Astor Cinema
659 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9238 1358
Website
The Revelation Film Festival takes places in Perth WA mid July every year since 1997. This is one of those events that happen in Perth that is really world class. One of those events that you should not miss if you like movies, for several reasons:
- The event is hosted by the Astor Cinema, a beautiful old-style cinema that is perfect for this sort of events.
- You will watch International independent and limited-release movies. The kind of movies that are difficult to see in mainstream movie theatres in general, and that we would rarely get to see in Perth otherwise.
- The festival does show movies, documentaries, short films, and multimedia shows with live music, and has academic and non academic discussion panels on different subjects. There is always a well-known independent cult movie star or director to whom the festival pays tribute (Crispin Clover was here last year), and around whom some special events are organised. There are so many cool things going on that, even if you wanted to attend everything, you wouldn't be able to do so.
- Prices for individual movies are the standard in Perth, except for opening and closing nights, and the special events. However, these are not your average movies or shows, so the money you pay is worth it.
- You will see and/or interact with Perth cultural elite, and with some of the national and international stars attending the festival.
Although I have attended the Revelation other years to watch individual movies, it just in 2012 when I took the plunge and devoted a good deal of my time and money to immerse myself in the Revelation. Some of the most fascinating films I watched last year were the ones I watched at the Revelation, and this is a lot to say.
Some of the screenings were really intimate, as they took place in the small theatre rooms; they were very especial because of their experimental nature, and/or because some of the film stars/directors were there to discuss the film with the public. That was the case of Mongolian Blink, Vigilante Vigilante, or Jeff Keen Retrospective, the latter with the presence of Keen's daughter after the recent death of Keen. Other screenings were a hit with the public and were massively attended, like the Georges Melies Project with a group of American Jazz musicians playing live.
The organisation was great and everybody working at the event was terrific, friendly and cool: security people, volunteers at the doors, tickets sellers, bartenders - everybody. The movies started, almost martially, at the time they were scheduled.
OTHER GOOD THINGS ABOUT REVELATION
- They always have an awesome poster! Seriously, this is truly important for a Film Festival.
- The organisation has the Revelation on the Road, a program devoted to showing films and organising film workshops in isolated parts of the Western Australia (Albany, Esperance, Port Headland and Broome).
- The Revelation website is good looking, very well organised, and truly informative. The Revelation newsletter will keep you updated all the year around.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
- Although there are different sort of passes (Gold Pass for the whole thing, The Minipass for six films, and Connect4 for four films), I missed an intermediate pass for people who do not want to attend everything, but will be attending more than six shows. Moreover, there were not specific passes for students; "Revelators" be generous, don't you remember your days of poor student, when you were really... poor?
- It would be great having a courtesy of five-minute wait for any film. I know the program is fully packed, and punctuality it is a great virtue. However, being o'clock is not always good, because you get people arriving a bit "late" and having to find their way to a free seat in the darkness, stumbling across other people's feet and distracting those already seated.
The Perth Film Festival is the best cultural event I attended last year, and I attended quite a few. I cannot wait for Revelation 2013.
