06.12.23, 20:30, Picnic on Hanging Rock (1975)

Peter Weir, Australia, 115', English spoken, no subtitles

Wander around and check your vibes, Kinoautomat takes you on a hike through the illustrious landscapes of Picnic on Hanging Rock.

In 1900, a girls' school set off on a geologically minded outing in the Australian wilderness. The aim was to see the famous Hanging Rock, an impressive rock formation shrouded in mythical grandeur and local folklore. However, what should have been a day of chatting and eating sandwiches takes an unsettling turn when several girls disappear out of nowhere. In this metaphysical mystery film, nothing is what it seems. Cinephile shaman Peter Weir abandons drama and artificial tension in exchange for more complex and unnameable feelings. Rather than looking for answers, Weir slowly soaks his viewers in a bath of existential doubt and esoteric discontent. All this while the raw yet beautiful nature observes those left behind.

Our guest speaker of the day pulls out her kino compass for an introduction around the role of landscapes and atmosphere in cinema. Although they are often considered just the background to the action, environments are an essential part of a film's mise-en-scène. In subconscious ways, these landscapes can play on the hearts of their viewers and draw them into new worlds of feeling.

This film will be introduced by illustrator and researcher Laura Andriessen.