Some things are synonymous with summer in Perth. Braving the lava-hot sand of Scarborough Beach to make it to the ocean. Cheering on the Scorchers in the BBL.
The alternate reality of Adventure World. For many people, a quintessential summer experience in P-Town involves sinking into a deckchair among the towering pines of UWA’s Somerville Auditorium to watch a carefully curated movie as part of Perth Festival’s Lotterywest Films season. This beloved outdoor cinema has historically attracted a discerning, older crowd, who flock to see movies fresh from wowing audiences at the biggest international film festivals.
However, in recent years Somerville has become a must-visit destination for younger people looking for great films and a very grammable selfie while bathed in the warm glow of festoon lighting. This year’s Lotterywest Films season promises all that and more under new curator Madeline Bates, who technically returns to the gig after a decade or so away, tasked with executing the vision of Perth Festival’s new artistic director, Anna Reece. Bates says the brief from Reece was to find “truth-tellers and mischief-makers”, and this season’s slate of films does just that.
“There are films like No Other Land, which is a collaborative effort between Palestinian activists and an Israeli investigative journalist ...
about the displacement (and destruction of the occupied West Bank),” Bates says. The documentary was made before the October 7 Hamas attack, but i.