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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Cinema Review: Looking for Grace

Latest News

Splendour 2024 cancelled

It's official, Splendour in the Grass 2024 has been cancelled.

Other News

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

Peter Garrett gives Bluesfest the nod

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit. 

Democracy on the ropes?

The ancient idea of democracy is under threat around the world. Today, there are only 63 democracies compared to 74 autocracies, and many of these democracies are highly problematic.

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

Dynamic, rustic yet polished

Animal Ventura is the brainchild of Byron Bay-based singer-songwriter Fernando Aragones. Growing up playing punk and reggae in noisy garage bands in Southern Brazil, Aragones ventured to Australia where the eclectic sounds of the Sydney music scene beckoned.

Bay FM community radio celebrates digital upgrade

Volunteers from Byron and across the Northern Rivers celebrated nearly $100,000 worth of new studio equipment at Bay FM Community Radio station on the weekend.

By John Campbell

For better or worse (I lean more often than not to the latter), arts funding bodies in Oz tend to see the traits of our culture as being determined by our landscape. Usually it’s the outback, with which ninety per cent of us (notably those on arts funding bodies) are entirely unfamiliar, to which deference is shown. Sue Brooks, who won everybody’s heart with Japanese Story[ (2003), has returned to Woop-Woop for a lesser, self-conscious movie of deep shallows and tedious repetition. The opening credits are accompanied by an obligatory series of artistic aerial shots that stamp the quintessential Australiana (yawn) on the story. Teenaged Grace (Odessa Young) has bolted from her comfy middle-class home with thousands of dollars she’s pinched from the family safe. She meets a guy on a cross-country bus (remember Brad Pitt in ‘Thelma and Louise’?) who has his way with her then disappears with the dosh. To her parents (Richard Roxburgh and Radha Mitchell), she has ‘vanished’ – but we know as early as the first act that they are all reunited owing to Brooks’s wanting to go over and over every stage of the disappearance with the different perspectives of each person involved. Quite frankly, it gets extremely boring, right up to the unforeseen tragedy. But even then, there is an emotional disconnect between all of the characters and the events that are unfolding around them. Roxburgh, if anything, plays it for laughs as a neurotic, wannabe adulterer who rushes back to a motel office to admit that he’s eaten the Kit-Kat in his room. Dialogue is minimal – some scenes are composed entirely of ‘yeah, righto’, ‘just put it there, mate’ – and too much is left to be read into overworked pregnant silences – how meaningful can a girl watching her father tie up his shoes be? Oh, I get it, he forgot to put on his socks. Art direction is lovely, but it’s a bit like that Sex Pistols song, pretty vacant (though not as good). 


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We just love him!

If you’re over 50 you might not be a fan of Tom Jones, but you can bet your mum is. If you’re under 40 you might not even know who he is, but your grandmother probably wet her pants at the mere mention of his name.

Peter Garrett gives Bluesfest the nod

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit. 

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

New report highlights gaps in rural and remote health

The second annual Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Best for the Bush, Rural and remote Health Base Line’ report has just been released. Presenting the latest data on the health of rural and remote Australians and evidence on service gaps, it identifies issues in urgent need of attention from service providers, funders, partners and policy makers.