Melbourne Premieres Of Prolific Filmmaker Matthew Victor Pastor’s Latest Features

Prolific Australian filmmaker and Monster Fest alumni Matthew Victor Pastor (MAGANDA! PINOY BOY VS MILK MAN, A BIGGER JAIL) has two new feature films IN HEAVEN THEY SING KARAOKE and A PENCIL TO THE JUGULAR and both will premiere in Melbourne at the Thornbury Picture House over the next two weeks.

Presented by Cinespace Inc. as part of their Australian New Wave screening series, IN HEAVEN THEY SING KARAOKE will premiere November 15 followed by A PENCIL TO THE JUGULAR on November 22.

Pastor, a Melbourne-born Filipino/Australian filmmaker in his early 30’s was hailed by Inside Film magazine in 2018 as “one of Australia’s most prolific filmmakers” due to his prolific independent output after graduating from the VCA two years earlier — and he is also proven himself one of the most exciting, feature film talents to emerge in recent years.

Pastor delivers a fresh and original on-screen voice in his self-styled feature films, an “energetic and prolific filmmaker worth keeping tabs on” states film critic Adrian Martin. His work has screened internationally including at the São Paulo International Film Festival, the Moscow International Film Festival, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Los Angeles Asia-Pacific Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival and Monster Fest, among many others.

In the upcoming showcase, November 15 sees a preview (work-in-progress) screening of IN THE HEAVEN THEY SING KARAOKE, a “piercing realist melodrama about Filipino migrants in Australia, spearheaded by a tour-de-force performance from Dolloso, whose stage play is the basis for this film”.

The screening will be followed by Q&A with Pastor and lead actor Felino Dolloso, moderated by Chris Luscri.
November 22 is the Melbourne premiere of the pandemic-made-feature, A PENCIL TO THE JUGULAR, a “moody and hypnotic film from Pastor (and quite possibly his masterpiece), as we follow a myriad number of young adults in pandemic-lockdown Melbourne”. The film premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2021, and this is its first local screening.

The screening will be followed by Q&A with Pastor, moderated by Fiona Villella (Senses of Cinema).
Australian New Wave screenings showcase the most original new voices in Australian cinema, are presented by Bill Mousoulis and Chris Luscri.