This week on Primal Screen, Flick Ford is joined by Vyshnavee Wijekumar for a jam-packed episode! First up, we preview Cinema Reborn, an annual film festival dedicated to the restoration and celebration of cinema history. Flick chats with festival organisers Grace Boschetti and Digby Houghton about this year’s program and the importance of film preservation. The festival runs May 8–13 at Lido Cinemas. Learn more about the program via the Cinema Reborn website . We also review two compelling new ...
May 07, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 450
This week we welcome back our beloved host, Flick Ford! Joined by guests Thomas Caldwell and Cerise Howard. We review Levan Akin’s deeply touching film Crossing , about a retired teacher searching for her estranged niece, a trans woman, with the help of a young man as her translator. It raises challenging issues – particularly around people whose identity has meant they have been isolated from family – and yet it is such a warm, inviting film. Then we compare Stanley Kubrick’s frighteningly hila...
Apr 28, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 449
It’s Boy Week on Primal Screen , as guest host Alice McShane is joined by Will Cox and Maudie Osborne to take us through discussions and reviews of the boy-heavy releases Warfare , Sinners , and The Rehearsal . Warfare is the latest film from A24, with director Alex Garland ( Civil War , Ex Machina ) turning his attention to the war genre. Following a squad of soldiers throughout a particularly fraught battle, the film is set in real time and is a masterclass in building tension and terror for t...
Apr 25, 2025•42 min•Season 1Ep. 448
Eloise Ross jumped into the host seat this week to interview Australia’s unofficial Merle Oberon expert, Rohan Spong. In light of the recent book, Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s First South Asian Star and a new creative project Rohan is working on, they discuss Oberon’s contribution to Hollywood. She was the first person of South Asian decent to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, though she spent her life pretending to be born in Australia and her heritage was only ma...
Apr 14, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 447
This week, we're diving into three titles that, in their own unique ways, critique capitalist systems and corruption through humor and satire. Join Anthony Carew, Alice McShane, and Will Cox for their reviews of THE WHITE LOTUS, THE STUDIO and DEATH OF A UNICORN. THE WHITE LOTUS has just aired its third season finale, and we have a lot to discuss. Set at the fictional high end resort The White Lotus, each season follows a group of wealthy holiday makers in increasingly luxurious locations, with ...
Apr 09, 2025•52 min•Season 1Ep. 446
This week we reviewed three films that all opened in Australian cinemas last week, but otherwise have little else in common. Our guest host Thomas Caldwell was joined by Silvi Vann-Wall and Vyshnavee Wijekumar. They discuss Richard Gere’s reunion with American Gigolo writer and director Paul Schrader in Oh, Canada (also starring Uma Thurman and Jacob Elordi); the first fully animated Looney Tunes feature film, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, showcasing magnificent craftsmanship ...
Mar 31, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 445
Incidentally, the theme for Primal Screen this week was volunteer-run organisations that make it possible to watch films on the big screen with an audience, that you otherwise mightn’t. The small but mighty teams behind both Melbourne Women in Film Festival (MWFF) and the Melbourne Cinémathèque do extraordinary work to bring unique films to the cinema. Our guest host Cerise Howard speaks with Sian Mitchell, Artistic Director of MWFF, about the festival’s mission to champion the work of Australia...
Mar 17, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 444
It’s Oscars fever in the studio this week! Even if you don’t have a medically certifiable diagnosis of fever, perhaps you have some milder symptoms still attributable to the 97th Academy Awards – it’s hard not to get a little lightheaded at Hollywood’s night of nights. Anthony Carew jumps into the guest host chair this week with Thomas Caldwell and Vyshnavee Wijekumar, dissecting the highs and lows of this year’s Academy Awards before getting into the “real cinema”. They review Mohammad Rasoulof...
