Now entering its twenty-seventh year, Revelation is one of Australia’s most unique screen and moving image events. With its focus on independent cinema, international film, cutting edge documentary, emergent talent - both international and Australian, and experimental film, Revelation maintains its clarity of vision while always seeking to explore the potentials of visual cultures.
Alongside its film program Revelation has also incorporated retrospective screenings, live scores, expanded cinema performances, VR, installation works, exhibitions, industry workshops, talks, presentations, and an open-access academic sidebar. Guests to the festival have included Crispin Glover, Alice Krige, George Lazenby, Steve Bisley, Craig Baldwin, Cory McAbee, Amy Hobby, Terry McMahon, Stuart Swezey, Amanda Duffy, Courtney Gibson, Megan Simpson Huberman, Irving Gregory, Mike McCarthy, Cori Dials, Jim Morton, Greg Ferris, Stefan Popescu, and Katherine Berger, among others.
Tightly curated by program director Jack Sargeant and festival director Richard Sowada, Revelation has also included dedicated sidebar programs from Anne Demy-Geroe (Iranian Film), Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival), Bryan Wendorf (Chicago Underground Film Festival), Erin Coates (science fiction film), Amy Marjoram (Warp – video art), and the Black Maria Film Collective among others.
Revelation also includes dedicated programs for West Australian filmmakers and nurtures new and emergent talent through collaborations with local communities.
Live soundtrack performances have included Goblin (Suspiria), In the Nursery (A Page of Madness), Stephen Severin (The Seashell and the Clergyman), New Pollutants (Metropolis), Lawrence English (Harry Smith’s Early Abstractions), and Viola Diana (The General). Expanded cinema performances have included Lee Ranaldo and Leah Singer, Alexander Hacke and Danielle De Picciotto, Decibel, and Brent Green’s Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then. Special musical events have included gigs by Amyl and the Sniffers, Holiday, and Racket.
Revelation has also worked with the Fremantle Arts Centre, PICA, SymbioticA, and WA Museum Boola Bardip Perth Cultural Centre, on exhibitions and dedicated screenings.
Revelation is an official AACTA Awards Qualifying Film Festival.