The global financial crisis may be met with calls for austerity in some quarters, but at St.George Bank BIFF we prefer to opt for blockbusting glamour if this year's selection of Galas and Special Event films is any indication. See and be seen at The September Issue, a fly-on-the-wall look at the nine-month lead up to the most important issue of the year for fashion bible Vogue. Vogue's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, was the inspiration for Meryl Streep's queen-bee fashion editor in The Devil Wears Prada. The September Issue will be an opportunity to see if Wintour's reputation is deserved, as well as providing some fascinating insights into the couture corridors of power.

One woman with a genuinely well-earned reputation for bloodthirst is Erzsébet Báthory, the Hungarian countess whose penchant for bathing in the blood of virgins spawned nicknames like "The Blood Countess". Although Bathory may end up joyously awash in red-dyed corn syrup, the rest of this year's World Cinema programme isn't all gory sacrifices. French director Claire Denis's style has been favourably compared to Japanese master Ozu Yasujiro, and her new film, 35 Shots of Rum, is hailed as a poetic masterpiece in the same tradition. I personally look forward to Parque Vía, an ostensibly quiet, minimalist film about an itinerate caretaker, which has a conclusion that has shocked audiences worldwide.

This year St.George Bank BIFF maintains its strong tradition of foregrounding films from the Asia-Pacific Region. Over the years, we have come to expect that an entry from Iran will prove a standout in this programme, and 2009 is no exception. About Elly follows in the tradition of Iranian films that explore the nature of gender relations in the Islamic-fundamentalist state. Film scholar and guru David Bordwell called it his favourite film of the year, and Elly was strongly tipped for the Golden Bear at Berlin.

Closer to home geographically-but from a very different time-is Van Diemen's Land, a highlight of the Australian Cinema programme. From first-time director Jonathan auf der Heide comes the true story of eight escaped convicts fighting for survival in the Tasmanian wilderness. Those of us familiar with Alive have a clue where this one's going. Suffice to say that although eight go in, only one will come out, and that one will be the only person to have ever put on weight while on the lam in the forests of the Apple Isle.

There's not a genre film to be found in Colourise BIFF, the programme dedicated each year to spotlighting Indigenous stories of struggle and hope. It's hard to imagine a better articulation of that brief than Birdwatchers, a film that contrasts the wealth and leisured lifestyle of Brazilian plantation owners with the hopelessness of the existence of the natives whom they have displaced. From the lucrative transgenic crops of the Brazilian plantation owners to the subsistence farming of rice in Thailand in docudrama Agrarian Utopia, sustainability in agriculture is a major theme in both the Colourise BIFF and Documentary programmes.

2009 sees two retrospective programmes that celebrate two of the cinema's brightest and most glamorous stars, Jeanne Moreau and Amitabh Bachchan. She's a style icon and star of landmark French films like Jules and Jim, he's the star of nearly 200 Indian films, more popular than Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando. Together they're an irresistible force of celluloid charisma, and their films are a joy to revisit.

Finally, we have the centrepiece of this year's festival. Asterisks - a re-appreciation of the physical properties of film. It is a programme of seven experimental films that will screen at the Australian Cinémathèque. It features a screening of perhaps the most well known of all experimental films, Koyaanisqatsi. It also includes the very latest from Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami with Shirin and Film Ist. a girl & a gun from Gustav Deutsch.

Of course St.George Bank BIFF will also celebrate Q150. Look out for more news in the next edition!

By Huw Walmsley-Evans

Full programme details available from 3 July 2009.