A confident directorial debut clearly inspired by his own intimate knowledge of this hotbed environment, Papadopoulos' comedy took home the SBS TV Award at this year's Flickerfest. A crisply-told battle-of-wills set against the deeper issue of generational change and conflict, writer/director Viron Papadopoulos inventively pits new-age cockiness against old-world street smarts. For a large sum of money, they must spend five minutes in each other's shoes: Bill must only speak Greek, Kosta only English. In one such an establishment, owner Lefteri (played by iconic actor George Kapianaris) oversees a contest between the fiercely proud Greek traditionalist Kosta (a bullish Tony Nikolakopoulos) and young buck Bill (Chris Asimos). In Hellenic culture, the Kafenois is a meeting place for men to indulge their fiery machismo – play cards, drink coffee and, in general, flaunt their manliness. Though distinctly local in its characterisation of a beer-drinking deity who uses phrases like “jerkin' the gherkin”, the comedy travelled well – it won the International Competition award at Europe's prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Comic foil Abe Forsyth, terrific as the skeptic-turned-convert, and the impossibly sweet Bella Heathcote, round out the cast. Working from Trent Dalton's absurd AFI-nominated script, Bailey gives Wenham free rein, and the celebrated actor doesn't disappoint. And he looks remarkably like David Wenham. Director Frazer Bailey finally offers a definitive answer: God is a struggling mug-punter, working out of a cluttered office in a Brisbane backstreet. (Screened: SBS ONE, Saturday November 26, Midnight)įor centuries, great artists and philosophers have speculated what God may look and sound like or if, in fact, 'He' even exists. So I'll shut-up now so that you can have a laugh. Thematically, the individual works grapple with everything from the generational divide in our multicultural society, fulfilling one's dreams despite physical limitations, adulterous love, faith in miraculous conception, and the existence of God itself.īut you have every right to ask, “Uh.where's the funny?” The 'funny' is in the technical skill of each filmmaker, the pitch-perfect performances of Abe Forsythe, David Wenham, George Kapiniaris, Susan Prior and Rhys Muldoon, and, like most great comedy, the sly commentary on ourselves and our society.Īnd, as we all know, that stranger at the party explaining why everybody else's jokes are funny is not the guy to hang with. No one could accuse the four films screening in the SOS Australian Comedy Shorts season of lacking ambition.
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