The London Australian Film Festival makes an apt return to the cinephiles paradise of The Garden Cinema with the UK premiere of A GRAND MOCKERY, a brilliant and beguiling Super-8mm fever dream collab from underground filmmakers Adam C. Briggs and Sam Dixon.
The London Australian Film Festival makes an apt return to the cinephiles paradise of The Garden Cinema with the UK premiere of A GRAND MOCKERY, a brilliant and beguiling Super-8mm fever dream collab from underground filmmakers Adam C. Briggs and Sam Dixon.
Defying conventions of genre, style and tone, this compelling, Brisbane-set drama lurches from dark comedy to existential dread as it traces the mundane life of Josie (Sam Dixon). But when his inner (and outer) world begins to crumble, and the demons begin to take hold, Josie heads for the Queensland rainforests where narrative and film form converge in a mesmerisingly lo-fi crescendo.
Darkly surreal, with echoes of cinematic greats like Luis Buñuel and David Lynch (and even a hint of Mark Jenkin’s Bait), A GRAND MOCKERY represented a high watermark for Australia’s cinematic underground when it was rightfully, if somewhat unexpectedly, awarded Best Film at SXSW Sydney (2024). Don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch a future cult classic on the big screen!
With thanks to Yellow Veil Pictures.
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM
Laila (LAFF director):
“Here at LAF, we love supporting new Australian film talent, and this is our “soon to be a cult classic” entry for this year. With flavours of Withnail & I and Bad Boy Bubby, it isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those who love experimental cinema this is sure to be right up your street"
Stephen (LAFF co-programmer):
"Beyond the slick and polished indie cinema we’ve highlighted over the last few years, there is a whole other world of wonderfully off-beat underground cinema emerging down under that we’ve been itching to share. This delirious, brilliant Super-8mm feature is just the tip of the creative iceberg for Australia’s vibrant DIY filmmaking scene."
REVIEWS
“A Buñuelian nightmare deep fried in red wine, A Grand Mockery is a luminous exploration in absurdism and the decay of self.”
Jaydon Martin, director of Flathead (Fantastic Film Fest Australia)
“difficult to categorise…a liminal work of psychosis and downbeat determinism”
Nadine Whitney (The Curb)
THE GARDEN CINEMA
39-41 Parker St, London WC2B 5PQ
NEAREST TUBE: Holborn
