KT 116.5 BUFF Closing Night Special: The Code (Eugene Kotlyarenko, 2024)
Amelia looks at tonight's festival closer!
Brunswick Underground Film Festival:
Closing Night:
The Code
(Eugene Kotlyarenko, 2024)
8:15pm Sunday, 1 Jun | Estonian House | Buy Tickets | Buy Passes
The Code
(Eugene Kotlyarenko, 2024)
Words by Amelia Leonard
There’s a quiet thrill in reading a stranger’s phone over their shoulder – in line at a cafe, on the train ride home. Maybe it’s rude. Intrusive. Or maybe it’s just human. In an oeuvre spanning over a decade, filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko has created such digital peepholes into modern life, narrativising his preoccupations with online connectivity as it continues to encroach upon every facet of our lives. With prescient acuity, Kotlyarenko has carved out a distinct voice in the independent film landscape, each project bringing all things URL hurtling into the IRL.
Long before “screenlife” had solidified into a subgenre, Kotlyarenko was experimenting with the formal grammar of desktop cinema. His first feature, SkyDiver (2010) prefigured themes of political radicalisation and terminally online behaviour, tracing a man's descent into right-wing, domestic terrorism. 1’s and 0’s (2011) was, impressively, composed through the visual logic of websites, early social media interfaces and chat rooms. We Are (2015) followed a disillusioned VR startup worker navigating romance and reality. Across these works lies a consistent throughline, a commitment to depicting the messy, unignorable, but often comedic ways that technology informs intimacy in the digital age.
The ultimate synthesis of Kotlyarenko’s ideas lies in The Code (2024), his latest feature starring Dimes Square provocateurs Dasha Nekrosova and Peter Vack. In the wake of COVID, couple Jay and Celine rent a house in the desert to rekindle their sexless relationship. Celine is making a documentary about the pandemic, while a paranoid Jay, still recovering from being publicly “cancelled”, becomes convinced that the film is actually about their unravelling relationship. Fearing misrepresentation – and perhaps Celine herself – he begins his own counter operation of surveillance. An ensemble of misfit supporting characters colour the ensuing misadventures, including dancer and comedian Casey Frey, the scene-stealing Kotlyarenko regular, Vishwam Velandy, and the peculiarly charismatic Ivy Wolk – whose character’s student art film, an homage to Ryan Trecartin, provides one of the film’s most decidedly absurd comic moments.
Already strained by the cabin fever of their COVID bubble, Jay and Celine trade their phone codes in an act of attempted transparency, opening up a Pandora’s box of browser histories, porn preferences and private thoughts. This perfectly iterates broader anxieties of surveillance and identity in the current cultural sphere, where paranoia, performance, and the boundaries of our public and private selves become increasingly blurred. Both Jay and Celine desire to be seen, known, and accepted by the other – and by the larger audience that will come to see Celine’s documentary – but how can someone meet you as your authentic self if you’re always curating your behaviour for an invisible audience? Despite this, Jay and Celine shift between guarded suspicion and delusional faith in each other. They converse in a (purposefully) stilted way, their lines fractured between self-conscious performativity and bursts of genuine emotion. Regardless, it’s hard to tell if and when anyone is being sincere.
Innovative in form, the viewer may feel more of a voyeur than a traditional audience member, granted an omnipresent view of the unfolding action through a meticulous assemblage of vantage points by way of phone cameras, CCTV footage, screen recordings and wearable spy glasses, crafted by Kotlyarenko, DOP Barton Cortright, and the actors themselves. To call it “fly-on-the-wall” feels lacking – this is more like a fly on a thousand walls, all at once. At times aesthetically overloaded, we are inundated with push notifications, pop-up windows, TikTok videos and “brain rot” logic. But The Code’s overstimulated style is not without substance. Kotlyarenko’s execution is streamlined, and there’s a conscious effort to redefine the parameters of cinematic grammar in a way that pushes the medium forward as it aims to reflect how we actually live today.
It’s interesting that, twenty-five years into the new millennium, many contemporary filmmakers still operate within the visual language of the 20th century, characterised by traditional single-camera setups, continuity editing, and the familiar mid-shot, close-up, reverse-shot formula. Though these techniques remain effective, our collective psychology has been undeniably reshaped by the exhaustive presence of digital screens. Currently, the most identifiable alternatives to traditional cinematic form tend to emerge from either experimental video art or genre-driven screenlife films. Yet the potential to integrate these aesthetics into compelling, narratively rich works remains largely untapped.
With this in mind, it’s safe to say Kotlyarenko is simply not interested in reiterating existing modes of storytelling. His work reflects a recognition that if our experiential relationship to the world has changed, then so too has the way many people engage with cinema. He doesn’t reject classical form altogether, but instead adapts and absorbs the aesthetics of the internet into its syntax and visual structures. Importantly, The Code resists the cynicism and dystopic tone so often attached to depictions of digital life. Rather than framing technology as the death of connection, it presents it as another layer in the growing complexity of contemporary relationships.
