EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE
Neil Gaiman: The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains
Illustrations: Eddie Campbell Music: FourPlay String Quartet
Concert Hall
Sat 7 Aug, 8pm
Neil Gaiman is one of the most celebrated writers of our times. Having achieved legendary status with his Sandman comics, his stories cross all boundaries, from comics to award-winning novels, screenplays, scripts and even audio theatre plays. A number of his works have been turned into or optioned for major motion pictures including Stardust and Coraline. Exciting future projects in the works include the films Death: the High Cost of Living and The Graveyard Book as well as a forthcoming episode of Dr Who. In a world first, Gaiman will read aloud his previously unreleased story The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains, in the spectacular surrounds of the Concert Hall. Sydney Opera House has commissioned the renowned artist Eddie Campbell to illustrate the story and FourPlay String Quartet to create an entirely new underscore to the story.
EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
An Evening with Kevin Smith
Opera Theatre
Sunday, 8th August - Sold Out
Monday, 9th August - New Show Added
Kevin Smith is the legendary indie filmmaker of the cult classic Clerks, as well as successful features including Dogma, Chasing Amy and Zack & Miri Make a Porno. He also served as a producer on the multiple-Academy Award-winning film Good Will Hunting. A celebrated writer for both the DC & Marvel Comics empires, Smith has handled such legendary characters as Batman, Daredevil, Spider Man and the Green Arrow. Well known for his long and often hilarious talks and Q&A sessions, Smith is so entertaining that three have been released on DVD while his weekly podcasts have made him a star in cyberspace too…plus he even has his own iPhone app.
EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE
Akira with live score by Regurgitator
Opera Theatre
Sun 8 Aug, 3pm
Akira is the benchmark film by which all other anime are judged, spawning countless imitators and defining many of the themes, concerns and style of the genre. Set in 2019 in post-World War Three Neo-Tokyo, this animated classic introduced the western world to adult-oriented Japanese animation and has been lauded worldwide as the movie that “started it all”. Akira started life as Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic 2,000+ page manga (Japanese comic book), before being adapted into an animated film in 1988. The film will be shown in the original Japanese language version with English subtitles and rescored live by Regurgitator. As Australia’s most renowned and successful experimental art-rockers, Regurgitator have achieved triple-platinum status – an astonishing feat for such an uncompromising band – who never shy away from the unusual, the untried, or indeed any genre that attracts their creative sensibility.
EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE
The Arrival by Shaun Tan with live score by Ben Walsh's Orkestra of The Underground
Playhouse
Sat 7 Aug, 7.30pm
Shaun Tan is one of Australia’s most celebrated and uniquely articulate illustrators and storytellers whose work has been adapted by many different mediums, including stop motion animation, puppetry, theatre and musical interpretation. The Arrival is a masterpiece of visual storytelling devoid of text, straddling the line between graphic novel and picture book. Ben Walsh randomly discovered The Arrival in a bookshop and fell in love with the work immediately. For three years the respected percussionist has dreamed of breathing musical life into Tan’s beautiful illustrations. A musical chameleon who straddles genres, styles and performance mediums effortlessly and with aplomb, Walsh has an innate talent for bringing talented individuals together around musical projects. As a composer he has scored Rene Laloux’s classic animated science fiction film Fantastic Planet for the Sydney Festival, created numerous scores for major dance and physical theatre companies and scored three award-winning short films. His Orkestra of The Underground pools the diverse and creative talent of Sydney’s local music scene towards composition projects.
Best of the Independent Games Festival 2009
Western Foyers
4-8 Aug
Free Event
The Independent Games Festival is a selection of the most innovative and exciting new computer games from this year's Sundance Festival for Games. IGF is the longest-running and largest festival relating to independent games worldwide. It was formed 13 years ago in San Francisco when organisers - noticing the valuable recognition and commercial exposure that the Sundance Film Festival provided to independent filmmakers - decided to create a similar event for independent game developers.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS in The Studio
GRAPHIC: Storyboarding for Film featuring W. Chew Chan, Mark Sexton, Chris Georgiou & James Hackett
Sat 7 Aug, 11.30am
One of the critical tools in turning a great idea into a great film is the storyboard. Seldom seen, few people recognise or understand the role they play in the filmmaking process. Some directors swear by them while some producers don't think they need them. But every filmmaker agrees that when storyboards are great, they don't just inform, they inspire. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain serious insights into a critical aspect of the contemporary film industry in both its animated and live-action forms.
