A new year is supposed to be about looking forward, rather than looking back, but I was distinctly slack at posting updates across 2024, so here’s a quick round-up of some of the things I’ve done over the last twelve months.
See my previous post for an update on the film curation and programming work I did in 2024, or scroll down to see what I’ve been up to in terms of writing, and other assorted bits of film criticism.
ONLINE ARTICLES:
THORTON, FURIOSA & NATIVE HORROR
Progress has been as slow as ever on the writing front, if I’m honest. I didn’t publish any long-form pieces, but we did manage to turn in the manuscript for a very long-overdue collection of essays that I’m co-editing, and I’m also on track to (finally) submit the manuscript for my Ealing Abroad book in the coming months.
I did, however, manage to publish a trio of short, online pieces this year.
In March, to mark the UK release of his latest film The New Boy, I compiled ‘Where to begin with Warwick Thornton’ for the BFI website:
“Any survey of Thornton’s work will reveal a filmmaker with a distinct interest in dismantling settler iconography, and kicking down the dual walls built up by religion and colonisation in Australia. […] Whether chasing the universal or dealing with the culturally complex, Thornton’s exquisitely shot, beautifully observed films express a consistent faith in humanity and a much-needed demonstration of Indigenous survival.”
READ MORE: https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-warwick-thornton
In May, I wrote a review essay on the latest entry in the Mad Max franchise for The Conversation, albeit heavily edited and subbed with the rather convoluted title of ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga does little to address the franchise’s frustrating attitude towards Australia’s dark past’:
“For those familiar with Australia’s colonial past, the scenario may sound familiar. A young girl is stolen from a place of plenty, seemingly untouched by patriarchal violence and greed, in order to satisfy the impulses of some intrepid “explorers”. And yet, there remains a glaring absence of Indigenous people and culture at the heart of the Mad Max films.”
Finally, to coincide with the Jeff Barnaby retrospective at Cinema Rediscovered, I turned in another piece for the BFI website, this time tracing recent developments in First Nations genre cinema from North America, and outlining ‘Where to Begin with Indigenous Horror’:
“In confronting the complex range of issues facing contemporary First Nations communities, or reckoning with the equally knotty legacies of settler colonialism, one might expect viewers to need an intimate knowledge of settler histories and Indigenous politics. But the beauty of genre – especially horror – is its capacity to work on multiple levels.”
READ MORE: https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-indigenous-horror
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VIDEO APPRECIATIONS FOR
INDICATOR FILMS
One very exciting opportunity that opened up in 2023, and finally bore fruit in 2024, was the start of a collaboration with Indicator/Powerhouse on a series of Blu-Ray/UHD releases devoted to the loose assortment of films that have come to be dubbed Ozploitation.
In late 2023, I recorded ‘video appreciations’ for Indicator’s brilliant releases of legendary telekinetic coma thriller Patrick (Richard Franklin, 1978), and underappreciated psychodrama Snapshot (Simon Wincer, 1979), both of which hit stores back in March.
My memory of what I discussed is a little hazy (and I’ve been too scared to watch them back), but my 27 minute long feature on Patrick is titled ‘Shock Tactics’, and offers a bit of an introduction to Ozploitation, as well as the life and work of director Richard Franklin and writer Everett de Roche. For Snapshot, my ten minute appreciation ‘The Trans-Pacific Mode’ picked up some of those themes, but shifted focus to producer Antony I. Ginnane’s efforts to make exportable films that bridged the gap between Australia and Hollywood.
Following this, I recorded two further ‘appreciations’, one for cult sci-fi vampire horror Thirst (Rod Hardy, 1979) and another for twisted faith-healer-meets-political-intrigue thriller Harlequin (Simon Wincer, 1980). As with Patrick/Snapshot, both films will be released on Blu-ray and UHD, and can be preordered on the Powerhouse/Indicator website ahead of their release in March.
Finally, in a late addition to a non-Ozploitation release, I was pleased to make a short video contribution on Australian film star Victoria Shaw, as part of Indicator’s release of Edge of Eternity (Don Siegel, 1959), in which she stars opposite Cornel Wilde. This one is Blu-ray only and will be released later this month.
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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025
Safe to say that the writing deadlines are piling up in 2025. As well shepherding the Screening Australia volume and the Ealing in Australia book into publication, I have a review of a recent book on post-1970 Australia cinema on the way. And amongst the many irons in the fire are contributions to edited collections on Aussie auteur Peter Weir, British actor Donald Pleasence, and a new ‘companion’ survey of Australian cinema.
In the meantime, as I said in the previous post, I’ll try to post more regular updates as I go!
Dr Stephen Morgan 