Mar 03, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 443
This week on Primal Screen, guest host Alice takes us through reviews of Andrea Arnold's stunning tribute to childhood in BIRD as well as THE LAST SHOWGIRL that holds what could be the performance of Pamela Anderson's career. We also hear from Rough Cut Films to discuss on their 'Summer Sacraments' event on March 1, presented alongside Static Vision Film Collective. Included as well is the full interview interview with Charles Williams, director of the newly released prison thriller INSIDE, star...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 442
This week on Primal Screen , guest host Will Cox is joined by Alex McShane to review Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and Grand Tour . Our favourite frazzled English woman is back for this Valentine’s Day-released rom-com. Renee Zellweger returns to the role of Bridget Jones, this time as a single mother of two facing the prospect of re-starting her love life. New love interests are played by Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor, as well as old flame Daniel Cleaver played by Hugh Grant. This is the ...
Feb 19, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 441
On Primal Screen we review three films that have just hit cinemas! THE BRUTALIST is the epic period drama following a visionary architectwho (Adrian Brody) has fled post-war Europe to America for the chance of a new life. Everything changes once he meets a wealthy industrialist (Guy Pierce) who commissions his work. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is the Bob Dylan musical biopic we’ve all been waiting for. Directed by James Mangold (WALK THE LINE) and Timothee Chalamet, the film has been topping the box offi...
Feb 13, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 440
For the first show of Primal Screen for 2025, Flick Ford is joined in the studio by Alice McShane and Anthony Carew to review NOSFERATU and ANORA. A remake of the iconic 1922 silent film, NOSFERATU follows the similar vampire tale of obsession, desire, and affliction. The gothic thriller is horror director David Eggers' follow up to such films as THE WITCH, THE LIGHTHOUSE and THE NORTHMAN. ANORA is the high drama high comedy story of a sex worker, named Anora, who finds herself in far too deep a...
Jan 13, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 439
We're celebrating the Melbourne Cinémathèque's 40th anniversary this week, with two of the pre-eminent film society's co-curators in the studio. Primal Screen favourite Cerise Howard and Associate Professor Adrian Danks (making his PS debut!) join Flick Ford to reflect on Melbourne Cinémathèque's vital contribution to cinema and to talk about their upcoming program on Australian documentary filmmaker Tom Zubrycki. A hugely important filmmaker in his own right, but also a key mentor and producer ...
Dec 02, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 438
This week on Primal Screen, Flick Ford is joined by Alice McShane and Will Cox to discuss two wildly different films. Wicked offers a polished, mainstream iteration of a beloved musical, while The People’s Joker pushes the boundaries of intellectual property and the superhero genre in its DIY approach. Despite such different production context, the conversation explores how both films engage with themes of queerness whether subvert or overt, as well as girlhood, gender, and the femme. Come for s...
Nov 26, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 437
"This week on Primal Screen, Flick Ford discusses with guest reviewers Thomas Caldwell and Stuart Richards this week's upcoming releases. The Roman Empire is on everyon's minds as Gladiator II is released onto the big screen, recieving the blockbuster roll out fit for an emperor. Directed by Ridley Scott in follow up to his 2000 classic and starring the muscled-up Paul Mescal, find out whether this large-scale sequel lives up to its promise of epic entertainment. In contrast to this mighty title...
Nov 18, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 436
This week’s episode dives into the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF), taking place 14–24 November 2024. We’re joined by special guest and former co-host Cerise Howard, program director at MQFF and Patrick Kelly, screen academic at RMIT University. Cerise and Patrick share their top picks of the MQFF program, which this year celebrates queer music culture through the theme Formative Sound and Vision .
Nov 11, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 435
It's spooky season this week Primal Screen gears up for a very special Halloween Edition of the show. Former Primal Screen host Paul Anthony Nelson and Co-organiser of Melbourne Horror Film Society Melisa Begg jump into the studio to discuss three iconic films, Henry Selick’s 1993 ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’; Nicolas Roeg’s 1990 ‘The Witches’ based on Roald Dahls children’s book of the same title; and André Øvredal ’s 2029 ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’....
Nov 01, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 434
In this episode we discuss Adam Elliot's award winning film Memoir of a Snail (2024) which which was the opening night film of MIFF 2024. And we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Ishiro Honda's 1954 film Godzilla .
