomorrah, focusing on the notorious Neapolitan mafia of Italy’s south – the Camorra – and exploring five stories of men deeply caught up in the dangers of organised crime.

I circle it.

Then I do the same for Stella, a French film about an eleven year old girl whose frequent exposure to her parents’ Parisian bar business has her heading hastily and blindly towards the world of adulthood. And with an apparent big tick for the movie’s French pop soundtrack, I’d be foolish to ignore it.

Yes Madam, Sir

The next film I notice is Yes Madam, Sir. Australian documentarist Megan Doneman follows the controversial life of Kiran Bedi, an Indian woman who went from winning a tennis championship to sword-fighting a mob after becoming the first woman to join the Indian Police Service. With narration by Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren, and Kiran Bedi being a guest of the festival, I don’t hesitate to use my circling skills.

But of course, the historical highlight of this years BAFF has to be the highly-acclaimed Che. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brokovich, Ocean’s Eleven), Part One and Part Two focus in on the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who as a revolutionary himself shared many of the same values as Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and was perhaps just as influential in his time. Furthermore, with actor Benicio del Toro stepping up to the plate as the man himself, this 262 minute-epic (yes, there’s an interval) will not be one to be missed for 2009.

The king of Ping Pong

Then on page fifteen comes a humble film all the way from Sweden, with a title that surely takes the cake out of this years’ selection – The King of Ping Pong. With a focus on the adolescent life – a subject prominent at the festival – this story centers on the outlet one boy must use to escape his broken home and everyday life of torment and bullying – his talent at ping pong. As a big winner at the Sundance Film Festival, how can I resist?

Well, in the same way I am unable to resist a film by Johnnie To. As one of Hong Kong’s leading directors, I find myself instantly drawn to Sparrow, one of the two films he has featuring at this years’ festival. A tribute to an older, grittier Hong Kong, Sparrow stylishly sets the stage for an underground adventure as a group of lowly thieves are engaged in freeing a mysterious woman from her baleful beholder.

And the good films don’t stop there.

Suddenly there I am – chai gone, French Toast finished – with a chest full of my very own treasures for the 2009 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival.

But don’t just take my word for it. If none of the above are your cup of chai tea, grab a BAFF program and seek out jewels of your own.

Let’s face it, there’s never been a better time to replace your head with a giant eyeball.

 

 

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The 2009 Bigpond Adealide Film Festival commences Thursday, 19th of February and wraps up on Sunday, March 1st 2009 .

For a complete guide to what’s showing, visit the official website here. Tickets can be purchased online here.

Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss out!