Dark Mofo in Hobart screens Loris Gréaud’s Sculpt: Eye of the Duck, a Willem Dafoe film shown one viewer at a time

On Saturday, Nick Buckley went to a Dark Mofo screening in Hobart expecting a conventional movie viewing, but instead was escorted one at a time into an otherwise empty theatre, a format linked to Loris Gréaud’s new film Sculpt: Eye of the Duck. Reporting from the Memorial Uniting Church venue described the experience as disorienting, with Buckley questioned what he was seeing as he sat alone before the film began.

The event is part of the Dark Mofo winter program run in Tasmania, where the festival’s installations and screenings have emphasized controlled, sequential access for audiences. In Buckley’s account, venue staff used a porter escort to direct him to his seat, indicating a deliberate process designed around individualized entry rather than a standard multi-person auditorium lineup.

The screening described in The Guardian involves Gréaud’s film Sculpt: Eye of the Duck, which stars Willem Dafoe. According to the report, the viewing model limits access so that only one person can see the film at a time, turning the audience experience into a timed, supervised appointment rather than an open session.

Outside the 19th-century Memorial Uniting Church, the report also described Leanne, who arrived early and stood in winter cold before the viewing window. She was first in line “on Saturday,” and told reporters she had been waiting since 4.45am without knowing what she would be shown, saying “It’s a film?” in response to the purpose of the wait.

The story described an audience process that begins with an early queue and culminates in an individualized theatre seating arrangement. That structure appears aimed at ensuring the one-at-a-time viewing is maintained, with staff directing each attendee to a specific seat in a controlled space.

While the report centers on audience experience, it also points to practical implications for festival operations, including staffing for line management and escorting viewers. The same setup suggests clear rules for entry and sequencing, with the venue operating under a format that differs from standard cinema schedules and may require strict timing to maintain the installation’s viewing constraints.

For attendees, the central change is not only what film is being shown, but how viewing is conducted. Rather than joining a crowd for a shared runtime, viewers are handled individually, meaning family groups and other attendees must plan around staggered, supervised access at the Memorial Uniting Church during the Dark Mofo festival period.