Yes. Mad Max is making his Jazz debut. Stonnington Jazz premieres the pièce de résistance of Australian cult cinema re-imagined for a brave new (jazz) world. In a festival exclusive, the classic 1979 film will be screened at the famous art deco Astor Theatre with a live reinterpreted score created by seminal futurist jazz outfit The Shaolin Afronauts.

Mad Max transports us to an unforgiving post-apocalyptic world awash with societal breakdown, murder and vengeance. Directed by George Miller, the low-budget film became a top-grossing Australian film starring a then little-known Mel Gibson.

To create a new sonic landscape for Mad Max’s future dystopia come the Shaolin Afronauts with their original soundtrack. Drawing on a diverse array of musical and other worldly influences, the South Australian act, led by Ross McHenry with fellow musicians Kevin van der Zwaag, Jarrad Payne, Tim Benett, Lachlan Ridge, Dylan Marshall, Brenton Foster, Jon Hunt, Adam Page, Jason McMahon and Chris Weber, has garnered a cult following in Australia and earned praise from around the world with performances across Europe and Japan.

It’s cult film meets cult jazz. It’s Jazz Max. It’s Mad Jazz. You would be mad to miss it.