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With its isolated aboriginal characters, expansive desert backdrop, and startling critique of exploitative Australian authorities, "Samson and Delilah" appears to have a lot going on. But Warwick Thorton's expressive directorial debut is also a knowingly simplistic love story that goes down much easier than its heavy themes. Despite the darkness, it has a cumulative effect that's agreeably gentle. The title has both literal and ironic connotations. Samson (Rowan McNamara) and Delilah ...

IndiePix, the Internet-based distributor of indie films, will release Warwick Thornton's love story "Samson & Delilah," starring Rowan McNamera and Marissa Gibson, theatrically in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. on Oct. 15.

Its New York launch will kick off with a gala screening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Oct. 12. It will also screen as part of the National Geographic Society's All Road Film Project in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2 and is slated to play the Anaheim International Film Festival.

 

Jason Tyrrell of IndiePix along with Adeline Tessaur and Eva Diederix of Elle Driver negotiated the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights.  Krysanne Katsoolis of Cactus Three participated in the negotiations for IndiePix.  Marie Lemoine was IndiePix' business affairs adviser on the transaction.

Kick-Ass (15)

(Matthew Vaughn, 2010, Us/UK) Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloë Moretz. 118 mins

Now that the likes of Batman and Spider-Man are risk-averse, broad-spectrum cash juggernauts, it's refreshing to see a comic-book movie that doesn't play by the rules. Like a spoilt brat, this is foul-mouthed, hyperactive, extremely violent, and all the better for it. And despite dealing with the pitfalls of becoming a real-life vigilante (with no super-powers), it successfully segues from teen loser comedy to full-on action fantasy without losing its stride, just as it straddles the divide between fan-friendly cult material and mainstream crowd-pleaser.

Clash Of The Titans 3D (12A)

(Louis Leterrier, 2010, Us) Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson. 106 mins

So much state-of-the-art technology and A-list talent has been thrown at this sword-and-sandals epic, some of it is bound to stick. And if the 3D looks like a hurried afterthought and the story a bit of a Greek salad, there's always another giant scorpion,...

Sensitive film about a tragic love affair in Australia's Aboriginal community. By Peter Bradshaw

The effect of this movie by the Australian director Warwick Thornton is cumulative, subtle, almost stealthy. It is about an opaque and tragic love affair between a young Aboriginal man and woman in a remote community in Alice Springs: a bleak, faintly Beckettian landscape where life rolls on, uneventfully, but is then punctured with acts of brutality. The man is unemployed, addicted to sniffing petrol and solvents, and nurses a grumbling resentment that his brother won't let him play guitar in their band; the young woman lives with her grandmother and helps her produce the folk art canvases which an exploitative white dealer buys and sells at a chi-chi city gallery for a colossal markup.

They are called Samson and Delilah and there are scenes in which both cut their hair, with a rough kitchen knife,...

A clip from critically-acclaimed Australian film Samson and Delilah, which I’ve still yet to see; a romantic drama set in a remote community in the Outback. Winner of the Camera d’Or, (award for the Best First Feature) at last year’s Cannes Film Fesitval, directed by Warwick Thornton’s – a film previously profiled on this blog, which you can see Here.

It’s the story of two Aboriginal teens (played by Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson) who begin a relationship and move away from home to live on the fringes in Alice Springs. Reportedly, Samson (McNamara) says one word throughout the entire film, and Delilah (Gibson) is only slightly more talkative, so expect one of those quiet, evocative moody melancholic pieces.

It’s played at numerous international film festivals, but no real distribution yet.

Here’s the trailer if you missed it the first time; and you can...

G'day, mateys! Here's an upside-down treat for you: a clip from much-lauded Australian film Samson and Delilah, a romantic drama set in a remote community in the Outback.It's the story of two Aboriginal teens (played by Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson) who begin a very tentative relationship and move away from home to live on the fringes in Alice Springs. Since Samson (McNamara) says one word through the whole film and Delilah (Gibson) is only slightly more talkative, expect a film about mood and body language rather than hyperactive chatter.Samson and Delilah is out on April 2.

Samson And Delilah swept the board at the Australian Film Institute awards on Saturday night, scooping a string of top honours.

The love story landed the ultimate honour, the Best Film nod, as well as trophies for Best Original Screenplay and Best Direction.

The movie's writer/director, Warwick Thornton, accepted the awards, telling the crowd in Melbourne, Australia, "It's hard work, it's b**ody hard work, there is no mucking around. Be careful what you write, you might just have to direct it."

The child stars of the movie, Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara, also shared the Young Actor accolade - and Thornton heaped praise on them, adding: "We put Marissa and Rowan into these lights and part of the deal is to look after them, whatever they want to do, until they know what they want to do and they can separate themselves from us."

Anthony Lapaglia won the Best Actor award for his role in Balibo, a drama about the death of an Australian journalist. The movie's co-writers David Williamson and Robert Connolly won the film a further honour, Best Adapted Screenplay.

Despite being honoured for six awards, Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia only won the one, for highest grossing film. It garnered $211 million (£132 million) at the worldwide box office.

Gangster drama Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities took home three awards including Best Television Screenplay, and Rachel Griffiths landed the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Beautiful Kate.

It was only five years ago when the Australian Film Institute Awards reached their most sad and pathetic moment. 2005, the year that will live in infamy for followers of Australian film, produced only one (One!) film that the AFI felt worthy enough to award. Cate Shortland's Somersault was nominated for and won every.single.category. The really sad thing is that it probably deserved to win them all, which says more about the slate of Aussie films that year than anything else.

Sidebar: Two of Somersault's wins were for Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington's performances. The former is on the cusp of Oscar and the latter on the cusp of global fame and worship. You could do worse than seeing where these two learnt the ropes.

