Alexei Toliopoulos is a filmmaker, comedian, critic and one of the greatest Australian film buffs alive today.
This is surely no surprise to anyone who has witnessed his encyclopedic cinematic knowledge on shows like ABC’s. The mixtureand podcasts like Total reboot And Finding Dracoto learn that Toliopoulos now hosts an Australian cinema-obsessed podcast for Umbrella Entertainment.
Often stating that his “mission on Earth” is to celebrate and champion our local film scene, Toliopoulos has once again turned his passion into a project with Sunburned screensthe companion podcast to Umbrella’s new streaming service, Brollie.
Read: Brollie: a new free streaming service from Umbrella Entertainment
In Sunburned Screens: An Odyssey of Australian Cinema, Toliopoulos delves into the rich and complex history of Australian cinema, from Ozploitation to New Wave and beyond, accompanied by conversations with some of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers such as Rolf de Heer, Gillian Armstrong, The Spierig Brothers and Natalie Erika James.
Before the launch of the podcast, Screen Hub chats with Alexei Toliopoulos about Brollie, Sunburned screens and find an Australian animated adaptation of Beowulf.
Alexei, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m going to ask you the hardest question right off the bat: what is your favorite Australian film?
Alexei Toliopoulos: Wow, that’s tough – there are so many! The one I always come back to is Looking for Alibrandi. When I think of Australian films, the ones that speak to me the most are the ones that feel like a reflection of my own life. This is something you can’t get anywhere else. Obviously there are films from around the world that can make you feel seen, but Australian films are closer to home. I grew up in Sydney, I have Mediterranean heritage and my mother and grandmother lived in the same house, so when I see Looking for Alibrandi, I feel like I’m looking at my family photo album. I have such a strong relationship with this film.
And the other one that I have a very similar relationship with is Ana Kokkinos. Head on, which is about the clash between homosexuality, Greekness and masculinity in this truly beautifully and viscerally filmed Melbourne nightlife. I find that really powerful and really evocative. I think both of these films capture the diaspora of the Mediterranean community in Australia. And these films mean a lot to me; I love them so much.
Why do you think Australian films are sometimes considered “embarrassing” or overlooked by the general public?
I think that’s a great question. It’s kind of my life’s mission to change that perspective, and one of the reasons I’ve wanted to create a podcast like this for so long. I think part of this comes from our cultural fear and that in order to accept our media as “good” they must first experience success overseas. We have this aspect of self-doubt. However, once we have global validation, we make the audience at home say, “Oh yeah, maybe that’s good.” » So, I think it has more to do with our mass psychology, rather than the art itself.
We went through different movements and phases of Australian cinema. Right now we’re in a very fervent new wave of horror films from The Babook has Talk to me. There is so much great genre imagery happening here. But I don’t know to what extent the Australian public sees that. Whereas overseas audiences may recognize that there is something going on in Australia at the moment. It often takes a little perspective to realize how well we are doing.
Read: Talk to me review: an australian horror to own you
I think you are right. Why must we seek validation from the United States before deeming an Australian film “worthwhile”?
Exactly. Sometimes it can be difficult for audiences to get interested in cinema, especially because television is in this golden age and it’s very accessible from home. When you go to the movies, there’s this slightly higher barrier of entry of having to go out and look for a movie to see. If you’re looking for something more obscure, you really need to look for what you want. Plus, if you don’t actively search for other movies, you only hear about the big blockbusters and mainstream films with giant advertising budgets.
People like you and me, who love cinema, we are like hunters. We’re constantly looking for new movies and seeing what our tastes are. I think there’s something quite intimidating about seeing this gateway to broader cinematic discovery.
I think something Brollie does really well is illuminate those access points to discovering more Australian films.
Do you think Brollie will help change the unfair perspective of Australian cinema?
I hope so. It certainly has a chance to reinvigorate people’s enthusiasm around Australian cinema and connect it to a wider story with these films as cultural touchstones.
Tell me more about Brollie’s accessibility – I know it’s a free streaming service, but what else does it do?
The free aspect is really a good thing. Another thing that makes Brollie quite accessible is its uniqueness. There are many streaming services out there, and they’re following the same path as podcasting, where the more specialized the service, the better. Brollie’s thing is cult films, Australian films and independent cinema. It gives people a reason to go, because they’re going there for a purpose.
There are also spotlights on Brollie that celebrate First Nations films and genre-specific playlists, so you can watch hand-picked films as examples of their respective categories. There are also a number of films that have been very difficult to access for a long time. A specific example is Lake Mungowhich is a truly fantastic mockumentary horror film from the mid-2000s. It has since become a cult classic overseas, but it never got the same response here because it was very hard to find.
After all these years of inaccessibility, Lake Mungo is now one of the launch titles on Brollie, which is really exciting. Celiaa folk film from the 80s, is another film that I can’t wait to see on the platform, as does Grendel Grendel Grendelwhich is an Australian animated film that resembles a retelling of Beowulf.
My only reason for existing is to find films like these and help others celebrate them. I’m glad I’m no longer the only one who knows about these films.
About your podcast Sunburned screens, will each episode be linked to a different film available on Brollie? Or is it less normative than that?
It’s less prescriptive than that. It’s a dream of mine to create a podcast that celebrates Australian cinema and is used as an access point to that world. Sunburned screens that’s eight episodes in total, and four of them are coming out this year. Each episode deals with a cinematic subject and is structured like an audio documentary.
Each week there will be a certain selection of Brollie films that relate to what we’ve been talking about on Sunburned screens. So in episode three we talk about Ozploitation and I interview Brian Trenchard-Smith about some of my favorite films – BMX Bandits, Dead end drive-in And The man from Hong Kong – which I think is one of the best action films ever made. You can then go watch these movies on Brollie as an entry point into Ozploitation, and then go explore and find things on your own.
I didn’t want this to come with homework; I wanted people to leave the podcast feeling inspired to find these films themselves.
You’re obviously a film expert, but have you learned anything from your Sunburned screens guests who really surprised you?
God, honestly it was overwhelming because there was so much I didn’t know. The one guest that stands out is Rolf de Heer, someone I’ve always been a huge fan of. In his film Bad Boy Bubby, there is an actor called Grant Piro who plays several roles. I always liked Piro because he hosted this children’s TV show called couch potato that I watched when I was seven or eight years old. I was dying to know why Piro is the only actor to play multiple roles in Bad Boy Bubby, and in this podcast I finally got to ask Rolf de Heer about it. I feel like I can close this loop in my life now!
Both Brolliethe streaming service, and Sunburned screensthe podcast, launching November 23.
