Image: Odeon Star Cinema
This summer, a film festival is rolling into town, bringing one jam-packed day of cinema to the beach. On Saturday January 31st, Moviejuice’s Semaphore Summer Film Festival will see alternative, independent and cult cinema take over the iconic Odeon Star Cinema from 10:30am to 10:30pm. Designed to capture what organisers call “that summer feeling”, the festival will showcase international classics, restored favourites and new works in one beautifully curated day.
Moviejuice is an Adelaide-based film collective that was formed in 2022 with a mission to celebrate cinema at the intersection of art and community. Known for creating film and music events in theatrical and DIY spaces, the group has built a reputation for showcasing things like rare retrospectives and feature premieres to live-score performances and microbudget gems. Semaphore Summer Film Festival is a natural extension of their day-to-day work, inviting audiences to experience cinema as something immersive, social and creative.
Across two screens at the historic Odeon Star, the program includes a mix of styles, eras and moods. Attendees can discover contemporary independent standouts like Matias Piñeiro’s You Burn Me and Jordy Pollock’s Wabi Sabi Rendezvous, both charming, intimate portraits around connection and conversation. Rarely screened cult favourites like Greg Araki’s Nowhere join French summer classics, including Éric Rohmer’s A Tale of Summer and Claire Denis’ unforgettable Beau Travail. For ocean lovers, Big Wednesday and the beautifully restored Morning of the Earth offer a nostalgic look into surf film history, while families and animation fans can escape into the whimsical world of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo.
The festival also celebrates the magic of small-scale filmmaking, with microbudget pieces including Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas, alongside the world premiere of Gabe Bath’s The Next Time You Feel Important, also known as The Sailor Movie. An eclectic shorts session rounds out the day, highlighting emerging and established indie auteurs from Australia and beyond.
Tickets can be purchased individually or with a festival pass. The three-film Surfer Pass or the six-film Sailor Pass offer great value, with the bonus of a complimentary pasta dinner before the final session of the night for pass holders. With support from the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and sponsorship from Pirate Life Brewing, Semaphore Summer Film Festival will be a great day of cinema and something film lovers won’t want to miss.
See the Program:
Ponyo | 10:30 am 12:10 pm
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki | 2009 | 100min | G
Summer Shorts | 10:45 am 12:05 pm
Directed By Audrey Lam, Hebe Sayce, Joanna Arnow, Grace Tan, Emily Pottinger and Manuel Ashman | 80 min
Morning of the Earth | 12:20 pm 1:40 pm
Directed by Albert Falzon & David Elfick | 1972 | 80 min | G
Bon Voyage & Wabi Sabi Rendezvous | 12:30 pm 1:44 pm
Directed by Jordy Pollock | 2024 | 74 min
A Summer’s Tale | 1:50 pm 3:44 pm
Directed by Éric Rohmer | 1996 | 114 min | M
Big Wednesday | 2:00 pm 4:00 pm
Directed by John Milius | 1978 | 120min | M
Nowhere | 4:10 pm 5:10 pm
Gregg Araki | 1997 | 83 min | R
You Burn Me | 4:20 pm 5:24 pm
Directed by Matías Piñeiro | 2024 | 64 min
Beau Travail | 5:45 pm 7:18 pm
Directed by Claire Denis | 1999 | 93 min | MA 15+
Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas | 6:00 pm 7:20 pm
Directed by Charles Roxburgh | 2009 | 80 mins
The Next Time You Feel Important (with Popeye Meets Sinbad the Sailor) | 8:15 pm 9:50 pm
Directed by Gabriel Bath | 2025 | 95 min
Semaphore Summer Film Festival
When: January 31st, 10:30am to 10:30pm
Where: Odeon Star Cinema, 65 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore SA 5019
Price: Individual tickets $17/$15 concession, 3-film pass $40/35 concession, 6-film pass $65/$55 concession
For more information, click here.
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