WAKE IN FRIGHT: In Memoriam Film Week at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi

This week I'm celebrating actors, directors, editors and artists who are no longer with us, but whose work continues to shape the films we watch and love. Some became icons. Others worked quietly behind the camera. Together, they helped make cinema what it is today.

I'm showing WAKE IN FRIGHT in honour of Ted Kotcheff, who passed away in 2025. Although many people know him for later films like FIRST BLOOD, WAKE IN FRIGHT remains his masterpiece. Lost for many years before being rediscovered and restored, it has gradually earned its reputation as one of the greatest Australian films ever made.

Ted Kotcheff | 1971 | Australia | 1h49m | Presented in the original English audio with English subtitles

Last time I screened WAKE IN FRIGHT I asked my guests what kind of film they thought they just watched. Some described it as a thriller, others a horror film and a black comedy. One guest went so far to describe it as documentary about why no-one should ever visit Australia 🤣

I've watched it maybe half a dozen times myself and somehow the answer is all of the above.

The film follows John Grant, a schoolteacher stranded in The Yabba, a remote Australian mining town that could pass for Broken Hill. What should be a brief stopover for John gradually turns into a nightmare of gambling, drinking, excess, and increasingly poor decisions as he begins to fall deeper into a trap of his own making.

I'm Australian. I've lived in four states and visited outback communities multiple times and I can assure you almost nothing in WAKE IN FRIGHT feels exaggerated. The people John encounters aren't movie villains. They're often gregarious and eager to include him, which is probably why his predicament feels all the more terrifying. Instead, he slowly become complicit in his own downfall.

On the surface it's a story about an outsider trapped in an unfamiliar environment. Beneath that, it's a film about masculinity, conformity, self-destruction, and the strange social pressures that can make seemingly intelligent people do things they know they shouldn't.

The Australian outback has rarely been photographed more beautifully. Ted Kotcheff captures both its grandeur and its hostility. The  horizons stretch forever. You can feel the blinding heat through the screen with every sweat drop on close-up.

If you've never seen WAKE IN FRIGHT before, prepare for one of the most unforgettable debuts to Australian cinema imaginable. If you have seen it before, strap yourself in and let's take this ride together again!

FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 02:00,.serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol from outside allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!

LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.

HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1