This year's AFI awards, however, are a much different story. 2009 has been a stellar year for Australian cinema - perhaps the...

Written and directed by Warwick Thornton, and starring newcomers Rowan McNamara (above) and Marissa Gibson, Samson & Delilah was the big winner at the 2009 Australian Film Institute Awards held in Melbourne in two consecutive evenings, Fri. ("industry" categories) and Sat. (top awards). Thornton’s feature-film debut bagged a total of 8 awards, including best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best cinematography (also Thornton), and two awards for newcomers McNamara and Gibson. Winner of the 2009 Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the best film award at the 2009 Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, in addition to being Australia’s submission for the 2010 best foreign-language film Academy Award, Samson & Delilah is a coming-of-age drama [...]...

Samson & Delilah took home 6 top prizes last night at the Australian Film Awards, including Best Film,  3 awards for director/screenwriter/cinematographer Warwick Thornton, a shared honor for Best Young Actor...

2009 Australian Film Institute Awards 2009 Australian Film Institute Award nominations: Oct. 28, 2009 2009 Australian Film Institute Award winners: Regent Theatre in Melbourne on Dec. 11 ("industry" categories) and Dec. 12 (top categories), 2009 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Winner of the 2009 Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Australia’s submission for the 2010 best foreign-language film Academy Award, Warwick Thornton’s feature-film debut, Samson & Delilah, is a coming-of-age story set in a remote Aboriginal community in Central Australia, where two teenagers (best actor nominee Rowan McNamara and best actress nominee Marissa Gibson) must cope with a life of violence, poverty, and substance abuse. Eventually, the couple set out on their own, facing all sorts of [...]...

By Steve Pond

"Samson & Delilah," Australia's entry in the Oscar foreign-language film race, was the big winner at the Australian Film Institute Awards Saturday night in Melbourne. The film took home awards for Best Film, Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay, along with a shared Best Young Actor award for its two stars, Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara.  

At the AFI Industry Awards, which took place on Friday, the film won in the Best Cinematography and Best Sound categories, as well as picking up the AFI Members' Choice Award.  

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2009 Asia-Pacific Screen Awards 2009 Asia-Pacific Screen Award winners: Australia’s Gold Coast on Nov 26. 2009 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Writer-director Warwick Thornton’s Samson & Delilah, Australia’s submission for the 2010 best foreign-language film Academy Award, took best film honors at the 3rd Asia-Pacific Screen Awards held in Queensland, Australia. Samson & Delilah tells the story of two young aborigines (Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson) who flee their village in the Australian desert; the problem is: they have nowhere to go. Thornton’s drama has also been nominated for 13 Australian Film Institute Awards. Best Feature Film * Samson & Delilah – Australia Produced by Kath Shelper Forever Enthralled People’s Republic of China Produced by Han Sanping and Du Jiayi City of Life and Death [...]...

by John Villeneuve Much like Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Samson & Delilah proves to be an endurance test in misery due to poverty and marginalization. That is...

Famed director Baz Luhrmann was honoured in his native Australia on Wednesday night - he was presented with the coveted Living Legend prize at the country's Inside Film (If) Awards.

The Moulin Rouge! moviemaker was also handed the trophy for Box Office Achievement for his 2008 epic Australia, a homage to his home country.

Lurhmann used the opportunity to pay tribute to the ever-expanding Australian film industry, telling the crowd, "This is an industry to be proud of, it's incredibly exciting. We have it, let's not blow it. I think it's an extraordinarily exciting time to be an Australian filmmaker."

Australian love story Samson & Delilah was the big winner at the ceremony, held at Sydney's Luna Park, scooping six awards, including Best Film and Best Actor/Actress honours for its stars - newcomers Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson.

Balibo, starring Anthony Lapaglia, scored seven nominations but only took two prizes, for best sound and editing.

Baz Luhrmann has been honoured in his native Australia for his contribution to the country's film industry.

The Moulin Rouge! moviemaker was handed the Living Legend trophy at the Inside Film Awards on Tuesday night.

And the 47 year old was delighted with the honour, telling the audience at Sydney's Luna Park, "This is an industry to be proud of, it's incredibly exciting. We have it, let's not blow it. I think it's an extraordinarily exciting time to be an Australian filmmaker."

Other winners at the annual ceremony included drama Samson and Delilah, which swept the board with six awards, including the night's Best Film honour.

The movie's young stars, Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, were handed the Best Actor and Best Actress awards for their roles in the film.

The circus was back in town as the who's who of the Australian film industry gathered last night for the 2009 Kodak Inside Film Awards, returning to Sydney after a number of arguably unsuccessful years of staging the event on the Gold Coast.   Competing against Balibo and Cedar Boys in the Best Film category, Samson And Delilah triumphed once again after also picking up the Best Director, Best Music, Best Script and the two Best Acting nods for Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara.   Hosted by comedian Eddie Perfect, the 11th If Awards saw an impressive list of presenters this year, including Kirk Pengilly, Peter O'Brien, Jacqueline McKenzie, Megan Gale, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Filmink friends Sam Worthington and Scott Hicks.

"Australia" -- the second-highest-grossing homegrown film in Oz history after "Crocodile Dundee" -- failed to land a best picture nod at the AFI Awards. This snub is even more pronounced given that the Australian Film Institute expanded the category to six films from the usual four. "Australia" stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were also left off the list of nominations as was helmer Baz Luhrmann. However, Brandon Walters did land a supporting actor nod as well as a bid for best young actor. In that latter category, he faces off against, among others, Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara, the leads of best pic contender "Samson and Delilah." That love story about two Aboriginal teenagers...