TV events at the Sydney Film Festival

The Sydney Film Festival has a number of upcoming events of note to fans of television, including a Russian adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond, big screen marathons of Mad Men, Twin Peaks, and The Wire and a guest appearance by UK producer Mark Herbert (This is England ’86).

Exporting Raymond
Guests: Phil Rosenthal (Director, Writer, Producer) and John Woldenberg (Producer)
PHIL ROSENTHAL | ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN | 86 MINS
Saturday june 11 at 1.45pm at event cinemas George street cinema 9
monday june 13 at 8pm at event cinemas george street cinema 9
Phil Rosenthal, the TV producer who created the long-running hit Everybody Loves Raymond, heads to Moscow to work on the Russian version of his hit sitcom – with hilarious results. Phil Rosenthal grew up loving television, but never dreamed he’d have his own show, much less one that ran for more than 2000 episodes. When Everybody Loves Raymond – which he created, wrote and executive-produced – finally winds down, he gets a call: would he be interested in making a Russian version of his hit sitcom? Rosenthal sets out for Moscow, pondering the need for kidnap insurance and pleased to hear his driver was once a bodyguard for Condoleezza Rice. Arriving at the daggy Gorky Film Studio, he’s instantly in conflict with the costume designer, who’s unimpressed by the notion of ‘everyday’ clothing. The head writer has a problem with Raymond (renamed Kostya) being pushed around by women, an unacceptable notion to a Russian male; and as for the casting process… The notion that comedy is universal takes a battering in Rosenthal’s laugh-out-loud account of cultural misunderstandings in the world of television production.

TV Marathons
All-day cable marathons and full-season DVD sets of shows like Mad Men, Twin Peaks, and The Wire have changed the way we watch TV. Immersing ourselves entirely in an imagined world one episode after another is now one of our most popular pastimes. SFF, in partnership with AFTRS, brings you Australian premieres of two stunning examples of cinematic television in mini-marathons at AFTRS’ comfy theatrette.

This is England ’86 (Australian Premiere)
Guest attending: Mark Herbert (Producer)
Awards: BAFTA, and Best TV Drama, Southbank Sky Arts Awards
Saturday, June 11 at 2pm at AFTRS
Saturday, June 18 at 2pm at AFTRS
Shane Meadows’ first foray into television sees a return to the characters of his provocative, BAFTA-winning feature film This is England (2006). Three years on and things have changed for the motley band of outsiders just as they have in Thatcher’s Britain. The Falklands war and xenophobia, which cast heavy shadows in the feature film, have receded thematically and unemployment has come to the fore. The collective anger has toned down, and everyone is just more anxious about making ends meet. Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) has already split from the gang and drops out of school after failing his exams. Combo (Stephen Graham) is out of jail having done time for his brutal attack on Milky (Andrew Shim). Woody (Joe Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure) are getting hitched, and Meggy (Perry Benson) has a heart attack. The only constant is Smell (Rosamund Hanson) who retains her striking fashion sensibility and her soft spot for Shaun. Kicking off with a warmth and humour that pulls you in for the ride, the four-part series progressively darkens and Meadows’ transition to the tube ultimately proves just as uncompromising as his cinema. This is England ’88 is currently in the works.

Dreileben (three-part series, Australian premiere)
This is the first of three episodes in a unique German TV series made up of three different perspectives on the same tabloid article about a criminal escaping from police custody at a small-town hospital. Each entry in the series – helmed by three different established film directors, with radically different styles, and focusing on mostly different characters – stands alone as its own work, or fits with the other episodes into a compelling story cycle. The three parts screen together in one session for the price of one ticket on:
Sunday June 12 at 1pm at AFTRS
Sunday June 19 at 1pm at AFTRS