Cinema Papers July-August 1979

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Designer Luciana Arrighi interviewed ISSUE 22 JU L Y -A U G U S T 1979

T h eb est docum entaries are made in the w orst conditions.

“High Country was commissioned by The Victorian Film Corporation and produced for The Department of State Development, Decentralization and Tourism.

It follows a 25 day — 500 km. horse ride through the Victorian Alps.

The film crew, equipment and film stock were transported by four wheel drive and horseback into some of Victoria’s roughest country.

For the film stock the norms of refrigeration and ‘handle with care’ were forgotten.

Yet Kodak’s 5247 still delivered its high standard of quality.

Capturing all the subtleties of the midday alpine bush. The splendour of mountain sunsets.

And the delicacy of an open campfire.

For me, Kodak Eastman color neg. 5247 made the inaccessible — accessible!’

Keith Wagstaff.

Director of Photography.

Motion Picture & Audiovisual Markets Division.

KODAK (Australasia) PTY. LTD.

Film crew and equipment climbing Mt. Bogong.

Keith Wagstaff on location.

(Photography by Colin Beard.)

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Please make your cheque or money order payable to: Cinema Papers Pty. Ltd., 644 Victoria St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051, Australia.

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THE HUMAN FACE OF CHINA. This is the most recent and comprehensive series of human interest films yet attempted in China. It is made up of five half hour films looking at different aspects of Chinese life.

1. One Hundred Entertainments.

Acrobats of the Shensi Provincial Acrobatic Troupe - behind the scenes, on stage, on tour as well as at home with their families.This film gives a remarkably intimate and entertaining view of the life of a Chinese artist

Film Australia is the production house of the Australian Film Commission. It produces about 65 films a year, including documentaries, drama and theatrical shorts. Over the past ten years, Film Australia has produced probably the most authoritative series of films available on Asian countries.

The Russians’ and The Human Face of China’ are the latest productions in this tradition from Film Australia.

2. Something for Everyone.

How does a commune operate? The viewer meets a production team leader, Chiang Li-he and his family at home and at work, as well as seeing how the productivity incentive is built into the commune system.

THE RUSSIANS. Film Australia in co-operation with the Soviet State Committee for Radio and Television, has produced this fascinating, detailed and unrestricted examination of lives of ordinary Russians to-day.

Organised into three parts of feature film length for television release, this series will shatter many preconceived ideas about the Soviet Union.

1. People of the Cities.

Urban Russian life - at school, in the home, out shopping, in places of entertainment - an unfettered view of the ordinary course of ordinary lives.

3. It is Always So in the World.

Shows what it is like to live in one of the 150 new villages built in Shanghai in the last 20 years.

4. Son of the Ocean.

One of the grandest links in China’s network of waterways is the Yangtze River. On a voyage from Chungking to Wuhan, this film tells the story of the boat crew and passengers.

2. People of Influence.

How do the Director, the Trade Union Chairman and Party Secretary manage an enterprise in Russia? In 80 minutes this complex question receives a most revealing answer, part of which is a never before filmed Communist Party meeting.

5. Health for the Masses.

Here much of the emphasis is on preventive medicine and in Chienchou People’s Commune in Wusih County, we see the role played by two barefoot doctors attached to a Production Brigade.

3. People of the Country.

Film Australia presents viewers with a remarkable look at one of the most sensitive and controversial aspects of Soviet society - how life is lived on the Collective Farms.

Marketing Enquiries: Film Australia P.O. Box 46 Lindfield. 2070.

AUSTRALIAN FILM C O M M IS S IO N

China and Russia FILM AUSTRALIA

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Then don’t risk a great production by using anything but the best processing... us.

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n p iu c ra What do you know about Cable T.V., What is the difference between hardware and software?_______ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

video art education and video satellite communications fibre optics video applications to film making internal communications information sharing home video video disc software libraries production techniques media politics media gossip technical reports events

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G raduate D iplom a in MEDIA The School of Teacher Education is proposing to introduce in first semester 1980 a course in Media, which has been submitted to the Minister for Education for approval.

The course is being developed at graduate diploma level, and is designed for people working in education, training, public information, and media production. Applicants should normally have a degree or equivalent qualification from a recognised university or college of advanced education, together with relevant professional experience.

The course may be completed in one year of full-time study, or in not more than three years of part-time study.

It will comprise eight units of course work providing a theoretical and practical study of film, radio, television and other audiovisual media. These units will include audiovisual communication, mass media and screen studies, together with writing and production for sound, television and film.

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j^B iiÊ m È È iÈ m É iÈ È iÊ m m â SUBSCRIBE NOW: Send to MAVAM, 13-43 Victoria Street, Fitzroy, Vic. 3065 (03) 419 5111 for 4 issues of ACCESS VIDEO at $6.00 Individuals, $10.00 Institutions, $15.00 Overseas (postage included)

Intending candidates should indicate their interest as soon as possible, and may obtain further details of the course by writing to: Mr Frank Morgan, Instructional Media Centre, Canberra College of Advanced Education, P.O. Box 1, BELCONNEN A.C.T. 2616 Telephone enquiries should be directed to Mr Morgan on (062) 52 2652, or to the Executive Assistant in the School of Teacher Education, on (062) 52 2235.

CANBERRA COLLEGE OF ADVANCED EDUCATION

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Australian Film and Television School is looking for aware, creative men and women dedicated to careers in film and television whether DRAMA FEATURES

E N T E R T A IN M E N T

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C U R R E N T A F F A IR S

THE A RTS to train in the three-year fulltime course beginning March 1980 initially in S O U N D

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The AFTS is a Commonwealth government authority, located in Sydney. An allowance of $5000 a year, plus dependants' allowances and assistance with moving to Sydney where required, is paid to students while training.

Applications, which close on W E D N E S D A Y 4 JULY, must be on the official form, obtainable with all necessary information from Recruitment Officer Australian Film and Television School P0 Box 126 N O RTH R Y D E NSW 2113

Distributing: Tiffen Filters Optical & Textile Accessories Alan Gordon (Swintek) CIR Splicers Stronghold.Carrying Cases Permacel Tapes CP16 Sound Cameras Universal Tripods All Types of Lamps laniro Lighting Easton Rewinders Goldberg Split Reels Lee Lighting Filters Frezzolini Power Packs 3M Magnetic Tapes and Films Zoomar Kilfitt Lenses Tuscan Reels AKG Microphone Kenyon Dulling Spray Mignon 35mm Projectors HKS Viewers Manfrotto Stands Alfred Chrosiel Accessories Moy Numbering Machines Bauer 16mm Projectors A.C.S. Manuals and Subscriptions Angenieux Lenses Spectra Meters Cinemonta Editing Machines Lemo Connectors Acmade Pic Syncs P.A.G. Sound Film Recorders Trident Audio Mixing Consoles Triad Audio Mixers Fleximix Audio Mixing System Turner Microphones & Accessories M.T.M. Sound Film Recorders N.E.C. Cameras G.E.* Atlas «Sylvania* Philips Lamps, etc,

FILM & TELEVISION EQUIPMENT

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TELEPHONE: ( 02)4396955 TELEX: 24482

Managing Director;

John Barry.

Rental;

Tom Clayton.

□ Have a child (by y o u r th ird m arriage) w h o w a n ts to take a short-term children's tele visio n acting course? □ Have a frie n d w h o w ants to enrol in an in tro d u c to ry 16mm course? □ Have a m o th e r w h o w ants to learn more a b o u t film appreciation so she can under­ stand som e o f y o u r latest film s? □ W a n t to learn about double system Super 8 so th a t you can e xperim ent w ith blow ing it up fo r cinem a release?

Sales;

Bob Detheridge, Horst Warta, Roger Dornan, Don Balfour.

Export;

Horst Warta.

Electronic Components Division;

Peter Robinson.

Only one, count them, one Institute in Australia can answer your needs! The Perth Institute of Film and Television runs a number of courses including Introductory 16mm, Introductory 8mm, Double-System 8mm and Film Appreciation.

Industry related courses and workshops this year cover subjects such as Film Law and Film Investment (with Andrew Martin) and Writing for Children's Television (with Roger Simpson). The Institute also hosts a wide variety of special seminars and workshops each year involving local and interstate tutors.

SALES •RENTAL •SERVICE Education

is p art 9 f the Perth Institute o f Film and T elevision, 92 A delaide Street, Fremantle, W .A ., 6160.Ph 09 335 1055.

With co-productions on the horizon the Australian Film Commission is intensifying its interests in script development.

To foster continued expansion of our industry new talent and progressive ideas in scripting is of paramount importance.

Whether it be comedy, drama or documentary, whatever the subject the Commission prides itself on giving a fair assessment to each individual application.

We’re ready...

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Contact: John Daniell, Project Development, The Australian Film Commission, 8 West St NSW ' North Sydney 2060, Australia Phone: (02) 9226855

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We can help you get maximum distribution for your film, whatever its length or genre, by: — • Identification of your market • Preparation of publicity • Rentals • Theatrical Release • Print Sales.

It won't cost you a cent, so why not let us help you.

Contact M a tth e w Percival on (0 3 ) 347 6888 or write for a brochure.

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The Vincent Library, Australian Film Institute, P.O. Box 165, Carlton South, Victoria 3053

Articles and Interviews Bruce Petty: Interview Antoinette Starkiewicz Stax Barbara Boyd Luciana Arrighi: Interview Sue Adler The Australian Film and Television School Basil Gilbert Albie Thoms: Interview Rod Bishop and Fiona Mackie Selling Newsfront Michael Harvey

Albie Thoms Interviewed: 428

414 418 421 425 428 436

Features Censorship Listings Berlin International Film Festival Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Part 15 Antony I. Ginnane, Ian Baillieu, Leon Gorr International Production Round-Up Terry Bourke Box-Office Grosses Production Survey Film Study Resources Guide Basil Gilbert Services and Facilities:

432 433

Designer Luciana Arrighi Interviewed: 421

440 442 453 455 473 474

Production Report Alison’s Birthday: John Sturzaker Ian Coughlan

Animator Bruce Petty Interviewed: 414

446 449

Film Reviews Kostas Keith Connolly The Journalist Meaghan Morris The King of the Two Day Wonder Jack Clancy Cathy’s Child Barbara Aiysen Money Movers Denise Hare

463

Kostas Reviewed: 463

464 465 467 469

Book Reviews The Business of Filmmaking and Getting Into Film Nigel Buesst Recent Releases Mervyn R. Binns

470 470

Index Alison’s Birthday Production Report: 445

Volume 5 Issues 17, 18, 19 and 20

Managing Editor: Peter Beilby. Editorial Board: Peter Beilby, Scott Murray. Contributing Editors: Antony I. Ginnane, Tom Ryan, Basil Gilbert, Margo Lethlean, Ian Baillieu. Design and Layout: Keith Robertson, Andrew Pecze. Business Consultant: Robert Le Tet. Office Manager: Maureen Harvey. Secretary: Lisa Matthews. London Correspondent: Jan Dawson.

Advertising: Sue Adler, Sydney (02)31 1221; Peggy Nicholls, Melbourne (03)830 1097 or (03)329 5983. Printing: Progress Press Pty. Ltd., 2 Keys Rd„ Moorabbin, 3189. Telephone: (03)95 9600. Typesetting: Affairs Computer Typesetting, 7-17 Geddes St., Mulgrave, 3170.

Telephone: (03) 561 2111. Distributors: NSW, Vic., Qld., WA„ SA. — Consolidated Press Pty. Ltd., 168 Castlereagh St., Sydney, 2000. Telephone: (02) 2 0666. ACT., Tas. — Book People, 590 Little Bourke St., Melbourne, 3000. Britain — MPB, National Film Theatre, South Bank, London, SE1, 8XT. ‘ Recommended price only.

Centre Pages

Selling Newsfront A Marketing Report: 436

Cinema Papers is produced with financial assistance from the Australian Film Commission.

Articles represent the views of their authors and not necessarily those of the Editors. While every care is taken with manuscripts and materials supplied for this magazine, neither the Editors nor the Publishers accept any liability for loss or damage which may arise. This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Cinema Papers is published every two months by Cinema Papers Pty. Ltd. Head Office, 644 Victoria St., North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3051. Telephone (03) 329 5983. © Copyright Cinema Papers Pty. Ltd., Number 22, July-August, 1979.

Front cover: Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career (see p. 421).

Cinema Papers. July-August — 41I

FESTIVALS PART WAYS For many years, the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals were virtually the same event held In different cities. Films were chosen in turn by the directors, David Strat­ ton (Sydney) and Erwin Rado (Melbourne), and on the whole there was little variation in the programs — except for retrospectives, and special groupings of films organized in­ dependently by each festival.

Over the years, however, the similarity between the two festivals came to the atten­ tion of the Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs des Films (FIAPF), the powerful producers’ organiza­ tion which likes to see the festivals it en­ dorses run as separate events, and which has the power to exercise control over films shown at the 30-odd festivals it accredits.

Last year, FIAPF’s director, Pierre Brisson, visited A u stra lia for d iscussions with representatives of the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals. During his stay he was quite candid about what FIAPF considered the role of a film festival to be.1 According to Brisson, festivals should be held principally for, “ distributors, producers and critics and, if there is room, the public. The most im por­ tant role of a film festival is the promotion of films” .

It is unlikely that festival directors Stratton and Rado agreed with Brisson’s assessment of the key role of a festival, which he likened to a motorshow.

However, following Brisson’s visit the Melbourne Film Festival announced the ap­ pointment of Dr Albert Johnston, a professor of film history at UCLA, as its new program director. It soon became apparent that the programs for the two festivals would change, and that the 1979 events would be radically different.

And so they were. This year there were only 16 films in common between the two festivals, and in all other respects they were very different events.

Under the direction of Albert Johnston and Erwin Rado, the Melbourne Fitm Festival’s program included: the premiere of Paul Cox’s new feature Kostas; a retrospective of “ lost masterpieces” ; films by a number of independent filmmakers; films from the -Third World countries; and, for the first time, two films from Egypt and Thailand.

The festival also organized press con­ ferences and seminars for several visiting directors, including Kenneth Anger, Gonzals Herralde, Ante Zanovic, and Jim van Leenput.

In Sydney, the festival organized by David Stratton included an exciting range of new features, retrospectives, and special screen­ ings including: the premieres of Peter Weir’s telefeature The Plumber, and Albie Thoms’ feature Palm Beach; the Greater Union Awards for Australian short films; a selection of children’s films organized as a tribute to the International Year of the Child.

Another major feature of the Sydney festival was the ‘Film Forum’, which involved screenings, discussions and seminars with local and international film m akers and critics, including Tom Manefield, Albie Thoms, Peter Weir, Arch Nicholson, P.P. McGuinness, from Australia, and Kenneth Anger, Derek Malcolm, and Alain Tanner, from overseas.

The Melbourne and Sydney film festivals will be reviewed in the next issue.

LR

recent Cinema du Reel festival in Paris. The jury included filmmakers Assia Djebar of Algeria, Joris Ivens of the Netherlands, Jean Rouch of France, and Frederick Wiseman of the U.S. Lorang’s Way is a portrait of the head of a family homestead among the Turkana, who are semi-nomadic herders in the dry thorn country of north-western Kenya.

David and Judith McDonald are members of the Film Unit of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.

AP

CANNES ’79 So far, 1979 has not been a vintage year for Australian films. Apart from the sale of the independently-financed Mad Max to Warner Bros and American International Pictures for more than $1 million, and the strong opening of Newsfront in New York, Australian films have made very little impact overseas.

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Aus­ tralian films failed to command the attention they have in recent years. However, of the 17 features at the festival, two did make an impression: Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career, and George Miller’s Mad Max. In a coup for the New Souti, Wales Film C o rporation, My Brilliant Career was selected as an entry in the official Competi­ tion. But while the film attracted consider­ able critical attention, only a few sales were made.

The films which managed to find buyers in m ajor territories included Rod Hardy’s Thirst, Don Cromby’s Cathy’s Child, and Michael Pate’s Tim. In the Festival competitipn, the jury headed by Francoise Sagan awarded the top prize, the Palme d’Or, to Volker Schloendorff’s Tin Drum, and Frances Ford Cop­ pola’s Apocalypse Now. Other awards in­ cluded: Best Actor, Jack Lemmon for The China Syndrome; Best Actress, Sally Field for Norma Rae; and Best Director, Terence Malick for Days of Heaven. The Special Jury Prize was won by the Soviet film Siberiade.

A full report on the 1979 Cannes Film Festival will appear in the next issue.

GS

AWARDS Two Australian feminist filmmakers have won a major short-film award at the Ameri­ can Film Festival in New York. The 20-minute film, Size 10, by Susan Lambert and Sarah Gibson won the festival’s coveted Blue Rib­ bon prize.

Size 10 is a witty study of contemporary attitudes to women, and how this affects their images of themselves and their bodies.

The film was made with a grant from the Creative Development Branch of the Austra­ lian Film Commission.

And in Paris, David and Judith McDougall’s feature-length documentary Lorang’s Way, has been awarded the Prix Georges Pompidou for Best Ethnographic Film'at.the 1. See Interview with Pierre Brisson in Cinema Papers October/November 1978, p. 113.

412 — Cinema Papers, July-August

A detail from a poster for Norma Rae. Sally Field’s performance in the film won her the Best Actress award at Cannes.

ANNUAL REPORTS TABLED The Australian Film Commission's annual report for the 1977-78 financial year was finally tabled in Parliament on May 31 — 11 months after the end of the financial year it covers.

The lateness of the AFC’s 1977-78 report followed the tabling of its 1976-77 annual report in February, 20 months after that financial year ended.

Government Film Funding 1975-78 INVESTMENTS Script development/ pre-production Feature films Distribution assistance TV production assistance Other assistance to industry Grand total

1975-76 $

1976-77 $

1977-78 $

149,950 2,598,554 7,450 689,863

228,847 2,341,499 417 549,491

490,759 1,975,605 — 95,027

99,590 3,545,408

56,090 3,176,346

37,431 2,598,823

428,670 134,628

387,043 168,905

433,943 500,039

338,149 — 232,699 $1,134,147

365,520 132,250 $1,053,719

57,724 2,268,873 253,138 $4,112,524

—

$2,550,281

$2,148,843

LOANS Feature films Distribution assistance TV production assistance Completion guarantees Other assistance Grand total

—

GRANTS Total

Earlier, the AFC had been criticized for submitting its first annual report — for the 1975-76 financial year — more than 16 months late. At the time, the Commission blamed the former staff of the Australian Film D evelopm ent C o rporation (the AFC’s predecessors) responsible for finalizing AFDC accounts, for the delay.

The lateness of the 1976-77 and 1977-78 reports has beeixattributed to a legal debate between the AFC and the Auditor-General, who has accused the C om m ission of operating outside its charter. The wrangle concerns the power of the AFC to promote and distribute films made by Film Australia.

In the a u d ite d fin a n c ia l sta te m e n t accompanying the 1977-78 report, the Auditor-General noted: "The receipt, expenditure and investment moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Commission during the year have been in accordance with the Act, except that during the course of the year: (i) moneys were expended in respect of its special activities prior to estimates of expenditure being approved by the Minister as required by Section 34(4) of the Act; and (ii) the Commission made, promoted and distributed programs prior to obtain­ ing the Minister’s approval as required

by Section 5(1) (b) of the Act. The same comments were made by the Auditor-General in an audited financial state­ ment accompanying the 1976-77 financial report.

In that report, the AFC stated its position on the matter in a note on the financial state­ ments: “ Following a request from the AuditorGeneral’s Department in June 1978, the Commission sought legal opinion from the Attorney-General’s Department on the interpretation of the definitions of special activities and general activities. That opinion was received on August 23, 1978.

"C ontrary to what the Commission p re v io u s ly a s s u m e d , th e o p in io n concluded that the special activities of the Commission do not include the promotion and distribution of those programs made

by Film Australia. The opinion also con­ cluded that overhead costs should be apportioned between general and special activities, whereas the Commission had previously assumed these costs would be borne from its general activities account. “ The Commission’s 1975-76 accounts were prepared and audited on the fore­ going assumptions. It has now become clear that the presentation of accounts based on these assumptions is legally incorrect. However, the Commission has once again prepared its accounts on these assumptions as it is believed that this was the intention of the legislation, and to recast the 1976-77 accounts at this time would be impracticable. “ The Commission is seeking to have its legislation amended with the intention of being able to legally present its future accounts in the same manner as those herewith."

The 1977-78 annual report also contains

details of investments, loans, and grants made by the AFC during the year. These are reproduced above, accompanied by the same figures for the previous two financial years.

The 1977-78 report also has summary information on the financial track-record of the industry since government support com­ menced. In that time, 52 feature films have been financed, produced, distributed, and exhibited. The expenditure and receipts from these films to June 30, 1978 were: $

Total production costs Total private funding Television pre-sales included as financing Domestic returns to the producer Foreign returns to the producer

20,251,652 8,182,129 786,786 6,391,422 $1,900,295

Copies of the AFC’s reports for the 197576, 1976-77, 1977-78 financial years can be obtained by writing to the Commission at 8 West St, North Sydney, N.S.W., 2060.

A detailed examination of the financial reports of the AFC and other government corporations will appear in a future issue of Cinema Papers.

PB

ROBB JOINS AAV Jill Robb, executive officer of the Victorian Film Corporation has resigned to take up the position of director of AAV Productions, a new branch of Armstrong Audio Visual.

The new AAV production arm, headed by Leon Hill, will be involved in the production of film and video, including features, docu­ mentaries, comm ercials and television series.

It will also provide — through AAV — a wide range of facilities including production offices, music studios, dubbing suites, and sound stages.

The news of Robb’s resignation coincides with the recent announcement that the VFCinitia te d p ro d u ctio n , Water Under the Bridge, has signed a deal with AAV to ser­ vice the production. Shooting is scheduled to start in the new AAV studios in Melbourne in September.

The Water Under the Bridge series was in­ itiated by the VFC with the purchase of the rights for the book from Sumner Locke Elliot last year. The VFC subsequently committed $200,000 to the production through Shotton Productions, the producers of the series. The other investors in the production are the Aus­ tralian Film Commission and the 0-10 Network.

AB

ACTORS’ AWARD For about 18 months, representatives of the Film and Television Production Associa­ tion of Australia — which represents feature film producers — have been negotiating with representatives of the Actors' and Announ-

THE QUARTER

cers' Equity Association of Australia for an actors' and actresses’ feature film award.

As a consequence of what appeared to be a breakdown in the negotiations, FTPAA delivered a letter to Actors’ Equity, on Janu­ ary 19, which contained a log of claims. This action led to a hearing before the Common­ wealth Conciliation and Arbitration Com­ mission.

Several hearings have already taken place before the Commission, and another five are scheduled over the next six weeks.

The claims made by FTPAA seek to estab­ lish minimum wages and conditions for ac­ tors and actresses engaged in feature film production.

A number of reasons have been put forward by the FTPAA for the establishment of minimum rates of pay. Among these are: 1. To enable a producer to budget a feature film accurately; 2. To avoid unnecessary waste of time by producers, and representatives of Ac­ tors’ Equity, each time a feature film is made; and 3. The general standardization of terms and conditions of employment for ac­ tors and actresses working on feature films.

According to an FTPAA representative, the Association’s award application is attempting to take all matters relating to the employment of actors and actresses, and the subsequent use of a complete feature film into account. He said the Association was try­ ing to get the Arbitration Commission to ac­ cept the customs and practises applying to the engagement of artists in the feature film area.

The FTPAA is also seeking to establish guidelines for the employment of foreign ac­ tors by Australian producers.

PB

The 10 programs so far classified ‘C’ are: Channel Nine's Animals, Animals, Animals,

API Animated Classics, Curiosity Show, Gene Machine, Henry Winkler Meets Shake­ speare; Channel Seven’s Shadows, Shirl’s Neighborhood, Solo One, and Tomorrow People; and an untitled, unsold pilot by producer Simon Townsend.

The three programs with provisional ’C’ ratings are the Nine Network’s A Kid’s Country and KO; and the Seven Network’s

Stax.

Programs rejected by the Tribunal are Channel Nine’s Happy-Go-Round, How?, It’s Now, Mugsy, and Razzle Dazzle; Channel Seven’s Carrots and Young Ramsay, the 010 Network’s Small Talk; and the Earthfilm production Earth Patrol.

The classifications have provoked angry reactions from several producers, particular­ ly Open Channel, who are responsible for the production of Stax. Since the Tribunal’s an­ nouncement, HSV-7 have advised Open Channel that they will not take up their option to program the second Stax series. This decision has been attributed by Open Chan­ nel to the Tribunal’s classification of Stax.

An Open Channel spokesperson slammed the Tribunal and HSV-7 following last month’s events, and said they were appeal­ ing against the decision. The spokesperson questioned the guidelines established by the Tribunal for the classifications, and pointed to the full 'C' classification awarded to Chan­ nel Seven's Shirl’s Neighborhood, which “ lacked women’s models . . . incorporated product promotion within the program . .. and lacked original content” .

(A report on the production of Stax ap­ pears on p. 418.)

M INI-INQ UIRY The Australian Film Commission has recently appointed a management con­ sultant to investigate its operations, and to enquire into various aspects of the film in­ dustry.

The following statement on the inquiry was received by Cinema Papers from the AFC’s Secretary Mr Brian Gittings: “ The Commission recently engaged a management consultant for the purposes of obtaining an overview of AFC operations, including what part the Commission has played in developing the industry, and where we should go from here. “ We requested the consultants explore competing options for the future develop­ ment of the Australian film industry, and these should be viewed against the back­ ground of: 1. Recent amendments to taxation legis­ lation, 2. The advent of state film corporations, 3. The effectiveness of industry develop­ ment policies so far pursued by the Commission, 4. Alternative methods of developing the Australian film industry, 5. Whether further developmental sup­ port of the Australian film industry is justified, and by what means. “ In essence therefore, the job of the con­ sultants will be to determine what stage the industry is presently at, where it has come from, and what its future is. In particular, we are interested in knowing what part the AFC has played in it, and what its role should be for the future. “ Four consultants tendered for the con­ sultancy and Peat Marwick Mitchell Ser­ vices were selected by the Commission, in consultation with the Federal Public Service Board, as the successful tenderer.”

While producers welcome the news that the AFC will review its functions and effec­ tiveness, many are asking why the AFC is conducting the investigation and not the Industries Assistance Commission. As one producer said: “ For anyone grieved by the AFC, or who questions its operations or effectiveness, it’s like complaining to Caesar about Caesar.”

PB

C-ZONE A n u m b e r of c h ild re n ’s te le v is io n programs have now been classified under the new guid e lin es laid down by the A u s tra lia n B ro a d c a s tin g T r ib u n a l’s Children’s Program Committee. Of the 18 programs submitted, only 10 have received the full ‘C’ classification, which permits them to go to air in the prime children’s time zone between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The classification, which took effect earlier this month, forces the networks to use ‘C’ classified programs three nights a week.

Eventually the stations will have to use only ‘C’ programs between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on all five weekday evenings, except where the Tribunal has granted exemptions for live sporting telecasts.

Jodie Foster and Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver. Two and one-third seconds were cut out by the British Censor.

CENSORSHIP NEWS BRITAIN CLAMPS DOWN ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY The controversy over the use of children under the age of 16 in sexually-explicit films, has provoked a re-examination of censor­ ship regulations in many countries.

In Britain, it has resulted in the Protection of Children Act 1978 which covers not only the production of films in the country, but also their importation, distribution, and exhibition.

In a recent letter to the Commonwealth Chief Censor, Dick Prowse, the head of the British Board of Film Censors, James Ferman, outlined the workings of the new Act and its implications for British and foreign producers.

While the aim of the new legislation is admirable, it is feared that the tight controls outlined in it may lead to the unwarranted repression of even more films in Britain.

The full text of Ferman’s description of the British Act is reproduced below: Protection of Children Act, 1978

The Fonz: he made it to C-zone.

BOX-OFFICE Australian films have suffered varying for­ tunes at the local box-office in recent months.

One of the better performers has been Mad Max, which opened in Melbourne in April. In the first week in one cinema, it gros­ sed $24,929, and increased its takings to $30,861 in the second week before drop­ ping to $18,165 in the third, and $14,331 in the fourth.

Tom Jeffrey’s The Odd Angry Shot also continued to perform well in Melbourne and Sydney. In the opening week it grossed $22,555 in Sydney, and $17,433 in Mel­ bourne. At the end of the first eight weeks in Sydney, it had grossed $106,362, and in Mel­ bourne $122,126 after 11 weeks.

After 37 weeks in first release in Sydney, Phil Noyce's Newsfront was finally taken off when its box-office plunged to $3002. During its long Sydney run Newsfront’s takings totalled $396,795, making it one of the top­ performing Australian films for that city1.

In contrast, two new Australian films have performed poorly In their initial releases. Ken Hannam's Dawnl, which opened in Sydney and Melbourne in March, only managed four weeks in each city for a total box-office of $66,860. And John Duigan's Dimboola, after a strong opening week in Melbourne quickly plunged, and was pulled off four weeks later after grossing only $38,871.

For a complete box-office survey see p.453.

GS 1. For a report on the marketing of Newsfront, see page 436.

The Protection of Children Act, which became law in August 1978, has introduced a new test of legality for films in Britain. The Act began life as a private member’s Bill and was carried unanimously in the House of Com­ mons as an attempt by Parliament to control the international spread of child porno­ graphy. This is not a problem which has often troubled the British Board of Film Censors, since few films, if any, have ever been sub­ mitted to us which could properly be des­ cribed under that heading.

Nevertheless, there has been an expand­ ing international trade in 8 mm and 16 mm films showing explicit sex with children, and Parliament has therefore felt it necessary to control such activity for the protection of the children themselves. They have done so with legislation which applies the test not of pornography but of indecency, and this re­ introduces, for child performers only, a test which was removed from the law relating to films in 1977 when they were brought within the scope of the Obscene Publications Act, 1959.

The effect of child pornography on an audience can still be controlled by the “ deprave and corrupt” test of obscenity.

Indeed, British juries have already shown themselves ready to convict defendants in respect of films showing explicit sex with children, on the grounds that such films may tend to encourage, in adults, an unhealthy in­ terest in the availability Of children for sexual gratification.

The new Act does something else. It seeks to protect child performers from being ex­ ploited by filmmakers, and attaches to the employment of children a more stringent regulation than that which attaches to the employment of adults. In future, any film ­ maker wishing to employ a child of either sex, who is under the age of 16 at the time the shooting takes place, must refrain from in­ volving that child in any photography, still or moving, which may be judged to be indecent by the courts.

The term ‘indecent’ is not defined under the Act, but is left to be determined by the court in each case. The Act makes it illegal not only to take indecent photographs of children, but to publish, distribute or exhibit them, or to possess them with a view to dis­ tribution or exhibition. It will be no defence under this Act to show that the age of con­ sent in the country in which the filming took place was lower than in Britain. The Act pre­ scribes that 16, which is the British age of consent, shall be the minimum age below which no child shall be permitted to appear

in any photograph which the courts may judge to be indecent by contemporary stand­ ards.

No institution of proceedings for an of­ fence under this Act is permitted without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecu­ tions, but seizure and forfeiture are possible in uncontested cases.

The test is one of propriety, but its purpose is to protect child performers through a new form of child labor law, and it is intended to influence not only what is produced in Bri­ tain, but what is photographed in other parts of the world for the British market. Many other countries have introduced child porno­ graphy legislation, but in most cases this has made it illegal only to produce such material within the country concerned. As a result, the attempt to protect children has misfired, since child pornography is frequently pro­ duced in one country for distribution in another, and two countries, each with a law against distribution of domestic child porno­ graphy, may produce such material for sale or distribution in each other’s territories.

This trade in other people’s illicit material has unfortunately become common, and the decision by the British Parliament to make such international trade illegal is welcome and may well become the model for legis­ lation in other parts of the world.

It is our understanding that nudity in a non-sexual context is unlikely to be judged indecent under this Act, although the pose and angle of shot are clearly relevant. Nudity in a sexual context, on the other hand, might well be found indecent. Context is relevant only in respect of the action taking place in an individual photograph or scene; there is no requirement, as in the Obscene Publica­ tions Act, to treat the films as a whole. There is also no ‘public good’ defence based on the artistic merits of the film itself.