The difficulty in expanding the possibilities of filmmaking is making sure it still connects. Thankfully, Kotlyarenko pulls this off. The film manages to sustain the tension, absurdity and humour of its observations within a sharp, albeit incredibly silly, script. As such, The Code isn’t just an experiment in contemporary aesthetic modes or a hollow provocation – it’s a real movie. A heartfelt rom-com about modern love, coloured by the chaos of the world it lives in. And although it may pose a challenge for more traditionalist cinephiles, ultimately it lands in a classical way, for at its core, it is actually about something rather timeless: two people trying, failing, and trying again to come together through the odds.
LISTINGS
THU 29 MAY - WED 28 MAY (A-Z by Cinema)
Notable Screenings:
Brunswick Underground Film Festival
Films screening at Estonian House, Static Vision HQ and Pink Flamingo Pop up cinema (43-47 Melville Road, Brunswick West) from Fri 30 - Sun 01.
We strongly recommend Barbara Loden’s WANDA which is screening at Static Vision HQ (right next to Estonian House) which screens at 4pm.
Use code PARTNERPASS5OFF for $5 for all films.
Other Notable Screenings:
Scala!!! (Editor’s Pick)
Jane Giles, Ali Catterall, 2023
Screening Sat 31 May, Mon 2 Jun, Tue 3 Jun
Gazer (Editor’s Pick)
Ryan Sloan, 2024
Screening Sat 31 May, Sun 1 Jun, Mon 2 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
Festivals:
German Film Festival 2025
For the full program visit here.
Screening at Palace Cinemas
New Films in Release
The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson, 2025
Screening Daily
Bring Her Back
Danny and Michael Philippou, 2025
Screening Daily
Beating Hearts
Gilles Lellouche, 2024
Screening at Palace and Cinema Nova
Cannes Competitors
The Invasion
2024
Screening Thu 29 May
The Night of the 12th
Dominik Moll, 2022
Screening Fri 30 May
No Bears
Jafar Panahi, 2022
Screening Sat 31 May
Showing Up
Kelly Reichardt, 2022
Screening Sat 31 May
Fire Will Come
Oliver Laxe, 2019
Screening Sun 1 Jun
Worst Person in the World
Joachim Trier, 2021
Screening Mon 2 June
ART + FILM
Jen Valender
Screening Thu 29 May
Matinees
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Bruce David Klein, 2024
Screening Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Next screening Wed 11 June
No screening this week
Heat
Michael Mann, 1995
Screening Thu 29 May, Fri 30 May, Sat 31 May, Sun 1 Jun
El Topo
Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970
Screening Fri 30 May
Return to Oz
Walter Murch, 1985
Screening Sat 31 May
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Jack Clayton, 1983
Screening Sat 31 May
Singin' in the Rain
Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952
Screening Tue 1 Jul
The Decline of Western Civilization
Penelope Spheeris, 1981
Screening Wed 2 Jul
BBC CINEMA (GALLERYGALLERY BRUNSWICK)
Returning in June
No screening this week.
Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning (Chinese Subtitles)
Christopher McQuarrie, 2025
Screening Daily
Lilo & Stich
Dean Fleischer Camp, 2025
Screening Daily
Peg O’ My Heart
Nick Cheung, 2024
Screening Sat, Wed
No screening this week
No screening this week.
Events / Previews
What The Fest
Scala!!!
Jane Giles, Ali Catterall, 2023
Screening Sat 31 May, Mon 2 Jun, Tue 3 Jun
Gazer
Ryan Sloan, 2024
Screening Sat 31 May, Sun 1 Jun, Mon 2 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
The Vanishing
George Sluizer, 1988
Screening Thu 29 May, Sat 31 May, Tue 3 Jun
The Piano Teacher
Michael Haneke, 2001
Screening Thu 29 May, Mon 2 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
The Holy Mountain
Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973
Screening Thu 29 May, Sat 31 May, Tue 3 Jun
Enter the Void
Gaspar Noé, 2009
Screening Thu 29 May, Sun 1 Jun, Mon 2 Jun
El Topo
Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970
Screening Thu 29 May, Sun 1 Jun
The Thing
John Carpenter, 1982
Screening Daily
Tears of the Black Tiger
Wisit Sasanatieng, 2000
Screening Sat 31 May
Crash
David Cronenberg, 1996
Screening Sun 1 Jun, Mon 2 Jun
Blue Sunshine
Jeff Lieberman, 1977
Screening Mon 2 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
The Blob
Irvin Yeaworth, 1958
Screening Wed 4 Jun
In the Rear View
Alphaville
Jean-Luc Godard, 1965
Screening Daily
Dressed to Kill
Brian De Palma, 1980
Screening Fri 30 May, Sun 1 Jun
Akira
Katsuhiro Ôtomo, 1988
Screening Sat 31 May, Mon 2 Jun
The Love Witch
Anna Biller, 2016
+
