And we’re live! Crowds have returned to festivals in Victoria. Photo: Eddie Russell Fans gave a warm welcome to the return of music festivals to Victoria at the weekend, with thousands flocking to the Yarra Valley to attend Wine Machine. Sprawled across the Rochford Estate, Wine Machine put Australian talent centre stage with a near sell-out two-day festival of local food, wine and music. With COVID-19 still a concern, social distancing measures were in place to meet state g

When surf rock duo Hockey Dad stepped onstage at the Bulli Showgrounds in October, the crowd looked slightly different to the usual live gig fare. Instead of fans shoulder to shoulder, rows of cars stared back at them. With the audience ordering merchandise to their car doors and flashing their headlights to cheer, it’s a far sight from a pre-COVID show, but is a hopeful sight for musicians struggling to make ends meet and stay relevant. As the Australian music industry gra

TV series: Emily in Paris Available: Netflix Rating: 7/10 Reviewer: Breck Carter The creator of Sex and The City and Younger, Darren Star, is behind the latest romantic comedy series to be released by Netflix. The 10 episodes feature Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, an overachieving American with a Masters of Communication who gets the chance to work for a luxury marketing agency in Paris, despite speaking no French. According to the actress, the character is “22-ish”. Achi

As the local music industry begins its recovery, young people are ready to take the lead. Kate Duncan, CEO of Victorian youth music organisation The Push, says young people are going to need the support of both state and federal governments to elevate their voices as the sector reopens. “I think that young people have all the answers to what a COVID normal contemporary live music sector needs to be,” she says. We need to have our governments listen and provide meaningful wa

In this strangest of years, travel’s been just a dream for most of us. Because of COVID-19, we can’t leave the country – or even the state! – but now, thankfully, Netflix is offering us an alternative and we can journey into the beautifully hand-drawn animated films of Japan’s Studio Ghibli. Twenty-one of them, to be exact. Studio Ghibli has been crafting incredible animated films since 1985. For many years it was relatively difficult to find their films outside of Japan, al

“I’m just this mum that just wants to paint and do art and be creative.” Artist Pariya Ziakas spends her weekends outside, painting the power poles in her suburban street. Her bright colours light up the usually grim concrete poles and fill the street with a sense of child-like joy. The power pole art project is a rekindling of her own passions, which she says have been neglected in the past as she got caught up in the business of day-to-day life. “It wasn’t until the las

“I’m not interesting!” Zoe Meehan says defiantly. “I’ve barely lived yet. I’m just 17.” A wall covered with life drawings and a bookshelf bursting with dozens of packed sketchbooks undermine her claim. There are paintings, storyboards, clay maquettes – and a skull. Zoe consults this clay sculpture often to flesh out a new character’s story or attitude. “I made him last year, when I wasn’t so clear on the volumes of things. Especially the backs of people’s heads,” she says. “

Morgan Little had the cheese board and a nice drink ready to go. He settled down and got comfortable, all set for the film premiere. Everything he wanted from a film festival was in place. Except the eager crowd to enjoy it with. “I realised I really missed it … that experience of being in a cinema,” the MIFF regular says. It was the beginning of the Melbourne International Film Festival 2020, with Australia’s biggest film festival faced with the task of creating a whole n