Prepare to be provoked by daring Peter Greenaway

Artist, curator, writer, publisher and - most famously - filmmaker, Peter Greenaway is best known for his controversial and visually lavish films The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and The Pillow Book.

Over a career spanning more than 40 years he has made 12 feature films, 50 or more short films and documentaries, has been regularly nominated for the Film Festival Competitions of Cannes, Venice and Berlin and has spoken out against traditional, literary-based cinema and standard Hollywood fare.

This year Brisbane audiences will have a rare opportunity to experience the many different aspects of Greenaway's work when he comes to the city for the Brisbane Festival.

On two nights, the Peter Greenaway Tulse Luper VJ Performance will offer residents a unique nightclub/cinema live experience as Peter Greenway, using a touch screen tv, mixes images of his films with rocking beats.

Then, in the Rembrandt Fascination Lecture, Greenaway will dissect Rembrandt's 17th Century Night Watch painting to criticise the visual illiteracy of today.

Like his documentary, Rembrandt's J'Accuse, Greenaway's lecture will examine the painting's background and context, as well as the conspiracy, murder and the motives of its 34 characters who have conspired to kill for their combined self-advantage.

The Australian Cinematheque at the Gallery of Modern Art will also present the largest film retrospective of Greenaway's work ever held in Australia, featuring landmark feature films alongside a selection of his short films.

See brisbanefestival.com.au for booking details.