As a result of this new Act, the Board has felt it necessary to check a number of recent films, in which child actors below the age of 16 were involved, to see if further distribu­ tion of exhibition might now be against the law. Among those looked at were Taxi Driver and The Exorcist. Neither film ever included scenes of explicit child sex, but in Taxi Driver, the child prostitute, played by Jodie Foster, attempts to seduce Robert de Niro, who rebuffs her vehemently. During the course of this scene she kneels in front of him to undo his belt, while at the end of the shot her hand drops below the frame to unzip his trousers and her head leans into his crotch. In the following shot he pushes her away.

We felt that, although the unzipping was unseen (and, indeed, the sound of the zipmay have been added afterwards), the im­ plied offer of oral sex from a girl of 12 might easily be considered indecent in the meaning of this new Act. We suggested a cut of two and one-third seconds at the end of this shot, and the amendment was approved by the American production company before the distributor agreed to cut all British prints.

The Exorcist was also viewed by us and was considered not to be legally vulnerable under this new test. One other film, Night Hair Child, has had to be cut in three places to eliminate shots in which 12 year-old Mark Lester was involved with Britt Ekland in scenes could be judged as visually in­ decent.

Equally important is the need to bear this test in mind when purchasing new films from abroad. Two films submitted to us in recent months have run into trouble under this law, and one has been refused a certificate alto­ gether because no proof of age was avail­ able for the actress playing the lead, a girl whose character age was given as 15 and who looked no more than that.

Section 2, sub-section (3) of the Act places the burden of proof of age on the defence.

Where there is no evjdence other than the photograph itself, the court is entitled to make its own judgment on the basis of visual evidence, taking account, where appropri­ ate, of any caption, text or dialogue accom­ panying it.

The Act provides that an indecent photo­ graph which includes a child, even if the child itself is not pictured indecently, is to be con­ sidered an indecent photograph of a child.

On the other hand, a film which includes some scenes or shots of children not pic­ tured indecently, and other scenes or shots not involving children which are indecent, is not to be regarded as an indecent film of a child.

For the purposes of this Act, therefore, the film is vulnerable at law only if the child ap­ pears in the shot which is judged to be inde­ cent.

‘Film’ includes the negative as well as the positive version, and also any form of video­ recording. It is also an offence to publish or cause to be published any advertisement, whether poster, trailer, or stills, which is likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows indecent photographs or films of children.

PB

Cinema Papers. July-August — 413

MM

I went to London in 1953 to become an illustrator, and took with me just about every sort of drawing possible. They were highly pretentious, but one was supposed to be able to sell things in London pretty well then.

I think the best thing I did in London was a kind of poor man’s Felix Topolsky. He did the first drawings for Pygmalion in the Penguin series. They were great scratching pen drawings.

At that time Ronald Searle was doing marvellous things; so were James Thurber and Saul Steinberg.

Those were the people, we thought, who were on the frontier of joke drawing.

What was the atmosphere like in London at that time?

It was political; the winds of change were blowing. Things were starting to go bad in the colonies, and London was full of what I took to be underground p o litical movements. We used to go to these cellars and talk about the evils of advertising, while jazz played in the background.

Were any of your illustrations pub­ lished?

The best thing I did in London was to take some drawings to ‘ Punch. At that time Malcolm Muggeridge was trying to make it look a bit sharper, and bring it into the 19th Century. He was a wizened, cryptic, thorny man; a professional provocateur. He saw the drawings and decided to take a few — which was a real coup. They were gags; slapstick, Marx Brostype visual jokes, usually without captions. Punch was all right then.

How long did you stay in London?

Five years. I came back to con­ centrate on cartooning. I was looking for a political cartoon spot, and after doing some freelance work, found one at The Mirror. I worked there for three years, then went to The Australian, where I persevered^ with political cartoon­ ing for many years before joining The Age.

Bruce Petty, cartoonist, and director of the Academy Award-winning animated short “ Leisure” , first worked for an advertising agency as an apprentice commercial artist. He also worked for a publishing firm, preparing layouts, figure drawings, and general design.

In 1953, Petty went to London and worked as a freelance commercial artist, where he sold many of his satirical cartoons to Punch magazine. Six years later he returned to Melbourne and again worked in advertising.

H is first book, An Australian Artist in South-East Asia, was published at this time.

Petty’s debut as a political cartoonist was made when he joined the Sydney Daily Mirror, where he worked for five years before joining The Australian. Since then he has become one of Australia’s best-known cartoonists, and is now with the Melbourne Age. Petty’s first film, “ Hearts and M inds” , was about Australia’s involvement in Vietnam. Others followed, including: “ The Money Game” , “ Australian History” , “ A Big Hand for Everyone” , “ Art” , “ Kizzam Inter­ national” , “ Leisure” , “ Karl Marx” , and “ The Magic Arts” .

In this interview, Bruce Petty talks to animator Antoinette Starkiewicz about his career as a cartoonist and filmmaker. He begins with his early days as an illustrator.

Where do you stand politically?

In the A ustralian political spectrum I suppose I am of the left.

Basically I am against the idea of board rooms deciding ultimately who gets what; who works, who doesn’t; and who goes to what war.

Are you a Marxist?

I don’t think I am — whatever that term means now. But given the current set of predicaments, the line of analysis and action Marx began must surely be seen as highly relevant, Our world is full of con­ tradictions. There are more or less two sides. When I sit to fill a space in a paper, I put a case for one side rather than another.

You try to redress the wrongs and restore a balance?

Yes. That’s what people have always done, given half a chance.

I’m not sure about balance though.

Did your interest in films come from a desire to reach a wider audience?

Yes. After I had done a lot of cartooning for The Mirror and The Australian, I started doing larger strips with time sequences in them, and this naturally led to films.

Films seem to be within people’s range of creativity where novels are not.

Do you prefer films which make social comment?

Not particularly; I see the ones they put four stars on.

But your own work is preoccupied with social comment . . .

I can’t claim great altruistic notions, partly because I am a pro­ fessional cartoonist and I am expected to moralize. I often do things because nobody else is doing them. I think filmmakers and car­ toonists are much more privileged than writers, we can get away with a lo t m o re p h ilo s o p h ic extravagance. In fact, w hat’s missing in this country — and in the western world generally — is an Cinema Papers, July-August — 415

4

BRUCE PETTY

ease with philosophy which people, particularly the new generation, feel a need for.

Were you trying to get this idea across in “ Australian History”?

With Australian History I was trying to put our kind of peripheral debates in the context of world debates which are going on simul­ taneously, but which we are excluded from, or just borrow. As a nation, we have never really investi­ gated the origins of human behavior. This is one of the points in Marx.

In this country we have never allowed ourselves to examine the philosophy of Marx because of its political deadliness. The very word ‘Marx’ is full of devastating con­ n o ta tio n s ; not even L abor politicians talk about it.

We feel awkward talking about inalienable rights and that sort of thing. So we engage ferociously in politics in a kind of philosophic vacuum. seems to have the appropriate Why were you a ttra c te d to number of images for the amount animation, rather than live-action of information on the soundtrack. films?

It isn’t too demanding, and its expectations aren’t beyond it. But I I liked the flexibility, and the think the others are all trying to capacity for abstract notions. I achieve something quite difficult. think animation could be a really new and useful tool for the How do you feel about your first expression of ideas. film, “ Hearts and Minds”?

“The Magic Arts” deals with meta­ phorical ideas, and is the sort of thing which, I would have thought, you would have executed using animation. However, you use liveaction . . .

It’s a museum piece now, but it was relevant in its day, and served its function. I just did everything I could then to try and query what Australia was doing in Vietnam, which was appalling, and miscal­ culated.

The idea of art is difficult to put on film. We used some slapstick Your films move very quickly, and notions of muses and the functions are very busy. How did this style of Telecom workers to give us evolve? points of departure in the various art forms. Keeping the elements It’s partly to do with broken threaded together wasn’t easy. shooting procedure. I generally Some video editing system might make a film in my spare time, and have helped. I think it was a good sometimes I find I become so film, perhaps a bit fractured. familiar with a film that the pace gets a little fast. In Marx, for You seem to have a very self-critical example, the live-action segments attitude. Are you happy with any of were supposed to be very leisurely! your films?

However, I don’t expect people to retain everything they see, but I like Australian History; it just to get moods. If it went any

Hearts and Minds, Petty’s first film, in which he questioned Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war.

416 — Cinema Papers, July-August

slower you would detect the sloppy connections, and the information lapses!

I think pace is something you learn over a period of time. In fact the whole idea of pacing is very sub­ tle and elusive, unless you have an inbuilt sense of timing. In my case J don’t really measure things against what has worked in the past, but against what I want to put down. I suppose I should look at more films in a more analytical way.

I think, however, my films are the sort that should be seen a couple of times. It would be great if say, Marx could be seen, then replayed, like they do with the^ricket.

Above left: Bruce Petty and Ken G. Hall with Petty’s Oscar for Leisure. Above right: A frame enlargement from Leisure.

Marx as a fairly complex character.

I think we should always include private human behavior in bio­ graphical material. In Marx I did it In “Marx” the sexual relationship in a very restrained Australian between Marx and his wife comes matter-of-fact way — and maybe across as very chauvinist. What are chauvinistically. It’s an interesting your feelings about the depiction of problem. My professional pre­ men and women and sex in animated occupation is with oppressed males films? and females — it doesn’t matter which.

In Marx, I have a great excuse, I think the oppression of women because Marx himself was a by men can be traced to economic dreadful chauvinist, and by all circumstances. It’s also to do with accounts also interested in porno­ confrontation, and power versus graphy. He didn’t work, and his innocence. It’s a puzzle, and that’s wife, Jenny, supported him and the why I think I showed Marx and children. Apparently she was a very Jenny in that slightly clumsy sex strong woman. In the film, I drew scene in Marx. It’s a serious sub-

Petty and collaborators study a storyboard for Leisure.

From left: animator David Deneen, producer Suzanne Baker, and Petty.

Australian History. Putting Australian debates in a world context.

BRUCE PETTY

ject, and it’s one that male film­ makers are really struggling with.

I think audiences still want the traditional sex. They want the relationships to be portrayed the way they always have, because it’s familiar and reassuring.

With The Magic Arts we tried to show all this exceptional human behavior, and hoped it would turn people on. We hoped to captivate the audience by presenting this strange thing that happens when highly-skilled inspired people do something towards some particular end.

We knew, however, that the problem with The Magic Arts was going to be context, because context is the key to art; in the film we had decided to jam all these things up one against the other. But the idea of doing a film about art, and simply showing an artist’s

work, and asking him /her to explain how it was done seems so obnoxious and insulting to the artist.

I find that the more you try to present something accurately, the more complex it is likely to become. This happens in my cartoons, and I usually end up making a big decision about whether I am going to make a drawing funny, exciting, and enter­ taining, or make it accurate. But the more accurate you make it, the more dreary it becomes.

I think the people who take the big steps in presenting information are the ones who coin funny phrases, or come up with the new devices that are fresh. That’s what I aim to do.

I think drawing should be an ex­ tension of language. It should be able to get into symbols, not just

Leisure. The animated short which won Petty an Academy Award.

algebra. I think we are going to Why don’t you use a cameraman? have to come to terms with abstract Because I would have to do one concepts — particularly the next generation, which will be con­ of those camera sheets, and I can’t. fronted by new peculiar value puz­ I do it in my head. I have little electric machines that do various zles. movements for me at live speed, How closely do you script your rather than single framing and that speeds the whole thing up, although films? it does have certain limitations; it Firstly, I try to think of an looks jumpy and I can’t do lip sync ending, or what I want to say, and easily. But some things I have done then start accumulating material — under cameras have been better — in a different sort of way — than if evidence if you like.

My approach is similar to the old I had animated them.

I suppose if I bullied enough I musical comedy. You start off with a rousing jolly beginning, and at the could get access to a well-set-up end of the First act a villain comes studio for a while, but I can really in. Then there is a bit of develop­ only work on my films part-time. ment during the second act, and at Besides, I don’t think I am going to the end there is a huge impasse, do any more animation that way. I which is resolved by some magic. think Marx was the end of that By the third act it dissolves into a style for me. celebration. It’s a life sequence What do you have in mind for the really.

In Art I say art is a freaky future? characteristic of humans to extract I am not sure. I wouldn’t mind pleasure from making strange connections. The film is supposed using animation as segments in to make the audience more and other films, but only where it’s more curious about what goes into really valid.

1 have just finished a script about their head through their eyes. It’s a very important film really, and in energy which again mixes livemaking it I learnt something about action and animation. It’s about the the process of disentangling meta­ race between the depletion of the physical problems and under­ known resources, and our ability to standing the different levels from think up new forms of energy.

In this film, when the live-action which you can observe. is difficult or inappropriate, I will How have your films been financed? use animation. For example, instead of a live-action talking head Phillip Adams helped me with I will use an animated science.

I think in films you should be Hearts and Minds, and somehow I got some money from the ABC for able to jump around all over the The Money Game, and A Big Hand place. If it works use it, even if it’s for Everyone. With History I got just a static slide image. I often about $1000 from the old Experi­ think people are hooked on the mental Film Fund, and I paid for orthodox requirements for feature the rest. I had another job and I did films for cinema release.

History in my spare time. I also got a lot of help from other people, Are you interested in making an animated feature? actors, technicians.

The Magic Arts was paid for by Not really. Animation is so the Australia Council, and Film A ustralia produced it. Film expensive, and there are so few Australia also produced Leisure for notions that you can be absolutely the Department of Tourism and confident ought to be animated. It’s Recreation. The Film Commission all right for advertisers, they can afford it. I wouldn’t mind doing a financed Kizzam International. live-action feature though. But I Do you do your own camera work? think you need a good reason to make a feature; you should be driven by a film to make it. ★ On History and Marx, I did.

Marx. A portrait of Karl Marx as a chauvinist and pornographer.

The Magic Arts. Using slapstick notions to communicate ideas about art.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 417

many people working in the industry, nor the aspirations and values of Australians. Weis sees programs made in Australia as being essentially derivative of British and American models.

Barbara Boyd Under the new guidelines for children’s television programming, laid down by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, commercial networks are now required to produce more programs for children.

Before these guidelines were introduced, how­ ever, HSV-7 was already-involved in a new and innovative children’s television series called Stax, produced by Open Channel Productions in Melbourne.

Barbara Boyd, a member of the Victorian Education D ep artm en t’s Audio Visual Education Unit, visited OCP during the produc­ tion of Stax. She reports on this radical experiment in children’s television pro­ gramming.

Genesis With the return to office of the Australian Labor Party in 1972, the financial viability of non-commercial, non-governmental, com­ munity-based television was improved; it led to the opening of access video centres in capital cities throughout Australia.

The Carlton Access Video Resource Centre, set up in 1974, was the first move towards the establishment of the Melbourne Access Video and Media Co-operative (MAVAM) in 1976. As part of the co-operative’s charter, a broadcast facility and outlet for community and alterna­ tive video was envisaged, to serve individuals as well as minority groups who wished to partici­ pate in program-making and decision-making.

The expansion of MAVAM’s services and activities precipitated the move to a new complex of studios and offices in June, 1977, which provided an ideal location for its planned expansion under the name of Open Channel. The services offered by the Co-operative were retained, including equipment loans, workshops for and by independent videomakers, and a videotape library.

During 1977, Open Channel Productions was formed as the commercial production arm of the Co-operative, and in 1978, MAVAM created a sub-committee for community television, which helped to initiate the production of a pilot for a new children’s television show.

418 — Cinema Papers, July-August

C u rren t S tandards in A ustralian Television Australian television, according to Weis, presents Australian society as homogeneous, free of conflict, and comprising Anglo-Saxon, I C atholic and P ro te sta n t groups. This s representation of Australian society ignores the 1 fact that one in four Australians was born w overseas. Weis claims that Australian television also narrows the national consciousness by On the set of Stax in Open Channel’s Melbourne Studio. promoting out-of-date mythologies, such as mateship, with campaigns like the Nine A Q uality Program fo r Network’s “C’mon Aussie, C’mon” promotion.

Australian television, according to Weis, is Children unresponsive to audience needs, treating viewers as an undifferentiated mass. C hildren’s The children’s television program, Stax, programming is given little consideration by the produced by OCP for HSV7, premiered in Mel­ networks, which give priority to the more bourne on May 4. A series of 20 programs, it profitable adult viewing time slots. will be seen weekly in the 4.30 p.m. time slot.

Early in the pre-production of Stax, OCP had Stax is the product of a vision fostered by a difficulty in finding experienced and willing small, energetic group since the early years of children’s program personnel. Children’s access video. It is a program made for children, television was, by and large, regarded as a step and to a large extent by children. It attempts to on the way up for inexperienced television fill the gaps in children’s television program­ directors, and was ignored by successful drama ming and to remedy the growing public concern and variety directors. According to Weis, it was about the paucity of locally-produced, quality a low priority area for the commercial channels. programs for children.

Stax is the first of a number of projects planned for future commercial broadcast by OCP. The success of the program will be an important indicator of ongoing directions for OCP and its parent company, Open Channel.

G uidelines Stax is aimed at a target audience of children aged between nine and 11, and intends to stimulate its audience and increase its aware­ ness of Australia as a multi-cultural society.

Children are not exploited, either on the show or through the show, and passive viewing is discouraged. Television stereotypes, often seen on children’s television, are resisted or challenged, and children are not patronized.

OCP’s concern with the standards, values and quality of its programs is seen by executive producer Bob Weis as a radical departure from existing attitudes towards Australian television production. Weis feels that children’s programs neither adequately reflect the talent or ideas of

Stax executive producer Bob Weis.

Ruth Maddison

and the Institute for Early Childhood Devel­ opment.

There was little contemporary Australian research in the area of children’s television, although a behavioral study on viewing patterns had been conducted by Tynall and Reid in Sydney.

Executive producer Bob Weis and associate producer, Judi Stack, also invited Britain and the U.S. to study children’s programming, and to assess the results of research that had been done there.

What followed was an intense period working out problems and evolving a format. The pilot was an important proving ground. It was researched by the makers in advance, and tested closely by HSV-7, in Victoria as well as in New § South Wales, on completion. As Judi Stack I observed: “Without the pilot, we’d never have | got the series off the ground — even finding the s right kind of people to work with the children 01 was something we organized at that stage.’’

The research from the overseas study trips, A taping session at OCP’s studio. Kneeling left: workshop organiser Bob Daly. Standing: floor manager Vince O’Don­ combined with OCP’s interaction with local groups, formed the basis for the guidelines for nell. the program.

Finance and Research Stax is seen as an attempt to correct the imbalance in current children’s programming.

It was against the background of this ongoing Its policy is to encourage children to make, to and to contribute their ideas, activities, debate about children’s programming that HSV- shape and interests to the program. Given such a 7 was approached to back the Stax series. policy, the necessity for sympathetic, qualified, Negotiations for the program between OCP and experienced personnel was a top priority. and HSV7 went on for almost a year. The station finally agreed to fund the pilot, and they were joined by the Australian Film Commission and Open Channel. The AFC’s involvement was in the form of an investment in the pilot, made in September 1978, which was returned on the sale of the series. In the first months of production, the AFC also functioned as a merchant banker, supplying a bridging loan to cover cash flow requirements.

In January this year, OCP began shooting the first Stax episode in Studio One at Open Channel in Fitzroy.

Before HSV-7’s involvement in Stax, and during the period from August 1977 to June 1978, OCP researched the special needs of children’s television programming. Regular discussions and meetings were held with individuals and groups who had an active interest in creating quality children’s television.

Contact was made with members of the Aus­ tralian Council for Children’s Film and Tele­ vision, the Australian Children’s Television Action Committee, the Education Department,

Studio Methodology Originally the program had researchers and workshop personnel working with the children; freelance staff were hired to direct segments shot outside the studio. Now into its 14th episode, the program has evolved a more effective produc­ tion methodology. Two of the original researchers, Barbara Hall and Annie McLeod, have taken over directing the segments shot on location, and freelance directors are not being employed. Production manager Vince O’Don­ nell believes this kind of flexibility within the production company puts OCP in a better position to make the programs with the children.

Ruth Maddison

Over the past two years, however, the combined impact of the Green Report into Aus­ tralian Broadcasting, the Senate Inquiry into Education and the Arts, and the Broadcasting Tribunal hearings for licence renewals, has made children’s television a hot public issue.

In OCP’s control room. From left: vision mixer Ann Callaghan, director Ray Hennessy, and technical director Ken Otton.

Studio director, Ray Hennessy, finds working on Stax different from working in commercial television. He likes the spontaneity of the children, and finds the demand for creativity more rewarding than just getting the job done.

He sees his role as a departure from the traditional director’s job.

Hennessy’s role is to put the action and inter­ action between the children into visual terms, without imposing any strict limitations. If things are working, he says, he stays with it; if things are wrong, he goes back to the children to check out any problems. Usually he finds the children are so well prepared that this is rare.

He sees the format of the show principally dictated by time, not by such traditional cues as the announcer leading into an item. Live action is usually shot in real time, and continuity, wherever possible, is built into the program through devices such as transition effects, and sometimes implicitly through selected themes.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 419

STAX

The program functions as a fast-moving, rapidly-edited collage of scattered elements devised by the children. He finds the children are critical of their own work, and what they learn are disciplines, rather than competence in traditional performance skills.

While children usually find it difficult to look into a camera, the group situation gives the performers in Stax more confidence. Hennessy finds the children quick to learn the procedure in the studio situation, and if mistakes do occur, retakes are minimal. He says the relatively small size of the studio and the compact cameras probably puts the children at ease.

children; their understanding, enjoyment, enthusiasm, confidence, acceptance of the methodology, and their involvement with the OCP people. All are crucial to the successful production of the show.

The children in Stax are at the core of the program. They represent a mix of seven or eight Cameraman John Twegg and Steven Gonis and Craig performers with a balance between the sexes.

Levine.

They come from a range of ethnic and socioc economic backgrounds, and differ, sometimes The Future 8 dramatically, in personality. Virtuoso per­ il formances are discouraged, and the children are ^ required to act as naturally as they would in Bob Weis indicated that it was too early to es­ | their more normal environments at home or tablish the ratings of the series, but he was aware school. Professional talent has been avoided, that the lifetime of the project was probably Workshop assistants Bob Daly (left) and Claire Dobbin and conscious efforts are made by the limited. According to Weis, HSV-7 like to be (right) working with cast members Brian Bird and Craig production personnel to discourage any star doing more in the area of children’s program­ Levine. ethos. ming, but he feels that Stax can’t compete finan­ The children usually leave the program after cially with overseas programs and their re-runs The W orkshops six episodes. The workshop people find that they without government intervention.

Stax was reported as having been sold to either get tired, or they are involved in other Workshop tutors Claire Dobbin and Bob things which demand their time. Sometimes they HSV-7 for $400,000 for 20 episodes, which is not Daly work intensively with the children, run out of ideas and simply get burned out. They competitive with either the overseas programs or sketching out what will go into the show, quickly learn that working in television is not the the ‘cheapies’ made in-house by the local rehearsing it, and then scripting it. They have the glamor job they may have originally thought it channels. No real attempt has been made locally formidable job of harnessing the energy and was. Continuous consultation with parents to upgrade values in children’s programs inspirations of the group, whose members are means that the children’s involvement with Stax because of the cost involved. Stax offers quality, replaced after a number of weeks in the show. does not interfere with their outside interests and but it costs money.

The turnover of workshop people indicates the experiences. demanding nature of the work. Already eight Production F acilities people have held these positions. Judi Stack, the a t Open Channel associate producer, says Stax is unlike other programs for children, where one idea predom­ inates and is the organizing point for the OCP minimizes production costs by making program. The first program of Stax used 45 extensive use of the newest one-inch videotape separate items in 25 minutes. The demands of technology, which gives commercial quality at a such a format are great, and the workshop tutors fraction of the cost of the usual two-inch format are a combination of friends, babysitters, in use. The Stax series is produced at the Open resource people, scriptwriters, and drama Channel facility in Fitzroy, which was expanded teachers. Workshop activities include the as a result of an AFC grant for $118,700 made exploration and development of mime skills, | last year. This grant enabled the purchase of a acrobatics, group developed drama, poems, « color studio and Electronic News Gathering jokes, story readings, craft skills, and acting and •e (ENG) facilities for the centre. body movement exercises. “ The weekly quota of 12 minutes studio time Out of all this activity, segments are taped Shooting on location for Stax. From left: sound recordist for the Stax program is produced in the studio using a staggered scheduling, and a modular Lloyd Carrick; cameraman Malcolm Richards; and cast on one-inch tape, and is supplemented with members. approach is employed for the production of the segments shot outside the studio on 3A-inch programs. There is an overall budget for the broadcast tape. Film was originally used for the The C hildren’s series, rather than a budget for each episode. So, location work, but the company has found the A ttitu d es program units are produced and stored, ready use of tape faster and more economical. for use in the appropriate slots.

Concluded on P. 476 Responses from children who were working on an episode were enthusiastic. They liked their work and enjoyed learning about the workings of the program. But some complained that the commercial breaks spoilt their show. The children said they did not have to do anything they didn’t enjoy. One child said it was, “Great getting paid for what you like to do.” They felt they had made new friends, and disliked the idea c of one child becoming more dominant in the | program than the others. They enjoyed working 1 with the production personnel at Open Channel, * and felt that the adults liked them and were 1 patient with them. They considered their show more interesting than other television programs Workshop tutor Claire Dobbin with Peter Bloem and Paula Cast member Jackie Legge. for children.

Bell.

The credibility of Stax depends upon the 420 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Ruth Maddison

The Children

Sandra Irvine

The cast of Stax during rehearsal.

What role does a production designer play in the making of a feature film?

A very important one, and it is something I don’t think is entirely understood in this country.

Ideally, a production designer, as distinct from an art director — which is quite a different role — starts at the embryonic stage, when the script is being written; it is then that visual ideas can be formed before the production begins.

During these early stages, a designer also helps with the casting, by suggesting the way people should look; by consulting with the director, and the director of photography on the color schemes to be used; and collaborating with the director of photography on technical matters, such as the filmstock to be used.

A production designer will then design the sets, costumes, hair and make-up, or at least establish the style of these before they are taken over by the individual members of each department. These are the people who then execute the work.

They are part of a team, and each of them is a creative artist in his or her own right.

responsible for the whole visual concept, and art direction is the practical application of design concepts. An art director ensures that the sets are built from the sketches and models. This involves taking care of the money, and organizing the materials and labor, in the studio as well as on location.

Do you think production design is confused with art direction in Australia?

Until recently, the films being made in this country were small, not particularly visually-oriented productions which didn’t really need a production designer. I think Picnic at Hanging Rock was the first recent Australian film I saw which was actually designed.

Even today there are many films being made in Australia, which don’t need a production designer, when an art director, costume de­ signer, and make-up artist would be adequate. However, when a film is visually-oriented, or where the film is being made by a ‘visual’ direc­ tor, a production designer is essen­ tial. In these circumstances the two collaborate very closely, and the production designer is really the eyes of the director.

Luciana Arrighi’s career as a designer began at the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in Sydney, where she worked as an assistant to Desmond Digby, before moving to Europe for further study.

In Britain, Arrighi joined the BBC as a designer, where she met Ken Russell and worked on his three television specials “Isodora”, “Rousseau”, and “Rossetti”, and in 1969 designed “Women In Love”. She also worked with John Schlesinger on “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, and designed his stage production of I and Albert.

In 1977, she returned to Australia to design Jim Sharman’s “The Night The Prowler”, and recently worked with Gillian Armstrong on “My Brilliant Career”.

What then is the role of the art In this interview by Sue Adler, Luciana Arrighi talks about director? the role of the production designer, and her work on “My When did you become involved in “My Brilliant Career”?

A p ro d u c tio n d esig n er is Brilliant Career”.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 421

LUCIANA ARRIGHI

It was about six months before the production started that I first saw the script. But it was only ia draft at that stage.

Were you briefed on the way the film was to look?

No. The design concepts for the film evolved over a period of time. I worked a lot from the book in the early stages because the script wasn’t ready, and then it was a matter of meeting time and time again with Gillian and the director of photography, Don McAlpine, talking, and travelling to locations.

Everything was fluid until the last moment, and then it was clinched.

In the end, you must have a blue­ print.

With a period film like My Brilliant Career the first task is to get to the essence of the period, and that is done through careful research. Then it’s a matter of detail; layer after layer of immacu­ late detail.

How did you go about researching “My Brilliant Career”?

Not having worked on a period Australian film before, I found the whole experience fascinating. The period was so different to anything I had ever done. I had to blot out almost all the things I knew and start again.

We had decided that we wanted the film to look very real, so I went to the Mitchell Library in Sydney and spent many hours studying photographs of the period. I also spent a lot of time in the Art Gallery. Many of the scenes in the film are based on the paintings by people like Rupert Bunny and George Lambert.

We were after two looks for My Brilliant Career: a documentary look, to capture the roughness and harshness of the period, which I hoped would go further than had been seen before in films, and a lush look to capture the life of the squattocracy. It was a fascinating ex­ perience to capture these two quali­ ties in the one film.

Is it difficult to achieve authenticity in a period film like “My Brilliant Career”?

Yes. A lot of inaccuracy is caused by haste: people rushing to a location and setting everything up in a hurry. I remember during the making of Women In Love, I arrived on the set one day, and there on a table, all set up and ready to shoot, was a Mother’s Pride Wonderloaf!

What do you do on location?

I ensure the set is right in every detail, that the right props are there, and that they are correctly placed. I also check the make-up, hair and costumes, making sure that everything is appropriate for the individual artist; and if there are 422 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Rook!

CAPPATA r

problems I discuss them with the department heads and then make changes.

So my job on location is an over­ all co-ordination of all the ele­ ments: the lighting, the colors, the hair, the costumes — all the details.

Did you have difficulty in producing the look you wanted for “ My Brilliant Career” on the budget you had?

Long before My Brilliant Career started, I was asked to draw up a budget. I wasn’t used to preparing them here, so I checked around and looked at the budgets of other Aus­ tralian films — which are absolute­ ly m inuscule com pared with budgets in Britain and Europe — and came up with a figure. We were allocated about one-third of this. In the end we went well over.

Do you think the amounts allocated to the art department on features are disproportionately small?

Very often, yes. Although it depends on the film. Some Austra­ lian films can be done relatively cheaply, and it’s a challenge to get good production value with very little money. However, if you are making a period film you can’t do it. You can’t make a film with the brilliant design of, say, a Visconti film, on a shoestring budget.

Things are, however, more diffi­ cult in Australia because we don’t have the vast storehouses of costumes and props which are available in Britain, Europe and the U.S. I think the costume designer on My Brilliant Career did an incredible job, considering the budget and other limitations. All the costumes were made exclu­ sively for the film.

The props department on the film also did an amazing job, because most of the props either had to be made or borrowed.

It’s much, much more difficult here to get all the right elements for a film like My Brilliant Career together, and I think you need more money to do it properly.

You also need a relatively large team of people to make a location film in Australia. The distances between locations on My Brilliant Career were vast — up to 300 km apart — and the team was split up most of the time. We needed more people because we only had half the team working on one location, while the others were setting up and filming on another.

Then of course I was also ‘split in two’ all the time, becoming quite demented racing from one location to the next.

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Right: Sybylla (Judy Davis) takes one of the McSwatt children to task. This class­ room interior was designed

by Luciana Arrighi, and con­ structed on location. Below: Arrighi’s sketch of the interior of the McSwatt homestead.

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Did you design and build the sets for “My Brilliant Career”, or are they actual location interiors?

Both. We built a number of sets, and we also re-decorated the interiors of existing houses. We built a big ramshackle farm called

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Left: The sketch of the Caddagat drawing room. Above: The drawing room in the film. From left: Patricia ' Kennedy, Sam Neill, and Judy Davis.

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Left: Patricia Kennedy as Aunt Gussie.

Bottom left: A sketch, by Luciana Arrighi, of one of Aunt Gussie’s costumes.

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Right: The sketch of the interior of the Caddagat drawing room. Below right: The drawing room as seen in the film. From left: Aileen Britton, Peter Whitford, Judy Davis, and Wendy Hughes.

Above left: Aunt Helen (Wendy Hughes) helps Sybylla dress. Above right: A sketch for two of Helen and Sybylla’s costumes.

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Cinema Papers, July-August — 423

LUCIANA ARRIGHI

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Will your approach to designing change in any way when you do your next film in Australia?

M cS w a t’s, and an in te rio r recreating Caddagat, the house where Sybylla was brought up.

How do you go about designing sets?

I usually use sketches and models — time and money permitting. I certainly d id n ’t do as many sketches on My Brilliant Career as I would on a British film. However, I managed to sketch all the major costumes and sets.

