Strictly Ballroom - BAZ Fest Red Curtain Trilogy Weekend (PG)

Baz Luhrmann’s romantic comedy, Strictly Ballroom is the movie that started it all. The first in Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy, the film was based on the critically acclaimed stage play by Luhrmann and fellow NIDA students and was inspired by his own experiences growing up with a mother who taught ballroom dancing. Released in 1992, this quirky, low-budget Aussie classic became a global smash hit, picking up a slew of industry awards and launching Luhrmann's cinematic career!

When 21-year-old ballroom champion Scott Hastings commits the cardinal sin of dancing his own steps and not those of the all-powerful Dance Federation, the retribution is swift.

The Red Curtain Trilogy do not form a trilogy in the traditional sense, rather, Luhrmann said that the three films follow a specific style of filmmaking. Each film incorporates a recurring theatrical motif: dance in the first (Strictly Ballroom), poetry and language in the second (Romeo + Juliet), and song in the third (Moulin Rouge).

Cast: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson, Gia Carides, Peter Whitford, Barry Otto

Director: Baz Luhrmann