Australian Screen (3312LHS)
Semester 2 / 2016

Texts

form y separately published work icon Don's Party David Williamson , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Sydney : Double Head Productions Pty Ltd in association with the Australian Film Commission. , 1976 Z42782 1976 single work film/TV satire (taught in 3 units)

Set in a suburb of Sydney's North Shore on the night of the 1969 Australian Federal Election, this is a cinematic adaptation of David Williamson's 1971 satire of university-educated, upwardly mobile Australian Labor Party supporters. The gathering is hoping to celebrate the ALP's victory after two decades of conservative government, but as the results are televised throughout the night, this appears increasingly unlikely. The men then devote their energies to drinking and debauching with the younger women, much to the anger of their wives or girlfriends. As the night wears on and hopes fade, there is fighting and much disappointment.

The film's satire (as with the play) achieves its bite through a sense of what passes for naturalism. The essential ockerism of the men becomes more apparent as the party degenerates and the alcohol takes over. The critical focus sharpens and the humour becomes more cynical.

form y separately published work icon Not Quite Hollywood Mark Hartley , ( dir. Mark Hartley ) Australia : Digital Pictures , 2008 Z1523169 2008 single work film/TV (taught in 8 units) Mark Hartley's documentary film coins the term 'Ozploitation' to describe a class of Australian films from the 1970s and 1980s that dealt graphcially with sex and violence, often using stunts and special effects, in a uniquely Australian way.
form y separately published work icon Little Fish Jacquelin Perske , ( dir. Rowan Woods ) Dirty Films Porchlight Films , 2005 Z1221009 2005 single work film/TV crime (taught in 5 units)

'How do you learn to love again when the pain of the past won't let you go? Tracy Heart has set herself the humble goal of owning her own business. The return of her ex-boyfriend Jonny, the criminal aspirations of her brother Ray and the emotional draw of ex-footy star Lionel create friction for Tracy, and her bond of trust with her mother Janelle is tested. A story about families. About lies. And about learning to love again.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 6/8/2013)

form y separately published work icon Walkabout Edward Bond , ( dir. Nicholas Roeg ) Australia : Max L. Raab - Si Litvinoff Film Productions , 1971 Z1039037 1971 single work film/TV (taught in 6 units)

Adapted from James Vance Marshall's novel The Children, Walkabout begins with a father-of-two driving his fourteen-year-old daughter and six-year-old son into the desert. Overwhelmed by the pressure on his life, he plans to kill them and then commit suicide, but his plan goes wrong. The siblings wander the desert aimlessly until they meet a young Aboriginal boy who is on a solitary walkabout as part of his tribal initiation into manhood. The three become travelling companions. Gradually, sexual tension develops between the girl and the Aboriginal boy. When they approach white civilisation, the Aboriginal boy dances a night-long courtship dance, but the girl is ignorant of its meaning. When she and her brother awake in the morning, they find the boy dead, hanging from a tree. The brother and sister make their way to the nearby mining town, where they receive a cool welcome from the townsfolk.

form y separately published work icon Newsfront Phillip Noyce , Bob Ellis , David Elfick , Philippe Mora , Anne Brooksbank , ( dir. Phillip Noyce ) Palm Beach : Palm Beach Pictures , 1978 Z1323552 1978 single work film/TV (taught in 6 units)

Beginning in Australia in the late 1940s, when movie theatres were the only source of audiovisual news coverage, the narrative follows the exploits of Len Maguire and his young sidekick Chris as they cover the big news stories for the Cinetone newsreel company. Len is a doggedly dependable and ever-cautious senior cameraman, trapped in a world of changing values. Len always knows the right thing to do, but becomes troubled as his marriage falters, his job becomes threatened by the arrival of television, and Cinetone is taken over and its work marginalised. Len's loyalties to the Catholic Church, the Labor Party, and his family are juxtaposed against both his brother/rival cameraman Frank--who sells out his values, abandons his responsibilities, and heads off to success in the USA--and his cocky young assistant, Chris.

The first feature film for Phillip Noyce, Newsfront also depicts the increasing changes to the Australian cultural and political landscape, tracing social shifts from the first waves of European post-war immigration through to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

form y separately published work icon Picnic at Hanging Rock Cliff Green , ( dir. Peter Weir ) Australia Adelaide : McElroy and McElroy , 1975 Z822342 1975 single work film/TV mystery horror (taught in 9 units)

On St Valentine's Day 1900, three schoolgirls and a teacher from an exclusive English-style boarding school go missing at the mysterious Hanging Rock in central Victoria. One of the girls is found alive a week later, but the others are never seen again. As morale within the school begins to disintegrate, the headmistress's increasingly incoherent anger is turned towards one student, leading to tragic consequences. Although the police suspect Michael Fitzhubert, a young English aristocrat, and his manservant Albert, who were in the area at the time the girls disappeared, the mystery is never solved. As Paul Byrnes (Australian Screen) notes, the suggested scenarios range from the 'banal and explicable (a crime of passion) to deeply mystical (a crime of nature).'