Oct 25, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 433
Flick Ford and Thomas Caldwell speak to filmmaker Jaydon Martin about his film Flathead (2024). Together they also review The Apprentice (2024) , Ali Abassi's film about Donald Trump's ascent to power, and the team also discuss the documentary about four Tiwi Island girls who dream of AFLW stardom in Like My Brother (2024).
Oct 16, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 432
Hosts Flick Ford and Will Cox chat with directors of Ghostlight (2024), Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson. Then they review new releases Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) and Megalopolis (2024).
Oct 07, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 431
Anthony Carew fills in for Flick, joined by guest reviewers Alice McShane and Erin Rosenberg to discuss a trio of new releases. The satirical feminist body horror The Substance (2024), the documentary Your Fat Friend (2023), and the coming-of-age My Old Ass (2024).
Sep 30, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 430
Eloise Ross and Emma Westwood host Primal Screen this week. They're joined by Felix Hubble and Kai Perrignon to discuss Static Visions's latest festival 'Neo-Intimacies', and also review Bill Mousoulis' Australian Musical My Darling in Stirling (2023) and the Netflix limited-series The Perfect Couple .
Sep 16, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 429
This week Flick Ford is joined by guest reviewers, Silvi Vann Wall and Eloise Ross. Together they tackle the question: what happens when you revive a cult classic? Tim Burton’s sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is on the reviewing table for this episode, along with French erotic drama, Last Summer , directed by Catherine Breillat. Plus, Elyse from ACCA and Hudson from FFFA and Umbrella discuss Friday the 13th: Ozploitation at the Drive-In event at Lido Cinemas. Come geared for a mega-marathon of Au...
Sep 09, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 428
With special guest reviewers Thao Phan, Andrew Lynch, our host Flick Ford takes us through the latest horror flicks with a science fiction twist.
Sep 02, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 426
This week, presenter Flick Ford is joined by guests Vyshnavee Wijekumar, Will Cox, and Alice McShane to explore where the culinary and the cinematic collide. They sink their teeth into the desire, disgust and drama that food brings to the screen, from the questionable viscosity of Willy Wonka's chocolate river to the faux pas of snacking in the cinema.
Aug 26, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 427
Host Flick Ford brings Primal Screen out of the studio and into the Performance Space for this edition of RRR's beloved film and screen culture program. She speaks with director, screenwriter, and cinematographer Warwick Thornton ( Samson and Delilah, Sweet Country ), filmmaker, producer and theatre director Nadia Tass ( Malcolm, The Big Steal ), and screenwriter & director Goran Stolevski ( Housekeeping for Beginners, You Won't Be Alone, Of An Age ). Flick and her panelists sort through the...
Aug 12, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 425
Join host Flick Ford with reviewers Cerise Howard and Thomas Caldwell, as they chat to founder and artistic director of Hear My Eyes, Hayden Green, and guitarist Lachlan Stuckey from 5-piece band Surprise Chef. They delve into the collaborative inner workings of their reinterpretation of Australian film Wake in Fright (1971), to create a cinematic and musical reimagining. Flick, Cerise and Thomas also discuss their top film picks for this year's Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)....
Aug 05, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 423
Maudie Osborne fills in for Flick and she is joined by film buffs Anthony Carew and Will Cox to review Deadpool & Wolverine, Totem and LONGLEGS
Jul 29, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 424
Flick is joined by reviewers Cerise Howard, Programme Director of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and Writer, Chris Dite. They shine a retro spotlight on SNOWPIERCER on its 10th anniversary, and S/HE IS NOT HER/E.
Jul 22, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 422
Flick Ford is joined by Jonathan Schuster (co-writer of recently released Australian movie The Emu War ) and film programmer and reviewer Alice McShane. Schuster provides extensive insight into the main aspects of The Emu War, especially its themes and plot. McShane dives into her thoughts on some new releases, including the blockbuster of the moment Twisters, and Australian indie film Birdeater.
Jul 15, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 421
