THE FILM FEST & THE FURY

The Melbourne film fest kicked off at the weekend with an emotional rollercoaster ride like no other. I had heard so much about Robert Connelly's BALIBO, a film about what happened to a group of journalists who got stuck reporting on Indonesia's invasion of Timor Leste. I knew that Jose Ramos Horta - the current President of Timor Leste who was in exile for decades and helped guide the Aussie journalists before fleeing the invasion - would be present. I had read that the families of the Balibo Five would be there too.

With a square red carpet (!) outside the magnificent Hamer Hall (part of the Arts Centre) right by the Yarra River and the city centre, the guests gathered in their finest black tie outfits. The atmosphere was wonderfully buzzy, as with the opening of all film festivals I've attended, but by the end of the screening noone could breathe.

At the climatic scene near the end, when Anthony LaPaglia is battling for his life, the soundtrack goes completely quiet. I have never experienced human howls, not just sobs, like that in a screening in my life. And I've never seen so many people scurry away for a quiet cigarette before the party began.

For those of you who don't know, these events happened in the mid 70s and for so long, governments covered up exactly what happened to these young journos (aged between 21 and 28). With a popoulation of onky 700,000 people, the Indonesian occupation of Timor Leste saw 183,000 people murdered. These five Aussie journos are only a small part of a bloody history, but the fact that their deaths were covered up for so many years made this night a hugely significant one for their families.

Ramos Horta is portrayed in the film by an extraordinary young actor - watch out for Oscar Isaac. Forced into exile, it was a long time before he could return to his country and take the position of President. During those years, he fought tirelessly for justice for Timor Leste and received the Nobel Peace Prize in the mid 90s. Ramos Horta took the stage after the screening and he gave an immensely moving speech about humanity and war. Robert Connelly, the film's very talented and humble director introduced him with a few words and then LaPaglia took to the stage in a mohawk and leather jacket and spoke about his commitment to the film. Without him it wouldn't have happened.

Then all the families and other actors took to the stage. It was a night I'll never forget. And I have my old friend Andrew Barlow to thank. He invited a group of us to join him on this special night. He was an Executive Producer on BALIBO and I'm sure his passion for film and his razor sharp instincts will guide his hand as his film career develops. I was truly honourd to be a part of opening night and I've since swapped the red carpet for a red MIFF t-shirt, as I'm volunteering at the festival.

I'm working a bunch of wild special events that range from a beautiful 3D animated feature called Coraline to the craziest performance art I've ever seen. Last night, at a venue called Ding Dong, I saw acts that I hardly know how to describe. The first was a girl raging against the pop culture machine, she projected images from magazines and television and basically gave them a ticking off. She took the piss, she yelled and she sure had an opinion. The highlight was her mash-up of the judges from 'So You Think You Can Dance' and I also have a soft spot for 'Masterchef' so enjoyed her piss take of that too. She even had a song about cellulite that had the audience giggling.

With bleeding ears, (I've never heard anything like it and feel so old for saying so), I retreated to the bathroom after Pig & Machine had given us an onslaught of epileptic dancing, screeching and electro sounds coupled with the most insane guitar playing I've seen. I ran into the ultra hip Asian friend of the lead singer, I asked her what it was that we'd just seen - how would you classify that 'music'? She shrugged and said, "I don't know - electro maybe. She's my friend, so you should ask her. I don't even know. Maybe break-core!" Ok. Said friend is the lead singer, she arrived with a cutesy outfit on but came on stage dressed in zebra hot pants, a traditional Chinese silk jacket and a sequinned head dress that covered her face entirely. Her guitarist was all in black with a sinister black hood (also over his face, though hers came off with her nutty dancing) and white sunnies over the top and the techie on the computer had a white boiler suit and the necessary black Raybans.

Afterwards, old rockers Primitive Calculators (don't you love that name?) faced up to images of their old selves and sang along with their backs to the audience. Hmmm. They re-formed a few years ago when their old mucker Nick Cave asked them to play a gig with him. Thankfully they eventually did get up on stage and face their fans. Richard Moore (Festival Director) was rocking around as were other staff groovers (go Daria!) and everyone seemed to be having a blast. By this stage, I was sick of shouting and so my lovely mate Nichole (who I met at Jaipur literature fest and has moved to Melbs) and I ended up in this lush bar drinking red wine.

I've been working my butt off lately getting back into the black. I've been juggling a bunch of jobs (environmental short film comp called Future Shots, auction house and gallery called Moss Green, old mate Amanda McCarthy's fashion label Leonard St and door bitch at The Supper Club) but more on them later. For now, I want to immerse myself in film. There is so much to see. I saw an intense Norweigian film called TROUBLED WATER that was long and harrowing but so beautifully shot and moving and a fantastic documentary on Celia Cruz called CELIA THE QUEEN. Now I must get moving as I've got a load more to see today and many more to plan.