Highlighting four very different documentaries by Australian filmmakers, this special series of the ongoing Australian Perspectives program looks at controversial subjects. Triggered by the furore surrounding last year's Melbourne International Film Festival's screening of 'The 10 Conditions of Love', the films featured have all caused a bit of a stir.

The season begins with the premiere screening of 'A Loving Friend', which explores the notion of a 'culturally acceptable pedophile', stemming from the case of artist Donald Friend whose journals, discovered in 2006, revealed that he engaged in pedophilia while living in Bali in the 1960s and 70s. 'The 10 Conditions of Love' is about Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer and her fight for the rights of her people, despite imprisonment, persecution and eventually forced exile from the Chinese government. Since it's premiere at Cannes in 1973, 'Swastika: The Inner Workings of Hitler's Monster Regime' has barely been seen. Perceived as humanising Hitler, with sequences showing him cuddling a dog and discussing 'Gone With the Wind, the film is made up of German newsreels, propaganda and home movies shot by Eva Braun, all un-narrated to avoid forcing interpretation on viewers. The Director's Cut of 'We're Living on Dog Food' is not only a making-of film (it was shot on the set of 1986's 'Dog's in Space') but also a snapshot of Melbourne's post-punk music scene.

Saturdays, June-August

Australian Perspectives