FREE IN DEED Based on real events, this evocative and disturbing look at America’s storefront church circuit won The Orizzonti Prize at The Venice Film Festival. Jake Mahaffy’s film takes us into the churches and communities where miracles are both believed and desperately needed. Single mother Melva (Edwina Findley, Treme) grows increasingly distressed by the lack of adequate care available to her autistic son, who is deemed unmanageable by both the school system and the medical profession. A minister (David Harewood, Homeland) with an obviously troubled past is determined to heal the boy, but things spiral out of control. Through an intimate story, and with a cast of mostly non-professional actors, New Zealand-based American director Mahaffy creates a haunting film that immerses us in a society where religion offers the only comfort in a sea of indifference.
MEKKO A Native American ex-con, Mekko, becomes embroiled in a fateful conflict with a local thug, in this intriguing fusion of gritty realism and Indigenous legend. Sterlin Harjo’s haunting feature begins with a voiceover in the language of Mekko’s tribe, the Muscogee. Played by veteran Hollywood stuntman Rod Rondeaux (Meek’s Cutoff), the hulking, yet soft-spoken character leaves prison only to find that his family wants nothing to do with him. After settling into a tightly knit community of homeless Native Americans living on the fringes of Oklahoma City, he finds himself menaced by a man (Zahn McClarnon, Fargo) who may in fact be a shape-shifting spirit of Muscogee lore. Carried by a transfixing performance by Rondeaux, Mekko is a surprising and exceptional work that will wholly immerse you in its myths, mystery and unique setting.
For your chance to win tickets to Free In Deed and Mekko, just click on the below links for your preferred times, and fill out the form on the landing page.
https://filmink.com.au/2016/win-tix-to-the-sydney-film-festival/Free In Deed, Thu 9 June, 6.00pm, Event Cinemas George Street
Free In Deed, Sat 11 June, 4.10pm, Dendy Opera Quays
Mekko, Sat 11 June, 1.45pm, Event Cinemas George Street
Mekko, Mon 13 June, 3.00pm, Event Cinemas George Street
The Sydney Film Festival, runs from June 8-19. For all information, head to The Sydney Film Festival official website.
Australian Competitions Club
