Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

A desperate young journalist turns to podcasting to salvage her career, but her rush to make headlines leads her to an alien conspiracy.

A teenage girl is raised underground by a robot "Mother", designed to repopulate the earth following an extinction event. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.

Mumbai, India, November 26, 2008. While several terrorists spread hatred and death through the city, others attack the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Both hotel staff and guests risk their lives, making unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and keep everyone safe while help arrives.

December 2013, in the shadow of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Australian journalist Peter Greste is confronted with the brutal realities of reporting from one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Accused of terrorism, Greste becomes a pawn in the middle of a deadly game full of corrupt officials and ancient rivalries – with only his wits keeping him alive.

Sparked by the impending 25th anniversary of the Academy award-winning film Shine, this documentary explores the power of the musical brain. Featuring exclusive, intimate footage of superstar international musicians in their private worlds, it opens an intriguing portal into the musical mind.

Comprised entirely of hundreds of pirated film samples, Hello Dankness is a bent suburban musical that bears witness to the psychotropic cultural spectacle of the period 2016 to 2021. Set in the American suburbs, the film follows a neighbourhood through these years as consensus reality disintegrates into conspiracies and other political contagions. Part political satire, zombie stoner film, and Greek tragedy, the work is also informed by the encrypted memetics of contemporary internet culture.

During the 1980s, claims of satanic ritual abuse ran rife throughout the western world, uncovered by hypnotic therapists and perpetuated throughout the media, including high-rating television talk shows. In Demonic, filmmaker Pia Borg delves into this bizarre chapter of history, examining the elusive line between fact, fiction and the persuasive power of the media.

A provocative, cinematic and playful feature documentary, Rewards for the Tribe explores the meeting of minds and bodies from two of Australia’s most exciting arts companies – genre defying contemporary dance company Chunky Move and famed Adelaide based company Restless Dance Theatre, whose troupe consists of dancers with disabilities.

With their comatose daughter suspected of manslaughter, and police on their way to the hospital, two troubled parents must decide whether to lie to protect her.

After surviving a horrific assault by her husband, Helen uses the time of his incarceration to plan her revenge. She painstakingly rebuilds herself into the entity that will have the most power over him: a beautiful woman.

Formidable grandmother Isla Roberts is adamant. She insists that although she’s not a lesbian, her girlfriend Susan is. In this tender, richly humorous portrait of an 87-year-old horse carriage driving champion, we learn what makes an ordinary life extraordinary. Straight-shooting Isla’s lived experience of rural Australia, raising a family in severe economic hardship, and finally coming out later in life, all make for a poignant documentary of a woman who’s well ahead of her time and refuses to be put in a box. Director Marion Pilowsky tracks Isla for an eventful, cathartic year with empathy and incisiveness.

A symphonic concert spectacle featuring rock maestro Ben Folds with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, combining the power of orchestral grandeur with the intimacy of close contact with the musicians. Audience participation peaks as Folds achieves the extraordinary feat of inducing the crowd to sing a choral refrain in three-part harmony. Interwoven with Folds’ personal narratives of the inspirations for his songs, the film transforms enthralling live performance into a unique portal revealing the creativity of the song writing process.

A documentary that tells the epic life story of Alfreda Glynn, 78-year-old Aboriginal woman, stills photographer, co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), and Imparja TV, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, radical, pacifist, grumpy old woman, who in equal measure loves the limelight and total privacy. Part bio-pic, part social history, it details the life of a woman born beneath a tree north of Alice Springs in 1939, her childhood living under the Aboriginal Protection policies and the impact, both good and bad they had on her life.

A multi disciplinary film and photographic art project created by Yankunytjatjara artist Derik Lynch and Australian artist Matthew Thorne that explores (in dream and memory) Derik's childhood growing up in the heart of central Australia. The story follows his road trip from the oppression of white city life in Adelaide back to country - Aputula - to perform Drag on sacred Inma ground, while memories from his youth return. Inma is a 60,000+ year old form of storytelling using the visual, verbal and physical. As a place of storytelling it is also the place where the history and stories of the past are written and shared in the present.

An irreverent adult comedy that looks at our reliance on technology, but what happens when technology is as ill-informed as we are.

Andrew, a sound recordist, fuels his obsession with a young actress through nefarious means. When Andrew’s flirtations are turned down by actress Amy, he swiftly takes advantage of his ability to listen in on any conversation in a twisted bid for control.

Filmmaker Matthew Bate explores the making of Trent Parker and Narelle Autio's 'Summation of Force', a moving image work that studies bodies in motion and the world of professional sport.

With the unique ability to emit pure water, the Numi are the Dry Land's most valuable slaves. When young Numi Davi and her sister are captured and 'milked' for their water, Davi must find a way to outsmart her abusers.

Artist Kate Blackmore looks at motherhood and mobility, film and feminism through the prism of Margaret Dodd's 1982 classic short film 'This Woman is not a Car.'