The Ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

221 Production still from Hotel Salvation 2016 / Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani / Image courtesy: C International Films Top: Production still from On the Beach at Night Alone 2017 / Director: Hong Sang-soo / Image courtesy: Finecut APT9 Cinema APT9 Cinema Film and the moving image, with their profound ability to tell stories, occupy a powerful place in our lives. Film’s influence, regardless of language, can be felt across national borders, social divisions and educational status; it can also transcend markers of age, race and gender. It has the power to reflect our culture, shape attitudes, challenge perceptions and change behaviours. It connects us, as viewers, on an emotional and social level. Film offers ways for audiences to gather, talk, contemplate and debate, drawing on the human desire to create conversation through storytelling to explore past, present and future. For APT9, the Australian Cinémathèque presents three programs from Asia and the Pacific that highlight how filmmakers are casting light on important conversations. ‘New Bollywood: Currents in Indian Cinema’ profiles a new and dynamic hybrid film culture that has developed from a cross-pollination of India’s well-known mainstream, regional and independent cinemas. Inspired by rapid shifts in economic development and an expanding middle class, together with changing social norms inspired by a younger generation, the films of ‘New Bollywood’ engage with subjects that question Indian traditions surrounding sexuality, gender and social expectations. ‘Contemporary Mellow Dramas’ focuses on a select group of filmmakers from East Asia who have found international acclaim for their deft construction of intimate dramas. Eschewing the slick aesthetic popular in mainstream film and television, these films embrace a gentle form of storytelling that situates personal concerns, particularly ideas surrounding class, family and relationships, within the constraints of the everyday. Exploring life through the medium of video, the films featured in ‘Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands’ tell stories of the local community in their own language — made locally, they are intended for a Marshallese audience. These films challenge the perception that engaging cinematic stories can only be told by mainstream cinema. In the context of APT9, these film programs offer diverse perspectives on the power and joy of making and sharing stories. Amanda Slack-Smith