Lights, camera, Winter!

Wintertime has arrived in Canberra and we’ve got the perfect mix of cinema events, live performances and some regular favourites to keep all ages entertained - and warm!- over the cooler months. So snuggle in with a hot chocolate and start planning, as we walk you through some highlights of our upcoming season.

Download a PDF version of the Winter booklet.

June

On Friday 2 June we welcome special guest and acclaimed entertainer Christine Anu, as part of our National Reconciliation Week commemorations. Christine will be joined on stage by NFSA sound curator Thorsten Kaeding for an intimate evening of conversation and music, including a selection of acoustic renditions of songs from her career.

On 15 June John Waters joins us for a chat about at his work on the big and small screen, including All The Rivers Run (1983), All Saints (2006), Offspring (2010-14), Rake (2015-), Breaker Morrant (1980) and Attack Force Z (1982) and more than 20 years on the ABC's Play School. Tickets are free (bookings essential).

Also in June, we’ll be showcasing the work of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, with a two-week season Essential Kurosawa: Selected by David Stratton. David Stratton will join us for closing night of the season on Friday 30 June.

July

The roll call of special guests continues in July, as we welcome Australian filmmaker Dr Trevor Graham and Eddie Mabo’s daughter, acclaimed artist Gail Mabo, for a Q&A after our screening of 1997 documentary Mabo: Life of an Island Man. Presented in association with the National Museum of Australia, Graham and Gail will discuss the film, two decades on from its release and following the 25th anniversay of the landmark Hight Court Mabo decision on 3 June.

For young cinema-lovers, our school holiday program Book Heroes on the Screen continues over winter, bursting with literary classics. Grab the kids and join Belle and the enchanted castle staff in Beauty and the Beast, see what an ancient Egyptian curse reveals in Night at the Museum or rediscover the answer to a NeverEnding Story.

Also in July, Australian composer Jen Anderson is at the NFSA for one night only, presenting a live score accompaniment to acclaimed German silent film Pandora’s Box (1929).

August

With winter almost over it's time to dust off your blue suede shoes (and your LPs of The King) and get ready to dance to the jailhouse rock, as we put a special Elvis spin on our monthly music favourite The Vinyl Lounge on Friday 4 August. Also that night we’ll be screening Elvis: That’s the Way it Is (1970).

And, as a final winter treat, don’t miss the Canberra premieres of two of our latest NFSA Restores titles: The Year My Voice Broke (1987) and Flirting (1991). Noah Taylor stars in both films; Ben Mendelsohn, Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman also got career boosts from appearing in one of the films. What better way to revisit these John Duigan classics than on the big screen! We’ll be joined by special guest cinematographer Geoff Burton for a Q&A after the screening.

For more information visit our Events pages.