How did you find working with Aus­ tralian crews?

In Britain, there is a real hier­ archy on a film set, with the directors of photography playing

the kings. Out here, however, everyone works much more as a team. The people I have worked with here are not only good tech­ nicians, but also very creative. They are keen to work, and don’t try to lay down the law and be totally rigid.

As a designer I find working here very exciting, because I can play a part in the physical creation of things. In Britain you can’t pick up a hammer or a paint brush without everyone going on strike. I think that’s why so many Australian films are fresh and original — they are not governed by convention.

Many of the key people working on “My Brilliant Career” were women.

Have you worked with women pro­ ducers and directors before?

Well, for one thing there isn’t a very good studio in Australia, and because labor is expensive, it’s very No. In Europe there are very few costly to build sets here. Not that I am advocating the use of studios women in important positions in for everything; there are situations the film industry. I found them very in which the use of natural light on talented and capable — which I location gives an effect which is suppose they have to be to get to impossible to achieve in a studio. In those positions. In particular, I fact I was part of the first group of found working with Gillian Arm­ people who started making films on strong very stimulating. She took location in Britain. However, a lot of trouble to get things working exclusively on location — right, and knew exactly what she Did you find the services and facili­ particularly in Australia where the wanted. ★ distances are so great — can be ties adequate?

The exterior of the McSwatt homestead. The set was especially designed and constructed for the film.

424 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Sybylla plays the piano for dinner guests at Five-Bob Downs.

The next time I work on a period film — in fact on any big film here — I would really like to re-shape the art department. I think the needs are so different here: the people, the problems, the country, they are all different. However, the titles given to the art department jobs are the same as in Britain, Europe and the U.S. I think a different structure is needed. For example, in Australia a set dresser isn’t one as such, so I don’t see the logic in giving the position that title; the job needs a new definition. Likewise, an art director on a location film here does a totally different job to an art director in Britain. And so it is with quite a number of other positions.

This isn’t a criticism; in fact I think the attitude here is healthy, because people are sharing, and even swapping jobs, and I don’t see why we should all be kept in rigid little boxes. However, a lot of the titles given to people in the art departments here are misnomers, and a lot of the function could be rationalized so that the art depart­ ment as a whole is more effective.

Sybylla reading her diary during her stay at the McSwatts’ homestead.

Basil Gilbert This is the first of a series of articles surveying institutions in Australia which train students in film and television production for the Aus­ tralian film industry, or conduct media courses for teachers. The main emphasis will be on training schools with full-time courses in film and television production. The final’article will briefly summarise the courses available at 94 tertiary institutions in Australia which include media subjects in their curricula.

Beginnings The idea of teaching film production in a government-sponsored institution was first conceived in the USSR in 1919. Shortly after the nationalization of the Soviet film industry, Lenin recommended the establishment of the Moscow State Film Institute. In 1936, the school was named VGIK, the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography; and it had leading Soviet filmmakers, including Sergei Eisenstein, Lev Kuleshov, V.I. Pudovkin, and Alexander Dovzhenko, on its staff. Foreign students included documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens, and German theatre director Erwin Piscator, who made several important experimental films there.

The philosophy and training methods of VGIK are of historical importance, because the school has become the basic model for most of the government-sponsored film schools through­ out the world. Evidence of its influence can be seen in film schools as diverse as FAMU in Prague, the Polish Film School at Lodz, and the Australian Film and Television School in Sydney.

Today, VGIK has a staff of 250 and 1500 students. It has 1000 sq. metres of studio space, and provides full-time courses, which range in duration from six years for designers, five years for writers and directors, and four years for actors. Cultural subjects, such as sociology and the history of film, are compulsory for all students, but production experience is the final goal. Students’ films are often full-length features, some of which are distributed and ex­ hibited throughout the USSR.

A ustralian beginnings The first tentative step for the establishment of a national film training school in Australia was taken at a UNESCO seminar, titled “ Music for Film” , held in Adelaide in March 1964. At the end of the seminar, a working party was set up to explore the possibility of establishing a national film and television school in this country.

The deliberations of the working party do not appear to have been officially published, and little was heard of the proposal until four years later. In November 1968, the Australian UNESCO Committee for Mass Communica­ tion organized a seminar called “The Pro­ fessional Training of Film and Television Script­ writers, Producers and Directors” , at the Uni­ versity of New South Wales in Sydney. The aims of the seminar, as set down by a sub-committee headed by Richard Lane, president of the Aus­ tralian Writers’ Guild, were as follows: 1. “To seek to establish what the need is in Australia for training production, direction and scriptwriting personnel in the following categories: (a) Instructional and educational tele­ vision and films; (b) All types of documentaries, film and television;

(c) Feature films; (d) Television drama and filmed tele­ vision series; and (e) Public affairs television.

2. To suggest how this training should be provided.”

The seminar was widely publicized, and was attended by 108 delegates from professional film associations, guilds and unions, government film and radio commissions and agencies, private film producers, as well as representatives from universities, technical colleges, education departments, and film critics.

Lord (Ted) Willis of Chislehurst, president of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, who had been invited as an overseas consultant to the conference, was introduced by Dr H.C. Coombs, chairman of the newly-formed Australian Council for the Arts. Lord Willis had spent six weeks on a fact-finding tour of the Australian film industry, and in his opening address he recommended that Australia should follow the example of Sweden.

In Sweden, the national film school was financed by a 10 per cent levy on box-office takings in the cinemas. This provided $2 million a year revenue, which was shared between Swedish film producers (65 per cent), the national film school and administration (30 per cent), and public relations (five per cent).

It was then the turn for representatives of Australian organizations to present prepared papers. Harold Lander, of the Australian Writers Guild, recommended a crash program of summer schools and refresher courses for established writers, and scriptwriting training for beginners at the tertiary level. Ronald Beckett, representing the Producers Guild of Australia, said the Guild supported the idea of professional training for “ promising and talented young people” .

The strongest supporter for a national film and television school was Bill Perkins, represent­ ing the Australian Council of Children’s Film and Television, and the University of Tasmania.

He said Australia produced relatively few child­ ren’s films, compared with Britain, and he believed there was an urgent need for the training of scriptwriters, directors, and pro­ ducers of children’s films and television programs. As representative of the Society for Education in Film and Television, he called for courses in the history, criticism and apprecia­ tion of films and television, and the production of programs in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

Perkins said a national school could provide in-service training in “content and method” for the teachers needed for these courses. The new school, he said, should have strong links with a university. He quoted the example of the relationship of the French Film School with the University of Paris: “Too many of our present film critics and filmmakers,” he said, “suffer from the dangerous combination of a vague enthusiasm and a little learning. A systematic course of study in the arts and humanities would provide the essential cultural development to their technical skills, and perhaps even develop their creative imaginations.”

There were five days of further debate after these preliminary submissions, but at the end of the seminar, events began to move rapidly. The delegates recommended that a national film school be set up without further delay. These sentiments were echoed in a report by the Film Committee of the Australian Council for the Arts, which was “unconditionally accepted” by Mr John Gorton, then the Prime Minister. The establishment of the school would begin “immediately” , he said in Sydney on December 2, 1969.

Film schools, however, do not blossom over­ night, and the next few years saw the pains-

Film and Television Training in Australia

Part One: The Australian Filmand Television School Cinema Papers, July-August — 425

FILM AND TELEVISION TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA

seminars and workshops for people involved taking deliberations of an Interim Council for a in the film and television industry, in educa­ National Film and Television Training School. tion, and for all filmmakers and video Chairman Peter Coleman, MP, and two council specialists in the developing areas of audio­ committee members, Phillip Adams and Barry visual communications . . . courses may be Jones, went overseas to study the running of Film offered for unit managers, designers, media schools in Europe and the U.S., and Brian economists, writers on general film subjects, Robinson, lecturer-in-charge of Film and Tele­ and communication theorists and tech­ vision Studies at the Swinburne College of Tech­ nologists. nology in Victoria, reported on his recent “ The School should eventually develop overseas study tour. facilities for post-graduate study and other The Interim Council produced three reports advanced research . . . it will also seek close during the next three years in November 1970, association with the other arts, and bodies March 1971, and February 1972. These reports such as the National Institute of Dramatic show the gradual acceptance of the idea that the Art, and schools of music, art and design . . . school should be based in Sydney, in the In this way, the School will not only turn out immediate vicinity of Macquarie University. competent graduates in the techniques of film The second report included a lengthy and television production, but artistic and appendix by Professor Jerzy Toeplitz, a former imaginative people with a vigorous apprecia­ member of the faculty of the Polish Film School tion of the arts and humanities . . .” at Lodz, who was on a three-week visit to Aus­ These expectations were typical of the op­ tralia. His comments dealt with the nature of creative . filmmaking, student selection pro­ timism of the early 1970s, before the present cedures, philosophical problems, constitutional economic recession forced many idealists to and administrative policy, and practical steps to become cost-conscious pragmatists.

Two more years elapsed before the first enrol­ set up the film school. Two of his most pointed observations were, that “Swinburne College . . . ments in the full-time program could begin their cannot really be regarded as a serious Film training in leased premises at North Ryde, School” , and that during his tour in Australia, Sydney, in the vicinity of Macquarie Uni­ he found no opposition to the notion of a film versity. Those years saw a hectic building and outfitting program, and a search for skilled and television school. craftsmen from the film and television industry to take charge of the proposed workshops in The In te rim Training Schem e direction, cinematography, production, sound, and editing.

The 25 students for the first full-time threeThe proposals of the Interim Council were year course in 1975 were selected from more implemented in April 1972, when Mr Peter than 700 applicants. Most of them were matureHowson, Minister for the Environment, Abori­ age university graduates, or teachers who wished gines and the Arts, said the Government had to become directors or writer/directors in the agreed to the establishment of the school. It also industry. A few sought a career in teaching film approved an interim training scheme to enable or television production in schools, or working 12 qualified young people to get scholarships for in the area of media education. one year’s study with commercial film produc­ These students were outspoken, and as the tion units, the Commonwealth Film Unit, tele­ School’s director, Prof. Toeplitz, told the Mel­ vision stations, and the Australian Broad­ bourne University student journal, Farrago, in casting Commission, as well as receiving instruc­ 1976, “ We have already had two ‘revolutions’. tion at the Sydney offices of the Interim We were forced to change the program as Council. students disagreed with it.” This, in principle, is One cannot, of course, judge the Australian a healthy administrative policy for any tertiary Film and Television School by the records of the institution. There are also regular meetings with participants in the interim training scheme. This the student body to discuss grievances and policy scheme was an application of the tried-and- changes, and two student representatives are tested apprenticeship system of film training appointed to the School Council. which was popular in Britain and the U.S., but it Not all the students, however, have had their gave the future school some good contacts with expectations met by the school’s teaching the film and television industry, and launched methods. One of them, Marsha Bennett, who the professional film careers of promising young wanted to teach media in a tertiary institution, filmmakers, such as Gillian Armstrong, Phil recently published a critical account of her twoNoyce, James Ricketson, Graham Shirley, and-a-half years experience at the School1.

David Stocker, and Chris Noonan (who won Ms Bennett, who was already a secondary awards for their student productions), and teacher in filmmaking, and graduated in drama, others, such as Robynne Murphy, who gained film, television, and photography at Rusden recognition at international film festivals.

State College, Victoria, found that the AFTVS program did little to enhance her “personal growth” and “conceptual development” . The The School begins majority of the administrators and workshop heads, she said, were “ still harnessed by that Shortly after the Australian Labor Party came to power in 1972, a Bill was introduced in 1. The Interim Training Scheme students on the First day of Parliament to set up the Film and Television their course in January 1973. From left, standing: Wolfgang School as a statutory body with the stature of a Kress, Christopher Noonan, James Ricketson, Phillip Noyce, Alan Lowery, Graham Shirley, Robynne Murphy, college of advanced education.

John Papadopoulus, Ross Hamilton. From left, seated: During the second reading of the Bill, on May Ronald Saunders, David Stocker, Gillian Armstrong. 2.

30, 1973, the Prime Minister, Mr Gough Phillip Noyce, with cinematographer Tom Cowan (right), Whitlam, outlined the School’s structure and directing the student production Caravan Park in April 1973.

3. American producer and director Joseph Stick (left) during functions: a visit to the School in 1974, with Graham Shirley (centre) “ . . . the School will provide, at the highest and Rod Adamson (then head of the editing workshop). 4. levels, a wide range of training and exper­ Director Donald Crombie (kneeling) with a group of Film ience for prospective creative workers in film School students at an actors forum held at the South and television.- It will conduct full-time Australian Film Corporation in August 1974. courses in film and television production, and . . . will become a centre for open school 1. “ Women Filmmakers in Institutions” , Filmnews, December 1977, p. 11. activities, which will include refresher courses, 426 — Cinema Papers, July-August

FILM AND TELEVISION TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA

large phantasmagorical machine . . . called ‘the film industry’, where patriarchy, bureaucracies and rigidity reigned over their potential crea­ tivity.” There was little opportunity, she said, ‘‘to explore and investigate the nature and terms of film” as an expressive medium.

As for the location of the AFTVS in the outer Sydney suburb of North Ryde, she said the School was, “unconnected by viable public transport, walled in with few windows, away from people, the cinemas, the theatres, bookshops . . .” However, Ms Bennett praised the many useful discussions she had had with the technical staff, and welcomed the opportunity to use the elaborate, expensive equipment.

A women’s unit was formed at the School in 1975, and since then independent films made by the feminist students have been most successful.

One research worker studying Australian feminist films has noted: “ Many of the films in the ‘Femflicks’ festival at the Sydney Film­ makers’ Cinema during March and April this year were made by female students currently enrolled, or recently graduated from AFTVS, and are distinguished from earlier films in both content and technique” . These films include Gillian Leahy’s I Never Saw Him Again (described by a Sydney reviewer as “extremely well-made with lots of visually exciting moments”); Andrea by Erika Addis; as well as Jetlag, and Working With Child Care, by Caroline Dartnell. Di Drew’s Obedience (not an entrant in the ‘Femflicks’ festival) has also been a superb technical achievement.

Of the 21 students who graduated in 1978, most have been successfully absorbed by the film and television industry. Most of them have not achieved the goal of becoming producers or directors of full-length commercial features, but are involved in post-graduate apprenticeship in roles such as directors of television docu­ mentaries, writers of feature film scripts for children, sound recordists, production assis­ tants, assistant directors, and camera operators.

The N ew Concept The Film and Television School has now adopted a Bauhaus-style philosophy which advocates that creative imagination should be combined with practical training. Applicants for admission to the full-time program have to choose a workshop (cinematography, produc­ tion, sound, or editing) as a specialty before enrolling at the school, and have some flair in the workshop activity of their choice. They have to face a series of complicated tests designed to reveal latent creative and technical ability.

Applicants for production courses are asked to suggest a framework for a film based on a 500word treatment, and then list items for costing and areas to research; applicants for cinemato­ graphy courses are tested by tracing the letter ‘O’ with a bi-directional panning device; and students for the sound recording courses are asked to balance eight-tracks on a 60-second television commercial.

School Media teachers applying for entrance to the School have similar problems. The Fulltime Program brochure for 1976 stated that, “Students are trained in both film and television, for work in either the industry or education” , and, “Students who have specialised in educa­ tion will be qualified on leaving for teaching positions as lecturers in film, television or media subjects, or for research work” . The new brochures, however, don’t refer to this policy.

With a budget of more than $3 million one might expect the School to cater for all aspects of film training in Australia, and not merely provide highly skilled specialists for the film and television industries. The Australian Film and

Television School Act 1973-76 stresses the need of the School to concern itself with the “produc­ tion of programs” , but film and television production is not only in commercial studios, but also in primary, secondary, and tertiary classrooms, and the need for skilled personnel in these areas is obvious.

The School once had plans for a healthy education training section as part of the Fulltime Program, but a breakdown in the 197677 annual report shows that industry is getting the largest slice of the financial cake. Of the $2,855,521 operating expenditure, $731,170 went to the Fulltime Program, $572,603 was allocated to equipment and technical services, $272,067 to the Open Program Industry and $97,534 to the Open Program Education. Only in the Open Program courses (and in the Research Section of the School) can teachers sample the educational resources of the Aus­ tralian Film and Television School.

The Open Program The Open (External) Program of the AFTVS is an important supplement to the Fulltime Program, and consists of part-time courses available to applicants from all states. The Open Program evolved from the Grants-in-Aid scheme for overseas study, which the Interim Council began in 1970. It is also an offspring of training assistance and training attachment pro­ grams for people already in the film or tele­ vision industry, or teaching films or media in tertiary institutions.

The early grants were between $2000 and $3000, and enabled budding young directors2 to study overseas production methods; it also enabled experienced writers, such as Harold Lander, to take courses in television writing in the U.S., and teachers, like Nigel Buesst, from Swinburne College, to acquaint themselves with teaching techniques at film schools overseas.

The Education Division of the Open Program began to take its present form early in 1974, with a pilot course to train 12 in-service staff (or teacher-advisers) in practical filmmaking rele­ vant to education. The first tutor training workshop began in Sydney in January; similar workshops were set up in Adelaide in May, and in Perth in June. The courses were run in collaboration with state education departments.

The Industry Division of the Open Program began earlier, when overseas experts were in­ vited to hold seminars for students, education­ alists and professionals working in film and tele­ vision. The guests included Joseph Strick, the American producer/director, Professor Ernest Rose, from the School of Communications and Theatre, Temple University, in the U.S., Rowan Ayers, executive producer of the BBC public ac­ cess program Open Door, and Ted Morrisby, an independent producer.

Since then the Open Program courses have ex­ panded. The number of activities has risen from six, in 1974, to 109, at the end of 1978. These are predominantly technical courses for teachers of film production. The six-page list of Open Concluded on P. 478 1. The first National Conference of the Australian Film and Television School Consultative Panel in March 1975. Left to right: Joan Long, Sir John Gorton, John Martin-Jones, and Peter Coleman. 2. Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam officially opening the Australian Film and Television School in August 1975. Seated on stage: Barry Jones (left) and Jerzy Toeplitz. 3. The chairman of the Interim Council for a National Film and Television School, Peter Coleman (left), with the foundation director of the School, Jerzy Toeplitz, and Alan Lowry, a student of the Interim Training Scheme.

4. Phillip Adams (left) with film reviewer Rex Reed at a seminar sponsored by the Australian Film Commission and the Australian Film and Television School in March 1979.

2. Peter Weir was one such recipient.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 427

mmmM

English-speaking audiences to get off on it anyway. Marinetti fitted very well into the European notions of avant-garde, but Sunshine City was a departure. If I had left out the images and just had the flickering light, it would have been in line with the structuralists.

On the other hand, if I had left that out, and just had the images, it would have fitted in with the diary film movement of that time.

Sunshine City is a very eclectic film, and didn’t really connect anywhere.

I was, however, invited to New York by the Anthology Film A rchives, which has a large selection of American avant-garde and the old European avant-garde films.

You have travelled throughout Europe with your films, particularly “Marinetti” and “Sunshine City”.

What impact did they have on the people who saw them?

Quite a lot. I remember, in part­ icular, showing Marinetti at the American Centre in Paris, in 1970.

The French Society of Directors had asked to see it. A few days later I heard that Henri Langois, the director of the Paris Cinema­ th e q u e , loved th e film and demanded that it be shown in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

The others didn’t like it. They decided on a compromise and asked me to show a short film called David Perry. Langois was still very keen on the film, so he invited it to be shown at the Cinematheque. He also selected it for a program of 12 films, entitled “The Henri Langois Selection of New Cinema” , he took to New York.

After the “ Sunshine Ci t y’’ screenings, you came back to Australia . . .

By that stage I was completely broke, because I’d spent the last six months writing and budgeting Palm Beach. So I did some lectures at Flinders University, then got a job with the ABC directing for GTK. It was over a year since I had finished Sunshine City, and I was getting really rusty.

Where e l s e did you show “Marinetti”?

All over Europe. In Germany I got fantastic reviews and big audiences. It was screened in M unich, Cologne, S tu ttg a rt, Hamburg, and Berlin. In Vienna, a thousand people came to see it, and in Copenhagen it played in the city’s biggest cinema.

In London it was premiered at the Co-op, and I was invited to show it at the first avant-garde festival at the N ational Film Theatre. It was also screened at the Other Cinema.

In Italy, it was screened in M ilan, Bergam o, Rome and F lo ren ce . They were really interested in it because of the Futurist art movement.

I guess Marinetti is a very European film in a way, and there was an appreciation of its strength, obsession, determination, and the way it pursues its objectives.

Did you have the same response to “Sunshine City”?

Sunshine City was q u ite different. It had taken me so long to make it that I was too tired to hack it around all the cities in which I had shown Marinetti.

It was really only possible for Opposite: Scenes from Albie Thoms’ latest film, Palm Beach

How long were you with “GTK”?

Albie Thoms has worked in film, television and theatre for nearly 20 years. As an avant-garde filmmaker, Thoms helped create the influential UBU film .group, and the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative.

As a television producer and director, he worked for “ Contrabandits” , “ Australian Playhouse” and “ Skippy the Bush Kangaroo” . He also spent 18 months producing and directing the ABC rock program “ GTK” .

H is avant-garde shorts include “ It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain” (1963), “ Spurt of Blood” (1965), “ Bolero” (1967) , “ Bluto” (1967), “ David Perry” (1968) and “ Man and H is World” (1966). He has published a collec­ tion of writings, entitled Polemics for a New Cinema (1978), and worked as a project officer for the Australian Film Commission.

Thoms has made three feature films: “ M arinetti” (1968) , a complex experimental work utilizing the Futurist theories of F. T. Marinetti; “ Sunshine City” (1973), a homage to Sydney, interpolated by interviews with friends; and “ Palm Beach” (1979), which follows a handful of characters, contrasting the apparent hedonism of their lifestyle with their individual struggles.

In the following interview, Thoms talks with Rod Bishop and Fiona Mackie about his filmmaking career, including the six-year struggle to make “ Palm Beach” .

About 15 months, but it was only a weekly contract. I ended up prod­ ucing a couple of hundred episodes and directing about 50 film clips.

With GTK you had the total freedom to produce 10 minutes a night on anything you liked. The people who ran the station didn’t even bother to look at it. If some­ one wanted to broadcast 10 minutes of abstract graphics to Tangerine Dream music, you would get no more complaints or praise than if you ran a Walt Disney cartoon; and we had a measured audience of about one million a week!

The complaints only came from people who didn’t like the singers picking their nose on camera. A real lunatic, conservative fringe.

One guy wrote in and complained about a program we made on Buckminster Fuller. He said: “ I don’t think you should be showing this at this time of night when children are watching” . But it was Buckminster Fuller talking about his perception of the universe!

As far as I can gather, you can do anything you like on television and no one knows the difference, Cinema Papers, July-August — 429

Bolero (1967)

The Spurt of Blood (1965)

because they are never watching it~ with any intent — especially when there are commercials. That’s why I put commercials all the way through Palm Beach, because I knew people would find them familiar.

What happened after the ABC? In 1973 I made a submission for Palm Beach to the Australian Film Development Corporation, but in those days you couldn’t get more than $10,000. I wanted to make it on 35mm and the budget came out at $180,000.

The AFDC assessments were appalling, and included comments like: “ It’s a tough fact, but if you want a $10 lay, you get an old battler standing in a doorway. The pretty, sexy, uninhibited swingers with generous bosoms and twining limbs get more and more expensive the younger and healthier and more imaginative you require . .

It got knocked back straight away. I dem anded a re-assessm en t involving an interview with the assessors.

I eventually got to sit around the table with three of them, and all of a sudden they loved it. They gave rave assessments and said it should be funded. But it got knocked back by the b o ard anyw ay. The assessors’ opinion didn’t mean anything — just another bit of paper on the table.

Why did they knock it back?

They didn’t think it was a worthw h ile in v e s tm e n t — n o t c o m m ercial. A lo t of th e ir arguments seemed to be based on the fact that the budget was more than $50,000. They were only prepared to come in if the actual totaj cost was $50,000.

So I packed up and went to Paris on a fellowship to the Cite des Arts, and spent six months study­ ing Melies, cinema text and other things. Then I came back, did another re-write and put it into the Australian Film Commission’s Film Production Fund. I thought, okay, it was knocked back by the ]. See box on P. 431 for full assessment history of Palm Beach.

430 — Cinema Papers, July-August

A FD C because it was non­ commercial, and the Film Prod­ uction Fund is for non-commercial projects, so I must be in the right area. But they knocked it back anyway. They said it was super­ ficial and trite, and suggested I go and talk to Coca Cola and Levis.

I then sent it to Channel 7 to see if it was commercial, but they too said no.

At that stage I was totally broke again so I took a job with the AFC’s Experimental Film Fund.

For a year I watched everyone else’s projects getting funded.

After I finished my one-year contract with them, I came back to Palm Beach, and dressed it up a bit to meet the assessors’ require­ ments. But I was told that it still wasn’t good enough. So I did more work on it, shot a pilot sequence and got another three assessments, but they were still very half­ hearted. Then they took 10 per cent off the budget and gave me the money!

However, when I went back at the double-head stage for another a s s e s s m e n t e v e ry th in g had changed. They were really enthus­ iastic.

How much did the chopping and changing influence the final film?

It just confirmed my belief that I was right. One of the things I had to do in the last stage was break down the three stories in the film and write them as short stories, or three short synopses, and hope they could understand, because they couldn’t piece it together otherwise.

There are only 115 shots in the finished film and each scene is a single shot. It is up to the audience to break it up and digest it.

Certainly there were lots of doubts in the minds of the asses­ sors. They didn’t think I could sus­ tain it for 90 minutes, without resorting to close-ups and reverse angles that everyone regards not only as necessary, but as the only way to tell stories.

So every scene in “Palm Beach” is done in a single shot . . .

On paper it sounds quite extreme, but in the final form it doesn’t stand out.

You also use continuous sounds in the film — such as the background radio . . .

You don’t hear the radio very prominently throughout, but all the time it has an ironical under­ pinning to the action. It has tremendous pace and hysteria.

When the camera is sitting there doing nothing, the radio sound is in the background, lifting the film and giving it movement that you would otherwise get from cutting.

The bridge in the film is the radio and the media; it runs right through the film. There is inform­ ation coming to you through the radio, television and print.

Top: Bluto (1967), one of Thoms’ films which fascinate children.

Above: Blunderball (1966).

I showed Bluto to the same audience and they really liked it too. What was interesting were the You don’t seem to have employed hallucinations they saw in it. They many traditional ideas and methods were literalizing the gestalt of it.

Seeing rain, and things like that. in “Palm Beach” . ..

Because I gave them that sort of It’s like a pre-1913 attitude to opportunity, they really liked it and making films. How they used to were enthusiastic about it.

I suppose it was the same with make them in the good old days. I was always interested in how sound Bolero. They were predicting what changed the nature of film. I think was going to happen at the end. In people have forgotten how good doing so, they stimulated a very silent filihs were, and especially in intense reading of the film. They primitive cinema. They were really were very aware of how the discovering things then, and the movement of the camera altered moment of discovery was recorded how they saw things. on the screen.

At the end of the 1960s a lot of people were trying to get the That was particularly the case with audience to think in two or three directions at once. Telling a lot of Melies . . . different stories at once, and But you can still do it. In making measuring the story the Filmmaker Bolero, there were great discoveries is telling against the ones that were for me and for the audience. going on in their heads. Because of However the first audience didn’t that, I decided to choose lots of know what to make of it. Now it’s stories for Palm Beach and get quite often used to teach children them all going at once. about cinem a. They have a A good example is Joe Ryan, the fantastic response, because they are surfer that twists around in the end. looking at it without any prejudice. He is rather like a younger version It allows you to use your eyes of Larry Kent. While Joe is in the within the frame and look at what’s TAB placing a bet on the dogs, Larry is on the job in his car, there.

It’s interesting to see what life listening to the races. In their naked Bolero has. It was included in an forms, you would never assume hour program for children, those characters were at all alike, consisting of all sorts of experi­ but just by putting them together mental films. They liked Bolero you can see they are. A bit of future most of all, and the thing they liked history emerges. about it was being able to use their own eyes to read things, assume Did you apply any notions of things, and make guesses. These primitive cinema in “Marinetti” and children, aged about six to 10, were “Sunshine City”? actually seeing the film in the terms I had made it. But the 30 or 40Marinetti is really about the year-old critics just couldn’t see it discovery of the cut I guess — all. It’s really kids stuff — it’s where to cut and how to use editing. primitive cinema, but the critics It was seeded in the Futuristic were blin d ed by th e ir own theory of art and the way it can be prejudice. They just couldn’t read made. The Futurists came on the it. heels of the Cubists, and there was a bit of interplay between the two Have you also shown your other because the movements over­ lapped. films to children?

ALBIE THOMS

Palm Beach

Albie Thoms in Marinetti (1969)

The Cubist way of seeing was to take an object from one point of view, keep moving around the table and record the different points of view on a two-dimensional surface.

The Futurists said: “ We stay in the one point of view, but we understand that the object is moving in time: let nothing stand still” . So they recorded all the different positions it would have in relation to their singular vision.

And that was related to the way films are made.

One of the Futurist ideas which re a lly stu ck w ith me, was simultaneity: seeing or hearing two things at once and absorbing the interplay. One of the great Futuristic tricks, which you can still do in Melbourne, is sit in a tram and drive down the street, and see the reflection of the inside of the tram on the window. And through that reflection, you look at the things going on outside. That is a great simultaneous, futuristicexperience.

C A S TIN G The characters in “Palm Beach” are very hedonistic . . .

That’s a very widely-held per­ ception of Australians. Right in the beginning, when the under­ ground film movement emerged in^ Sydney, a film was made called“ Surfing Roundabout, by David Price, who now produces the Mike Walsh Show. In the film he tried to analyse the hedonism you refer to, and Charles High am reviewed it in a batch of films from the first Co-op program. Higham came to the conclusion that there was something different about Aust­ ralia which the young filmmakers were beginning to investigate. He q u i t e p r o p h e t i c a l l y saw a resurgence in the Australian film culture right back then. And he saw that it would investigate those aspects of Australia.

The cinema that has emerged in the last seven years, with govern­ ment finance, has tended to avoid this by going back into history all the time. It doesn’t observe the society we are living in, and the forces that shape our society. They have all been based on the old work ethic, and pioneering.

How did you cast the characters?

The people I cast were like the characters I had conceived. I usually spent a day or night with each person, just talking about their characters and their clothes,

Top: David Elfick, and Above: David Litvinoff in Thoms’ Sunshine City (1973).

encouraging them to do a lot of the work themselves and come back with the ideas.

When it came to the shoot we had very little time. I scheduled the film so the build-up of the characters could take place, even though we were shooting out of sequence. It was like editing the script. Once we got on location there were very brief discussions about the scene and I would remind them, if necessary, of the plot, and how they got to the scene we were about to shoot.

I am not sure that actors should ever see the script. But it’s hard to get any experienced actors without letting them see the script; they want to read it. In Palm Beach, I had to do a number of retakes to stop the actors telegraphing what was coming in the script. I had to hold them back. They were working to a sort of Freudian psychology.

They wanted to know exactly what was going to happen. I was trying to make an existential film, and they were making a casual film!

A lot of scriptwriting in Aust­ ralia has been based on the notion of characterization. I’ve had it thrown up at me many times during the assessment history of Palm Beach. They want a whole psychology, and they want it to be dripping in every scene.

Even if I were making that kind of film, I wouldn’t necessarily give the actors the script. You are more able to telegraph that yourself by the way you use the shots and how you record the sound.

When I was working in television I would have to plot everything out on the floor, and work it all out on graph paper with protractors. It became boring — like some scientific exercise. I like the potential of cinema to discover things. You go on a location like a documentary filmmaker.

There weren’t as many moments of discovery in the shooting of Palm Beach as I would have liked, but there were some. For instance, when Mick (Bryan Brown) shot the cop running down the street in Manly, not too many people knew what, we were doing. That actual “ ooh!” on the soundtrack was the real response of the crowd. It elect­ rified the place.

Continued on P. 471

— A ssessm ent H istory (1 9 7 3 -7 9 )

1. October 1973: Outline of Palm Beach submitted to Australian Film Development Cor­ poration for assessment.

2. November 1973: Assessment: “ .. . since the plot is so conventionally com m ercial. . . It should be insisted that the director provide a conventionally commercial treatment com­ plete with character outlines so that we can do a conventionally commercial script assess­ ment.”

