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.