Focus on Fantagraphics with special guest Gary Groth
Sun 8 Aug, 11am
Fantagraphics are the world’s leading publisher in the realm of alternative comics. Gary Groth and his partner Kim Thompson established the company in 1981, publishing Graphic Novels well before the trend. They have continued to publish some of the most influential cartoonists of our times such as; Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco and Jim Woodring. Groth has become a giant figure within the comics industry. He is the editor-in-chief and publisher of The Comics Journal, which was the first regular publication that brought a level of serious criticism to the medium of comics.
The Evolution of an Idea: Neil Gaiman, Shaun Tan and Eddie Campbell on creativity and the collaborative process
Sun 8 Aug, 2pm
Three well known artists will shine a light on the inner workings of some very famous and infamous partnerships and the trials, tribulations and joys of the collaborative process.
All tickets to Panel Discussions are $25.
FREE WORKSHOPS in the Utzon Room
Comic Making
Sat 7 Aug, 12pm
CAPACITY FULL
Learn from the passion of a crack team of practicing professionals in the art of comics. In this workshop guests will have the opportunity to see and create comics under the tutelage of Matthew Huynh, Andrew Weldon, Bernard Caleo, Pat Grant and Leigh Rigozzi.
Publishing Your Work
CAPACITY FULL
Sat 7 Aug, 5.30pm
How do you get your work out of the bedroom and across the world? Seek advice from three people who know how to get the job done: Gary Groth (Fantagraphics), Erica Wagner (Allen & Unwin) and Jeremy Wortsman (Jacky Winter Group).
The Art of Australian Illustration
Sun 8 Aug, 11am
Illustration is a broad word that encompasses an ocean of graphic arts. Come see exactly what is illustration in Australia right now. Be exposed to the talent and leaders in the field of illustration. Leading the charge is Dave Ladd in conversation with We Buy Your Kids, Rocco Faazari and Jeremy Wortsman from the Jacky Winter Group.
Workshop places are limited. Email graphic@sydneyoperahouse.com to register your interest.
FILM SCREENINGS
All screenings will take place in the Drama Theatre on Sunday, August 8. Tickets are $15 or $10 concession.
Marvel Then and Now (1pm)
Golden and Silver Age meets present day when Marvel icon Stan Lee sits down for a chat with current Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. Hosted by uber-geek Kevin Smith, this roundtable discussion leaves no corner of the Marvel universe unexposed. The past, the future, the fun and the biz are all discussed with startling honesty in this film which was recorded at a live benefit for the Hero Initiative, a not-for-profit charity that provides financial assistance for comic creators in need.
Australian Animation (3.35pm)
A specially curated showcase of some of the best animation from our own backyard. Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing, an animated film adaptation of his book of the same name, is a humorous story about a boy who discovers a bizarre-looking creature while out collecting bottle-tops at a beach. The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello by Anthony Lucas is a gothic horror mystery set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, which tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his Plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself. On a more humorous bent is The Goat That Ate Time, a short film by Lucinda Schreiber about a voracious goat who eats everything under the sun including clocks and watches, with the timepieces and their chronological ‘nutrition’ slipstreaming her into an endless, timeless present. Potapych: The Bear Who Loved Vodka by Darren Price is the stirring story of a bear who likes Vodka, and the man who befriends him.
Spirited Away (5.15pm)
From Hayao Miyazaki, one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema, comes the Academy Award winning masterpiece, Spirited Away. A wondrous fantasy about a young girl named Chihiro who discovers a secret world of strange spirits, creatures and sorcery. When her parents are mysteriously transformed, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.
Tokyo Express (8pm)
Four of the freshest anime out of Japan – the titles will be so new we cannot announce them until just before the screening!
Fear(s) of the Dark(10pm)
A wildly inventive and visually dazzling collection of fearful tales by six of the world's most renowned comic and graphic artists - Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. From a besotted student whose girlfriend is weirdly ardent in her affections, to a Japanese schoolgirl menaced by a long-dead samurai, and a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, "Fear(s)" has a story strand to trouble every sleep - not to mention a stunning range of animation styles. Shot in shimmering black and white, the six intertwined tales create an unprecedented epic where phobias and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.
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