3. November 1973: Outline resubmitted and further assessment requested.

4. January 1974: Assessment: “Albie Thoms has plenty of passionate convictions. He has the smell of a dedicated filmmaker with something to say. He’s been in the business long enough to stick the struggle out. I fancy his mind’s big enough to realise he has to supply a property for us to invest in, not a piece of land marked out with a twig . .. “ If you want a flat furnished you pay a bond and rent in advance. If you Want to buy a house through a building society you must prove income, put down a percentage and sup­ ply references to show you’re honest enough to keep up your payments . . . How can you have your dinner out with your girlfriend if you can’t pay the tab? How can you do anything7 You can’t even get married unless you know when to Say the ‘I do’s’. In England, in the public toilets, you don’t get to sit down unless you have a penny . .. “ It’s a tough fact, but if you want a $10 lay you get an old battler standing in the doorway.

The pretty, sexy, uninhibited swingers with generous bosoms and twining limbs get more and more expensive the younger and healthier and more imaginative you require . . .

“We live in an age where freedom of expression is such a current phrase that it bedevils us because all too late we discover too many people want applause without earning it with the sweat and dirt of learning and rejection and exploration . . . Art is 90 per cent sweat and 10 per cent talent. Could we see some sweat please?”

5. February 1974: Quality of assessments complained about. Board of AFDC considers complaint. Reassessment agreed to, with assessors interviewing applicant.

6. March 1974: Assessments: (1) There is a definite film here with excellent potential both in terms of money-earning capacity and social value . . . The AFDC should definitely be able to back this type of film and l strongly recommend they do.”

(2) “ It’s a very commercial proposition . .. It’ll get its money back fairly rapidly . . . the film should have a good overseas market . . . I say ‘yes’.”

(3) "With Thoms’ experience and capability, I’d think the sum involved for the potential inherent in the picture would be an extremely good risk.”

7. April 1974: AFDC request budget details and likely censorship rating.

8. May 1974: Board of AFDC rejects project: “ In view of the limitations imposed by funds now available to the Corporation, priority is being given to projects of outstanding merit, both in relation to the subject matter and production team.”

9. September 1975: The Australian Film Commission, which has replaced the abolished AFDC, asks to see the outline.

10. November 1975: AFC rejects project: “ The Commission, as a matter of policy, has decided that with its limited finance in the current financial year, it would mainly become involved in films which had real marketing potential, and it was the Commission’s view that your film does not fulfil this requirement.”

11. October 1976: Outline submitted to the Advanced Production Fund of the Film, Radio and Television Board of the Australia Council.

Assessments: (1) “ A fear would not be that Albie could not bring it off in time and money terms, but that improvisation 100 per cent with non-actors could produce a dull result — dull even to those who would be normally Into ‘surfie’ films.”

(2) “ My personal reaction is to wonder why Albie wants to improvise, and why he thinks it would produce a better result than if he scripted it fully and shot it with some improvis­ ations where they can be judged as an improvement to the script.”

(3) “ A good idea — a pity the plot is so trite and really says nothing of any depth. Why does he want to make something that is so intellectually empty?”

12. November 1976: ATN-7 seeks projects for telefeatures, but rejects Palm Beach: “ I’m afraid I can’t see Channel 7 being able to become involved in its production.”

13. December 1976: The Film, Radio and Television Board is abolished and the Advanced Production Fund transferred to the AFC. AFC employs Albie Thoms on a one-year contract as Consultant to the AFC’s Experimental Film and Television Fund.

14. June 1978: Palm Beach submitted to the Creative Development Fund of the AFC. Assessments: (1) “ PB is filled with too many paradoxes for me .. . what I am left with is the sense of a ‘home movie’, a group of chums gather together to make a film that has, for them, no background, no attitude; gathered together in a mixture of histrionic styles to make a film that has little to support them in the way of plot or structure . . . “ The point is that this is a huge jump for him and the fund. I don’t doubt or question his experience In the theatre or with conventional television drama .. . but surely this must be ‘developmental’, that something in his previous work prepares him, and us, for the next stage of his development. Whether we like it or not, there is a game, and there are rules, and this present submission is outside those rules.”

(2) "Like the idea of film very much and am very much in favor of improvised drama.

This has an Altman feel, and the characters and backgrounds presented seem to be very authentic.”

(3) “ This one reads to me as a well thought out and highly developed plot, and the ex­ perimental formats in executing its production appeal to me because they are away from the normal conventional filmmaking techniques. However! If I could see videotape evidence I’d be more positive about handing over the bread.”

15. July 1978: Sample sequence on videotape requested by the assessors.

16. August 1978: Sample sequences on film submitted.

Assessments: “ Having seen the test footage I am delighted to eat a fair-sized portion of humble pie (not the entire pie, I hasten to add, but a decent slab of it). What I feared would be loose, self-indulgent and anaemic, proved to be tight, controlled and dynamic . . . I doubt I will ever like the finished film, but I believe I may have a very healthy respect for It.” (2) “ On seeing the test submitted on film I realised that ail worries I had about tech­ niques of improvisation were unfounded. I can see from the tests that the characters are being well-handled and the dialogue is more than adequate . . . My only reservations are about the budget.”

(3) “ Although Albie’s films do not appeal to me personally, I respect him as a film ­ maker and see this film as part of his continuing development as an artist . . . I am still worried that the film will deal only with surfaces and reveal little about the milieu of the 'suburban subculture’ of any significance. I believe, however, that Albie should be funded for this project.”

17. August 1978: AFC approves a loan from the Creative Development Fund to produce the film to double-head stage, whence it will be assessed again for completion funds. The budget is reduced by 10 per cent.

18. December 1978: Double-head submitted for assessment.

Assessments: (1) “ I found this to be a very competent piece of filmmaking, and am im­ pressed by the way Albie gradually drew his plot together to the climax. It has a lot of energy and humor and I would be most surprised if it didn’t find itself an audience. His soundtrack is rich and will no doubt be further enhanced by the music . . . Albie’s handling of the improvisation was adept.”

(2) “ I think Palm Beach is the most exciting film to emerge from the area of lowbudget filmmaking since the inception of the experimental film fund. It Is a script with something of the complexity of characterization and plot threading h u m o r. . . I have rarely seen improvised dialogue work so well . . . “ The metaphor of Australians playing ‘games’ which have established rules — gambling, lining up a fuck, or breaking the law — works tremendously well. One strength of this metaphor is the subtlety with which it is presented . . . The film is saturated with the feeling of his locale and soundtrack is one of the most complex I have heard in a local film.”

19. December 1978: AFC approves fund to complete film on 35mm.

20. March 1979: Film completed and included in AFC’s Cannes presentation.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 431

FILM CENSORSHIP LISTINGS Reprinted from FEBRUARY 1979

Australian Government Gazette P u b lis h e d b y th e A u s tr a lia n G o v e r n m e n t P u b lis h in g S e rv ic e

•■uAUSTRALIA

APRIL 10 — MAY 15 Films examined in terms of thé Customs (Cinemato­ graph Films) Regulations and State Censorship Legislation have been treated as follows: The title of each film is followed by the name of the producer, country of origin, and length as submitted.

FILMS REGISTERED WITHOUT ELIMINATIONS For General Exhibition (G) The Chasing Game: Yung Sheng Film Co., Hong Kong (2523.56 m) The Diary of Didi (16 mm): M. C. Ling, Taiwan (1065.00

m)

Dove ‘E’ La Liberia: D. De Laurentiis, Italy (2475.00 m) El Harameya (The Thieves) (16 mm): G. El Tabie, Egypt (2705.00 m) Ginny Aur Johnny: A. P. Chhabria, India (3868.00 m) One Year’s Fantasy: C. S. Lung, Taiwan (2304.00 m) Satiricosissimo: Flora Film/Variety Film, Italy (2386.00

m) The Thief of Baghdad: A. Young, U.K./France (2852.72 m) _

Zazie (16 mm): H. Newenhouse Film Library, France (932.00 m)

FILMS REGISTERED WITHOUT ELIMINATIONS Not Recommended for Children (NRC) Ceddo (16 mm): Filmi Doomi Reew, Senegal (1283.49

m)

FILMS REGISTERED WITHOUT ELIMINATIONS For General Exhibition (G) Agapisa Mia Agnosti: Not shown, Greece (2400.00 m) The Amazing Captain Nemo (16 mm): Warner Bros, U.S.A. (1129.91 m) The Lonely Wolf (Vuk Samotnjak): Jadran Film, Yugoslavia (2242.00 m) Love Stories: L. C. Shen, Hong Kong (2398.00 m) O Modistros (The Dressmaker): Not shown, Greece (2400.00 m) O Tsahpinis (The Smart One): Not shown, Greece (2400.00 m) The Riddle of the Sands: D. Challis, U.K. (2816.69 m) The Russians — People of Influence (16 mm): Film Australia, Australia (890.61 m) The Russians — People of the Cities (16 mm): Film Australia, Australia (955.54 m) Ta Omorfopeda: Not shown, Greece (2400.00 m) Trio Love: C. C. Chiang, Hong Kong/Taiwan (2441.27

m) A Voluntary Act: C. Fei L. Shen, Hong Kong (2524.00 m)

The Water Babies: P. Shaw, U.K. (2578.00 m) Wild Skis (16 mm): D. Barrymore, U.S.A. (877.00 m)

Not Recommended for Children (NRC) Agatha: J. Astaire/G. Losey, U.K. (2661.00 m) Find the Lady: Impact/Quadrant, Canada (2194.40 m) La Violenza E L’Amore: S. Marabotti, Italy (2407.00 m)

432 — Cinema Papers, July-August

GENERAL

The Creature from the Haunted Sea (16 mm): R. Corman, U.S.A. (800.00 m) Love Rings a Bell: C. R. Ling, Hong Kong (2743.00 m) Millionaire in Trouble: I. Ringel/Y. Pradelski, Israel (2194.00 m) Oliver’s Story D. Picker, U.S.A. (2441.27 m) The Wild Duck (16 mm): B. Eichinger, W. Germany (1162.00 m)

Roma Violenta: Not shown, Italy (2344.00 m) The Ways of Kung Fu: Champion Film Co., Hong Konq (2413.84 m)

FILMS REGISTERED WITHOUT ELIMINATIONS For Mature Audiences (M)

Blue Passion: Andromeda Films, Greece (2633.00 m) Brutes and Savages (Reduced version) (a): A. Davis, U.K. (2468.70 m) (a) Reduced by producer’s cuts from 3127.00 metres (August, 1978 List).

The Dragon and the Phoenix: Not shown, Hong Kong (2358.98 m) A Dragon in the Thieves’ Den: Ambassador Film Co., Hong Kong (2630.00 m) The Inglorious Bastards: E. G. Castellari, Italy (2715.57

The Biggest Battle: Loy/Martino, Italy (2770.43 m) The Cat and the Canary: R. Gordon, U.S.A. (2633.28

m)

Chafika Mettwally (16 mm): Sabbah Bros., Egypt (1242.00 m) The Comeback: P. Walker, U.K. ((2550.99 m) Gang of Four: H. Shan, Hong Kong (2496.00 m) Immortal Warriors: W. Feng, Hong Kong (2386.41 m) I Racconti Romani Di Pietro Aretino: Not shown, Italy (2406.00 m) King of the Gypsies: F. De Laurentiis, U.S.A. (3017.30m) L’Amante Dell’orsa Maggiore: Terza Film Prod., Italy (2469.00 m) La Salamandre (16 mm): A. Tanner, Switzerland (1371.25 m) The Lovers (16 mm): L. Malle, France (965.00 m)

Lemon Popsicle (Israel). Registered ‘R’ following the deletion of 135 metres by the local dis­ tributor.

MARCH 1979

m

Little Mo: G. Sherman, U.S.A. (3977.00 in) Madarrpa Funeral at Gurka’wy (16 mm): Film Australia, Australia (960.12 m) Nosferatu, The Vampyre: W. Herzog, W. Germany (2626.90 m) Somebody Killed Her Husband: M. Poll, U.S.A. (2688.14 m) The Snow Country (16 mm): Toshio Endo, Japan (965.36 m) Sunshine Christmas: G. Eckstein, U.S.A. (2633.00 m) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (a): W. Disney, U.S.A. (3448.81 m) Voices: J. Wizan, U.S.A. (2825.00 m) The Wanderer (16 mm): T. Endo, Japan (932.45 m) The Wild West: Joachim/Holden, U.S.A. (2688.14 m) (a) Classified ’G’ in 1955.

For Mature Audiences (M) Adalat: A. K. Nadiadwala, India (4179.00 m) Ashanti: G-A. Vuille, Switzerland (3236.74 m) -Baris Walhoub (Paris with Love) (16 mm): Not shown, Lebanon (1125.00 m) California Dreaming: C. Whittacker, U.S.A. (2621.00

m)

The Clutch of Power: A. Gouw, Hong Kong (2537.81 m) Days of Heaven: B. & H. Schneider, U.S.A. (2496.13 m) Dimboola: J. Welley, Australia (2386.41 m) I Megali Apofasis: T. Vlassis, Greece (2400.00 m) Just a Gigolo (Re-edited version) (a): R. Thiele, W. Germany (2900.00 m) Kung Fu of Eight Drunkards: Magnllicent Towey Film Co., Hong Kong (2486.35 mm) La Cage Aux Folles: M. Danon, France (2413.84 m) Le Feu Follet (Fox Fire) (16 mm): Nouvelles Additions De Films, France (1185.00 m) Negotiation: W. J. Ying, Hong Kong (2482.03 m) Odds & Evens: Derby Cinematografic, Italy (3263.00 m) One Take Two: Faulkner/Kohn/Werner, U.K. (2594.00 m) Our Rebel Years: J. Roth, U.S.A. (2678.00 m)

FILMS REGISTERED WITHOUT ELIMINATIONS For Restricted Exhibition (R)

m)

Judgement of an Assassin: R. R. Shaw, Hong Kong (2633.28 m) L’Amante Del Demonio: Nova Int. Films Italy (2264.00 m) Le Diavolesse: B. Gortillon, Italy (2234.00 m) Southern Comforts (Pre-censor cut version) (b): B. Buckalew, U.S.A. (2057.25 m) (b) Longer version rejected in August, 1975.

The Three Wives: Nlkkatsu Corp., Japan (1865.24 m) The Young Divorcees: L. E. Mascott, U.S.A. (2331.55

m)

FILMS REGISTERED W ITHOUT ELIMINATIONS Special conditions: That the ‘For General Exhibition' classification for these films shall apply only for the purposes of exhibition of the films at the International C h ild re n ’s Film C a rn iv a l d u rin g the p e rio d commencing on the first day of March, 1979 and expiring on the thirty-first day of August, 1979 (both dates inclusive).

B oat A hoy: C z e c h o s lo v a k ia F ilm E x p o rt, Czechoslovakia (2002.00 m) Butterflies Myrtle: Filmpolski, Poland (2025.00 m) Exams at Any Old Time: Filmbulgarla, Bulgaria (2025 m) Legend of Rotorua (16 mm): New Zealand National Film Unit, New Zealand (802.00 m) Mad Dog Gang (Meets Rotten Fred and Ratsguts) (16 mm): Ross Jennings, New Zealand (880.00 m) The Orange Watering Truck Hungarofilm, Hungary (2567.00 m) Your brother Abel: Filmpolski, Poland (2057.00 m)

FILMS REFUSED REGISTRATION Brotherhood: R. R. Shaw, Hong Kong (2731.80 m) Reason: Excessive violence Addenda (Titles omitted from previous lists)

FOR RESTRICTED EXHIBITION Bizarre Devices: Araton/Spinello, U.S.A. (1920.00 m)

FOR RESTRICTED EXHIBITION WITH ELIMINATIONS Sip the Wine (a): Bradford/Heffernan/Ward, U.S.A. (2282.00 m) Eliminations: 66.4 m (2 mins 25 secs) Reason: Indecency (a) Originally rejected by Film Censorship Board.

Registered ’R’ with eliminations by direction of the Films Board of Review.

Cruel Passion (Britain). Registered ‘R’ after the deletion of two seconds which the censor regarded as “ undesirable In the public interest” .

Pursuit of Vengeance: R. Shaw, Hong Kong (2605.85

m)

Shaolin Invincible Sticks: Shin Ho (H.K.) Film, Hong Kong (2565.00 m) The Smart Guys: A. Gouw, Hong Kong (2593.00 m) Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (16 mm): N. S. Yuen, Hong Kong (1075.06 m) Tilt: R. Durand, U.S.A. (3099.59 m) A Un Dios Desconocido (To an Unknown God): E. Querejeta, Spain (2940.00 m) (a) Version measuring 2633.28 metres shown on November, 1978 List.

For Restricted Exhibition (R) Big Bad Sis: R. R. Shaw/Shaw Bros, Hong Kong (2648.10 m) The Black Society: W. Ying/S. Ying, Hong Kong (2342.59 m) Centrefold Girls: Cavalcade Piets. Inc., U.S.A. (2486.00

m)

Cyclone: C onacine/Productona/Fllm lca, Mexico (3319.00 m) Extreme Close-up (a): P. Lazarus III, U.S.A. (2166.97

m)

(a) ‘R’ classification shown on April, 1975 List reconfirmed.

Female Factory: D. Chance/Tivoli Films, U.S.A. (2203.00 m) Halloween: Falcon Int’l Prods. U.S.A. (2454.14 m) Hardcore: B. Feltshans, U.S.A. (2938.24 m) Im Lauf Der Zeit (16 mm): W. Wenders, W. Germany (1976.00 m) The Legacy: D. Foster, U.K. (2688.14 m) Lemon Popsicle (Reduced version) (b): M. Golan/Y. Globus, Israel (2553.50 m) (b) Reduced by Importer’s cuts from 2688.00 m (August, 1978 List).

The Love Doctors: C.T.C. Productions, U.S.A. (2413.00 m). Melody in Love: Juno Film Productions, W. Germany/Mauritius (2593.50 m) The Warriors: L. Gordon, U.S.A. (2509.92 m)

Special Conditions: For showing not more than twice at Sydney and/or Melbourne/Adelaide/Brisbane/Perth Film Festival and then exported.

Attention Must Be Paid — The Theatrical Life of Arthur Miller (16 mm): C.B.C. Canada (1000.00 m) Blue Collar: Universal Pictures, U.S.A. (3017.00 m) The Boss’ Son: Boss’ Son Prod., U.S.A. (2770.00 m) Equality: New Jersey Public T.V., U.S.A. (770.00 m) The Hobbit (16 mm): Rankin/Bass Prod. Inc., U.S.A. (899.00 m) On the Yard: Midwest Film Prod. Inc., U.S.A. (2825.00

m)

FILMS REGISTERED WITH ELIMINATIONS Not Recommended for Children (NRC) Speed Fever (Pre-censor cut version): Pictures, Italy (2468.70 m) Eliminations: 39.2 m (1 min. 26 secs) Reason: Excessive violence

Racing

For Restricted Exhibition (R) Cruel Passion: C. Boger, U.K. (2673.50 m) Eliminations: 0.7 m (2 secs) Reason: Undesirable in the public interest

FILMS REFUSED REGISTRATION The Hills Have Eyes (Modified soft version) (a): P. Locke, U.S.A. (2322.50 m) Reason: Excessive violence (a) Previously shown on December, 1978 List.

FILMS BOARD OF REVIEW Nil Note: Title of film notified as Dog Soldiers In October, 1978 List has reverted to Who’ll Stop the Rain? (June, 1978 List).

—Title of film notified as The Silent Flute (November 1978 List) has been altered to Circle of Iron, ijr

29th BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FE S TIV A L 1979 The Berlin International Film Festival was embroiled in controversy this year following the inclusion of Michael Cim­ ino’s The Deer Hunter in the Berlinale’s main program. Protests by the USSR nearly stopped the event after the first three days, and, despite attempts to heal the rift, the Soviet delegation, followed by the Hungarians, East Germans, Czecho­ slovakians and Cubans, withdrew from the Festival. However, despite the walk­ out, the Festival continued. Mari Kuttna, who represented C i n e m a P a p e r s , reports on the controversy, and reviews the line-up of films at the Festival.

Although Donner’s resignation is to be regretted, the appointment of the two new directors for a period of five years could have one great advantage. Until now, Ulrich Gregor had been in charge of the Forum of Young Films (showing nearly 100 entries), which functioned as a counter-festival rather than a fringe event. With Ulrich’s appointment the Forum will now be integrated into the main festival. And as the Forum has out­ shone the main program over the past three years, this can only improve the quality, and certainly widen the range, of the Berlinale.

The Forum of Young Films For reasons difficult to understand, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter was included in the main program of this year’s Berlinale, out of competition, but in prime screening time. Whatever one’s view of the film’s artistic merit (and I would rate it about equal to Midnight Ex­ press, as art and as hardcore sadism), it is bound to have full and well-publicised commercial release in every city, town or village outside the Eastern bloc. Then why was it necessary to give it the extra publicity of a festival showing? Why was it placed alongside modestly-financed and artistically-ambitious films whose only chance of international notice is at festivals? Hollywood was well represen­ ted with Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar and H ardcore (in competition), Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie, and Richard Donner’s Superman.

As it was, the Festival administration had received indications that there would be trouble if The Deer Hunter was in­ cluded: the Soviet delegation had objected to it at the Belgrade festival the previous week.

As the United Nations, its agencies, various summits and peace confer­ ences exist to give the nations the chance to protest, it seems a pity to turn a cultural event like a film festival into a political occasion. However, the fact that the trigger-happy, crude Americans presented as the heroes of The Deer Hunter are from a Russian-settled area, and that the film starts with a Russian Orthodox wedding, obviously riled Soviet sensibilities. And the presentation of the

Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, the film which disrupted this year’s festival, causing the walkout of the Soviet and several other Eastern bloc delegations.

North and South Vietnamese as sadistic gamblers, was a focus for their indigna­ tion.

As a result, the Soviet delegation announced that: “ In one sequence of epi­ sodes of this film, the heroic people of Vietnam are offered an insult, which is particularly inadmissible just now when the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Is suffering from a barbaric attack from China and is conducting a righteous struggle for its freedom and independ­ ence.”

It was said that the Hungarians tried to mediate, and achieved a concession: the Russians would condone The Deer Hunter if it was screened at the end of the Festival. The Festival committee, suppor­ ted by the Mayor of Berlin, rejected the proposal. So the Russians withdrew from the Festival, followed (without coercion, as soon as they saw the sort of film The

Deer Hunter was) by the Hungarians,

East Germans, Czechoslovakians, and Cubans.

Among those who were ordered home by their respective governments were two members of the Festival jury: USSR’s Vera Chytilova and Pal Gabor, the Hun­ garian director whose excellent films are rarely seen in the West — although his Horizon was a critical success when shown in Britain. (It is ironical that Gabor’s latest film, The Training of Vera, which has finally placed him in the front line of Hungarian directors, should be a study of political manipulation In the early days of Stalinism.)

The size of the jury was, therefore, reduced to seven, with only two direc­ tors (Jorn Donner and Lilia Cavani), a critic from Cologne (Georg Alexander), two French writers (Romain Gary and Paul Bartel), and two actresses (Julie Christie and Ingrid Caven). When Julie Christie saw The Deer Hunter, she issued a statement to “support the pro­ test occasioned by it.” But by that time we had been deprived of the Soviet, Czechoslovak, East German, and Cuban competition entries. The Hungarian film was shown, but shorn of its chances of a prize, and disconsolate groups of film­ makers and journalists took off for home.

However, the Festival went on, and the seven jury members sorted out the remaining films and awarded the prizes.

For those who look to Berlin as a valu­ able meeting place of East and West, and who feel that Eastern European films tend to be among the more interesting, the next 10 days were just a little duller than they should have been.

This year’s festival was the last to be run by Wolf Donner, who was appointed as director in 1977. Donner, who announced his resignation last year, said he believed being a film buff was incom­ patible with running a major inter­ national film festival. The directorship of the Festival will now be jointly shared by Moritz van Hadeln, a former director of the Locarno Film Festival, and Ulrich Gregor.

This year, the Forum’s special em­ phasis was on the newest Spanish films, particularly non-fiction, like Jaime Camino’s Old M em ories (La vieja memoria), a historic debate about the Civil War; Boadella’s La Torna, a record of the Catalan Els Joglars theatre group; Noticiari de Barcelona, a collection of newsreels and documentaries; and Ocana by Ventura Pons, an interview film with a Spanish transvestite and artist, whose filmic confessions reveal ali the stresses of being a flamboyant gay in a country where not even heterosexuals are free from the shackles of dogma and traditional attitudes. The first Basque film seen abroad, Toque de Queda, by Inaki Nunez, raises the hope of regional cultural development being possible in Spain.

The other Important series in the Forum was called Young Indian Cinema.

In Britain, the old colonial relationship has made Australians comparatively well informed about Indian aspirations and achievements, and Satyajit Ray is at least as well known as Ingmar Bergman; but this is by no means so on the Continent.

The mood of the series was set by the re­ vival of Ray’s Pather Panchali, which started it all in 1955. The 12 films In the series included three by Mrinal Sen, whose latest, The Man with the Axe (Parashuram) was In the main competi­ tion; two by Shyam Benegai, The Boon and The Role; and a first film by Buddhabed Dasgupta, Distance (Dooratwa) not unlike middle-period Ray in the way the narrative unfolds through unspoken tensions between the protagonists.

As usual, the Forum presented a num­ ber of new films from Third World coun­ tries, as well as well-known ones like Omar Gatlato, and there was the usual deliberate emphasis on films by women.

Some of these were shown (but largely ignored) at festivals in 1978, like Maternale by Giovanna Gagliardo, who had been Miklos Jancso’s scriptwriter and collaborator on the four films he made in Italy. Maternale is a dreamlike, allegori­ cal exploration of the crippling effects of a woman’s traditional role in a maledominated society, where her only means of self-fulfilment are through the emotional maiming of her children.

From Britain, there was Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair, a vivid, vital, if messy, compilation of fantasy animation and feminist myth-questioning by Susan Shapiro, Esther Ronay and Francine Winham. A touch of humor was added by Jan Oxenburg’s A Comedy in Six Un­ natural Acts, a skit on preconceptions about lesbians.

The films in the Forum are considered for prizes by the various unofficial com­ mittees, and the Federation InterCinema Papers, July-August — 433

29th INTERNATIONAL BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

national de la Presse Cinématograph­ ique (FIPRESCI) divided their award, equally between My Way Home by Bill Douglas, and a four-and-a-half hour Italian omnibus documentary, The

combination of sex appeal and business acumen to forge a career. When her hus­ band leaves prison he emigrates rather than interfere with her rise to riches.

When Maria’s wealthy lover dies the husband returns; but at the moment when they could start congratulating themselves on having made their for­ tune, they are killed when she acciden­ tally blows up the house.

It all sounds silly, but watching the luminous beauty of Hanna Schygulla as Maria, and the relentless roll of sex, murder and melodramatic confronta­ tions, one is held spell-bound. Hannah Schygulla and the film’s technical team were awarded a Silver Bear.

Spell-binding an audience is a rare skill among directors, and some of my colleagues maintain that Werner Herzog has achieved it in Nosferatu. The film owes its high moments to the Murnau original, whose story and compositions were copied unashamedly by Herzog.

Nosferatu is visually very beautiful (the designer, Henning von Gierke, was given a Silver Bear for the sets), but it is so slow as to be almost static. While Klaus Kinski is splendid as the long-suffering, melan­ choly monster, a film which aims to be a nightmarish experience should not be entirely soporific.

or exonerate the Nazis; it simply spirits them away. There is never more than the sound of marchers rioting in the street, or heavy boots on the stairs, and the Jewish family seems to be doing away with itself on the quiet, in an empty city. It may be reassuring to German aud­ iences, but it rings false to the rest of us.

Albert — Why? (Albert — warum?), by Josef Rodl, a very young director, was the only German film in the Competition which seemed to have absorbed the influences of ‘direct’ cinema, and the fluidity of plot that films have acquired over the past few years. Hypnotically simple, and shot in black and white, it shares many of the qualities of Bill Douglas’ trilogy.

Albert is a simpleton whose good nature is eroded away by the materialis­ tic, selfish and prejudiced peasants of his small community, until he turns into the village idiot they assume him to be.

Although he is not intelligent, he is proud and sensitive, and being rejected by people causes him more pain than those who have imagination or intellectual pleasures to console them.

The values of Albert — Why? were further validated by the FIPRESCI prize, as well as the Otto Dibelius Prize awarded by the Evangelical Film Jury.

The jury — what was left of it after the walkout — ignored Fassbinder’s and Herzog’s quirky originality. The Golden Bear for the best film went to Peter Lilienthal’s David, a conventional and very slow narration of a Jewish boy’s survival in, and escape from, Nazi Germany. It seems now, when the rest of the Euro­ pean filmmakers are getting bored with stories of Nazi persecution, the Ger­ mans are discovering — possibly in the wake of Holocaust on television — the dramatic potential of their own past.

Lilienthal’s film does not try to explain

The Festival Jury’s Special Prize went to another first feature, Alexandria — Why? from Egypt. Alexandria — Why? has many faults typical of a first film: too many strands of narrative, too many characters and unrelated incidents, everything shot pell-mell and looking as if edited with the garden shears. But director Youssef Chahine offsets the limitations of autobiography, and the confusing muddle of the various plots, with powerful, emotional confrontations about controversial relationships and controversial ideas.

Above: Hanna Schygulla in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun, which opened the competition. Right: Fritz Binner in Josef Rodl's Albert — Why?, winner of the FIPRESCI prize and the Otto Dibellus prize.

Machine Cinema (La macchina cinema)

by four directors, Silvano Agosti, Marco Belloccio, Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, on various aspects of filmmaking.

My Way Home is the third and final part of Bill Douglas’ autobiography. In the first, My Childhood (1972), he depicted the deprived upbringing of two orphans in a small Scottish mining village during the war. In the second, My Ain Folk (1974), their narrow-minded relatives, embittered by bigotry and poverty, drove the little boys to escape and seek asylum in an Edinburgh orphanage. In My Way Home, which was first shown at the Edin­ burgh Festival last year, the elder boy reaches his teens, and is shunted between the orphanage and the harsh, comfortless household of his natural father. Finally, during his military service in the Air Force, the boy forms his first real friendship. With the refreshingly un­ sophisticated metaphor of a previous bleak orchard blossoming in spring, Douglas shows that Jamie’s personality, and probably his talent, is about to flower.

My own Forum favorite was a smallbudget German film, From A Distance I See This Country, directed by Christian Ziewer, about a family of Chilean exiles in West Berlin. The family receives news about the execution of the mother’s brother in Chile, and the father is sacked from a catering job for his alleged union activities. Despite the setbacks, the 16year-old son, through his friendship with a fellow exile from Greece, and through a crush on a German girl,. tries to come to terms with his country of exile.

Reflected in his puzzled interest, aspects of contemporary German life 434 — Cinema Papers, July-August

emerge as unresolved problems, even­ tually affecting Germans as well as the more exposed foreigners. The film has sensitivity and immediacy — sure signs of the director’s talent.

Shown in the Forum, but repeated in the New German Films series, was the latest film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, In a Year with Thirteen Moons (in einem jahr mit 13 monden). Volker Spengler

plays the trans-sexual Erwin Elvira, whose story unfolds in an evenly-timed series of verbal flashbacks, while proceeding on the last five days of his/her life. It is one of Fassbinder’s most successful amalgams of the ordinary and the bizarre, with far more immediacy and fluid, credible intensity than his Douglas S i r k - i n s p i r e d , h e a v i l y s t a ge y melodramas. One of the latter, The Marriage of Maria Braun, was the film which opened the competition in the main festival.

The Competition The Fassbinder films in the Competi­ tion seem very different in style and atmosphere from the one shown in the Forum, and even though I preferred the latter, The Marriage of Maria Braun was still one of the few highlights. It is about a beautiful, relentlessly-romantic girl who marries a soldier in 1943, waits for his return after Germany’s defeat, becomes a nightclub hostess, has an affair with a Negro Gl, and on the sudden arrival of her husband, panics and stabs her lover.

The husband takes the blame and goes to prison, while Maria cashes in on her

29th INTERNATIONAL BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

away from the monotony of urban life turns into an unwitting and even witless defiance; they turn on people as defenceless as themselves, and their search for adventure lands them in a pointless mess. But throughout their wanderings, bickerings and silly little stunts, their unaffected pleasure in being alive, and their capacity for love makes them lovable in turn.

