Actors Hamilton Morris and Natassia Gorey Furber in 1920s clothing in the outback in Sweet Country

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June at Arc Cinema

Arc Cinema Program at the NFSA – June 2021

Canberra Screenings and Events

Johnny Milner

From Nordic winters to Japanese horror, Disney dragons to the Witch of Kings Cross, Warwick Thornton to West Side Story – our June program at the Arc is serving up a winter's smorgasbord of cinematic delights.

Coinciding with Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland's national and independence days, we celebrate Nordic culture by showcasing some of the region's most critically acclaimed and daring works. Kicking the season off is a standout example of contemporary Nordic noir: A White, White Day by Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason (4 June). We then shift gears to About Endlessness, the latest masterpiece by Swedish auteur Roy Andersson (5 June).

From Finnish Lapland, we showcase Miia Tervo's directorial debut, Aurora. This brilliant – and surprisingly funny – film centres on a commitment-phobic party animal who develops a relationship with an asylum-seeking Iranian man (5 June). And finally, we have The Hunt (6 June), Thomas Vinterberg's thoroughly taut and utterly absorbing thriller about a teacher who becomes a target of hysteria after a false accusation. The film features the same Danish combo of star and director (Mikkelsen and Vinterberg) as this year’s Oscar-winning film Another Round (which screened at Arc in May).

For our Saturday morning cartoon session, we are excited to present Raya and the Last Dragon – a gorgeously animated and skilfully voiced (by Awkwafina and Kelly Marie Tran) Disney production that takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra (4 June).

Our June program also features some fantastic local content. Highlights include An Angel at My Table, Jane Campion's engrossing biopic that follows the life and career of influential New Zealand author Janet Frame (5 June), as part of our partnership with the National Gallery of Australia’s Saturday Screenings program. Our Aussie Indies series showcases The Witch of Kings Cross plus a Q&A with director Sonia Bible (11 June), and our doco of the month is Slim and I, which follows the story of Joy McKean, Australia's Queen of country music, and her 50-year partnership with Slim Dusty (24 June).

To tie in with our ongoing Mervyn Bishop exhibition, we are screening Samson and Delilah and Sweet Country by the award-winning Australian filmmaker and Kaytetye man Warwick Thornton. Bishop was a mentor to Thornton early in his career, and vestiges of this influence are evident in both brilliant, heart-wrenching films (screening with short films on 18 and 19 June).

Continuing our interactive 'Arc Out Loud' screenings, we present the infectiously playful Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (25 June). After the next episode of The Story of Film comes some of the most disturbing Japanese horror on celluloid, Ringu 1 and Ringu 2, both shown in 35mm print (12 June).

Later in the month, you can revisit on the big screen – or discover for the first time – renowned classics of American and European cinema from 1960-61, in our 60th anniversary special: West Side Story (25 June), Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Breathless (both 26 June), and La Docle Vita (27 June).

And so much more! Come join us for a month of special screenings and events and grab your Club NFSA loyalty card when you arrive.