Writer/producer/director Robert Connolly has played hit and run with genres throughout his career. From the white-collar crime of The Bank(2001) to the murky mix of Australian, Indonesian and East Timorese politics in Balibo(2009), he has constantly offered surprises. But nothing has been as unexpected as Connolly’s delightful children’s movie Paper Planes(2014). The story of Dylan, a boy who lives with his widowed father on the outskirts of the Australian Bush, this film folds itself into a story of creative expression and that much vaunted Australian quality of “having a go”. Dylan enters a local paper plane competition and his honest spirit sends his plane a long way and his life even further. A youthful, energetic cast are balanced by a grounded performance by long-time Connolly collaborator, David Wenham. With its references to Tokyo and airborne folded paper, Paper Planes echoes Connolly’s student film Mr Ikegami’s Flight(available to view on the AFTRS website). Connolly’s connection to the material runs deep and it shows in every pleasing frame. Paper Planes is a film that will send hearts soaring and leave everyone smiling. (Russell Edwards)