We may not identify with these cheer­ ful, irresponsible little girls, but we can love them. Creating objects for our sym­ pathetic understanding and affection out of the bleakness of modern life is Alain Tanner’s repeated achievement. Further­ more, his cameraman, Renato Berta, can virtually photograph the smell of the alpine wind on a summer morning.

A Knife in the Head (Messer im kopf)

is the fourth or fifth feature film by Rein­ hard Hauff, depending how many of his television productions are taken into account. His The Main Actor attracted much praise last year, in Berlin and as well as at the London Film Festival. A Knife in the Head was produced in Munich, and features some of the best

Another first film, Josta Hagelback’s The Emperor (Kejsaren) could also be said to fail for trying to do too much. The Emperor is the story of a half-Swedish,

half-Polish, and rather retarded young man, and is presented with the trap­ pings of a historical allegory. The young man’s psychosis is expanded to illus­ trate the confusion and madness of Europe on the brink of World War 2. In attempting to make the film complex, Hagelback succeeds only in making it turgid, in spite of the magic touch of his Silver Bear-winning cameraman, Sten Holm berg.

Still, even turgidity could look like a virtue in a Competition which included Francois Truffaut’s vapid conclusion of the Doinel stories, Love in Flight; or Jeanne Moreau’s saccharine Teenager, with every cliche about the pains of adolescence in the beautiful French countryside; or the lush and miscast Italian tale of a bi-sexual teenager called Ernesto, by Salvatore Samperi.

The Silver Bear for the best direction went to Astrid Henning-Jensen, whose charm-sodden details of an idealized labor ward in Denmark made one long for the bitter truths of films like The Chi­ cago Maternity Centre Story, or Birth with R.D. Laing.

The Information Section In view of the second-rate films which dominated the Competition, and the Forum’s determination to show strictlystructured programs of mostly way-out films, the information section of the Ber­ lin Festival is increasingly important and popular. There were various collectors’ pieces, like films from Albania, a fair stack of American Underground, like John Waters’ super-camp Fem ale

police claim that he stabbed a police­ man, but later, in hospital, he fails to recall anything that happened. He cannot even speak, or read, and he has for­ gotten everything he ever knew. Slowly and painfully, he re-learns all his skills, and tries to retrace the emotional con­ fusions which preceded the actual events of his injury.

One strand of the plot is about his marriage: his wife is in love with a fellow activist, whose attitude to the sick man adds to the complications. The wife tries to help her husband, but cannot help loving the dynamic and committed younger man.

Bruno Ganz, as the victim, plays bravely for comedy, even for farce, sometimes against the tensions of the psychological drama, creating a perfor­ mance of unparalleled brilliance. Angela Winkler, who starred in The Lost Honour of Katerina Blum, relies too much on her dignified beauty, but Heinz Honig as the revolutionary, and Udo Samel as the trig­ ger-happy cop, are worthy foils for Ganz’s acting.

Top: Josta Hagelback’s The Emperor which, won Sten Holmberg the Silver Bear for best photography. Above: Reinhard Hauff’s A Knife in the Head, starring Bruno Ganz (right) and Hans Christain Blech.

Trouble, Gates of Heaven by Errol Morris, and Larry Cohen’s The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover.

Among the most enthusiastically received in this section were the Aus­ tralian films covering the past five years, including The Cars That Ate Paris, The Devil’s Playground, The Getting of Wisdom, and In Search of Anna. It

seems sad that there were no Australian representatives to gather bouquets, insti­ gate further sales, or just chat to the press. The all-out effort made by Aus­ tralian film bodies at Cannes each year should not exhaust all resources — surely a little money and energy could be earmarked for publicity and marketing in Berlin?

A Private View In the end, two films redeemed the last days of the Berlinale and restored my flagging faith in the medium: Alain Tan­ ner’s Messidor and Reinhard Hauff’s A Knife in the Head.

If any jury ever gave its prizes for a film’s quality rather than a hundred other, sometimes quite defensible reasons, Messidor: would win them all.

The subject is a neat reversal of the American road film.

Messidor is set in Switzerland where there are no open roads leading into the infinite distance, but only a selfenclosed network. In this net, two imaginative young girls who look for free­ dom and adventure, are caught without any hope of escape. Their attempt to get

Closing with the Berlin premiere of Top and above: Alain Tanner’s Messidor, a neat reversal of the American road film.

German actors, including Bruno Ganz, Angela Winkler, and Hans Christian Blech.

The subject is complex: a man calling for his wife at the headquarters of a political organization is caught up in a police raid and shot in the head. The

Superman, the 1979 Berlinale reached

— appropriately — the end of an era.

While there is no way a festival could be more lavish, better documented, or even better organized, one must hope that a workable relationship with the Russians and Eastern Europe can be restored once again; and that a braver, fresher and more modern programming policy will flow from the Forum into the Berlin Festival from next year, ★ Cinema Papers, July-August — 435

WHEN THE NEWS

When the news ran out

they made their own!

BILL HUNTER • WENDY HUGHES • GERARD KENNEDY

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JO H N DEASE • D REW FORSYTHE • MARK HO LDEN • SU N N E / BROOKE • JO HN CLAYTON • T O N ? BARRY LORNA LESLEY * Director of Photography VINCENT M O N TO N • Production Designer USSA COOTE • Editor JO HN SCOTT • Music

Composed ond Conducted by WILLIAM M O TZINC • Produced by

DAVID ELFICK • Directed by PHIL NOYCE

Released by Roodsho

By early 1977, Elfick had approached the Australian Film Commission and the newlyformed New South Wales Film Corporation for finance. Both bodies were interested, but their At 11 a.m. on July 27, last year, the involvement was made contingent upon Elfick Australian feature film Newsfront opened for securing a commitment from a local distributor business in New South Wales. The box-office to handle the film. After due consideration of the returns indicated an early success. Five months three main distribution/exhibition chains, Elfick later the film — by then in release Australia­ approached Roadshow Distributors. wide and into its 22nd week — was assured of continuing through Christmas and into the New Early Dealings Year. The success of the release was not only a measure of the excellence of the film, but also Roadshow’s initial reaction to Newsfront was the product of an excellent marketing campaign. mixed. The first draft screenplay Elfick sub­ mitted ran three to four hours; the producer and H istory director were relatively unknown; and the proposed cast did not contain any stars.

In 1975, producer David Elfick, and film­ Moreover, the very nature of the concept was maker Philippe Mora, conceived the idea of risky. Opinions at Roadshow, however, were developing a drama around the lives of the divided. Roadshow’s general manager, Greg cameramen from two rival newsreel companies Coote, liked it, while managing director Graham of the 1950s, and interweaving it with archival Burke, and the national project manager, Robyn footage from that period. A first , draft Campbell-Jones, were not overly keen. screenplay was commissioned from Bob Ellis, Campbell-Jones thought it a ‘downer’.

Roadshow’s reservations over Newsfront were and Elfick secured Phillip Noyce as director.

Along with Ellis and dialogue writer Anne understandable; they were being asked to invest Brooksbank, Noyce began working on a further $50,000 in a film whose commercial viability draft. For Elfick and Noyce, Newsfront was was questionable. Besides, this commitment would be in addition to the $50,000 to $100,000 their first major feature film.

Roadshow would have to advance for print and advertising costs, and which, technically, would * This article has been edited from a final year research paper prepared for the Australian Film and Television be at risk. Finally, on July 12, 1977, Roadshow offered to distribute Newsfront through Village School in 1978.

Michael Harvey5

436 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Theatres, and to invest $25,000 in the production.

Elfick hedged, wanting the larger investment, but Roadshow remained reluctant. Although the script had come down to about two hours, they were still very concerned about the lack of stars.

Elfick and Noyce were, by this stage, adamant that Bill Hunter should play the lead, with Angela Punch, Chris Hayward, and Gerard Kennedy as supports.

Elfick, concerned at the prospect of having to start from scratch with a fresh distributor, arranged for a viewing of the screen tests for Robyn Campbell-Jones and Greg Coote. At this stage, Roadshow suggested Wendy Hughes to play the female lead; she appealed as a minor star with positive on-screen qualities. Elfick agreed.

On August 31, 1977, Greg Coote and Robyn Campbell-Jones viewed videotapes of the cast and agreed to come in for $50,000.

Tow ards a Concept Four weeks later, and one week before shooting, Roadshow, in conjunction with Palm Beach Films and the New South Wales Film Corporation, held a press conference at the Boulevard Hotel to announce the signing of the contracts and the commencement of filming.

Key members of the cast were present, wearing period costume. Thus, from the beginning, Newsfront was emphasized as a 1950s film. It was also presented as a film with a large ensemble of actors, with faces and names either familiar, half familiar, or hopefully soon-to-befamiliar. This concept was the first definite ‘image’ on which Roadshow chose to peg their publicity, and remained part of the campaign.

Key members of the cast were to attend the launching of the film in every state. Robyn Campbell-Jones had suggested that the producers write into the contracts of the main actors, the provision of five free days publicity.

Such a clause was virtually without precedent in Australia.

Newsfront started shooting, and kept a lowprofile — certainly when compared with the production publicity of films such as Eliza.

Fraser and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.

The unit publicist, A1 Thompson, arranged for a radio listeners’ group to view archival fbotage of

NEVER BEFORE HAS A FILM BEEN SO ACCLAIM ED BEST PICTURE PR O D U C ER

DAVID ELFICK

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SEE VILLAGE DIRECTORY FOR SESSION TIMES

ANGELA PUNCH

B E ST S C R E E N P L A Y PHIL N O Y C E BOB ELLIS A N N E BR O O K SBA N K

BEST EDITOR JOHN

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the 1956 Olympic water polo match, and for the Womens Weekly to cover the filming of the Redex dance sequence. Apart from this, and a mild burst of publicity during the shooting of the recreated Maitland Floods sequence, there was little other exposure.

Shooting ended by New Year and the film entered post-production. The editing of Newsfront took longer than anticipated, and it was not until the end of May 1978 that Robyn Campbell-Jones was able to view a final cut. The effect on the promotion of the film was two-fold: there was no researching of alternative strategies; and the campaign was late in being finalized.

Campbell-Jones prepared a preliminary campaign report based on a viewing of a rough first cut. The report contained the seeds of what eventually became the campaign. In a word, the keynote of Campbell-Jones’ report was caution.

Roadshow were not sure what they had. Their initial reaction was that the film was potentially good, but a difficult one to categorize; it could be seen as a saga, an adventure, a personal drama, or even a documentary.

The absence of a clearly-defined image makes a film difficult to sell. With Newsfront, there was also the fear that the documentary aspect could prove negative. There was concern that the film would only attract an audience of 40 year-olds and over, missing out on the lucrative 18-30 year-old age group.

The main conclusion of Campbell-Jones’ report was ‘wait and see’, and the accompany­ ing strategy was based on preview screenings and a single city release. The intention was two­ fold: to gauge reaction, and to create a momentum based on word of mouth. And this was what did happen, although in a manner not entirely predicted.

Meanwhile, regular investment meetings were held, which Roadshow attended. At the first of these, Roadshow asked that negotiations for an LP of the soundtrack and the book of the film be expedited.

Roadshow also suggested a city-by-city release for the film: an approach which was first used for The Goodbye Girl with considerable success. Previously, such films were generally released simultaneously, to maximize the impact of the promotion. This suggestion, however, also confirmed Roadshow’s wariness of the potential of the film.

Another issue concerned the possibility of Newsfront being included in the Sydney Film Festival. Discussion on this subject, however, was adjourned, pending a firm offer from the Festival, and investigation of the possibility of the film being at the Cannes Film Festival.

One month later, at a second investors’ meeting, the subject of Newsfront being included in the Sydney Film Festival was raised again. By then an offer had been received for Newsfront to open the Festival. David Elfick was tempted, but the NSWEC, and Roadshow particularly, were hesitant. They felt that the eight weeks or so between the Festival screening and the com­ mercial release could be too long.

By late February, Elfick advised Roadshow

that the film had been restructured, and that the running time was down to 110 minutes. A screening date was fixed for early April.

The subject of the Sydney Film Festival versus the Cannes Film Festival was again broached.

By then Robyn Campbell-Jones was adamant that the risk of a Sydney Film Festival showing was too great. If the film was successful, it might be regarded as an ‘art’ film, and if it was a failure, a panning could be disastrous. Tradi­ tionally, films are not reviewed until the week of release other than at festivals. Bad reviews could do damage to the film’s prospects without heavy media advertising to offset them. On the other hand, a bad review at the Cannes Film Festival could be buried on the grounds that the standards at the competition were high.

It was finally agreed not to open the Sydney Festival, but to take the film to Cannes. An undercurrent during all this appeared to have been a fear that the film would prove an artistic success, but a commercial failure.

In March, negotiations with Bob Ellis to write a paperback version of his screenplay broke down. By agreement, the Australian rights passed to Roadshow, who commissioned author Robert Macklin to write the novel. Negotia­ tions with EMI for the production of a sound­ track LP, however, were successfully completed.

(Elfick gave the rights to EMI free in return for the production of an album — although he was disappointed with their promotion of the record.)

By May, Robyn Campbell-Jones had the answer print. The stage was set to finalize the campaign.

The problem s of an Im age Newsfront lacked an image. Roadshow’s managing director Graham Burke, who had seen the answer print, liked the film but did not have a clue how to sell it. There were, however, five ways in which it could be sold: 1. As an art film, because of the unique format.

2. To an over-40s audience, because of the 1950s theme.

3. To an under-25 audience, because of the current nostalgia for the period.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 437

SELLING NEWSFRONT

4. On the array of stars.

5. As a human interest, personal drama.

The problem was that no one element was strong enough, and it seemed impossible to create an image that combined all five. Added to this was the admission by Roadshow even at that stage that they did not know how good the film was.

Two developments then took place which convinced Roadshow of Newsfront’s potential.

The first was the Cannes Film Festival. It had been decided to preview Newsfront at Cannes, but the film (among other Australian features) had been living in the shadow of Fred Schepisi’s The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Schepisi’s Devil’s Playground had been an outstanding artistic success, and if any film was to rescue an Australian industry from its financial doldrums, it was the $1.2 million Jimmie Blacksmith.

Schepisi decided to hurry completion of his film to enter the official competition, but Elfick preferred not to rush Newsfront, and opted for non-competitive showings. So, Newsfront went to Cannes as one of a number of ‘other’ Aus­ tralian films, virtually unannounced.

However, while Jimmie Blacksmith failed to win the expected prize, and in Australian eyes was deemed a failure, Newsfront received rave reviews from most of the international press at Cannes. The wire services were running hot with reports of the “dark horse” and the “underdog” doing brisk business with the festival audiences.

Roadshow suddenly found Newsfront gaining local space and air-time; almost overnight, a curious demand had been created around this unseen local film.

Roadshow, however, remained cautious, thinking that a film which used intercuts of newsreel footage would naturally be attractive to film buffs and festival audiences. Cannes secured extremely good copy for Newsfront, but it did not guarantee box-office success.

The other development which indicated Newsfront’s potential was the preview screenings. The need for research previews had been anti­ cipated; it was the second occasion Roadshow had used this technique (the first being The Goodbye Girl). Preview screenings for Newsfront began in May, eight weeks before the scheduled release. The method adopted was to screen the film on Friday and Saturday nights back-to-back with a film of similar, though proven, attraction. The audience would then be handed a detailed questionnaire and asked to complete it before leaving. (In this case the other film was The Goodbye Girl. For a while, Road­ show switched this with The Serpent’s Egg after audiences declared their preference for The Goodbye Girl, but reverted back to The Goodbye Girl at the producer’s insistence.)

Despite the audience’s preference for the American product, the reaction to Newsfront was outstanding. The qualities in the film that appealed were the newsreel footage, the auth­ enticity, the performances, the humor, the personal drama, and the human interest. The only aspect that found disfavor was the storyline, which was regarded as weak. But overall acceptance and enjoyment of the film ran at around 80 per cent, which was extremely high by usual standards. Roadshow finally realized they had not only an artistic film, but a very commercial one too.

Beginnings of th e Cam paign On June 19, 1978, Robyn Campbell-Jones prepared her second report, which had a detailed breakdown of the proposed campaign. The screenings had performed a valuable function: they had indicated the significant features of the film, isolated the target audience, and started an 438 — Cinema Papers, July-August

extrem ely healthy w ord-of-m outh. The campaign incorporated these elements.

The target audience was split into three groups: 1. The ‘art’ audience attracted by the film’s unique format, and overseas festival successes; 2. Adults aged 35 and over, who could remember the actual events related in the film; and 3. The 18 to 30 age group who would be drawn by the current nostalgia for the ’50s.

The previews clearly showed there was little or no m arket for the under-18s; the most unfavorable responses came from that group.

The report advised that advertising would be directed to these target audiences. Ever mindful of Newsfront’s ‘documentary’ image, it also suggested that the newsreel material should not be featured in advertising, but restricted to the promotion of the film. The image for the film was to be “big picture, personal drama” . (In the event, the advertising in fact contained a wider appeal than this.)

The release date for Sydney was set for July 27, and Melbourne four weeks later, on August . 24, immediately after the Australian Film Institute awards. The release date between Sydney and Melbourne was staggered in case Sydney’s figures indicated the need to change the campaign. Gosford was to open the night after Sydney and, for political reasons, to be the official NSW premiere.

The premieres in Sydney and Gosford were to be gala occasions. In Sydney, the stars were to arrive in vintage cars, with guests dressed in 1950s costume, ex-newsreel cameramen with equipment, and radio competition winners; ’50s music was to be played throughout, followed by a ’50s supper.

The advertising expenditure in each state was to be $20,000. In each budget $5000 was allocated to the press, $12,000 to television, and $3000 for promotion (functions and travelling expenses for stars etc). Press ads were to be run in all major newspapers, commencing five days before the premiere. Television commercials were to be placed after 7.30 p.m. (being rated ‘A’ along with the film) in top-rating shows, specials, and films that appealed to the over-18s.

Excerpts from the film were issued to all stations.

In addition, free promotion was to be set up (facilitated by the success at Cannes) with radio and television talk shows, and newspaper columnists, including a Women’s Weekly correspondent interviewing director Phillip Noyce (then in London for the festival); profiles on various stars in Cleo, Cosmopolitan, New Idea, TV Week, and POL\ interviews with Elfick in professional journals; plugs on the ABC, the Don Lane Show, the Mike Walsh Show, Caroline Jones’ City Extra, and 2SM. Other promotional tie-ins included: the' possibility of a serialization of the story of Newsfront in one of the dailies; a newspaper com­ petition for home snaps of 30 years ago; and an approach to Myers and David Jones for window displays with a 1950s fashion theme.

The paperback was due to be available on the stands by July 7. The publishers would be helped with window displays, and their representatives invited to see the film.

The EMI album would be released with a special film jacket in time for the opening. In addition, a range of other accessories including production notes, black and white stills, color transparencies, and a special Newsfront badge were to be available.

Because of the obvious educational aspect of the film, a 12-page fold-out study guide was specially commissioned from researcher Barbara Boyd, and sent out to secondary schools

ROADSHOW DISTRIBUTORS PTY LTD CP0 BOX 2581 SYDNEY

NSW

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Dear Theatre Patron : We are in te r e s te d in c o n tin u in g to o f f p r you m ovies th a t you e n jo y .

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The questionnaire used by Roadshow to test the audience reaction to Newsfront at preview screenings.

or sold over the counter. More than 1000 of these guides were sent out to schools in Victoria.

In the meantime, the task remained to finalize the press advertising and the television commercials.

Shortly before leaving for Cannes, David Elfick had produced a trailer cut by the film’s editor, John Scott, which utilized a single 1950s song You Belong to Me over a jnontage of excerpts from the film, most of which emphasized the personal drama and human interest aspects of the story. Robyn CampbellJones, who was impressed with the simplicity and impact of this trailer, edited down a shortened version for television. This became the main commercial. But at the last moment, Clemenger-Bryson, the Melbourne advertising agency handling the publicity work, came up

At the Sydney opening of Newsfront. An actor dressed as a ’50s newsreel cameraman is taped by a Channel Ten news team.

SELLING NEWSFRONT

logo, with captions ranging from, “They covered the action and shared the excitement” , to “Newsfront tells the story” .

The graphic was finalized in the form of a with another idea. Although Roadshow had collage of the four main stars set against a back­ generally steered away from the newsreel aspect ground of stills taken either from newsreel or of Newsfront, the agency submitted a 60-second from the film, with the caption, “ When the news commercial which consisted of dramatic ran out, they made their own” , above, and the excerpts from the original newsreel clips cut to Newsfront banner below. This became the the beat of the drum. Despite the emphasis on ‘image’ for the press ads, as well as the various the newsreel, the ad impressed Greg Coote and bills and handouts.

Two points need further mention. The first Graham Burke. It became the back-up com­ mercial and used concurrently with the first, concerns the nature of the contribution of the with each commercial projecting a different two advertising agencies. The Melbourne agency image of the film. submitted the alternative commercial late, and Meanwhile, work had been progressing on the the Sydney agency provided the final caption graphic design for the press ads. As always, the amidst a welter of companion material, most of problem was to conceive a ‘corporate’ image. which was unsuitable. On the face of it, the use Most of the layouts reflected the film’s diverse of an agency creates something of a problem. On aspects. Many of them contained a series of the one hand, because of their relative inexper­ small pictures of either the stars, or excerpts of ience in dealing with cinema advertising, some the newsreels, underlined with the Newsfront form of guidelines is appropriate; on the other, such criteria may inhibit creativity and merely reinforce the distributor’s own idea patterns.

The second point concerns the nature of the final television commercials and the press graphic. Of the original five elements con­ sidered significant in the film (art house, historic and nostalgic stars, and personal drama), three were represented in either the commercials or the press ads. Thus the original problem of being unable to present a single image became invalidated by the overall campaign concept.

The fact that this solution was not a conscious process, but rather a part of the overall evolution, was typical of the entire campaign.

A special promotion for Newsfront in the window of a record shop soon after the LP went on sale.

The Release

David Elfick receiving the Award for Best Film at the 1978 AFI Awards. The eight Awards carried off by Newsfront had a staggering effect on the film’s box-office.

The campaign got under way in Sydney, with a final touch from the producer. Elfick had been working in the Roadshow, office with the campaign team. His contribution had been significant — certainly sufficient to warrant an office and a salary for the period he was present.

Roadshow favored the practice. They were dealing with a marketing-orientated producer, which engendered a sense of mutual commit­ ment, As Roadshow’s general manager put it:

“ If a campaign fails, at least the producer is more inclined to say ‘we’ blew it, rather than ‘they’ blew it.” It was Elfick who suggested the final “Ten days to go . . . Nine days to go” countdown.

Since Cannes, a groundswell of interest had been building up around the film. This was rein­ forced by the word-of-mouth generated by the preview screenings and daily snippets in the media. There was an air of expectation about the film — a sense of anticipation and curiosity. The daily countdown served this expectation well.

Shortly before the film was launched, a series of ‘action sheets’ were issued, detailing arrange­ ments for the premiere, the itinerary for the stars, liaison for the ex-Cinesound and exMovietone cameramen, and the merchandising of the book and record.

On July 27, 1978, Newsfront opened in the Village Cinema City 2, in Sydney. A campaign report issued shortly after said: “ Bunting in green, black and white, was strung from the theatre awning and a large herald proclaiming ‘Newsfront World Premiere’ hung over the main doors in George Street. The stars of the film arrived at the premiere in the Cinetone News­ reel car from the film . . . At the theatre they were greeted by an MC who kept a running patter on the evening’s events to a large crowd gathered outside. The whole event was covered

by Channel Ten’s Live Eye News which was screened to the crowds on closed circuit monitors. In addition, a ’50s-dressed newsreel cameraman simultaneously covered the action. “ In the foyer, newsreel film was screening, and each lady received a spray of wattle.

Following the screening, a party was held in the foyer, accompanied by songs of the ’40s and ’50s . . . The opening had been turned into a glittering occasion.” (It may safely be assumed that the report also formed a press statement.)

The New South Wales premiere was held at Gosford the next day; it was attended by the Premier Mr Neville Wran, producer David Elfick, and stars Bill Hunter, Gerard Kennedy and Lorna Leslie. July 28 also marked the first day of business.

Early Returns. The AFI Awards Greg Coote once said that the prospects of afilm could usually be judged by 11.05 a.m. on the day of release. By such accounts Newsfront did extremely well. In its opening week in Cinema City 2, the film grossed $18,846.

This figure may be compared with The Picture Show Man (opening week $11,567), High Rolling ($8205) and Storm Boy ($20,848).'

In the context of concurrently playing imported films, Newsfront also rated satis­ factorily. In that same opening week, The Goodbye Girl (by then into its 21st week) took $11,648, and 1900 (6th week) grossed $3516. Of perhaps further significance, Hooper, a Burt Reynolds stunt-action film, opened four weeks later with a larger advertising budget and grossed only $31,418.

Most films have a strong first week, if only as a result of (and in direct proportion to) their advertising budget. However, the weeks immediately after are the crucial ones. It is then that the word-of-mouth, good or otherwise, reflects the public’s acceptance of the film.

Concluded on P. 477 1. The figures must be adjusted slightly to compensate for the fractionally lower admission prices at the time these films were released. It must also be pointed out that Storm Boy was playing in a number of other houses within the Sydney metropolitan area. It was the most suc­ cessful Australian film for some time; in 1977 it was responsible for 10 per cent of Roadshow’s revenue.

Against this, Newsfront compared favorably.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 439

GUIDE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN FILM PRODUCER: PART 15 INCOME TAX PROVISIONS AND PROCEDURES In this 15th part of an 18-part series, Cinema Papers' contributing editors Antony I. Ginnane and Ian Baillieu, and solicitor Leon Gorr discuss certain income tax law provisions and practices applicable to film production and investment.

pends on the circumstances, particularly the pur­ pose for which the film is being made, the person or persons who will own the copyright in the film, and the manner in which the film is to be marketed.

Introduction

Section 51 : Deductions and the Capital/Revenue Distinction

The recent Australian tax amendments, aimed at encouraging investment in Australian films (by allowing capital expenditure on acquiring in­ terests in the film copyright to be written off over a two-year period, instead of over 25 years as previously), have apparently not yet had much effect in increasing private investment in film production.

This may be, in part, because of difficulties faced, or imagined, by producers having their proposed films certified Australian, as required to qualify for the two-year write-off.

However it is also because the two-year write­ off is still not regarded by prospective investors as sufficiently generous, particularly as it does not begin until the year in which the investment begins to generate income.

As a result, various tax ‘structures’ are being promoted to attract investment in films. These are intended to enable the investor to write-off the whole of his investment in one year, and even in some cases to obtain a tax deduction greater than the amount actually invested. An intending investor should approach any such structure with caution.

On examination, the alleged tax benefits may be found to depend on a controversial inter­ pretation of a tax provision which, although backed by professional opinion, has not yet been tested in court. Even if legally correct, if any part of the structure is artificial or contrary to commercial com monsense, the tax savings may be vulnerable to retrospective anti-tax avoidance legislation.

To assess the practicability of any proposed tax structure, it is necessary to look at the struc­ ture overall, i.e. not just at the alleged effect on the tax position of the investor, but at the effect on each other party in the structure.

The participation of each party should be cornmercially justifiable from that party’s point of view. Ideally, the tax treatments accorded by the respective parties to the outlays and receipts effected by payments between them should be compatible, and should rely on consistent inter­ pretations of the facts.

Obviously, in assessing the validity of a tax structure it is necessary to examine the terms of the proposed contracts defining the relation­ ships between the parties.

The prudqnt prospective investor will have such examination undertaken on his behalf by a professional representative. Whether or not pay­ ments made, or liabilities undertaken to produce, or to finance the production of a film are tax deductible, and if so at what rate, de­ 440 — Cinema Papers, July-August

The main provision of the Income Tax Assess­ ment Act relating to allowable deductions is sec­ tion 51(l): “ All losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in gaining or pro­ ducing the assessable income, or are neces­ sarily incurred in carrying on a business for the purpose of gaining or producing such in­ come, shall be allowable deductions except to the extent to which they are losses or out­ goings of capital, or of a capital, private or domestic nature, or are incurred in relation to the gaining or production of exempt income” .

It has been judicially commented that down to the words “ allowable deductions” the wording of the section refers to a category of losses/outgoings that is wide enough to include losses/outgoings of a capital nature. Therefore it was necessary for the draftsman to add the excep­ tion relating to capital items.

The Act does not define “capital” expendi­ ture. The determination of whether a loss or out­ going is of a capital or of a revenue (i.e. non­ capital) nature is a matter of fact to be decided on general concepts with the aid of judicial elaboration. There is a vast body of case law relating to this issue.

The essential distinction is between expendi­ ture for the purpose of establishing or enlarging the business entity, structure or organization which is set up for the earning of profit, and expenditure incurred in maintaining and opera­ ting that entity, structure or organization to pro­ duce regular returns by means of regular outlay, the difference between the outlay and the returns representing profit or loss. The latter expendi­ ture is of a revenue nature and is immediately deductible under section 51(l).

In making that distinction it is relevant to consider: (i) The character of the advantage sought by the outlay, and in particular whether it has lasting qualities; (ii) The manner in which such advantage is to be used, relied upon or enjoyed; (iii) The means adopted to obtain the ad­ vantage, i.e. whether it is by periodical outlays to cover its use or enjoyment for periods commensurate with the pay­ ment, or by making a final provision or payment so as to secure future use or enjoyment.

Expenditure, therefore, may be considered of a revenue nature if its purpose is to fuel, rather

than to establish, the income-generating furnace.

50 the cost of replenishing the circulating capital of a business may be deductible under section 51( l )• Applying these principles, it is clear that nor­ mal film marketing, promotion and distribution expenses are outgoings of a revenue nature. As release prints of a film have a relatively short life, it appears that their cost should also be regarded as a revenue type outgoing.

On the other hand, the costs of producing all the other items that form the property in a film appear, in most cases, to be capital outgoings if the producer becomes the owner of the property.

Such costs include the costs of acquiring any rights needed to produce the film, and the salaries and fees paid to the production employees and contractors, whether ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line’ in the film budget.

One exceptional case is that of the commer­ cial television station owner, regularly acquiring or producing film programs to meet its own broadcasting requirements. Since such an owner does not sell, or hire out the films as such (but sells advertising time), and since the commer­ cial value of each program falls sharply after it is first broadcast, the costs may be regarded as merely replenishing the owner’s circulating capital, and so of a revenue nature.

Some items may be difficult to classify, as either production costs or distribution costs — e.g. a deferred fee payable to the film director out of the film proceeds. The classification de­ pends on a close examination of all the relevant facts. In practice it may have to be negotiated with the Commissioner of Taxation.

Production Service Organizations Where the producer does not become the owner of the property produced, but is merely providing a film production service, the produc­ tion costs (including fees paid to sub-contrac­ tors) may be treated as the costs of operating a business, i.e. as revenue-type outgoings, which are deductible under section 51(1), provided of course the service is for the purpose of gaining assessable income currently or at some future time. Such production services, therefore, need to be provided for some kind of fee or reward (which will be assessable income when it is derived).

Care is needed in defining the fee or reward. If it is not fixed, but consists of a percentage of fut­ ure proceeds from the film, it might be argued that the production service costs are incurred in establishing some enduring right or advantage and should therefore be characterised as capital outgoings (e.g. the Tata Hydro-Electric case (1937)A.C.685).

To avoid the producer becoming the owner of the film property, the production work must be

GUIDE FOR THE FILM PRODUCER

undertaken for some other person pursuant to a the exception contained in section 51(1) relating contract that specifies that the other person is'to to capital outgoings, thus enabling such expendi­ become the owner. (The same contract will ture to be deducted if it otherwise falls within the specify the fee or reward.) wording of section 51(1). The extent to which From the point of view of the person who this can apply to film production expenditure is becomes the owner, the fee or reward will uncertain. probably be (under Australian law) a capital The definition of trading stock in section 6 outgoing, and as such only tax-deductible in “ includes anything produced, manufactured, ac­ accordance with those provisions of the Act that quired or purchased for purposes of manufac­ allow capital type outlays to be deducted. So, if ture, sale or exchange” . It appears that the film it is to be financed out of the owner’s assessable stock and the film negative (being things ac­ income (e.g. proceeds from the film), care must quired or produced “for purposes of manufac­ be taken to ensure that the owner also has ture”), and likewise the film script, and possibly money to pay the tax assessed on any excess of even film scripts in a literary property, could fall such income over the deductible amount of the within this definition of trading stock. outgoing.

