Despite the Australian film industry’s pioneering work in the early days of cinema, including The Story Of The Kelly Gang (1906), acknowledged by UNESCO as the world’s first full-length narrative feature film, it soon began a long period in the doldrums. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the industry was revitalised by government support that allowed low budget filmmaking to flourish.
These budgets lent themselves to genre filmmaking in particular, and this new wave of filmmakers focused on Australian stories and culture to create the ‘Ozploitation’ style. Over the’70s and ‘80s, films as diverse as Picnic At Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975, recently screened at the IFI), Mad Max (George Miller, 1979), and Crocodile Dundee (Peter Faiman, 1986) drew international attention and facilitated a trade in talent between this now burgeoning industry and that of Hollywood, who utilised the unique perspectives of Australian filmmakers and the country’s stunning terrain.
Over the years, the body of work has been added to by an increasing number of women and particularly Indigenous Australian filmmakers, whose work frequently explores the dispossession of their people and their status and continuing struggles in contemporary Australian society. The selection of films in this season gives a brief overview of thirty years of vibrant and idiosyncratic filmmaking of which critic Roger Ebert said, “You can search in vain through the national cinema for characters who are ordinary or even boring; everyone is more colourful than life”.
The IFI would like to thank Dr Enda Murray for his assistance. The season is presented by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in partnership with the Irish Film Institute.
Season notes by Kevin Coyne.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences are advised that this season may contain the names, images and voices of people who have died.
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