Robert Connolly & Alison Lester Talk About Journeying Down to Magic Beach in This Interview
12/30/24 • 27 min
For this final chat in the series, Andrew catches up with prolific Australian director Robert Connolly and celebrated children's author Alison Lester to talk about their new collaboration, Magic Beach.
Magic Beach takes the Alison Lester's much-loved illustrated kids book and brings it to live with a series of vivid, vibrant, and invigorating animated shorts, made by some of Australia's finest visual talents: Lee Whitmore, Anthony Lucas, Marieka Walsh, Eddie White, Susan Danta, Jake Duczynski, Simon Rippingale, Pierce Davison, Kathy Sarpi, Emma Kelly, and Susie Shapones.
Magic Beach takes us on a journey into the ocean through the mind of kids, and it's through their eyes that we're immersed in the waves and ways of the water and the many stories the seas have to tell. From tales of sandcastle battles, to pirate smugglers, to a whimsical tale of a bird laying an egg on a boat, there's something for everyone in this brilliantly inventive film.
In the following interview with Robert and Alison, they talk about that journey into the water together, what it means to be able to tell stories for kids, and the role that the late, great Sarah Watt had in bringing this story to life.
Magic Beach screens as part of Perth Festival on January 7 and 13 at Luna SX in Fremantle, followed by special meet & greet screenings on 11 January at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace & Ritz Cinema in NSW and 12 January at the Classic Elsternwick & Sun Yarraville in Victoria. Magic Beach then opens wide around Australia on 16 January. Visit Madman.com.au for more screening details.
If you want to find out more about the work we do on The Curb, then head over to TheCurb.com.au. We are a completely independent and ad free website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. If you can and have the means to support us, please visit Patreon.com/thecurbau to support our work from as little as $1 a month.
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For this final chat in the series, Andrew catches up with prolific Australian director Robert Connolly and celebrated children's author Alison Lester to talk about their new collaboration, Magic Beach.
Magic Beach takes the Alison Lester's much-loved illustrated kids book and brings it to live with a series of vivid, vibrant, and invigorating animated shorts, made by some of Australia's finest visual talents: Lee Whitmore, Anthony Lucas, Marieka Walsh, Eddie White, Susan Danta, Jake Duczynski, Simon Rippingale, Pierce Davison, Kathy Sarpi, Emma Kelly, and Susie Shapones.
Magic Beach takes us on a journey into the ocean through the mind of kids, and it's through their eyes that we're immersed in the waves and ways of the water and the many stories the seas have to tell. From tales of sandcastle battles, to pirate smugglers, to a whimsical tale of a bird laying an egg on a boat, there's something for everyone in this brilliantly inventive film.
In the following interview with Robert and Alison, they talk about that journey into the water together, what it means to be able to tell stories for kids, and the role that the late, great Sarah Watt had in bringing this story to life.
Magic Beach screens as part of Perth Festival on January 7 and 13 at Luna SX in Fremantle, followed by special meet & greet screenings on 11 January at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace & Ritz Cinema in NSW and 12 January at the Classic Elsternwick & Sun Yarraville in Victoria. Magic Beach then opens wide around Australia on 16 January. Visit Madman.com.au for more screening details.
If you want to find out more about the work we do on The Curb, then head over to TheCurb.com.au. We are a completely independent and ad free website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. If you can and have the means to support us, please visit Patreon.com/thecurbau to support our work from as little as $1 a month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
We Live in Time Director John Crowley Talks About Working with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh in This Interview
For this chat, Andrew catches up with Irish director John Crowley to discuss his latest drama, We Live in Time.
We Live in Time is an utterly brilliant drama the follows the lives of Andrew Garfield's Tobias and Florence Pugh's Almut in an out of sequence format. We flit from the past, to the present, to the future, with each moment acting as a new memory laid upon the next. This burgeoning relationship emerges into a family which emerges into a drama that will have you reaching for the tissues like no other, all the while it's underpinned by the gentle direction from John Crowley, which supports and gives space for his lead actors to deliver grounded performances.
It's that journey towards tenderness and empathy that underpins the following conversation with John Crowley, with Andrew asking about how the relationship of time has impacted John's work. This discussion encourages a reflection of John's previous collaboration with Andrew Garfield on his feature film debut Boy A in 2007, while also asking John to consider what he will take from this film going forward. Andrew also asks how aware John was of Florence's innate cooking skills and how that played into her brilliant turn as Almut.
We Live in Time is, like John's Best Picture nominated film Brooklyn, a drama that slowly creeps up on you, and before you know it, you're wiping away tears from your eyes as the lights come up. It's a style of film that we've almost taken for granted now, but there is a genuine skill to bringing this level of weepie to life. See it with someone you love when it opens in Australian cinemas on 16 January 2025.
If you want to find out more about the work we do on The Curb, then head over to TheCurb.com.au. We are a completely independent website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. If you can and want to support us, please visit Patreon.com/thecurbau to keep our lights on from as little as $1 a month.
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Next Episode
Queer | Babygirl | The Room Next Door
Welcome to the first episode of The Curb review podcast, where Andrew F Peirce and Nadine Whitney catch up to talk through recent cinema, while also recommending a feature film from the past to catch up on.
In this first episode, we delve into the relationships in William S. Burrough’s Queer, directed by Luca Guadagnino and adapted for the screen by Justin Kuritzkes, with Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville, and Jason Schwartzman.
This discussion flows into talking about Halina Reijn’s latest film, Babygirl, which gives Nicole Kidman the chance to give the performance of her career, alongside Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, and Sophie Wilde.
Finally, Nadine talks about Pedro Almodóvar’s first English language feature, The Room Next Door, featuring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.
Filmic recommendations this episode are:
Andrew: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus by Steven Shainberg
Nadine: Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon by John Maybury
Follow The Curb on Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook and visit the Rotten Tomatoes profiles of Andrew here and Nadine here.
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