However, for section 51X2) to operate, the These difficulties may not arise if the owner is relative expenditure must have been incurred in an overseas entity, situated in a jurisdiction the “purchase” of the stock. Since the film script which either does not tax the income or allows and the negative are normally produced or full deduction of the outgoing. But any contract manufactured by the producer, not purchased, it between an Australian resident and an overseas seems that expenditure on such items will not resident requires prior consent from the Reserve often be rendered deductible under section 51(1) Bank. by section 51(2).

Many of the tax structures mentioned above Other provisions of the Act require trading involve use of the production service concept. stock on hand at the end of the financial year to For example, film investors may form a partner­ be valued, and if the total valuation (based, at ship to provide production services, so as to the taxpayer’s option, on cost price, market sell­ immediately obtain section 51(1) deductions for ing price or replacement price) is more or less their contributions to the cost of the production. than the total valuation of trading stock on hand There is nothing commercially wrong with this at the beginning of the year, the excess or defici­ approach (apart from the risks of joining in ency is treated as assessable income or an allow­ partnership with strangers), but the investor able deduction respectively. So, even if some of partners should understand for whom they are the cost of a film negative, for instance, is producing the film, what their remuneration is to rendered deductible by section 51(2), such consist of, and how its payment is to be financed deduction may be at least partially offset by the by the film owner. The last question is especially corresponding obligation to bring to account as relevant if the investor partner will also have assessable income an end-of-financial year some equity in the entity which will own the film. valuation of the negative.

Besides the net“benefit arising from any such The foregoing remarks apply to the producer equity in the film, and the benefit of any profit of a film. In the typical case where a company made by the partnership business, the main undertakes a production as trustee for a group of benefit from investment through a service investors, it is the trustee who must claim the partnership is simply deferral of tax, since the trading stock purchase deduction (if it is avail­ fees earned will be assessable when eventually able at all). received. Sometimes the tax benefit is aug­ What the investor-beneficiaries purchase is mented by the investor assigning his partnership their beneficial interests under the trust. It seems interest to a family member who has a lower very unlikely that such interests could be treated as the investors’ trading stock, in the hands of marginal tax rate.

If the production service organization is a unit the investors. trust, with the investors as the beneficiaries, then clearly it is not the investors, but the trustee — Loss Incurred in Carrying on a the one who incurs the expenditure — who may Schem e claim the deduction under section 51(1).

Deductibility of Capitaltype Outlays When the outlay on production of a film can­ not be characterized as revenue-type, e.g. when the person making’the outlay becomes an owner of the film (except in the special case already mentioned of regular production by a television station owner), the outlay — or part of it — may still be deductible against assessable income' in three possible ways under the Act: as trading stock purchase expenditure under section 51(1) and (2); as a loss incurred from the carrying on of a scheme under section 52; or it may, in effect, be depreciated under Part III, Division 10B of the Act as a capital cost of creating or acquiring a legal or equitable right in a copyright subsist­ ing in Australia.

P urchase o f Trading Stock Section 51(2) provides that expenditure “in­ curred in the purchase of stock used by the tax­ payer as trading stock” shall be deemed not to be an outgoing of a capital nature. The main ef­ fect of this is to remove such expenditure from

The extent to which section 52 may render film production capital expenditure deductible is also uncertain. The section provides that any “loss incurred” by a taxpayer “from the carry­ ing on or carrying out of any undertaking or scheme” — the profit (if any) from which would have been included in the taxpayer’s assessable income — shall be an allowable deduction.

Section 52 is the counterpart of section 26(a) which provides that any profit, arising from the carrying out of a profit-making undertaking or scheme shall be assessable.

For the purpose of these provisions, the courts have interpreted “undertaking or scheme” to mean a systematic and unified course of action by the taxpayer aimed, as a whole, at producing a profit at its end. They have said that there must be a transaction that is entire in itself, not forming part of a more extensive or continuing business. For example, the periodic receipt of rentals for property manufactured and hired out is characteristic of a continuing business, rather than of a unified scheme.

This must greatly restrict the application of section 52 to film production, since most films are produced, not for outright sale, but for marketing over a period, or marketing by means of licensing the copyright in return for film ren­ tal. '

Besides that, it is unclear whether a loss for the purpose of section 52 can properly be calcu­ lated and claimed as a deduction until the under­ taking or scheme has been completed; however the Commissioner is believed to have allowed some claims under section 52 for in-progress los­ ses calculated at the end of a tax year, before completion of the relevant scheme.

The allowable deduction is not necessarily the gross amount of the outgoings, but the net loss after offsetting any receipts. For that purpose, capital receipts may be counted. Moreover, un­ der the section, the calculation may not include the cost of any property “ acquired by the tax­ payer” unless, in the first tax return lodged after the acquisition, the taxpayer notifies the Com­ missioner that such property was acquired for the purpose of carrying on or carrying out of a profit-making undertaking or scheme, or unless the Commissioner is satisfied that it was.

Where film production is undertaken by a company as trustee for investors, there is no reason, in principle, why the trustee and an in­ vestor may not both claim losses under section 52 (assuming the section requirements are met), however, in each case the calculation must relate to the outgoings and receipts of the respective taxpayer. In the trustee’s case, the moneys sub­ scribed by the investors may have to be counted as receipts. In an investor’s case, the only out­ going is the subscription for a beneficial interest in the trust, and a notice to the Commissioner will usually be required.

On the whole, it seems that section 52 has very limited use as a means of making film produc­ tion capital costs deductible sooner than they would be under Division 10B.

Acquisition of C opyright In te re s t The general scheme of Division 10B is now fairly well-known to filmmakers', so only the following points will be mentioned here: Firstly, as the Division only applies to capital outlays, it cannot apply to expenditure that is deemed by section 51(2) not to be capital, i.e. expenditure “incurred in the purchase of stock used by the taxpayer as trading stock” . It has already been suggested however that section 51(2) has little application to film production, because the negative is not normally “pur­ chased” .

Secondly, the Division only applies to an in­ terest in a copyright subsisting in Australia. It is not clear whether the fact that foreign copyright is created simultaneously upon production of the Australian copyright means that the production expenditure should strictly be apportioned between them. In practice, the Commissioner has accepted claims to treat the whole of such expenditure as the cost of acquiring a copyright interest within the Division.

Thirdly, the Division only applies to an owner who has “used” his unit of industrial property (i.e. the copyright interest) or the relative work or subject matter, for the purpose of producing assessable income.

It is not clear what the owner has to do to “use” his unit, and it might be argued that, where a film is produced and marketed by a company acting as a trustee for investors, the in­ vestors are merely passive beneficiaries and do not use the film or their equitable interests in the film copyright. In practice, the Government and the Tax Department have obviously assumed that it is the film investors who should obtain the Division 10B deductions.

Continued on P. 475 J. Cinema Papers, April. 1977. p. 381.

Cinema Papers, July-August — 441

Compiled by Terry Bourke UNITED STATES Production activity in the U.S. has been hec­ tic, with the major studios, especially Univer­ sal, committed to heavy schedules at home and abroad.

Special interest is centred on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, following its trial runs in New York and Los Angeles, and the un­ veiling at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. Cop­ pola will now spend about three months mak­ ing final adjustments to the $32 million Viet­ nam war epic before its general release through United Artists in October.

Walt Disney Productions have bought the Time Warp script written by Australian director Brian Trenchard Smith. But they will await boxoffice response to their $18.6 million Black Hole at the end of the year before making any production decision on Time Warp. However, Trenchard Smith is likely to direct a Disney film in September.

Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Mean Streets) has finally started shooting Raging Bull with Robert de Niro, based on the career of world m iddlew eight cham pion Jake La M otta.

Producers for United Artists are Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff (Rocky).

Michael Schultz (Car Wash) is directing Scavenger Hunt for Melvin Simon Produc­ tions; Clive Donner (Alfred The Great, Vampira) directing Don Adams in The Return of Maxwell Smart for Universal, with Jennings Lang producing; Tak Fujimoto (who shared cinematography credits with Brian Probyn on Terence M a lik’s Badlands) is shooting Jonathon Demme’s Melvin and Howard for Universal; Terence Young (Walt Until Dark, The Klansmen) has Laurence Olivier starring as General Douglas MacArthur in Inchon, on an $18 m illion budget, at Korean and Hollywood locations; Robert Stigwood has signed Christopher Walken and Lauren Bacall for the horror film The Fan, and will soon an­ nounce a major director for a late-August start in Los Angeles.

Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) is into post-production on Heaven’s Gate, shot between April and June as The Johnson County War; Brad Davis (Midnight Express) stars with Karen Allen in Rob Cohen’s A Small Circle of Friends, now shooting for United Ar­ tists; Carl Reiner (The One And Only) is directing Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in The Jerk for Universal.

Women directors at work are Anne Bancroft, also starring with Dorn de Luise in Fatso for 20th Century-Fox; and Joan Micklin Silver, supervising final editing on Chilly Scenes in Winter for United Artists. Actress Dyan Cannon is also set to embark on, the first of three features as director.

Lamont Johnson is directing Burt Lan­ caster in Cattle Annie and Little Britches for Hemdale-United Artists; Gary Busey and Jodie Foster star for Robert Kaylor in Carny (Lorimar Films); James Goldstone (Roller Coaster) is supervising final special effects for producer Irwin Allen’s The Day The World Ended, starr­ ing Paul Newman, William Holden and Jac­ queline Bisset for Warner Bros; Hal Ashby (Shampoo, Coming Home) directs Peter Sellers in United Artists' Being There; Richard Gere in Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo; John Carpenter (Halloween, Elvis — The Movie) is directing Hal Holbrook in The Fog, for Avco Embassy Pictures.

Marty Feldman (The Last Remake of Beau Geste) is back in directorial capacity for Universal’s In God We Trust (or, Gimme That Prime Time Religion), co-starring with Peter Boyle and Louise Lasser.

The Zanuck-Brown Company is to end a seven-year association with Universal Studios (The Sting, Jaws and Jaws 2) to return to 20th Century-Fox early in 1980. Richard Zanuck and David Brown were production executives at Fox when they left in 1972 to form their own company. During their Fox tenure, the studios made millions from several big hits, including The Sound of Music, M*A*S*H, and The French Connection. They will complete current comm itm ents at Universal, including The Island, starring Michael Caine and Australian actress Angela Punch, and National Lam­ poon’s Jaws 3 — People 0, now being shot.

They also have a contract to produce The Continuation of Gone With The Wind for Universal-MGM.

442 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Mark Hamill in a scene from Star Wars II, now shooting.

BRITAIN The first six months have been encouraging, with top-grossing films consolidating the overall box-office, and production remaining constant.

Five features were before the cameras in the four main studios in June, nine were in final post-production, and seven were shooting on British and international locations.

Definite start-dates have been given for six features between July and November, in­ cluding the long-delayed Sir Lew Grade suspense-thriller Green Ice, to be directed by Anthony Simmons.

Irvin Kerschner (A Man Called Horse) is helping the original Star Wars cast at EMI Elstree, where the galaxy sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, is under way. Star Wars writerdirector George Lucas is executive producer, with Gary Kurtz as producer.

Stanley Kubrick has finished shooting on The Shining with Jack Nicholson at Elstree; producer Stanley Donen (Lucky Lady, Arabes­ que) took over directing Saturn Three when w riter-director John Barry quit the Kirk Douglas-Harvey Keitel film; Herbert Ross, still with several weeks of Nijinsky locations to go, says The Thorn Birds will cost at least $16 million, with 13 weeks shooting in Australia, Jon Voigt is now a firm favorite for the lead role. Ralph Thomas (Carry On features) is directing David Niven, Richard Jordan and Elke Sommer in A Nightingale Sang in Berke­ ley Square for producer Ben Fisz.

Nicholas Roeg is in mid-schedule with Illu­ sions for producer Jeremy Thomas; Billy Hale, likewise, with S O S Titanic.

In the final post-production are John Badham’s (Saturday Night Fever) version of Dracula, with Frank Langella; Dick Clement’s Porridge; Matthew Chapman's Hussy; Don Sharp's Bear Island; Neil Leifer’s Yesterday’s Hero; Richard Lester’s Cuba; Lewis Gilbert’s latest James Bond opus Moonraker; Derek Jarman’s The Tempest; Chris Petit’s Radio On; Adrian Lyne’s Foxes; Michael Anderson’s Mar­ tian Chronicles; and John Schlesinger’s Yanks, for longtime producer colleague Joseph Janni.

Although Superman II producers Alexander and Ilya Salklnd and Pierre Spengler sacked director Richard Donner — after Richard Lester had been called in as a production con­ sultant — the sequel still has some com­ plicated special effects and laboratory opticals to shoot at Pinewood Studios. These se­ quences will probably keep the effects crew busy until early-August.

After six years in Australia, Patrick Clayton (he worked on Inn of the Damned, Plugg, Blue Fin, The Money Movers) found un­ employment in the local industry a constant threat. So, he returned to Britain and is now first assistant director to Daniel Mann (Rose Tattoo, Butterfield 8) on the $8.4 million remake of Lewis Milestone’s war classic All Quiet On The Western Front), to star Ernest Borgnine and Richard Thomas. Clayton had been preparing The Breaker in South Australia, but left for Britain when the film was postponed (although it finally started shooting in late-May).

Writer James Costigan with co-executive producer, William S. Gilmore on the set of S O S Titanic.

Producer-director Moustapha Akhad will soon move from his desert locations in the Middle East and Africa to London for post­ production on Omar Mukhtar — Lion Of The Desert, starring Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed, with Jack Hildyard (The Sundowners) as director of photography. Late addition to the main cast is Greek actor Takis Emmanuel, known for his parts in the Australian films Cad­ die and Promised Woman, and more recently Paul Cox’s Kostas.

British films on location Include Andrew McLaglen’s Esther, Ruth and Jennifer, and S O S Titanic; while some background shots for Moonraker have kept a second unit team busy in France and the U.S.

JAPAN

L e g en d a ry d ire c to r A k ira Kurosaw a (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Sanjuro, Red Beard), whose last film was the Academy Award-winning Dersu Uzula in 1975, will be back in July with the $6.3 million adventure-drama Kagemusha (The Double). It is 68-year-old Kurosawa's 26th film in a long and much-lauded career.

20th C e n tu ry-F o x has a lre a d y paid “ m illio n s ” fo r the overseas rig h ts to Kagemusha, and taken the unprecedented step of signing Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas to supervise the dubbing and post-production of an English version of this feudal samurai epic.

The film re-unites Kurosawa with award­ winning cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, who shot the classic Rashomon (1950).

Shintaro Katsu, the actor who achieved worldwide fame as the blind swordsman Zatoichi, will star In the film, which is expected to take between 15 and 18 weeks to shoot. It is unlikely to be released worldwide until late next year in view of Kurosawa’s long post­ production schedules.

K in ji F u ka sa ku w ill d ir e c t Day of Resurrection for Kadokawa Films in early August, with locations in Europe, USA, South America and the Antarctic. It will be the first time a Japanese feature film has used Antarctic locales for film production. Sakyo Komatsu, who wrote the screenplay for the h ig h ly -s u c c e s s fu l sp e cia l e ffe cts film Submersion of Japan two years ago, has written Day of Resurrection, which will star popular actor Masao Kusakari.

Witches Resurrected, a $3.6 million co­ production between Toei Films and the Soviet Union, based on a wom en’s volleyball tournament between the two countries, will be directed by Junya Sato to commemorate the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Sato says the film will concentrate on the friendships off-court, and the rivalry on-court, and “will not be too political” . In competitive volleyball ranks, the Soviet Union and Japan are expected to fight out Olympic honors next year.

Gross takings of foreign films in Japan last year set all-time records and surpassed domestic hits for the first time in four years. It is reported by Tokyo tax revenue officials that foreign films grossed $154 million in 1978. The receipts came from 179 films released by 25

im porters-distributors. Star Wars led the meteoric increase with a gross of $22 million, followed by Close Encounters of the Third Kind, $19 million; The Spy Who Loved Me, $18 million; and Saturday Night Fever, $10.2 million. Early show-outs for 1979 are Death on the Nile, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Warlords of the Atlantis, and Superman.

HONG KONG The colony’s three-year assault on foreign rivals with a mixture of home-made kung fu quickies, soft-porn thrillers and cops-androbbers has finally put an-end to 15 years of foreign film dominance.

The 10 all-time box-office hits for Hong Kong have just been released, with 1978 boxoffice figures exceeding $22 million. Seven of them are locally-made films. Towering Inferno has done best for the foreign imports, with $1.4 million gross and is in fifth place; Jaws ($1.2 million) is seventh, and The Spy who Loved Me ($1.01 million) is ninth.

Two of the Golden Harvest com pany offerings, The Private Eyes ($1.9 million) and The Contract ($1.6 million) head the all-time box-office hits. Golden Harvest also produced the films in fourth, eighth and tenth places. The company’s top five films have grossed more than $6.5 million.

For the first time in 15 years the name Shaw Brothers is almost unsighted. Sir Run Run Shaw’s far-flung empire produced the number six all-time grosser The 72 Tenants ($1.28 m illio n ). Ten years ago the Shaw logo preceded the top six films in the colony's leading attractions.

Golden Harvest has spread its wings internationally in recent years, going into co­ productions with Australia (Brian Trenchard Smith’s Man From Hong Kong, starring James Wang-Yu), the U.S. (Bruce Lees’ Enter the Dragon), and with German-American groups for Amsterdam Kill (starring Robert Mitchum) and director Sydney Furie’s Vietnam war saga The Boys in Company C. The man beh in d G olden H a rvest is Raymond Chow, who until 1967 was the guiding light at Shaw Brothers as studio boss, overseeing Shaw productions throughout Asia.

Chow quit Shaws and moved into the ailing Cathay Studios, on the outskirts of Kowloon, and started with unpretentious low-budget Cantonese and Mandarin-language films; bigger things followed.

Sir Run Run Shaw and his giant studio complex at Clearwater Bay will provide location facilities and extras for the main sequences in the two-part production of Taipan, based on James Clavell’s best-selling novel. The epic is finally getting to the screen, with Steve McQueen in the title role. Director Richard Fleischer (The Boston Strangler, Torai Toral Tora!) has a $23 million budget for the two film s, which are being produced by G e o rg e s -A la in V u ille . S om e lo c a tio n e s ta b lis h m e n t shots are pla n n ed fo r November, but the main shooting doesn’t start until February. _ Raymond Chow has met Paul Heller to make a $12 million screen version of Australian

INDEX-VOLUME FIVE cnmwHmms nmm

—aramsagBBM iM M fltiim« ADLER, Sue Jim Sharman (p, d) 268-271, 318 (I, st) Fox and his Friends 307, 322 (r)

ALLAN, Cameron Michael Carlos (m) 210-213 (i, st)

ALTMAN, Denis Taking Saturday Night Fever Seriously 114-115

ALYSEN, Barbara Filming the Green Bans: (1) Wooiloomooloo — Pat Fiske (d) and Denise White (d) 276-279 (i) (2) Green City — Richard Cole (d) 277-278 (i)

ANDERSON, Robin Stroszek 143 (r) Third Person Plural 223, 225 (r) Jim Sharman (p, d) 268-271, 318 (i, st)

BAILLIEU, Ian Guide for the Australian Film Producer: The Soundtrack Agreement 38 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Acquiring a Completed Film 122-123 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Exploiting the Film 201-203, 238-239 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: NonTheatrical and Other Exploitation of the Film 281282 (a)

BAKER, David In Search of The Goodbye Girl 24-27 (a, st)

BARRY, Graham Stanley Hawes (p) 182-185, 243 (I, st)

BEILBY, Peter Pierre Rissient VI-VIII, 83 (i, st) John Lamond (d) 94-98, 157 (I) Errol Sullivan (p) 128-130 (i, st) Donald Crombie (d) 131-133 (I, st) Antony I. Ginnane (p) 174-179, 234-235, 237 (i, st) Jeremy Thomas (p) 192-195, 233 (I, st) Carl Schultz (d) 208, 242 (i, st) Michael Carlos (m) 210-213 (i, st) Ken Cameron (d) 254-259 (i, st) Margaret Fink (p) 288-290, 319 (I, st) Gillian Armstrong (d) 291-293, 319 (i, st)

BISHOP, Rod Carl Schultz (d) 208, 242 (I, st) Ken Cameron (d) 254-259 (i, st)

BOYD, Barbara Word is Out 225-226 (r)

CLANCY, Jack Weekend of Shadows 61 (r) Dimboola 99-101 (a)

CLANCY, Katharine L. Female Buddies 15-17 (a)

CONNOLLY, Keith Newsfront 57-58 (r) The Last Tasmanian 143, 145-146 (r)

DAWSON, Jan Cannes 1978 l-IV (r) Alain Tanner (d) 116-119 (i, st) Edinburgh Film Festival 1978 273-275 (r)

DAVIES, Paul Sonia Borg (sc) 108-111, 162 (i)

DONNACHIE, E. M. French Cinema in Crisis: Part 1 260-263, 314-315, 317 (a)

GATES, Merryn Great Balls of Fire 228-229 (br)

GILBERT, Basil

Film Study Resources Guide 71, 153, 231, 240, 311 (a) Film Periodicals — A Historical Survey. Part 4: Australia 1918-1969 121, 163 (a) Film Periodicals — A Historical Survey. Part 5: Australia 1970-1978 196-197 (a)

GINNANE, Antony I. Guide for the Australian Film Producer: The Soundtrack Agreement 38 (a) Australians at Cannes V (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Acquiring a Completed Film 122-123 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Exploiting the Film 201-203, 238-239 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: NonTheatrical and Other Exploitation of the Film 281282 (a)

GLAESSNER, Verina 24th Asian Film Festival 1978 180-181, 233 (r)

GORR, Leon Guide for the Australian Film Producer: The Soundtrack Agreement 38 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Acquiring a Completed Film 122-123 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: Exploiting the Film 201-203, 238-239 (a) Guide for the Australian Film Producer: NonTheatrical and Other Exploitation of the Film 281282 (a)

HEATHWOOD, Gail Isabelle Huppert (ac) 20-23 (i, st)

HUTCHINSON, Ivan Brian May (m) 32-33 (I, st)

KUTTNA, Mari Berlin 1978 34-36 (r)

LANGER, John Solo 63 (r)

LASCELLES, David New Zealand Report 71, 153 (a) International Production Round-Up: New Zealand 204 (a)

LE TET, Robert Film Insurance Trends 280 (a)

McCLUSKY, Margaret Iphigenia 226 (r) Little Boy Lost 305, 307 (r)

McFARLANE, Brian The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 58-59 (r) Robin Wood, Personal Views: Exploration in Film 67, 69 (br)

lit iillHimrinpTTTf^M

Patrick 141-142 (r) Blue Fin 221 (r) The Night The Prowler 301-302 (r) Ealing Studios 308-309 (br)

McMILLIN Steve Claude Lelouch (d) 264-265, 321 (I, st, f)

MARSTON, Stephen Summer City 59 (r)

MARTIN, Adrian Authorship and Narrative in the Cinema: Issues in Contemporary Aesthetics and Criticism, 228 (br)

MARTIN, Peter Tax and the Film Industry 40-41, 74-75, 77 (a)

MAYER, Geoff

RYAN, Tom Shyam Benegal (d) 106-107, 163 (i) The Last Waltz 146 (r) “ I like what I am": An interview with Andrew Sarris 198-199, 241 (a, i) Padre Padrone 302-303 (r) Genre: Working Papers in Screen Education 309 (br)

SACHITANARD, N. N. Indian Cinema: A Historical Survey 102-105 (a)

STERN, Lesley Women and the Cinema: A Critical Anthology 148149 (br)

VANDERLIP, Narcissa Claude Lelouch (d) 264-265, 321 (i, st, f)

Conflict and Control in the Cinema: A Reader In Film and Society 66-67 (br)

MORA, Philippe Pierre Rissient VI-VIII, 83 (i, st)

MORRIS, Meaghan Coming Home 222-223 (r)

MOSES, Eddie Sponsored Documentaries: A Brief History 186-188 (a)

IN D E X KEY

MURRAY, Scott Bill Bain (d) 10-14, 79 (i, st, f) The Ellicott Papers 18-19, 81 (a) Polish Cinema: New Polish Films 28-29 (a, st) Polish Cinema: Film Polski — Edward Burba 30-31 (i, st) John Lamond (d) 94-98, 157 (i) Shyam Benegal (d) 106-107, 163 (i) Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals 1978 112-113, 158 (r) Pierre Brisson 113 (i) Errol Sullivan (p) 128-130 (i) Donald Crombie (d) 131-133 (!)

Antony I. Ginnane (p) 174-179, 234-235, 237 (I) New York: The Australian Film Festival in 266-267, 323 (a) Margaret Fink (p) 288-290, 319 (i) Gillian Armstrong (d) 291-293, 319 (i) Long Weekend 303, 305 (r)

NOYCE, Phillip Filming the Maitland Flood Sequence 45-49 (a, st)

PAGE, Peter Adelaide Film Festival 1978 189-191 (r)

PRUKS, Inge Jonah, Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 142-143 (r)

PURDON, Noel Adelaide Film Festival 1978 189-191 (r)

REID, J. H. ■ Books of the Quarter 69, 149, 229, 309 (br)

RHODIE, Sam Other Cinema: The Films of John Dunkley-Smith 151 (a)

Issue 17, pp. 1-84 (Includes Cannes 1978 pp. 1-VIII). Issue 18, pp. 85-164. Issue 19, pp. 165-244. Issue 20, pp. 245-324.

1. Film titles appear in bold type.

Magazine, play and book titles appear in italics.

2. The following appear after index items (where applicable) d — director p — producer c — cinematographer e — editor t — technician m — musician ac — actor/actress sc — scriptwriter sa — sales agent 3. The following appear after page numbers (where applicable) a — article i — interview f — filmography st — still cr — production credits r — review br — book/magazine/monograph review 4. Page numbers in Roman numerals refer to the Cannes 1978 Supplement in Issue 17, between pp. 42 and 43.

Cinema Papers Index Volume Five — 1

A Abbas, K. A. (d) 104 Abbott and Costello Book, The 149 (br) ABC Melbourne Show Band 32, 33 ABC of Love and Sex — Australia Style, The 9, 96-97, 157 Aboriginal Alcoholism 139 (cr) Actors and Acting 13, 20, 23, 59, 69, 101, 129, 149, 209, 229, 261, 271, 318 Actors’ and Announcers' Equity Association of Australia 129, 178, 293 Adair, Peter (p) 225 Adair Insurance Broking Group 280 Adams, Phillip (p) 18-19, 95, 97, 238, 258 Adamson, Rod (e) 210, 211 Addenda and Corrigenda 9, 93, 295 Adelaide International Film Festival 9, 189191 (r) Adieu Poulet 42 Adjani, Isabelle (ac) 23 Adventures of Barry McKenzie, The 26, 95, 203, 238 Aesthetics VIII, 66-67, 67-68, 148-149, 151 228, 237, 309, 318 Affiche Rouge, L’ 317 After the Wind 297 (cr) Against the Wind (TV) 137 (cr) Agent Vinod 105 (st) Agnew Nickel 217 (cr) Aimee, Anouk (ac) 321 (st) Alam Ara 105 Albero Degil Zoccoli, L’ II Alea, Tomas Guiterrey (d) 35 Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 149 (st) Allen 42 Alison’s Birthday 295 (cr) All Time Movie Favourites 229 (br) Allen, Dr Jim 145 Allen, Woody (d, sc) 24-25, 25 (st) Allround Reduced Personality, The 36, 273 Allseitig Reduzierte Persönlichkeit, Die 36, 273 Altman, Robert (d) 23 Alvin Purple 26 Amen, Glory (ac) 95 (st) American Cinema, The 198 American Film Directors, The 69 (br) American Friend, The 113 (r) American Silent Film 309 (br) American Torso 275 Amicus Film Production Company 79 Ammitzboll, Paul (t) 100 (st) Amour en Fuite, L’ 42 Anczak, Jerzy (d) 29 And/Or = One 52 (cr), 136 (cr, st) Andor, Tamas (c) 35 Andrea 185 (st) Angel Mine 204 Animal, L’ 263, 314 Animation 69 (br), 149 (br) Annaud, Jean-Jacques (d) 158 Annie Hall 24-25, 26 Annotations on Film 121 Annouchka 42 Another Man, Another Chance 264 Anthony, Doug 182 (st) Anti-smoking Film 52 (cr) Antill, John (m) 184 Antonuttl, Omero (ac) 302 (st) Anything For A Quiet Life 69 (br) ANZ Musical Copyright Agency 38 A.P.A.I.S. 53 (br) Apam Nehany Boldog Eve 35 Apple Game, The 158 Aragon, Manuel Guitlerrez (d) 158 Arcade 269 Architecture 139 (cr) Architecture — A Performing Art 299 (cr) Archives 46, 57, 71, 105, 172, 201, 311 Arkaringa, Malcolm 188 Armstrong, Gillian (p, d) 128, 267, 289; 291293, 319 (I) Armstrong, Perry (ac) 63 Armstrong Studios 32 As We Were 233 Ashby, Hal (d) III, 222 Ashes and Diamonds 31 Aslan Film Festival 1978 173; 180-181, 233 (r) Association of Independent Filmmakers 9, 92, 172' Association of Independent Producers 233 Association o f Teachers of Film Appreciation Newsletter 163 Astral Projections 216 (cr) Atkinson, Ray V Auckland Amusements 71 Australasian Cinema 121 Australasian Exhibitor 121 Australasian Film Hire 281 Australasian Performing Right Association 38 Australia After Dark 96, 157 Australia Diary 184 Australian Broadcasting Commission 32, 242, 256, 279 Australian Cinematographer 196 Australian Council For Children's Films and Television 173 Australian Diary Unit 184 Australian Eye Series, The 55 (cr) Australian Film Awards 93 Australian Film Commission, 8, 9, 18, 19, 40, V, 55, 81, 92, 93, 98, 100, 122, 128, 129, 155, 172, 173, 179, 180, 219, 234, 237, 243, 253, 256-257, 258, 277, 299, 319 Australian Film Conference (June 1978) 8, 71 Australian Film Development Corporation V, 96, 176, 235, 243, 288 A u s t r a lia n F ilm G u id e 196 Australian Filr History, Documentary on 172 Australian film : idustry: paper delivered on, 8; international critiques of 8; qualities lacking in, 25-27; 34; at Cannes 78, V; personnel employed in, 93; criticism of scripts, 110; overbudgeting of films, 129; investment, 235; distribution, 237;

Stanley Hawes on, 243; documentary film production In, 186, 187, 188; structure of, 202; at New York, November 1978, 266-267, 323; Jim Sharman on, 318 Australian Film Institute 26, 61, 92, 93, 172, 173, 243, 311 Australian Film Periodicals 121, 163, 196197 Australian Film Posters, 1906-1960 69 (br) Australian Film Week (New York) 172, 266267, 323 Australian Films Office Inc. 172, 266-267, 319, 323 Australian History 323 Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies 188 Australian International Film Corporation 175, 177, 179 Australian Journal of Screen Theory, The 197 Australian National Film Board 183, 184 Australian Performing Group 99, 101 Australian Writers' Guild 8 Auteur Theory 69, 101, 148, 198, 228, 318 Authorship and Narrative in the Cinema: Issues in Contemporary Aesthetics and Criticism 228 (br) Avant-garde cinema 199, 241 A.V.E.C. Film Unit 55, 231, 240 Avengers, The (TV) 11 Awards 8, 9, 26, 93,173,180,191,233n, 252 253 (st), 276, 317n Awgie Awards 8 Aylwln, Keith 280