[Source: Australian Screen]

form y separately published work icon The Coolangatta Gold Ted Robinson , Peter Schreck , ( dir. Igor Auzins ) Australia : Michael Edgley International , 1984 Z1833909 1984 single work film/TV (taught in 2 units) 'Steve Lucas is a nineteen year old who is filled with the burning resentment of being forced to live in his brother's shadow. His brother Adam, is burdened by his father's desire for glory, and must win The Coolangatta Gold Tri-Aquathon, It is the greatest endurance test of them all: a marathon involving a 20 kilometre beach run, 6 kilometre swim and a 17 kilometre surf ski from Surfers Paradise along the golden arc of beach to Coolangatta and back to the start. The Coolangatta Gold is a story of human endeavour and endurance against overwhelming odds.' (Source: IMDB)
form y separately published work icon Goddess Joanna Weinberg , Mark Lamprell , ( dir. Mark Lamprell ) Australia : The Film Company Wildheart Films Pty Ltd , 2013 Z1837955 2013 single work film/TV (taught in 1 units) 'Elspeth Dickens dreams of finding her 'voice' despite being stuck in an isolated farmhouse with her twin toddlers. A web-cam becomes her pathway to fame and fortune, but at a price.' (Source: Screen Australia)
form y separately published work icon West Daniel Krige , ( dir. Daniel Krige ) Sydney : West Films , 2007 Z1402615 2007 single work film/TV (taught in 5 units)

'Pete and Jerry are cousins in their early twenties living together on the outskirts of Sydney. Their life consists of dead-end jobs, getting stoned, hanging out at the local pub and talking about girls. Which is fine until Cheryl enters their lives; she's sexy, confident and dangerous. When they both fall in love with her their lives spiral out of control. Dramatic, tense and explosive, WEST explores what happens when you discover how few choices you have in life...'

Source: Screen Australia.

form y separately published work icon The Proposition Nick Cave , ( dir. John Hillcoat ) Australia United Kingdom (UK) : Autonomous Jackie O Productions Pictures in Paradise Surefire Film Productions LLP , 2005 Z1216692 2005 single work film/TV thriller western crime (taught in 8 units)

'Set in the 1880s, [The Proposition] opens in the middle of a frenzied gunfight between the police and a gang of outlaws. Charlie Burns ... and his brother Mikey are captured by Captain Stanley... Together with their psychopathic brother Arthur, ... they are wanted for a brutal crime. Stanley makes Charlie a seemingly impossible proposition in an attempt to bring an end to the cycle of bloody violence.'


Source: Nick Cave's website (http://www.nickcaveandthebadseeds.com/)

Sighted: 20/09/2005

form y separately published work icon Bran Nue Dae Reg Cribb , Rachel Perkins , Jimmy Chi , Jimmy Chi (composer), Kuckles (composer), ( dir. Rachel Perkins ) 2009 Australia : Robyn Kershaw Productions Mayfan , 2009 Z1562265 2009 single work film/TV (taught in 5 units)

Based on the stage musical of the same name by Jimmy Chi and the band Kuckles, Bran Nue Dae is set in 1969 and follows Willie, a young man who struggles to find a balance between the three things that drive his life: his love for his girl Rosie, his respect for his mother, and his religious faith. Willie's uncomplicated life of fishing and hanging out with his mates and his girl in the idyllic world of Broome is turned upside down when his mother returns him to the religious mission for further schooling and entry into the priesthood. After being punished for an act of youthful rebellion, he runs away from the mission on a journey that leads him to meet his 'Uncle Tadpole' and eventually return to Broome. Along the way, Willie and Uncle Tadpole meet a couple of hippies, spend the night in gaol, and meet a gun-toting roadhouse operator, while managing to stay one step ahead of Father Benedictus, who wants to bring Willie back to the mission.

form y separately published work icon Flirting John Duigan , ( dir. John Duigan ) Australia : Kennedy Miller Entertainment , 1991 Z463108 1991 single work film/TV (taught in 3 units)

Set in 1965, Flirting is the sequel to The Year My Voice Broke. Danny Embling is now seventeen and a full-time boarder at St Alban's College. Although Danny's stutter and unsportsmanlike physique make him an object of derision to many of his fellow students, his life isn't all bad: he has a perfect view of Circester College, his college's sister school, from his dormitory window. The narrative follows his friendship with Thandiwe Adjewa, the daughter of an African Nationalist on an academic post in Canberra and a student at Circester. Danny and Thandiwe become kindred spirits, lovers, and problems for their teachers, whose methods of maintaining control are long detention sessions and a good thrashing with the cane. The only support they receive is from Nicola Radcliffe, Circhester's head prefect, who is sympathetic to their plight.

form y separately published work icon Two Hands Gregor Jordan , ( dir. Gregor Jordan ) Australia : CML Productions Meridian Films , 1999 Z1827251 1999 single work film/TV humour crime thriller fantasy (taught in 5 units)

Nineteen-year-old Jimmy finds himself accidentally in debt to local mob boss Pando, after failing to deliver $10,000 to a Bondi woman as promised. Through a series of accidents and with the intervention (often indirect) of Jimmy's dead brother (who acts as a guardian angel throughout the film), Jimmy attempts to work his way out of debt and secure both his own future and that of his love interest, Alex.

form y separately published work icon The Babadook Jennifer Kent , ( dir. Jennifer Kent ) Australia : Causeway Films , 2013 Z1912336 2013 single work film/TV horror (taught in 2 units) A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
y separately published work icon Film in Australia : An Introduction Albert Moran , Errol Vieth , Cambridge New York (City) : Cambridge University Press , 2006 Z1882610 2006 multi chapter work criticism (taught in 10 units) 'Film in Australia: An Introduction is a groundbreaking book that systematically addresses the wide-ranging output of Australian feature films. Adopting a genre approach, it gives a different take on Australian films made since 1970, bypassing the standard run of historical texts and actor- or character-driven studies of Australian film. Comedy, adventure, horror, science fiction, crime, art films and other types are analyzed with clarity and insight so the reader can recognize and understand all kinds of Australian films, whether they are contemporary or older features, obscure gems or classic blockbusters' (BOOK JACKET).

Description

'Australian Screen' addresses the wide-ranging output of screen production in Australia with particular emphasis on the varied approaches to studying Australian film as a national cinema. The course situates the history of the Australian screen industry within local as well as transnational and international contexts and it does this through a blended learning program of lecture-workshops, screenings, readings and discussions. Incompatible: 3012ART Australian Film.

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