Suspiria
Dario Argento, 1977
Screening Tue 3 Jun
ChalaMay
Call Me by Your Name
Luca Guadagnino, 2017
Screening Mon 2 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
New Release
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Laura Piani, 2024
Screening Daily
Bring Her Back
Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou, 2025
Screening Daily
Universal Language
Matthew Rankin, 2024
Screening Daily
Wilding
David Allen, 2023
Screening Daily
The Surfer
Lorcan Finnegan, 2025
Screening Daily
The Salt Path
Marianne Elliott, 2024
Screening Daily
La Cocina
Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2025
Screening Daily
Hurry Up Tomorrow
Trey Edward Shults, 2025
Screening Daily
Björk: Cornucopia
Ísold Uggadóttir, 2025
Screening Thursday, Sat & Sun
Misericordia
Alain Guiraudie, 2024
Screening Daily
The Wedding Banquet
Andrew Ahn, 2025
Screening Daily
Monsieur Aznavour
Mehdi Idir & Grand Corps Malade, 2024
Screening Daily
Ocean with David Attenborough
Mehdi Idir & Grand Corps Malade, 2024
Screening Daily
Sinners
Ryan Coogler, 2025
Screening Daily
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales
Jonathan Zawada, 2025
Screening Daily
An Unfinished Film
Lou Ye, 2025
Screening Daily
Tinā (Mother)
Miki Magasiva, 2025
Screening Daily
Lies We Tell
Lisa Mulcahy, 2023
Screening Daily
Flat Girls
Jirassaya Wongsutin, 2025
Screening Daily
The Correspondent
Kriv Stenders, 2025
Screening Daily
Crossing
Levan Akin, 2024
Screening Daily
Small Things Like These
Tim Mielants, 2025
Screening Daily
Death of a Unicorn
Alex Scharfman, 2025
Screening Daily
Warfare
Ray Mendoza & Alex Garland, 2025
Screening Mon
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, 2024
Screening Daily
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024
Screening Daily
Dale Frank: Nobodies Sweetie
Jenny Hicks, 2024
Screening Monday only.
Last days of every other film, probably, see calendar
DOGMILK DEGUSTATIONS
Twilight Time
John Hughes, 2024
Screening Thursday 15 May at Miscellania (Doors at 7pm, screening at 7:30pm tix $10)
FRENCH FILM CLUB
No screening this week
GAY24 (Bar Flippy’s)
Updates on upcoming Gay24 screenings via instagram.
No screening this week
To see all events, click here.
Robert Altman: A Centenary Retrospective
Brewster McCloud
Robert Altman, 1970
Screening Thu 29 May
Cult Classics / Restorations
Dazed and Confused
Richard Linklater, 1993
Screening Thu 29 May, Mon 2 Jun
Brewster McCloud
Robert Altman, 1970
Screening Thu 29 May
The Night of the Hunter
Charles Laughton, 1955
Screening Sat 31 May, Mon 2 Jun
A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper, 2018
Screening Sun 1 Jun, Wed 4 Jun
What's Up, Doc?
Peter Bogdanovich, 1972
Screening Tue 3 Jun
General Release
Universal Language
Matthew Rankin, 2024
Screening Daily
The Surfer
Lorcan Finnegan, 2025
Screening daily
Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning
Christopher McQuarrie, 2025
Opening on Sat 17
La Cocina
Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2025
Screening daily
Hurry Up Tomorrow
Trey Edward Shults, 2025
Screening daily
Sinners
Ryan Coogler, 2025
Screening at most cinemas.
Small Things Like These
Tim Mielants, 2025
Screening Daily
Thunderbolts
Jake Schreier, 2025
Screening Daily
PALACE BALWYN / BRIGHTON / COMO / KINO / PENTRIDGE / MOONEE PONDS / WESTGARTH
Events / Previews
German Film Festival 2025
For the full program visit here.
General Release
Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning
Christopher McQuarrie, 2025
Screening Daily
Monsieur Aznavour
Mehdi Idir & Grand Corps Malade, 2024
Screening Daily
The Wedding Banquet
Andrew Ahn, 2025
Screening Daily
Sinners
Ryan Coogler, 2025
Screening at most cinemas.
Small Things Like These
Tim Mielants, 2025
Screening Daily
Thunderbolts
Jake Schreier, 2025
Screening Daily
Tinā (Mother)
Miki Magasiva, 2025
Screening Daily
Between shows.
Brunswick Underground Film Festival (BUFF) starting May 30 — 1 June
THE MELBOURNE CINÉMATHÈQUE (ACMI)
Victor Erice: Come Towards the Light
El Sur
Victor Erice, 1983
Screening from 7pm
+
Victor Erice - Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondences
Victor Erice, 2007
Screening from 9:25pm
The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson, 2025
Screening Daily
Bring Her Back
Danny and Michael Philippou, 2025
Screening Daily
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Christopher McQuarrie, 2025
Screening on Wed 04
UNKNOWN PLEASURES @ Thornbury Picture House
No screening this week