Bacall, Lauren (ac) 309 (st) Back in Bedford 151 Back of Beyond 188 Baddeley, Angela (ac) 13 (st), 14 (st) Bagnall, Frank 185 (st) Balkas, John 127 Bailey, Julie James 8 Bain, Bill (d) 10-14, 79 (I, st, f) Bainaves, Nell 253 Baker, David (d) 258 Baker, Ian (c) 58 Bake-Off 78, 136 (cr) Balayogi 104 Balcon, Michael 308 Ballantyne, Elspeth (ac) 213 (st), 221 Ballantyne, Judy (ac) 63 (st) Banana Bender 52-53 (cr) Bancroft, Anne (ac) 16 (st) Band, The 146 Bar 21, 173 (st), 233 Barkla, Barry (ac) 101 (st) Barlow At Large (TV) 79 Barnaby 33 Barr, Charles 308, 309 Barrett, Ray (ac) 58 (st) Bate, Natalie (ac) 99 (st) Bates, Alan (ac) III (st), IV, 192 (st) Battle of Broken Hill, The 295 (cr) Battleship Potemkin 187 Beachfront 217 (cr) Beatty, Warren (ac) 253 (st) Bedspread, The 216 (cr) Beguiled, The VI Behavioural Difficulties in Children 81 (cr) Behets, Brlony (ac) 303 Behi, Ridha (d) 191 Bellby, Peter 196, 197 Bell, Greg (t) 46 Bell Jar, The 42 Belmont, Charles (d) 190 Benegal, Shyam (d) 106-107, 163 (i, st) Beneton, Yves (ac) 22 (st) Bennett, Colin 93 Beresford, Bruce (d) 8, 211, 242 Bergen, Candice (ac) 35 (st) Berger, Helmut (ac) 71 (st) Berger, John (sc) 116 Bergman, Ingmar (d) 23, 36 Berlin Film Festival 34-36 (r) Bertolucci, Bernardo (d) 124 Bessy, Maurice VI Between Wars 26, 57 Beyond Good and Evil 189 (st), 190 Bideau, Jean-Luc (ac) 117 (st), 118 (st), 119 (st), 142 (st) Big Deal 219 (cr) Bllitis 96 Bingo 136 (cr) Bishop, Rod 196, 311 Black and White In Colour 158 Blackburn, Ken (ac) 153 (st) Blackman, Honor (ac) 11 Blake, Julia (ac) 178 (st) Blier, Bernard (ac) 263 Blind Love 42 Blinky Bill Film Workshop 279 Block, David 9 Blue Fin 51 (cr), 110,111,135 (cr), 162, 207213, 216 (cr), 221 (r), 242 Blue Fire Lady V, 177-178 Bluff Stop 42 Blundell, Graeme (ac) 26 (st) Boarding Party 42 Body, Gabor (d) 275 Bogarde, Dirk (ac) IV, 113 (st) Bogart, Humphrey (ac) 309 (st) Bohm, Karl-Heinz (ac) 307 (st) Bohm, Mark (d) 36 Bonney, E. G. 184 Book Reviews 66-67, 69, 148-149, 228-229, 308-309 Boort and Quambatook Standard Times, The 299 (cr) Borg, Sonia (sc) 108-111, 162 (I); 208, 221 Borowczyk, Walerian (d) 42 Bose, Nltin (ac) 104 Bourke, Terry (d) 305, 307 Bouvier, Jean-Pierre (ac) 37 (st) Boxer, The 275 Box-office 9, 26, 27, 30, VI, 92, 93, 96, 104, 107, 128, 132, 153, 157, 175, 176, 179, 203, 252, 261, 262, 314 Box-office Grosses 43, 125, 205, 285

2— Cinema Papers Index Volume Five

Boy on the Wing, A 216 (cr), 297 (cr) Boyd, Barbara, 231 Boyer, Myrlam (ac) 112 (st) Boyes, Peter 309 Brakel, Nouchka van (d) 189 Branley, Cyril 19, 81 Brass, Tlnto (d) 71 Bravo Maestro IV Breaker Morant 173, 295 (cr) Brennan, Richard 93, 195 (st) Brenner, Richard (d) 35 Bresson, Robert (d) 261 (st) Brigadista, El 35 Brink’s 42 Brisson, Pierre 112, 113 (i) British Broadcasting Corporation 13, 14 V, 179 British Film Trade Union 184 British Instructional Films 183 Brittain, Ronald (d) 191 Bronte Sisters, The 42 Brooks, Richard (d, sc) 15, 17 Brooks White Organisation 258-259, 290, 319 Brother Can You Spare A Dime? 195 Brown, Bryan (ac) 223 (st) Brown, Murray 173 Browne, Leslie (ac) 16 (st) Bruning, Robert (p) 173 Bryce, John (p) 11 Buckley, Anthony (p) 27, 172, 185 (st), 318 Buck’s Party 8 Bud & Lou: The Abbott and Costello Story 149 (br) Build and Destroy — The Power of Waves 55 (cr) Builders' Laborers Federation (NSW) 276, 279 Bujold, Genevieve (ac) 265 (st) Buñuel, Luis (d) 158 Burba, Edward 30-31 (i) Burke, Alfred (ac) 79 (st) Burke, Graham 96 Burnside, John 225 (st) Burstall, Tim (d) 93, 95 Burton, Geoff (c) 221 Buttrose, Ita 288 Bye, Nathalie (ac) 261 (st) Bye Bye Monkey l (si), IV

c Caan, James (ac) 264 (st), 265 (st) Cacoyannis, Michael (d) 226 Caddie 27, 31, 129, 267, 323 Cage of Gold 308 Callan (TV) 79 (st) Calwell, Arthur 184 Camada Negra 158 Cambridge, Arthur (t) 46 Camera Je 275 Cameron, David (ac) 313 (st) Cameron, Ken (d, sc) 254-259 (i, st) Cameron, Margaret (ac) 223 (st) Camille 42 Camillerl, Terry (ac) 65 (st), 301 (st) Camouflage 28 (st), 29, 31 Campbell, Nell (ac) 270 (st), 271 (st) Cannes Film Festival 8, 31, l-VIII, 83, 176, 17Q

1Q R

O IQ

Can trill’s Film Notes 197 Captives, The 215 (cr), 295 (cr) Car Strippers, The 216 (cr) Carlisi, Olympia (ac) 117 (st) Carlos, Michael (m) 210-213 (i), 242 Carradine, Robert (ac) 222 (st) Carrick, Lloyd (t) 100 (st) Carrie 141 Cassavetes, John (ac, d) 35 Cassell, Alan (ac) 129 (st), 131, 132 (st) Cassenti, Pierre (d) 317 Caste 106, 107 Cat and Mouse 264 Cathy’s Child 51 (cr), 127-132 (i, st), 133 (cr), 135 (cr), 215 (cr), 295 (cr) Catspaw (TV) 33 Cavani, Liliana (d) 189, 190 Cavas, John (ac) 103 Cement for Building Australia 217 (cr) Censorship 9,18-19, 71, 81, 92-93, 96,101, 103, 107, 120, 123, 157, 173, 176, 181, 200, 243, 272, 314 Centre National de Cinematographic (CNC) 314 Chabrol, Claude (d) 21, 23, lll-IV, 261 (st), 318 Champ, The 42 Chandralekha 104 Channel Islands 14 Chanson de Roland, La 317 Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, The 8, 9, 27 (st), IV, 52 (cr), 58-59 (r), 93, 231, 257, 323 Charlene Does Med at Uni 8 Chavarri, Jaime (d) 34 Checklist of Australian Film Periodicals 163, 197 Chess Players, The 35, 105, 163 Chez Nous 42 Chifley, Ben 184 Child Molesting No. 3 219 (cr) Child’s Play — The Developing Child 139 (cr) Children's International Film Carnival 173 Children’s Library Promotion 81 (cr) Chitre, N. G. 103 Christie, Julie (ac) 253 (st) Christie, Madeleine (ac) 34 (st) Chytilova, Vera (d) 158 Ciao Maschio IV Cigarettes and Matches 297 (cr) Cinema Centre Group 92 C in e m a P a p e r s 163, 195, 196, 197 Cinema Sharer 179-180, 234 Cinematheque Suisse 172 Cinematography 21, 46, 58, 79,100, 117, 185, 278, 293, 318 Citizens Band 115, 158, 275 City of Women 42 City’s Child, A 269 Clan of Amazons 173 (st), 233 Clark, Bessie 145 (St) Clark, Liddy (ac) 213 (st), 221 C la s s ic A m e r ic a n N o v e l & T h e M o v ie s , T h e

229 (br)

Clayton, John (ac) 313 (st) Clemens, Brian (sc) 11 Clever, Edith (ac) II (st) Cliffhanger: A Pictorial History of the Motion Picture Serial 69 (br) Close Encounters of the Third Kind 252, 261 Cluster Housing 219 (cr) Coal Face 187 Cole, Richard (d) 277-278 (i) Colorfilm Pty. Ltd. 92 Comedy in Six Unnatural Acts 273 Coming Home III, 222-223 (r) Commonwealth Film Unit 185 Computers in Film Scoring 212 Conditioning for Sport — Principles 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Conditioning for Sport — Running and Mobility 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Conditioning for Sport — Weight and Circuit Training 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Conflict and Control in the Cinema: A Reader in Film and Society 66-67 (br), 229 (br) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes 79 Consequence, The 189-190 Contemporary Comedy Screenplay Award 9 Contouri, Chantal (ac) 179 (st), 234 Convention Tasmania 299 (cr) Cooper, Deryn (ac) 153 (st) Coote, Lisa (t) 46 Cooter, Harry (m) 293 (st) Cop Shop (TV) 137 (cr) Copyright Act (1968) 38 Copyright Law Review Committee (1959) 38 Copyright Law 201 Copyright Owners' Reproduction Society Ltd. — see ANZ Musical Copyright Agency Cortazar, Octavio (d) 35 Cosi Comma Sei 284 (st) Costas 51 (cr), 135 (cr) Coulter, Paul 93, 173, 256 Country Fire Authority 101 Cowan, Tom (c) 100 Cowboy: Six Shooters, Songs and Sex, The 149 (br) Crabe-Tambour, Le 317 Cracknell, Ruth (ac) 65 (st), 271 (st), 302, 318 (st) Craig, Doug (e) ¿77, 278 Crawford Productions 111 Creative Development Fund (AFC) 173 Crew, The 231 Crimeshow 136 (cr) Critical Index: A Bibliography of Articles on Film in English 1946-1973 153 (br) Critics 8 ,2 6 ,1, V, VII, VIII, 67, 69,79,93,198199, 228, 241, 266-267, 323 Crocker, B&rry (ac) 26 (st) Crombie, Donald (d) 128, 131-133 (i) Crown Film Unit 233 Crowther, Sir William 145 Cullen, Hedley (ac) 26 (st) Cummins, Peter (ac) 110 (st) Currie, Tim (ac) 271 (st) Cycle, The 112-113 (r)

Dada, Save (c) 103 Daems, Marie (ac) VI (st) Dagny 28 (st) Dail, Salvador 35 Dance of the Hawk 31 Dangers of Road Safety 217 (cr) Daniel, John 98 Darday, Istvan (d) 36 Dassin, Jules (d) IV Dauman, Anatole (p) VII Davidson, Boaz (d) 36 Davis, Judy (ac) 289 (st), 290 (st), 292 (st), 319 (st) Dawes, Nathan (ac) 305 (st) Dawnl 9, 52 (cr), 215 (cr), 296 (cr), 313 Dayereh Mina 112-113 (r) Days I’ll Remember — In South Australia 139 (cr) De Arminan, Jaime (d) 34, 35 De Leon, Mike (d) 233 De Nero, Robert (ac) 146 De Palma, Brian (d) 141 De Roche, Everett (sc) V, 178, 234, 303 Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street VIII Dear Boris: The Life o f William Henry Pratt a. k. a. Boris Karloff 149 (br) Death of a President 28 (st), 29, 31 (st) Deborah Kerr 69 (br) Debut, The 189 Deling, Bert (d) 27, 121, 259 Delon, Alain (ac) 263 (st) Deluge, The 30 Demme, Jonathan (d) 158, 275 Deneuve, Catherine (ac) 321 (st) Denis, Jacques (ac) 117 (st), 119 (st) Dentelliere, La 21, 22 (st), 23 (st) Depardieu, Gerard (ac) I (st), IV, 314 (st) Department of Information 183 Desert of the Tartars 190 Desert People 188 (st) Design For Living 81 (cr) Despair IV Destoop, Josee (ac) 117 (st) Deutschland jm Herbst 36 Development of Skills 139 (cr) Devirs Playground, The 266, 323 Dewaere, Patrick (ac) 314 (st) Dharti Ke Lai 104 Diable, Probablement, Le 317 Diabolo Months 317 Dickey, James 222 Diffraction Grating, The 136 (cr) Dignam, Arthur (ac) 270 (st) Diller, Barry 252 Dimboola 51 (cr), 99-101 (a), 135-136 (cr), 215 (cr), 296 (cr) D im b o o la B a n n e r , T h e 100 Dimsey, Ross (sc) 175, 177 Directors and Directing 10-14, 21, 26, V, VIII, 46,69,79, 83,94-98,106-107,111, 116-119, 131-133; 149, 157, 163, 182185, 186, 198, 229, 243, 254-259, 261, 264-265, 268-271, 276-279, 317, 318, 321

Issue 17, pp. l-84 (Includes Cannes 1978 pp. l-VIII).

Disco Music 115 Discovery 3 (TV) 55 (cr), 137 (cr), 217 (cr) Distant Lens, The 53 (cr), 136 (cr) Distribution 30-31, V. VI-VIII, 71, 83, 92, 95, 96, 98, 122-123, 128, 157, 172, 175, 176, 178, 179, 195, 202, 234-235, 237, 238-239, 253, 261, 281, 282, 314, 315 Distributor-Exhibitor Contracts 238-239 Dmochowskl, Mariusz (ac) 28 (st) Dobrowski, Walter 100 (st) Documentary 15, 46, 143, 145-146, 172, 183, 185, 186-188 (a), 191, 225, 226, 257, 275, 276-279 Does It Feel Like a Long Ten Minutes? (TV) 217 (cr) Dolby Sound System 194-195, 202, 213 Don’s Party Vn Don’t Call Us . . . We’ll Call You 42 Don’t be a Bloody Idiot 139 (cr) Doug and Mary 69 (br) Douglas, Bill (d) 275 Down by the Station 151 Down, Lesley-Anne (ac) 11 (st) Downfall Child VI Dream of Passion, A IV Dreams 53 (cr) Drifters 187 Driver 275 Dreyfuss, Richard (ac) 24 (st) Drugs 81 (cr) Drysdale, Denise (ac) 235 (st) Duchess of Duke Street, The (TV) 13, 14 Duellists, The 42 Duigan, John (d) 27 (st), 100 (st), 101 Duncan, Catherine (sc) 184 Dunkley-Smith, John (d) 151 (a, r) Dunlop, Ian (d) 243 Duras, Marguerite (d) II, 262 (st) Dutronc, Jacques (d) 23 Dynamite Chicken 95

E Eady System 233, 237 Ealing Studios 149 (br), 308-309 (br) Early Women Directors: Their Role in the Development of the Silent Cinema 69 (br) Eastwood, Larry (t) 46, 100 (st) Eay Erkolcsos Ejszaka II Edinburgh Film Festival 1978 273-275 (r) Editors and Editing 210 Edols, Michael (d) 34 Education, Two films about Secondary 255256 Education Through Music in Special Education 81 (cr) Educational Technology 219 (cr) Edvard Munch 29, 92 Eggleston, Colin (d) 73, 177, 303, 305 Eisner, Michael 252 Elisa Mia Vida 158 Ellicott, R. J. 18, 19, 81 Emmanuelle II: The Anti-Virgin 96 Empire de la Passion, L’ II Empire des Sens, L’ II, VII, VIII Empire of Passion, The II Empire of the Senses II, VII, VIII End of the World in Our Usual Bed in a Night Full of Rain — see Nightful of Rain, A Enemy Alien 191 Enemy at the Door, The (TV) 14 Energy and Agriculture 297 (cr) Enfants du Placard, Les 190 Environment/Pollution Series 219 (cr) Eskimo Limon 36 Every Girl’s Dream 297 (cr) Evison, Pat (ac) 316 (st) Ewart, John (ac) 46, 49 (st) Exercise Ever Ready T 39 (cr) Exhibitors and Exhibition VII, VIII, 92, 96, 103, 105, 202-203, 235, 237, 238-239, 261, 262, 263, 314, 315, 319 Experimental Film and Television Fund 8 Export Market Development Grants Board V Express, L' 23

F Falcon Island (TV) 55 (cr), 137 (cr), 217 (cr), 297, 299 (cr) Family Portrait Sittings 275 Fancy Dress Party, The 42 Fantasm 175-176 Fantasm Comes Again 176-177 Fantastic Film Festival 252 Fantastic Television 149 (br) Fassbinder, Rainer Werner (d) IV, 307, 322 Fatty and George 299 (cr) Fawdon, Michele (ac) 127 (st), 131-132,133 (st) Fayman, Bill (p) 177 (st), 178 Fechner, Christian (p) 263 Federated Engine Drivers' and Firemen’s Association 276 Federation Internationale des Associations de Productions des Films (FIAPF) 112, 113 F e d e r a t io n N e w s 121 Federation of Motion Picture Producers of Asia 180 Felicity 95 (st), 96-97 (st), 98,136 (cr), 157, 200 (st), 215 (cr), 296 (cr) Fennell, Willie (ac) 128, 129 (st). 132 Ferreol, Andrea (ac) IV (st) Ferreri, Marco (d) I, IV Festival in Adelaide 185 (st) Festivals 8, 9, 26, 29, 30, 31, l-VIII, 83, 112113, 153, 158, 173, 180-181, 189-191, 233, 252, 266-267, 273-275, 323 Fight That Fire 297 (cr) Film and Television Producers' Association of Australia 8, 122 Film Australia 8, 18, 19, 55, 139, 172, 184, 217, 219, 257, 258, 259, 279, 299 Film Budgeting in France 9, 263, 317 Film Censorship Board of Review 92, 123, 243,253 Film Censorship Listings reprinted from the Australian Government Gazette 37,77, 120, 157, 200, 272, 317

Issue 18, pp. 85-164. Issue 19, pp. 165-244. Issue 20, pp. 245-324.

INDEX VOLUME 5

‘Film’ Corporations in Australian States 188, 252 Film Digest 121, 163 Film Finance Corporation (India) 105 Film Enquiry Committee (India, 1951) 105 Film Guide 121 Film History — Books on 69, 149, 183, 229 Film Index 196 Film Indexes — A Survey of 153 Film in Focus 231 Film Insurance 280 (a) Film Journal 121 Film Licensing Board (N.Z.) 71 Film Literature Index 153 (br) Film Music 32, 33, 38, 104, 114, 115, 133, 146, 210-213, 242, 293, 305 Film Periodicals, A Historical Survey of 121, 163, 196-197 Film Polski 30-31 Film Processing 235 Film ‘Restructuring’ 253 Film Society Screenings 281 Film Study Resources Guide 71, 153, 231, 240 Film Till Now, The 183 Film Weekly 121 Film Weekly Motion Picture Directory 121 Filmmaker 197 Filmmakers Co-Operative Catalogue of Independent Film 311 Filmnews 196, 197 Filmnovel — Three Sisters 36 Filmographies, Bill Bain (d) 79; Claude Lelouch (d) 321 Filmregeny — Harom Nover 36 Filmtronics Report, The 197 Filmverlag der Autoren 36, 42, Vn Filmways 176, 177, 178 (st), 202 ‘Films of Black Australia’ 8 Films of Ronald Colman, The 69 (br) Films of Shirley MacLaine, The 309 (br) Films of Shirley Temple, The 229 (br) Films of Sidney Poitier, The 229 (br) Finch, Peter (ac) 184 Fingers 9 Fink, Margaret (p) 288, 319 (i); 293 Finney, Alan 96 Firepower 42 Fiske, Pat (d) 276, 278, 279 (i) Fitchett, Chris (sc) 234 Fitness Factor, The 139 (cr) F.J. Holden, The 267 Flaherty, Robert (d) 186, 198 Flinders Ranges National Park 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Flores de Papel 35 Flying Doctor 139 (cr) Fonda, Jane (ac) 17, 222 (st) For Better — For Worse 139 (cr, st) For the Love of a Child 53 (cr) Forbidden Room, The 216 (cr) Ford, John (d) 199, 228 Foreigner, The 275 Forests 139 (cr) Forte, Fabrizio (ac) 303 (st) Foster, Ralph 183, 184 Foul Play 158 400 Blows VIII Fowler, Mick 278 Fox and His Friends 307, 322 (r) France 9, 42, VI, 124, 204; 260-263, 314315, 317 (a); 264-265, 284, 321 Fragments 216 (cr) Francis, Robert (p, d) 240 Franklin, Miles 288, 291, 292 Franklin, Richard (d) 32, 33, 141-142, 175, 178 (st) Fraser, Christopher (d) 59 Frawley, John (ac) 302 Freedom Road 42 Freelance Film Crew 92 Friedricks, Larry (sa) V, 179, 234 From the Land Beyond Beyond: The Films of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen 149 (br) From the Tropics to the Snow 185, 243 Fukasaku, Kinju (d) 181, 233 Full Length Animated Feature Films 69, (br) Fuller, Samuel (d) VIII Funny Way to be a Hero 229 (br)

G G.l. Blues 146 Gailey, Peter 279 Game for Vultures 42 Garden of Stones 191 Garlic, Robert 121 Garner, Helen 259 (st) Gaumont-British Instructional Films 183 Gaumont-Pathe 263, 314 Gavin, Bill 93, 253 Gelfman, Samuel W. 8, V, 172, 266, 319 Gemini Productions (Madras) 104 Genetic Structuralism 66-67 Genoves, Andre 83 G e n r e : W o r k in g P a p e r s In S c r e e n E d u c a t io n 309 (br) Germany in Autumn 36 Germany, West 42, IV, 189-190, 273 Getting it Together 217 (cr) Getting of Wisdom, The 8, IV, 267,291,323 Ghan, The 217 (cr) Ghatashaddha 105 (st) Ghose, B. K. 103 Giannini, Giancarlo (ac) 35 (st) Giants on the Road 42 Gibson, Mel (ac) 316 (st) Gidlow, Elsa 225 Gil, Vincent (ac) 63, 179 (st) Gillies, Max (ac) 101 G in g e r , L o r e t t a a n d I r e n e W h o ? 69 (br) Glnnane, Antony I. (p) 121; 174-179, 234235, 237 (i, st) Girl, The 233 Girlfriends 273, 274 (st) Glasheen, Mick (d) 8 Go Tell the Spartans 222 Godard, Jean-Luc (d) 241 Golden Soak (TV) 53 (cr) G o ld e n Y e a r s o f B r o a d c a s t in g : A C e le b r a t io n o f th e F ir s t F ifty Y e a rs R a d io a n d T V a n d N B C , T h e 149 (br)

Good and the Bad, The 264-265

Goodbye Emmanuelle 37 (st), 96 Goodbye Girl, The 24, 26 Goretta, Claude (d) 21, 23 Gorney, Karen (ac) 115 Gow, Keith (d) 172 Grabbers, The: An Inside Look at the Ruthless World of Celebrities 229 (br) Grappelli, Stephane (m) 9 (st) Great Balls of Fire 228-229 (br) Great Britain 42, 124, 204, 284, 308, 309 Great MacArthy, The 24 Greater Union Organisation Pty. Ltd. 92, 100, 128, 132-133, 197, 202, 235, 288 Greatest American Films, The 229 (br) Greece, Location Filming in 129-130 ‘Green Bans', Filming of 276-279 (i, st) Green City 277-278 Grendel Grendel Grendel 215 (cr), 295 (er) Grierson, John (p, d) 183, 184 (st), 186-187 Grisman, David (m) 9 (st) Grlic, Rajko (d) IV Groucho Phile, The 69 (br) Grubb, Robert (ac) 293 Grummels, Barbara 93 Guber, Peter (p) 96 Guide for the Australian Film Producer 38, 122-123, 201-203, 230-239, 281-282 Gurney, Rachel (ac) 13 (st) Guzzetti, Alfred (d) 275

H.M.A.S. ‘Cerberus’ 217, 219 (cr) Hall, Ken G. (p, d) 46 Handke, Peter (d) II, 190 Han-hsiang, Li (d) 233 Hanna-Barbera Pty. Ltd. 253 Hannam, Ken (d) 267 Hansen, Jody (ac) 95 (st) Happily Ever After299 (cr) Happy Hooker, The 93 Happy New Year 321 Harders, Jane (ac) 270 (st) Hardy, Bill (sc) 319 Hargreaves, John (ac) 73 (st), 303, 305 (st) Harold Lloyd 69 (br) Harrison, Cathryn (ac) 177-178 Harrison, Harry 228-229 Harrison, John 92 Harryhausen, Ray (t) 195 Hartley, Gabrielle (ac) 313 (st) Harvest 158 Harvey, Anthony (d) 42 Haskell, Molly 148-149 Hauff, Reinhard (d) 158 Haver, June (ac) 93 (st) Hawes, Stanley (p) 93, 182-185, 234 (i); 187 Hawks, Howard (d) VIII Hawksworth, John (p, sc) 11 (st), 13 Hay, Harry 225 (st) Hayes, William I Haydon, Tom (d) 143, 145-146, 191 Haywood, Chris (ac) 45 (st), 46, 47-49 (st), 57 (st) Hazell: The Making of a TV Series 149 (br) Heaven Can Wait 253 (st) Helpmann, Robert (ac) 178 (st) Hemingway, Helen (ac) 141 (st) Herbert, Xavier 111 Hermann, Bernard (m) 32 Herzog, Werner (d) 143, 204 Hewitt, Irene (ac) 101 (st) Hexagon 177, 234 Heyer, John (d) 188 Hibberd, Jack (sc) 99, 100, 101, 121 Hide in Plain Sight 42 Hift, Fred 130, 179 Higginbotham, Bill 121 High-School 2000 42 High Steppers 121 Highway One Take Two 53 (cr) Hilder, Kim (t) 46 Hill, Walter (d) 275 History of Music 219 (cr) Hitchcock, Alfred (p, d) 228 Hoddle Street Suite 151 Hoffman, Jerzy (d) 29 Hofmann, Sonia (d) 8 Holden, Mark (ac) 177 Hollywood 67 Hollywood Album: Lives and Deaths of Hollywood Stars from the Pages of the New York Times 149 (br) Hollywood Directors 1941-1946 149 (br) Hollywood Kids 69 (br) Holmes, Ian 253 Holmes, John (t) 176 (st) Holmes of the Movies: The Screen Career of Sherlock Holmes 149 (br) Home Box Office 282 Hook it Down the River 53 (cr) Homosexuality 189-191, 225-226, 275 Hong Kong 180-181, 284 Hopper, Dennis (ac) 113, 195, 233 (st) Horror Films 149 (br) Horror People, The 149 (br) Horse Care 219 (cr) House Upstairs, The 51 (cr) Housing 139 (cr) Housing Problems 187 How Does Your Garden Grow? 135 (cr) How Would You Like It I f . . . ? 81 (cr) Hoyts Theatres Ltd. 9, 92, 93,128,197, 202, 235, 253 Hra o Jabiko 158 Hu, King (d) VI, 181 Hughes, Wendy (ac) 290 (st) Hunter, Bill (ac) 48 (st), 49 (st), 57, 93 (st) Hunting Accident, A I (st), II Huppert, Isabelle (ac) 20-23 (i, st), III (st) Hurt, John (ac) III (st), IV Huster, Francis (ac) 265 (st) Huston, John (d) 19 Hussain, Masir (d) 105

I I Hate Holidays139 (cr) I Walked with a Zombie 69 I Want to Work 217 (cr) Ice is Nice 53 (cr) If It’s Easy It’s Too Easy! 136 (cr)

Imagine Seeing the Cars Going Past 53 (cr) Imperial Film Company 103 Importance of Keeping Perfectly Still, The 190 In a Little Crooked House 216 (cr) In Search of Anna 8, V, 323 Income Assessment Act (1936) 40, 122 234, 235, 252-253, 289 Index to Critical Film Reviews in British and American Film Periodicals 153 (br) Independent Distribution 233, 237, 281, 282, 314 Independent Exhibition 237, 314 Independent Production 92, 95, 97, 98,151, 173, 190, 192-195, 233, 254-259, 273, 275 India 102-105 (a), 106-107, 163 Indians Are Still Far Away, The 23 (st) Inn of the Damned 179 International Congress of Independent Cinema 172 International Federation of Film Archives 172 International Festival of Fantasy and Suspense 173 International Index to Film Periodicals 153 (br) International Production Round-Up 42,124, 204, 284 lnterno di un Convento 42 (st) Iphigenia 226 (r) Irani, Ardeshir M. 103 Ireland, David 258 Irishman, The 26, 27, V, 132-133 Iron Cross II 42 Island of Nevawuz 53 (cr) It Isn’t Easy 53 (cr) It Wasn’t Me158 (cr) Italy 42, 124, 284, 303 Izydorczyk, Mr (sa) 31 (st)

I Jackman, Terry 92, 202 Jackson, Gordon (ac) 11 (st), 14, (st) Jacob, Gillies I Jacquot, Benoit (d) 190 Jaffer, Melissa (ac) 27 (st), 61 (st) Jakarta, Jakarta 233 Jamieson, John (ac) 313 (st) Janus Films V, 179 Japan 180 Jarratt, John (ac) 221 Jarritz, Klaus (d) 8 Jedda 184 Jeffrey, Peter 309 Jeffrey, Tom (d) 61 Jellay, Val (ac) 101 Jendly, Roger (ac) 118 (st) Jeremiah Johnson VI Jodrall, Steve (d) 8 Johns, Stratford (ac) 79 Johnson, Albert 112 Jonah, Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 116-119, 142-143 (r) Jones, Gemma (ac) 14 (st) Jones, Dr Rhys 143, 145, 191 Jordan, Richard (ac) VII (st) Josem, Mark 178 Journalist, The 252, 295 (cr) Julia 16-17 Just It 121

K Kanal 31 Kaplan, Ann 148 Karanjia, B. K. 105 Karl Struss: Man With a Camera/The ArtistPhotographer in New York and Hollywood/From Platinum Prints to the Silver Screen/Member of the PhotoSecession/First Academy Award tor Cinematographer 229 (br) Karnad, Girish (ac) 106 (st) Kastren, Elliott (p) VIII Katherina Blum 36 Kawalerowicz, Jerzy (d) 29, 31 Kay, Karyn 148-149 Keaton, Diane (ac) 15,16 (st), 17 (st), 25 (st) Kelly, Frances 92 Ken Russell: The Adaptor as Creator 149 (br) Kenny, Jan (t) 100 (st) Kent-Hughes, W. S. 182 (st), 185 Kentucky Fried Movie, The 120 (st) Kibler, Steve 253 Kieslowski, Krzystof (d) 31 Kimiavi, Parvis (d) 191 King Hit 258 King of the Gypsies 9 (st) King Solomon’s Treasure 42 Kinski, Nasstasla (ac) 42 (st), 284 (st) Klute 148 Knife in the Head 42 Komorowski, Maja (ac) IV (st) Kostas 215 (cr), 295 (cr) Krejus, Kim (ac) 27 (st) Kristel, Sylvia (ac) 37 (st) Kristofferson, Kris (ac) II Krolikiewicz, Grzegorz (d) 31 Krouskos, Demos 196 Kruger, Hardy (ac) 111 (st), 209, 211 (st), 213 (st), 221, 242 Kurts, Alwyn (ac) 316 (st) Kury, Diane (d) 317

L Labourier, Dominique (ac) 118 (st) Lady Oscar 42 Lalai Dreamtime 34 Lamond, John (d) 94-98, 157 (i) Lampert, Zohra (ac) 35 (st) Land of Promise 30 Landlord, The III Langton, David (ac) 11 (st), 13 (st) Last Detail, The III Last Waltz, The 146 (r) Last Wave, The 8, 31, 34, Vn, 58, 93

Last of the Knucklemen, The 295 (cr) Last of the Marx Brothers Writers, The 42 Last Supper, The 35 Last Tango in Paris IV Last Tasmanian, The 53 (cr); 143, 145-146 (r); 191 Lau re, Carol (ac) 314 (st) Lauren Bacall by Myself 309 (br) Laurie, Piper (ac) 316 (st) Lawrence, Gail (ac) I (st) Lazaro, Emilio Martinez (d) 34 Leading Ladies 69 (br) Lecat, Jean-Philippe 9 Lefebvre, Jean-Pierre (d) 112 Left-Handed Woman, The II, 190 Legg, Stuart 183 Lehman, Peter 228 Lelouch, Claude (d) 264-265, 321 (I, st, f) Lemon Popsicle 36 Leo the Last VI Leper 28 (st), 29 Lerman, Jeanette (d) 191 Leslie, Kevin (ac) 316 (st) Let the Balloon Go 19 Let the Chips F a ll. . . 69 (br) Leterrier, Francois (d) 37 Letter to a Friend 8 Levitt, Gene (p, d, sc) 32 Lewis, Rosa 13 Lewis, Tommy (ac) 27 (st), 58-59, 93 (st) Lewton, Val (d) 67-69 Life-Class 216 (cr) Life is a Banquet, An Autobiography 149 (br) Lightfoot, Mervyn 92 Linkshändige Frau, Die II Ling, Me (ac) 96 (st) Little Boy Lost 51 (cr), 296-297 (cr), 305, 307 (r) Living in Fear: A History of Horror in the Mass Media 149 (br) Living Soil, The 136 (cr) Lochran, Len 178 (st) Long Goodbye, The VI Long, Joan (p) 185 Long Search, The (TV) 158 Long Weekend V, 73 (cr, st), 173, 177, 200 (st), 210, 213, 303, 305 (r) Looking for Mr Goodbar 15, 115 Lorentz, Pare (d) 186 Lotianou, Emil (d) I, II Louisiana Love 42 Louisiana Story 186 Love Letters from Teralba Road 8. 34. 319 Love On The Run 42 Love, Laughter and Tears: My Hollywood Story 149 (br) Lovell, Patricia (p) 9, 253, 259 Loving Gentlemen: The Love of William Faulkner and Meta Carpenter, A 149 (br) Low Flying 297 (cr) Lowe, A iD . 146 Lubitsch jTouch, The 69 (br) Lugg, George 121 Luhr, William 228 Lumiere 196-197 Lumiere Brothers 103n Luna, La 124 Lutenbacher, Don K. (ac) III (st) Luxton, Lewis 182 (st)

McAlpine, Don (c) 293 McCullough, Chris 185 (st) McElroy, Hal (p) 209 (st), 253, 258 McElroy, James (p) 8, 93, 253, 258 McGowan, Hugh 9 Mackay-Payne, Bronwyn (ac) 313 (st) Mackendrick, Alexander (d) 308 Mackerras, Charlie (m) 184 MacLaine, Shirley (ac) 16 (st) Macnee, Patrick (ac) 11 McQuade, Kris (ac) 26 Madame X 273, 275 (st) Mad Dog Morgan 179, 195, 233 (st), 267 Mad Max 33, 51 (cr), 136 (cr), 215-216 (cr), 296 (cr) Madan, J. F. 103 Main Actor, The 158 (r) Major, Ross (t) 9 Make Up 240 Making of Anna, The 240 Making of the Wizard of Oz, The 69 (br) Makk, Karoly (d) 11 Malaysia 181 Malle, Louis (d) 111 Man and a Woman, A 265, 321 Man of Marble 30, 31 Man In the White Suit, The 308 (st) Man Who Fell To Earth, The 92-93 Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The 228 Mandingo 67 Manefield, Tom 8, 9, 93 Mango Tree, The 132 Mangolte, Babette (d) 275 Manthan 102 (st), 106-107 Marawood, Charles (m) 133 Marconi, Saverio (ac) 302 (st) Mardell, Graeme (t) 209 (st) Marine Resources 299 (cr) Marinetti 196 Maris, Hyllus 162 Marketing 8, 31, V, VII, 105, 107, 139, 132, 133, 157, 176, 177, 178, 179, 190, 193, 194, 202, 209, 233, 237, 238, 239, 252, 256, 278, 279, 290, 318, 319 Marriage of Maria Braun, The 42, IV Marsh, Jean (ac) 11 (st), 14 (st) Mason, Dick 258 Mason, Marsha (ac) 24 (st) M a s s M e d ia R e v ie w 163 Masters Independent Theatres 71 Mattes, Eva (ac).143 Maumill, Bob (sc) 177 M a x M ille r : T h e C h e e k y C h a p p i e 69 (br) Maximum Security 136-137 (cr) May, Brian (m) 32-33 (i, st) May, Dick (ac) 101 (st) Maybach, Christiana (ac) 322 (st) Mayer, Karl (sc) 183 Mayron, Melanie (ac) 273, 274 (st) Mazursky, Paul (d) 111, 189 M e d ia in fo r m a tio n A u s tr a lia 71 (br)

Issue 17, pp. 1-84 (Includes Cannes 1978 pp. 1-VIII). Issue 18, pp. 85-164. Issue 19, pp. 165-244. Issue 20, pp. 245-324.

