Events – Dr Stephen Morgan

A Busy (Late) October: Screenings Ahoy!

October 15, 2025

Long time no post (expect, at some point, a recap of a busy summer of screenings, including London Australian Film Festival returning to its summer slot, a bonus Q&A screening of Jaydon Martin’s excellent working class docufiction Flathead, AND a very special event with the one and only, David Wenham).

In the meantime, some belated news about things I have coming up in the latter half of this month, as I host two special screenings for KCL Film Studies (Chilean animation tonight, an Aussie WWI doc on Sat), before heading south-west for Ozploitation and Aussie heist noir.

Picnic at Hanging Rock @ 50

January 20, 2025

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Peter Weir’s landmark film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. And although the so-called Australian New Wave had been gathering pace throughout the first half of the 1970s, it was the international success of this film (and Sunday Too Far Away) that saw this wave begin to break on foreign shores.

That success didn’t come until after its starring role at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival – Sunday Too Far Away had, in fact, already played the previous year to much acclaim – but as the film had its world premiere in Adelaide in August 1975 – this seems as good a year as any to celebrate its 50th anniversary and its legacy within the last five decades of Australian cinema.

As well as an upcoming theatrical re-release via BFI Distribution (using the same Peter Weir and Russell Boyd-approved 4K restoration that was the basis for Second Sight’s recent home media release), the significance of Picnic at Hanging Rock will be celebrated as part of a special symposium being held at the University of Sheffield (and online) in June.

2024 in Review #1: Curation

January 2, 2025

A banner image compiling several promotional elements from screenings I've worked on this year, including an Instagram post for London Australian Film Society's 2nd Annual Screening of The Castle; a Fred Negro designed poster for The Great Australian Punk Rock Movie Massacre double bill; the 2024 London Australian Film Festival; and the Cinema Rediscovered strand Jeff Barnaby: The Art of Forgetfulness.

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.

Scroll on for an update on the film curation and programming work I did in 2024, or check out the other 2024 in Review post, which focuses on writing and film criticism.

Celebrating Gulpilil: London Australian Film Festival (5-13 November 2022)

November 4, 2022

So, the 2022 installment of the London Australian Film Festival starts tomorrow (November 5th), with a screening of the absolutely brilliant MY NAME IS GULPILIL (2021) at Regent Street Cinema.

For those who don’t know, the London Australian Film Society and Festival is an absolute labour of love for myself and Laila Dickson (and a handful of wonderful pals who help out in various ways, including Lucy Fen, who designed our flyer and social media campaign!), but that is especially true for me this year, as we pay particular tribute to David Gulpilil. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years, academically and otherwise, thinking about Gulpilil, his legacy, and his immeasurable impact on Australian cinema, and this is my tribute to him.

Celebrating Gulpilil: Chichester International Film Festival

August 5, 2022

The recent death of Yolŋu actor and dancer David Gulpilil was an immeasurable loss for Australian and international cinema. From the revival of feature production in the 1970s, right up to the recent rise of Indigenous cinema, his was a constant yet mercurial presence, a man whose storytelling was unparalleled and whose face could light up any screen.

Although he’ll never be forgotten in Australia, it is great to see Gulpilil’s legacy being celebrated globally, from the many obituaries in international publications, to the roll-out of Molly Reynolds’ tender documentary portrait My Name is Gulpilil (which I recently reviewed for History Australia), through to Criterion’s current celebration of his work on their North American streaming service. Thankfully, plans are also afoot to celebrate his legacy here in the UK, starting with a mini-retrospective at this month’s Chichester International Film Festival.

Satellite Dreaming Revisited: Australian Indigenous Media (Screening + Discussion)

February 25, 2022

Photograph of Aboriginal media pioneer Freda Glynn, who gazes at the camera, her fingers interlocked. — Aboriginal media pioneer, and subject of *She Who Must Be Loved*, Freda Glynn

EDIT (11/03): A recording of the discussion is now available on the Satellite Dreaming Revisited website.

In the coming weeks, I’m honoured to be helping to launch a new online resource dedicated to Australian Indigenous Media, Satellite Dreaming Revisited, in my role as Screening Coordinator at the Menzies Australia Institute at King’s College London.

Online Public Talk at University of St Andrews

November 5, 2021

EDIT (11/11): If you missed my talk, but still want to catch it, you can access a recording here.

I have been invited to deliver an online research seminar as part of the Film Studies Departmental Speaker Series at the University of St Andrews next Wednesday, November 10. I’m particularly excited to be sharing some new work on the intersections of cinematic, geological, and colonial timescales in Nic Roeg’s Walkabout, which will eventually feature in the edited collection Screening Australia: Culture and Media in Context, a long overdue book project that I’ve been working on with Dr Peter Kilroy (to be published by Peter Lang next year).

Special thanks to Dr Zöe Shacklock and everyone at St Andrews Film Studies for the invite – full details and booking link below.

Menzies Screenings (2021/22)

November 5, 2021

The first of the 2021/22 Menzies Screenings is already under our belt – a timely, pre-COP26 screening of Nic Wrathall’s vital documentary Undermined: Tales from the Kimberley (2018) in October – and we have two more brilliant films coming up to round out 2021.

The 2021/22 Menzies Screening series comprises three screenings that once again speak to the Menzies Australia Institute’s ongoing theme of ‘Bearing Witness’. From films focusing on issues of vital importance to 21st century Australia, to explorations of its history, and personal journeys of discovery, this series offers a unique range of perspectives on the contemporary nation.

In ‘Bearing Witness’ to the contemporary moment, this screening series – and the accompanying Q&A sessions – offer a chance to re-evaluate our approaches to narratives of historical and contemporary importance to Australia and its place in the world.

Further info on the three screenings can be found below,
but virtual bookings are now open: https://watch.eventive.org/menzies/

Menzies Screening series (Spring 2021)

May 6, 2021

After the disappointing delays – and eventual postponement – of the 2019/20 Menzies Screening series, I am delighted to announce that the Menzies Australia Institute will present a new screening + Q&A series, held completely online, over the coming months.

Video Essay: David Gulpilil, settler cinema, and the Indigenous body

April 1, 2021

Coronavirus has somehow allowed me to avoid conference presentations for over a year now, whilst also opening up the opportunity to attend online versions of conferences I’ve never been able to attend in person (such as the SSAAANZ conference back in December).

The theme of this year’s online BAFTSS conference – ‘time and the body’ – got me pondering ‘bodies’ in Australian cinema, and how the body politic of national cinema has shifted since the film revival of the 1970s. The result is a ten minute video essay entitled David Gulpilil, settler cinema, and the Indigenous body, below, which is really just a sketch towards some recent thinking about Australia’s settler cinema/s, and the potential problems of absorbing Indigenous cinema (and Indigenous bodies) within a national-cultural framework that still actively excludes (or harms) First Nations communities and individuals.

At this year’s conference – hosted by the University of Southampton – I’ll be discussing the video essay, and some of these ideas, in Session F, Panel 1 – ‘Postcoloniality and Indigeneity’ – on Thursday April 8, alongside my fellow panellists Patrick Adamson and Paul Janman.

Further information on this year’s BAFTSS conference (April 7-9), including registration details, can be found on the association’s website.

Dr Stephen Morgan

Film Historian / Academic / Programmer / Archivist

Category: Events