Ozploitation is coming to Bristol in IMAX, from the city’s biggest repertory cult film festival, Forbidden Worlds

Forbidden Worlds Film Festival, Bristol’s biggest repertory genre film festival returns with The Big Scream, its celebration of cult horror, with two nights of grindhouse and exploitation movies from Australia.

“To have Forbidden Worlds dedicate an entire Big Scream weekender to the wild and
wonderful world of Ozploitation cinema is the blood-splattered icing on a cake of dubious
origins.” – Dr Stephen Morgan

Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action,
science-fiction and horror films from around the world and celebrating the people that made them. Launched in 2022, the festival was created by a group of Bristol-based cinephiles who wished to celebrate their mutual love of classic and obscure genre films by showing them on the big screen where they belong. The festival has drawn a lot of attention for utilising Bristol’s former IMAX screen to put on showings of classic genre movies complete with special video intros from Hollywood icons such as James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson and more.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for Australian cinema, it has “indie” hardwired into its DNA. Ever
since I’ve been at (video shop) 20th Century Flicks, the consistent popularity of films like
The Castle, Flirting, Picnic At Hanging Rock and Walkabout (both among staff and
customers) has meant that the nation’s cinema has always punched well above its weight
on the international scene,” says Dave Taylor, festival co-director and owner of 20th Century Flicks.

“It’s only recently I’ve been brave enough to delve into the grimy, gritty heart of Ozploitation the past few years… and boy, have I been missing out! It’s exciting to bring a carefully curated selection from this undersung golden age of transgressive homespun horror to a bigger audience and even bigger screen.”

The 300 seater auditorium has been revamped with Dolby surround sound, brand new
carpet, and a new lens for the Christie projector to accommodate the 19x15m screen,
making it the second largest screen in the South West, just behind IMAX Plymouth.

So, what is Ozploitation?

During the 70s and 80s, Australia saw an explosion in low-budget genre filmmaking, thanks to a change in national censorship laws and generous tax concessions for movie productions. This led to a surge in production of local low-budget genre filmmaking, often packed with gratuitous gore, violence and nudity, and very uniquely Australian quirks and characteristics, that was soon dubbed ‘Ozploitation’. Influential works from the Ozploitation canon included George Miller’s influential apocalyptic road movie Mad Max (1979) and Ted Kotcheff’s psychological thriller Wake in Fright (1971), both of which inspired generations of film-makers and continue to have global cult status.

“Long overlooked in histories of the country’s ’70s and ’80s film revival, Aussie genre
cinema has been gaining more and more popularity across the world ever since Mark
Hartley’s documentary Not Quite Hollywood popularised the phrase ‘Ozploitation’ back in
2008,” notes Dr Stephen Morgan, Lecturer in Film Studies at King’s College London and
co-programmer of the London Australian Film Society & Festival, who will be introducing
several screenings at this year’s Big Scream.

“For the past several years, we’ve found our audience are especially excited to see horrors
they’ve never been able to see (or in some cases never even heard of), especially films that
can’t be found on popular streaming sites,” says co-director Timon Singh. “That is why this year, we’re really leaning into more culty and obscure horrors that we feel
should be more widely seen and enjoyed with an audience on the biggest screen possible.”

Attendees will also be able to browse vendors including Second City Comics, with their stock of horror-themed toys and DVDs; local illustrator -IZMA-, who is inspired by comic books, heavy metal, horror movies and video games and distills them down into his unique, macabre artstyle; Mike’s Comics, who will offer a variety of new and vintage comics and graphic novels; No Shelf Control who specialise in nerd culture, including everything from witchcraft to wargaming and who’ll be selling pop culture-themed pins, earrings and trinkets and The Haunted Bookshop who will be offering the best in horror, fantasy, gothic and occult literature as well as locally made candles, cards and more. Forbidden Worlds’ bar partner Espensen Spirit will be serving up Aussie-themed cocktails/mocktails and New Bristol Brewery beer, as well as hot dogs and vegan chilli, while Lioness Coffee Co will provide a range of hot drinks and snacks. MadlyGelato will also be selling handmade gelato and sorbet made right here in Bristol, featuring a selection of flavours created especially for this year’s festival.

Watch the trailer here. (edited by Arthur Cauty)

For the full line-up, visit www.forbiddenworldsfilmfestival.co.uk.