Petrol
The London Australian Film Festival's third day continued with the UK premiere of PETROL, a beguiling arthouse fantasy drama from Russian-Australian filmmaker Alena Lodkina.
Struggling to navigate the Melbourne art scene, lonely and impressionable film student Eva (Nathalie Morris, from TV’s BUMP) befriends an enigmatic performance artist named Mia (Hannah Lynch). As the pair move in together, their lives grow more and more entwined, and Eva sets off on a surreal journey of awakening, haunted by dreams, fantasies and ghosts.
Tracing the haunted friendship of two young women, PETROL offers an enchanting blend of naturalism and surrealist imagery to craft a lowkey, horror-tinged art thriller about the search for self, and the discovery of the world.
As part of the AFTRS x LAFS dual 50th celebration, Kate Vinen’s 2021 AFTRS short, ACTS FOR THE INVISIBLE, a documentary centred on fashion designer Alistair Trung, will play before PETROL, along with a short video introduction from Alena Lodkina.
"Alena Lodkina's dreamlike film…has a poetic and sometimes surreal narrative style that conveys a vividly emotional take on the world" - The Screen Show, ABC Radio
"captivating in subtle ways…a quiet act of subversion" -
Guardian
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:
Laila (LAFF Director):
"If you loved Joanna Hogg's THE SOUVENIR: PART II this is a film for you! It looks great and is a fascinating peep into a contemporary art student's mind."
Stephen (LAFF Co-Programmer):
“Full of stunning images and cryptic shifts in tone, yet anchored by an excellent, naturalistic performance from Morris, Lodkina’s sophomore film embraces a bold, engrossing kind of art cinema - think Ingmar Bergman meets Peter Strickland - that is still fairly rare in Australia. I can’t wait to hear what the LAFF audience think!”
With thanks to Alief, Arenamedia, and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School