Stephen A. Russell

is an arts writer and critic.

By this author


Culture April 08, 2023

Filmmaker Rolf de Heer

The secret behind Rolf de Heer’s remarkable filmography is pursuing a good life rather than a career.

Culture November 19, 2022

Liberation Day

George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning Lincoln in the Bardo imagined one of America’s most revered presidents grappling – quite literally – with the body of his beloved son Willie. While tragic, it carved out space for love and delivered …

Culture November 12, 2022

Actor Richard E. Grant

For Richard E. Grant, acting is a constant joy – but the past year has mostly been about tackling grief.

Culture August 20, 2022

Marlo

When it comes to queer history, it’s easy to assume that gaps in the story equate to absence. But it isn’t so. While patriarchal societies have tried their darnedest to erase the presence of the disparate but overlapping LGBTQIA+ communities, we have …

Culture May 07, 2022

Here Goes Nothing

When the first glutinous life form took its faltering steps out of the primordial soup and onto dry land, it popped on a metaphorical timer that counted down to humanity evolving enough to worry about the meaning of it all, who’s responsible and what …

Culture December 12, 2020

Film director Glendyn Ivin

Since his first short film won the Palme d’Or in 2003, Glendyn Ivin has established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting film and television directors. The forthcoming Penguin Bloom, starring Naomi Watts, brings some light to his dark meditations.

Culture September 08, 2018

Filmmaker Lynne Ramsay’s musical inspiration

Film director and screenwriter Lynne Ramsay frequently turns to books to find engaging stories, as with her adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ novella You Were Never Really Here, but it’s music that truly inspires her. “Sometimes you need to explain that sound is the bigger picture. I’m a frustrated musician at heart, because the mix to me is one of the most exhilarating parts to making a film.”