Meshel Laurie

Based on the change a rapidly growing town faces when southern developers take over.

In the sprawling outer suburbs of Brisbane, a revolution is brewing. A sassy group of women from all walks of life has a dream: to resurrect the lost sport of full-contact roller derby in Australia.

A documentary about a recovering alcoholic and addict – especially one whose story we're already broadly familiar with – doesn't sound like a great night's entertainment. But this compact and moving film made by Fiona O'Loughlin's mate, Sam Petersen, is not just thoughtful, it's also often very funny. Petersen follows O'Loughlin from the time she leaves rehab in 2016 (she spent seven days in a coma following an epic binge) to her return to the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2018 – including a relapse that put her back in hospital again. As you might expect, many gags are cracked. Truths are told. But this is also an exploration of the way the live-comedy scene is a natural home to excess, and the dangers of the misguided but entrenched association between creativity, and drugs and alcohol. Source: The Age newspaper (https://www.theage.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/twisting-british-thriller-is-the-stuff-of-any-parent-s-nightmares-and-it-s-really-really-good-20200504-p54po9.html)