Join us after the film for a lively conversation with a fashion and culture scholar and a biologist who studies sand. Discover the unexpected connections between Australian desert fantasies and pop culture, as well as why they’re fascinating to study and understand!

In a post-apocalyptic world siblings Felix and Betty Crabtree live alone in a homestead on a treeless desert plain. Their fragile equilibrium is disrupted when Smith – a fugitive with a mysterious past, arrives.

Shot on location in Broken Hill, this haunting science fiction adventure film was the debut feature for Alex Proyas. It is an early showcase of his distinctive cinematic vision. With minimal dialogue Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds unfolds as a poetic meditation on loneliness, grief and longing. The film has a dreamlike tone and is praised by David Stratton for its “brilliant production design.”

Presented as part of our Science. Art. Film. series in partnership with the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, ANU.