Grape Steak
Jen Atherton & André Shannon | Australia | 2023 | Unclassified (18+)

https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/artfilm/grape-steak/

FILM & TALK
Tue 25 Jun 2024
6:30pm

"GRAPE STEAK mines the always-tantalizing relationship between eros and death. The end result is a sprawling mosaic as intoxicating as it is impressive."
- Spectacle Theater, NYC

A wishfully ambient portal, a love-poem of trauma and humiliation set in Sydney, a slow comedy for a come-down – a film made resourcefully and communally over five years.

Filmed over five years using an variety of cameras including Arri Amira, iPhone, Sony Handycam, JVC Everio, Sony NX200, and 35mm scratch, Grape Steak is a portrait of Sydney’s Queer community, following two friends who encounter someone who’s been gay bashed and the rumours surrounding the incident’s notorious location in Sydney.

Grape Steak is the debut feature by artists Jen Atherton and André Shannon, collectively known as Garden Reflexxx, the film is unconventional, deftly defying traditional notions of plot and filmmaking whilst spiralling between wry humour and horror.

– Ella Cawthorn, Film Programs Coordinator

Join us in ACMI Cinemas following the screening for a discussion with the filmmakers.

About Art+Film
ACMI's ART+FILM program showcases short and feature-length films by leading Australian and international artists. With a focus on single-channel works that harness the unique conventions of cinema, the program comprises internationally significant works from the ever-expanding field of artist films.

GRAPE STEAK
Featuring music by

Ex-Rental
Macy Rodman
Planningtorock
Eris Drew
Weyón
Strict Face
Magda
Alaska Orchestra
California Girls

Starring:

Rattus Rat as Toad
Gloria Bose as Gloria
Freya Aisbitt as Gayle
Enoch Mailangi as Hayley
André Shannon as Bart
Porsche as Herself
Rhys Pepic as Fadey Jadey
Buddy Joel as Lesley
Neil Addison Beedie as Skyler
Luke N T Ada as Baby Hayden
Henry Benn as Mordecai
Lily Bennett as Elizabeth
NICOLA as Hot Dancer 1
Beau Kirq as Hot Dancer 2
Aaron Manhattan as Hot Dancer 3
Meti Fenwick-Nevin as Pinky
Robert McGrath as Gaspar Noe
Brian as themself
Samuel Bowman as The Filmmaker
Eric Hancock as The Drummer

Cinematography
Max Boutwell Draper
Claire De Cateret
Daniel Hartley-Allen
Jen Atherton
Yahya

Original Score
Megan Alice Clune

Sound Mix
Niko Plaskas

Additional Sound
Ry Edwards

Mardi Gras Location Sound
Keanu Hoi

Meteor Animation
Tommy Green

Eta Aquarid Footage
Ufowatcher

Camera Drawings
Lily Bennett

Featured Artwork
Neil Addison Beedie

Garden Reflexxx acknowledges that this film was shot and edited on Aboriginal Land and pay their respects to Elders past and present.