In the wake of witnessing a brutal assault, 12-year-old Blaze (Julia Savage) takes shelter in an imaginary world. Inspired by the posters and trinkets in her bedroom, this glittery, candy-coloured realm is also home to Zephyr, a papier-mâché dragon who consoles and counsels Blaze as she learns to overcome her debilitating fear. As her doting single dad (Simon Baker) accepts that he’s powerless to put things right, it’s left to Zephyr to stoke Blaze’s warrior spirit, allowing her to finally roar and ensure that justice is dispensed.
Having twice scored the prestigious Archibald Prize for her psychedelic fantasy artwork, Del Kathryn Barton now unleashes a towering debut feature that fuses live action, practical puppetry, stop motion animation, and expressive visual effects to chart Blaze’s tumultuous passage into adulthood. Teeming with images that sear themselves onto the subconscious, it’s a testament to what the imagination is capable of. Likewise, it asserts that rage can be every bit as purifying as fire.
Media Partner
Del Kathryn Barton
Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone, Josh Lawson, Sofia Hampson
Australia
2022
English
Graphic Violence, Sexual Violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Hanami
On the volcanic island Cape Verde, young Nana is on the cusp of self-discovery. When her long-absent mother returns, the lyricism and magic of Nana's childhood take a different shape. Winner of the Best Emerging Director Award, Locarno Film Festival.
Total Recall
The master of the subversive blockbuster, Paul Verhoeven concocts a film about corporate mind-control vs. revolutionary uprising by setting it on Mars and allowing for the possibility the whole thing is just an escapist fantasy...
Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino announced himself to the world with this ingeniously fractured heist movie, carved into character-centric chapters, riffing breezily on pop culture, but counterpointing all this with blood-soaked intensity.
Jacob's Ladder
Ever feel you're losing your mind? Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) comes back from the Vietnam War with a firefight in his head. Sanity is a losing battle in Adrian Lyne's terrifying psychological thriller.
True Romance
Rockabilly comic book clerk Clarence (Christian Slater) meets dream girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) with trouble in her wake, in this seminal couple on the run thriller from Quentin Tarantino's excitable mind.
Credits
Executive Producer
Kristina Ceyton, Deanne Weir, Daniel Bessen, Chris Plater, Boris Tosic, Simon Baker, Josh Pomeranz, Jonathan Page, Samantha Meers, Luke Tosic
Producer
Samantha Jennings
Screenwriter
Del Kathryn Barton, Huna Amweero
Cinematography
Jeremy Rouse
Editor
Dany Cooper
Production Design
Alex Holmes
Original Music
Sam Petty, Angel Olsen