A Busy (Late) October: Screenings Ahoy!

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.

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2024 in Review #2: Writing & Film Criticism

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.

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2024 in Review #1: Curation

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.

Continue reading “2024 in Review #1: Curation”

NEW PUBLICATION: Review of Victoria Herche’s The Adolescent Nation for JACANZS

The open access Journal of Australian, Canadian & Aotearoa New Zealand Studies recently published my review of Victoria Herche’s book The Adolescent Nation: Re-Imagining Youth and Coming of Age in Contemporary Australian Film (Universitätsverlag Winter, 2021) an interesting addition to recent book-length surveys of contemporary Australian cinema.

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

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Celebrating Gulpilil: New Writing – Where to Begin with David Gulpilil (for BFI website)

As part of efforts to ensure David Gulpilil’s life and work is celebrated in the UK, I have written a short feature article for the British Film Institute’s ‘Where to begin’ series, which aims to introduce audiences to a new star or filmmaker, and gives them tips on where to start, where to go next, and what to avoid.

As the BFI’s own blurb puts it:

One of the great presences in Australian film, David Gulpilil blazed a trail for Aboriginal representation on screen – from breakout hits Walkabout and Crocodile Dundee to more recent films that blasted away the stereotypes.

Where to begin with David Gulpilil might have some contentious choices, so feel free to let me know where you’d suggest people start, either in the comments below or via Twitter.

And, of course, don’t forget to keep an eye out for more celebrations of Gulpilil’s life and work, including a short retrospective (and my illustrated talk) at Chichester International Film Festival later this month.

Celebrating Gulpilil: Chichester International Film Festival

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.

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NEW WRITING: Booklet Essay for The Proposition (BFI)

John Hillcoat’s scabrous frontier western The Proposition (2005) is among the best Australian films of the 21st century, and it was recently given the much deserved Blu-ray/UHD treatment from the wonderful folks at the British Film Institute. The release includes a wonderful 80-page book, to which I was delighted to contribute a short essay, alongside contributions from the film’s director, John Hillcoat, composer Warren Ellis, producer Cat Villiers, star Leah Purcell, and Professor Catriona Elder.

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NEW PUBLICATION: Review of My Name is Gulpilil in History Australia

Production still from My Name is Gulpilil (Molly Reynolds, 2021)

The recent death of Yolŋu actor, dancer, and icon David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu brought great sadness, as well as a flurry of celebration, as the world paid tribute to one of Australia’s finest talents. Early in 2021, I made a video essay for the BAFTSS Conference highlighting his centrality to the ‘body politic’ of post-1970s Australian cinema, which also doubled as a tribute of sorts.

Following this, I was invited to review Molly Reynolds’ bold, moving documentary collaboration with the great man, My Name is Gulpilil, for the ‘Off the Page’ section of the History Australia journal. The review has been available as a pre-print for a little while, but I’m pleased to say it has now got a place in Volume 18, Issue 4 of the journal, and is freely available via Open Access.

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