'Medianet' — computer booking service 311 Mehrjui, Dariush (d) 112-113 Melbourne Access and Media Co-operative 92 Melbourne Film Bulletin 121 Melbourne Film Festival 1978 112-113, 158 (r) Melbourne Filmmakers’ Co-operative 197 Melody in Grey 173 (st), 180 (st), 181 (st) Memoirs of the Devil 229 (br) Menzies, Sir Robert 26, 57, 182 (st), 183 Mercouri, Melina (ac) IV Merino 217 (cr) Merralis, Jim 121 Metro 163, 197 Meziere, Myriam (ac) 118 (st) Mi Querida Señorita 35 Mickey Mouse, Fifty Happy Years 149 (br) Midnight Express I Mikhelsen, Laila (d) 158 Milford, Penelope (ac) 222 (st) Milieu du Monde, Le 117 (st) Mill of Hooks, A 137 (cr) Miller, Natalie 95 Mills, C. Wright, quoted 63 Milne, Chris (ac) 96 (st) Min Min, The 162 Minister’s Magician, The 215 (cr), 295 (cr) Miou-Miou (ac) 23, 119 (st) Miserables, Les 42 Mitchell, Joni (m) 146 (st) Mniszkowna, Helena 29 Mnouchkine, Ariane (d) III, 315 Moby Dick 19 Moe Howard and the Three Stooges 69 (br) Moliere 111, 315 Molina, Angela (ac) 34 (st) Moments in a Stolen Dream 233 Monday Mourning 53 (cr) Money Movers, The 51-52 (cr), 136 (cr), 215 (cr), 272 (st), 297 (cr) Monkey into Man 183 Monkey Grip 215 (cr), 259, 295 (cr) Monton, Vincent (c) 58, 175 Moonraker 124 Mora, Philippe (d) 195, 196, 197 Moraz, Patricia (d) 23 Moritz, Dear Moritz 36 Moritz, Lieber Moritz 36 Morocco 148 Morris, John (d) 210 Morse, Helen (ac) 323 Mort d’un Pourri 263 (st) Mosborough, R. 92 Mother Joan of the Angels 31 Motion Picture Association of America 235 Motion Picture Distributors Association (Australia) 237 Motion Picture Distributors Association (United States) 201 Moulin Rouge 19 Mouth to Mouth 27 (st), V, 101, 237, 240 Movie (Greater Union Organisation) 197 Movie (Edited by Brian Trenchard Smith) 197 Movie Life 121 Movie News 197 Movies on TV 1978-1979 Edition 69 (br) Moving Picture Book, The 137 (cr) Mozart’s Don Giovanni 42 Mrozewski, Zdzislew (ac) 28 (st), 29 Mud, Sweat and Gears 53 (cr) Mukdasanit, Yuthana (d) 233.

Multi-cultural Society 55 (cr) Mundey, Jack 276, 277 (st), 278 Murray, Scott 197 Music — see Film Music Muti, Ornela 263 (st) My Brother, My Wife 233 My Brilliant Career 51 (cr), 135 (cr), 215 (cr), 287-293, 295 (cr), 319 My Convict Days 162 My Dearest Señorita 35 My Father’s Happy Years 35 My Life and My Films 69 (br) My Way Home 275

Naked Bunyip, The 95 Nanook of the North 186 Nargun and the Stars, The (TV) 55 (cr) Nashville 225 National Film Archive (India) 105 National Film and Television Institute (India) 105 National Film and Television School 79, 190-191, 240 National Film Board of Canada 183, 187 National Film Finance Corporation (Britain) 193 National Film Theatre of Australia 93, 243 National Library of Australia 71, 311 Natural Thing To Do 53 (cr) Neill, Sam (ac) 292 (st), 293, 319 Never Ever Go With Someone You Don’t Know 139 (cr) Never Too Late 34, 35 Nevin, Robyn (ac) 258 (st) Newfilm 212 New Melbourne Film Group 121 New South Wales Film Corporation 8. 9, 100, 128, 172, 252, 266, 289, 290, 318, 319 New York Times Encyclopedia of Television, The 149 (br) New Zealand Film, Academy, The” 71 New Zealand Film Commission 71, 153 New Zealand Report 71, 153, 204 Newcombe, Les 257 Newsfront 8, V, 45-49 (a,st), 52 (cr), 57-58 (r), 93,129,173, 211,231,240,267,323 Night The Prowler, The 52 (cr), 65 (cr,st), 266, 267, 270-271, 293, 297 (cr), 301302 (r), 318, 323 Night Moves 71 Nightful of Rain, A 35 Nighthawks 275 Nights and Days 28 (st) No Fear 297 (cr) No Room To Run 32 Noise Destroys 155 (cr) Non-theatrical Release 239, 281-282 Norma Rae 42 North To Alice 81 (cr), 139 (cr), 219 (cr)

Cinema Papers Index Volume Five — 3

INDEX VOLUME 5

Nowicki, Jan (ac) IV (st) Noyce, Phil (d) 8, 45 (st). 46,57, 58, 257, 311 Nullarbor Hideout 185 Nunca es Tarde 34, 35

Cl O’Brien, Maria (ac) 26 (st) O’Brien, Richard (ac) 271 (st) Odd Angry Shot, The 51 (cr), 135 (cr,st), 156 (st), 212, 216 (cr), 296 (cr) Office de la Creation Cinématographique . (O C C )315 Official Rocky Scrapbook, The 69 (br) Off-Road Vehicles in National Parks 81 (cr) Ogier, Bulle (ac) 117 (st), 119 (st) Olbrychski, Daniel (ac) 29 Old Country Where Rimbaud Died — see Old Country Where Rimbaud is Dead, The Old Country Where Rimbaud is Dead, The 112 (r) Old Man’s Story 204 Oliver, Margot (d) 8 Oliver, Pom (p) 128 Olives Don’t Float 155 (cr) Olmi, Ermanno (d) II One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest 223 One Night Stand VII-VIII, 83 Opening Night 35 Operation Earthquake 217 (cr) Oscar Movies from A-Z 69 (br) Oscars 184 Oscarsson, Per (ac) 29 Oshima, Nagisa (d) II Osprey, Independent Film Sales, 193, 195 Oss 158 Other Cinema 151 Other People’s Money 42 Ottlnger, Ultike (d) 273 Out of It 256 Outrageous 35 Ovender, Mrs Barry 185 (st) Over The Bridge 53 (cr) Overbrey, David I. 158n Owen, Meg Wynn (ac) 11 (st), 13 (st) Owens, Joe 277 (st) Oxenberg, Jan (d) 273

Paddington Lace 185 Padre Padrone II, 302-303 (r) Paheli 104 (st) Palabas de Max, Las 34 Pallisers, The (TV) 79 Palm Beach 296 (cr) Papa Haydn and the Electric Theatre (TV) 217 (cr) Paper Flowers 35 Paradistorg 113 (st) Parafrance 314 Paramount 252, 314 Paris Film Festival 173 Parker, Alan (d) I Pascale, Christine (ac) 23 Passe Simple, Le 42 Passionate Industry, The 172 Passport to Hollywood: Film Immigrants: Anthology 229 (br) Passport to Pimlico 308 Past Imperfect: An Autobiography 149 (br) Patch of Green 55 (cr) Paths to the Future 153 Patil, Smlta (ac) 102 (st), 106 (st) Patrick 32, 33, V, 52 (cr), 136 (cr), 141-142 (r), 173, 176, 178-179, 234, 253 (st) Patrol Boat (TV) 217 (cr), 299 (cr) Pattlnson, Michael (d) 190 Paul Palander 158 Pay-As-You-Earn Tax 92 Peak, Barney 92 Pearse, Reg (c) 182 (st) Peary, Gerald 148-149 Peck, Ron (d) 275 Penhaligon, Susan (ac) 141, 178 Perceval Le Gallois 42 Percival, Mathew 173Perez, Elwood (d) 233 Performance — Little River Band 81 (cr) Perkins, Victor 67 Peron, Francois 145 Pesticide Control 139 (cr), 219 (cr) Petcovic, Josco (d) 190 Petersen, Wolfgang (d) 189-190 Petty, Bruce (d) 323 Phalke, Dhundiraj Govind (d) 103 Phatham, Surasri (d) 233 Philippines 181, 233 Phillips, Maureen 195 (st) Picture Previews: The Night The Prowler, 66; Long Weekend, 73; The Odd Angry Shot, 156; Dawnl 313; Tim, 316 Picnic At Hanging Rock 8, 31, 93 Pierrot Le Fou 241 Pierson, Frank (d) 9 Pillsbury, .Sam (d) 153 Piloney, Joan 97 Pisier, Marie-France (ac) 23 Piwowski, Marek (d) 158 Platt, Polly (sc) III Players 42 Plow that Broke the Plains, The 186 Plucknett, Victoria (ac) 14 (st) Plumber, The 53 (cr), 137 (cr) Poe, Amos (d) 275 Poland 29, 30, 31 Polanski, Roman (d) 42 ' Polish National Board of Cinematography 30, 31 Pollack, Sydney (d) VI Port of Fremantle — Western Australia 217 (cr) Pospischil, Anne (t) 240 •Post, Joseph (m) 184 (st) Potop 30 Pour Clemence 190 Pourquoi Pas? 190 Pram Factory Productions 99 Préparez vos Mouchoirs 314 (st) Preminger: An Autobiography 149 (br) President 104

Pretty Baby 9, III Prevention and Treatment of Sporting Injuries 139 (cr) Prisoner, The (TV) 217 (cr), 299 (cr) Prlyono, Ami (d) 233 Prochnow, Jurgen (ac) 190 (st) Producers and Producing 8, 9, 13, 14, 26, 38, V, VIII, 71, 92, 122-123, 128-130, 157, 174-179, 192-195, 201-203, 233, 234-235, 237, 238-239, 263, 280, 281282, 288, 319 Production reports: Newsfront 45-49; Cathy’s Child 127-133; Blue Fin 207-213, 242; My Brilliant Career 287293, 319 Production Surveys 51-53, 55, 81, 135-137, 139, 155, 215-217, 219, 295-297, 299 Professional Training of Film and Television Scriptwriters, Producers and Directors (1968), Seminar on 243 Project Blue Fin 231 Providence 113 (st) Prowse,, Richard 92, 95, 173 Przephraszam, czy ty Bija 158 Psychiatric Services 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Psychologists P. R. 219 (cr) Psychology of Coaching 139 (cr) Public Eye (TV) 79 Pundalik 103 Punter, The 216 (cr) Pure Shit 27 Puzzle of a Downfall Child VI Pym, Walter (ac) 141 (st)

Q Quarter, The 8-9, 92-93 Queen in Australia, The 184-185 Queensland Films Board of Review 123 Querejeta, Elias (p) 34 Quinn, Patricia (ac) 271 (st) Quinnell, Ken (sc) 128-129

H Race, The 217 (cr) Radetzky March 42 Rado, Erwin 112 Railways of Australia 55 (cr) Raja Harishchandra 103, 105 Rank Organisation 193, 194 Rankin, Peter 93 Rare Device, A 135 (cr) Ray, Man (d) 199 Read, Aggy 196 Reade, Eric 253 Realist Film News 121 Rebirth of Steam 137 (cr), 297 (cr) Red Cross 139 (cr), 219 (cr) Redgrave, Vanessa (ac) 17, 42 (st) Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records 149 (br) Reflections in a Golden Eye 19 Reg Grundy Productions 253 Reichstag, Fire, The 42 Reid, John Howard 196 Relsz, Karel (d) I Removalists, The 288, 289, 291 Restrictive Trade Practices Act 235 Retes, Gabriel (d) 35 Retour d’Afrique 117 (st), 118, 119, 143 Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals 153 (br) Rheingold 36 Ricketson, James (d) 223, 225 Rio Lobo VIII Riomfalvy, Paul 252 Rissient, Pierre (d) VI-VIII, 83 (i,st), 195 (st) Ritchie, Michael (d) 9 Roadshow 95, 96. 128, 202, 234, 235 Robert, Yves (d) 284 (st) Robinson, George Augustus 145 Robinson, Lee (d) 184 Rochester, John 93 Rocky VI, 115 Rocky Horror Picture Show, The 269, 270 Role of the Coach 139 (cr) Romero, Eddie (d) 233 Roots of Grief 42 Rose, Peter 9, 18, 19, 81 Ross, Herbert (d) 15 Rotha, Paul 183 Rotunno, Giulsippe (c) 35 Rowe, Alan (ac) 101 (st) Rowe, David 266 Rowe, Greg (ac) 110 (st), 111 (st), 209, 210, 221 Rowlands, Gena (ac) 35 (st) Royal Bioscope Company (India) 103 Runner Stumbles, The 42 Rural Teacher, 233 Russell, Craig (ac) 35 Rydge, Sir Norman 92, 182 (st)

s

S., Bruno (ac) 143 Safety in Electric Blasting 81 (cr), 219 (cr) Safety In National Parks 81 (cr) Safety In The Forest Industries 299 (cr) Safety In The Slaughterhouse 219 (cr) Safir, Lawrence (sa) V Safir, Sidney (sa) V Safran, Henri (d) 323 Saga of Special Effects: The Complete History of Cinematic Illusion From Edison's Kinetoscope to Dynamation, Sensurround And Beyond 69 (br) Sailing to Brooklyn 255, 256 Saint Theresa 297 (cr) Salamandre, La 117 (st), 119 Salon Kitty 71 (st) San Francisco Film Festival 83 Sanchez, Luis Garcia (d) 34 Sande, Theo van de (c) 189 Sander, Helke (d) 36, 273 Sandoy, Haakon (d) 29, 30 Sargent, Sir Malcolm (m) 165 (st) Sarkar, Jyotish Chandra 103 Sarris, Andrew 198-199, 241'(a,i)

4 — Cinema Papers Index Volume Five

Saturday Night Fever 9, 114-115 (a), 153 Saura, Carlos (d) 158 Sautet, Claude (d) 262 (st) Savage, Roger (t) 33 Savkari Pash 104 Savoy, Teresa Anne (ac) 71 (st) Scar, A 31 Scarcella, Bernadette (ac) 127 (st), 129 (st) Scarecrow VI-VII Scarlet Letter, The 42 Scarlett Fever: The Ultimate Pictorial Treasury of Gone With The Wind 69 (br) Scheme of Madness, A 137 (cr) Schepisl, Fred (d) 8, 19, 27, 58, 59, 81 Schilling, Niklaus (d) 36 Schlangenei, Das 36 Schlesinger, John (d)'42 (st) Schoendoerffer, Pierre (d) 317 Scholz, Christina (ac) 273 School And Society 139 (cr) Schultz, Carl (d) 208, 242 (I); 210-211, 221 Schwartz, Al 8 Schwelger, Michael (ac) 158 (st) Science-Fiction and Horror Movie Posters In Full Colour 69 (br) Science Fiction, Sex in 228-229 Scorsese, Martin (d) 146 Scott, John (e) 46, 58 Scott, Margaretta (ac) 13 (st) Scott, Ridley (d) 42 Script, Screen and Stage 163, 196 Seal, Johnny (c) 209 Searchers, The 228 Seawell, Jeannine (sa) V, 133 Second Awakening 36 Semi-Tough 9 Sen, Hiralal 103 Serpent’s Egg, The 36 Serreau, Colline (d) 9, 190 Set Design 46, 290 Seven Keys 202 Seventy Two Hours 217 (cr) Seymour, Alan (sc) 258 Shadow Line, The 30 Shah, Nasseeruddin (ac) 106 (st) Shakar, Martin (ac) 115 (st) Shakespeare, Jim 253 Shakespeare on Film 229 (br) Shantaran, V. (d) 104 Shaque 181 (st) Sharking 297 (cr) Sharman, Jim (d) 266; 268-271,318 (i); 301 Shatranjke Khilari 35 Shaw, George Bernard 13 Shaw, Lachie 172 She Found A Crooked Sixpence 216 (cr) Shead, Gary 269 Sheats, Bill 71 Sheedy, Brian 240 Shell Australia 188 She’ll Be Sweet 52 (cr) Sherlock Holmes: Murder By Decree 42 Shevtsov, George (ac) 223 (st) Shields, Brooke (ac) III (st) Shifting 139 (cr) Shining, The 42 Shinoda, Masahira (d) 180, 181 Shirley Thompson Versus The Aliens 269, 270 (st) Shoesmith, Brian 309 Shogun’s Samurai 181 (st), 233 Shout, The III (St), IV, 193-195, 233 Show Business 121 Signs and Meaning in the Cinema 69 Simmonds and Newcombe 51 (cr), 257-258 Simo, Sandor (d) 35 Singer and the Dancer, The 267, 291, 293 Sixguns and Society 66 16mm Distribution 281-262 Skiing Safety 219 (cr) Skin Deep 52 (cr), 153 Skolimowski, Jerzy (d) III, IV, 193, 233 Sleeping Dogs 71, 153, 204, 293 Small, Rhonda (d) 185 Small Boat Safety 219 (cr) Smash 155 (cr) Smeaton, Bruce (m) 59, 93 (st) Smith, Brian Trenchard 197 Snapshot 33,51 (cr), 135 (cr), 179, 216 (cr), 234-235, 296 (cr) Snow, Michael (d) 199 Sobocinski, Witold (c) 29 Social Development Series 219 (cr) Solar Water Heating 137 (cr) Solo V 63 (r), 153 Somebody Killed Her Husband 42 Someone Left The Cake Out In The Rain 295 lrr\ Sound 194, 211, 213 South Australian Film Corporation 81, 139, 173, 188, 189, 203, 208, 209, 219, 231, 238, 242 Souvenir Programs o f Twelve Classic Movies 1927-1941 69 (br) Sparks 215 (cr), 295 (cr) Spain 34, 35 Spears, Steve (sc, ac) 255, 257 (st) Special Effects 46, 204 .

Spence, Bruce (ac) 99 (st) Spepgler, Volker (ac) IV (st) Spiral, The 31, IV ‘Sponsored’ Documentaries 186-188 (a) Spy Who Loved Me, The 9 St Albans — An Ethnic Program 137 (cr) Starostecka, Elzbieta (ac) 28 (st) Stars 42 Star Wars 92, 252, 261 Stax ITV) 299 (cr) Sternberg, Joseph von (d) 67, 148, 269 Stevens, Geoff (d) 153 Stock). Ula (d) 273 Stork 95, 203 Stone, Oliver (sc) I Stoppard, Tom (sc) IV Stopwatch (TV) 55 (cr), 137 (cr) Storm, Esben (d) 8, 240 -:Storm Boy 31,109, 110,111,162, 208, 210, 211, 221, 231, 323 Storm Boy Picture Book 231 Strong, Sara 173 Stroszek 143 (r) Subjective-Objective 190 Subramaniam, K. (d) 104 Sullivan, Errol (p) 128-130 (I, st) Sullivans, The (TV) 137 (cr) Summer City 59 (r)

Summer Of Secrets 269, 270 (st), 318 Sun 8 Sun of the Hyenas 191 Sunday Too Far Away 27, 267, 323 Sunrise 121 Superannuation 81 (cr) Superstars 309 (st, br) Sur et Sous La Communication 241 Swinburne College of Technology 190 Switzerland 116, 119, 142, 172 Sydney Cinema Journal 163 Sydney Film Festival 1978 29, 112-113, 158 (r) Sydney Filmmaker's Co-operative 8, 92, Y72, 196, 256, 311 Sydney Filmmakers Newsletter 196 Sydney Harbour Bridge 8 Sydney University Film Group Bulletin 121 Sydney’s Asian Film Festival 217 (cr) System, The 299 (cr) Szalai, Gyorgyi (d) 36

T T.A.F.E. & School Leavers 81 (cr) Tailor of Ulm, The 42 Tajmahal Film Company 103 Tanner, Alain (d) 116-119 (I), 142-143 Tariff Board Enquiry (1973) 203, 235, 237 Tasmanian Aboriginals 143, 145-146 Tasmanian Film Corporation 139, 188, 299 Taviani Brothers (Paolo and Vittorio) 302303 Taxation and Film Production 40-41, 74-75, 77 (a); 92, 234, 235, 252-253, 262, 289, 315 Taylor, Phil 93 Teacher, The 35 Techine, Andre (d) 23, 42 Television 9, 10-14, 32, 55, 58, 79, 93, 110, 111, 123, 128, 149, 177-178, 201, 208, 223, 239, 261, 277 278, 279, 282, 297, 299 Television News 278, 279 Tell It On The Mountain 149 (br) Temperament Unsuited 53 (cr), 255, 256, 257 (st) Tenjosajiki, Terayama (d) 275 Terry Turle Roadshow 95 Tess 42 Testimone, II 42 Thailand 233 That Obscure Object of Desire 158 (r) Theatre 23, 99, 269, 271, 318 Theodorakis, Mikis (m) 226 They Used To Call It Sandy Blight 53 (cr) Thiele, Colin 109, 208 Thijssen, Willum (p) 191 Things To Come: an Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film 69 (br) Third Person Plural 223, 225 (r) Thirst 215 (cr), 234, 295 (cr) This Year Jerusalem 95 Thomas, Jeremy (p) 192-195, 233 (i) Thomas, Wilfrid (ac) 184 Thompson, Jack (ac) 234, 267 Thoms, Albie 8 Thoridnet, Claudine 9 Thornhill, Michael (d) 93,163,172, 252, 267, 319 Thornton, Sign'd (ac) 179 (st). 234, 235 (st) Tilly, Grant (ac) 153 (st) Tim 135 (cr), 215 (cr), 296 (cr), 316 (st) Time For Living, A 219 (st) Tin Drum 42 To An Unknown God 34 To Walk The Vertical 53 (cr) Toback, James (d) 9 Tomasin, Jenny (ac) 14 (st) Tong, Jacqueline (ac) 11 (st) Torney, Dada 103 Total Commitment — Margaret Barr 55 (cr) Touch of Zen, The VI, VII (st) Tourneur, Jacques (d) 69 Townsend, Loch (c) 185 (st) Traces 217 (cr) Train Fixation 151 Trans-Atlantic Enterprises 32 Travolta, John (ac) 114 Tredowta 28 (st), 29 Tree of Clogs, The II Trespassers, The 101 Trouts 34 Trotta, Margarethe von (d) 36 Truchas, Las 34 Truckies, The (TV) 137, 139 (cr) True Story of Eskimo Nell, The 32, V, 175 Truffaut, Francois (d) 9, 42, 261 (st) Truganinl 145 Truth Of The Matter (TV) 153 Trzos-Rastawiecki (d) 31 Tulloch, John 66-67, 197 Tumsa Nahin Dekha 105 Turning Point, The 15-16 Twenty Four Hour Clock 81 (cr) Twenty Good Years, The (TV) 33 Two Man Job 53 (cr) Two Medeas, The — see Dream of Passion, A Two Minute Warning 253

u Ubunews 196 Ultima Cena, La 35 Uluru 8 Un Dios Desconido, A 34 Under Stress 185 UNESCO 243 Unifrance Film 314 Union Generale Cinématographique 263 Unions and Film Production 178 United Artists 9, 235 United States 42, 124, 172, 179,"195, 204, 282, 284 Universal Cinema 92 University Film Group Bulletin 121 Unknown Industrial Prisoner, The 18-19, 81, 258 Unknown Prisoner, The — see Unknown Industrial Prisoner, The Unmarried Woman, An ill, 189 Upstairs, Downstairs (TV) 11, 13, 14

Issue 17, pp. l-84 (Includes Cannes 1978 pp. 1-VIII).

V Valhalla Cinemas Pty Ltd 92 Value Added Tax (France) 262 Vandalism 217 (cr) Vanguard Releasing 179, 234 Vasan, S.S. (d) 104 Vegetation Clearance 81 (cr) Vertriebung aus dem Paradies, Die 36 Very Moral Night, A II Victoire en Chantant, La — see Black and White in Colour Victorian State Film Corporation 93, 100, 129, 155, 231, 235, 252, 288, 289, 291 Video Cassettes 201, 282 Vietnam I, III, 222-223, 276 Vieux pays ou Rimbaud est Mort, Le 112 (r) Vincent Library 92, 311 Vincente Minelli and the Film Musical 69 (br) Violette Noziere 21, lll-IV, 261 (st) Visconti, Luchino (d) 29 Vivien Leigh 69 (br) Vivien, Robert-Andre 315, 317 Voices of Film Experience: 1894 to the Present/Actors . . . Writers . . .

Composers . . . Designers . . .

Producers . . . D irectors. . . Talk About Films 229 (br) Volght, Jon (ac) III Volcano 191

w

Wade, Ewart 196, 197 Waiting For A Shearwater 155 (cr) Wajda, Andrzej (d) 30, 31 Wakefield, Christine 100 Walk With Safety 217 (cr) Walker, Kerry (ac) 65 (st) 271 (st) 301 Wallace, Stephen (d) 8 Walter Forde 69 (br) Wanda Nevada 42 Ward, Robert 178 (st) Wardrope, Alan 9, V, 93, 253 Warner Brothers Directors 69 (br) Water Safety 299 (cr) Waters, John (ac) 61 Waterside Workers’ Federation 188 Watkins, Peter (d) 29 Watts, Ken F. 19, 81, 172 Wavelength 199 Weekend of Shadows 26 (st), 27, 61 (r) Weiley, John (p) 100 (st) Weill, Claudia (d) 273 Welding 137 (cr) Wellington Film Festival 153 Wenders, Wim (d) 113, 256 Wertmuller, Lina (d) 35, 148 Western Australian Film Council 172 Westerns VIII, 66, 67. 228, 264, 265, 309 Wet Clay 53 (cr) What Became Of Jack and Jill 79 When It Comes To The Crunch 81 (cr) White, Denise (d) 276, 278, 279 (i) White, Doug 309 White, Kenneth VIII White, Patrick (sc) 270, 301 Who Owns Schools? (And What Are They Doing About It?) 137 (cr) Who’ll Stop The Rain I Who's Afraid Of Elizabeth Taylor? 69 (br) Why Not? 190 Wilkinson, Linden (ac) 223 (st) Williams, John (m) 32 Williams, Marilyn 185 (st) Williams, Simon (ac) 11 (st) Willis, Lord Ted 185 (st) Wincer, Simon (d) 235 (st) Winchester, Arna-Maria (ac) 256 (st) Winkler, Angela (ac) II (st) Winkler, Paul (d) 8 Witcombe, Eleanor (sc) 288, 291, 292 Wojceichowski, Krzysztof (d) 31 Wolff, Egon 35 Woman and her Responsibilities, A 273 Women and the Cinema: A Critical Anthology 148-149 (br) Wonder Woman 229 Wood, Robin 67, 69, 228, 309 Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam 149 (br) Woodward, Edward (ac) 79 (st) Woolloomooloo 276, 279 Word is Out 225-226 (r), 275 Wordley, Dick 127, 128, 130, 131 Words of Max, The 34 (st) Workers' Educational Association Film Study Grdup 121, 163 Wran, Neville 8 Wright, Will 66 Writers and Writing 8, 11, 13, 14, 18, 100101, 108-111, 116, 128, 162, 178, 193, 208, 225, 257, 258, 259, 270, 289, 291292

Y Yanks 42 (st) .

Yeldham, Peter (sc) 242 York, Sussanah (ac) III (st), IV You Can’t Always Tell 219 (cr) You Must Remember This: Oral Reminiscences o f the Real Hollywood 229 (br) You’d Have To Be Mad To Uke Opara 229 (cr) Yuan, Chu (d) 233

z V

Zanussi, Krzysztof (d) 29, 31, IV Zapasiewicz, Zbigniew (ac) 28 (st) Zidi, Claude (d) 314 Zinnemann, Fred (d) 17 Zodiac Fairground 51 (cr),-i35 (cr) Zulu Dawn 42 Zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages, Das 36

Issue 18, pp. 85-164. Issue 19, pp. 165-244. Issue 20, pp. 245-324..

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION ROUND-UP

author Jon Cleary’s novel High Road to China.

The story is about a millionaire’s daughter flying from London to China to prevent her father being executed by a warlord. An August start in London, followed by Asian locations, is planned, with John Huston directing.

Raymond Chow’s la te st in te rn a tio n a l venture is Night Games, directed by Roger Vadim, and scheduled for worldwide release in July. Chow describes the new film as a “glossy, erotic affair". Vadim has agreed to shoot another film in Asia for Chow next year, and is looking for a script or novel.

SWEDEN Bo Widerberg’s Victoria was Sweden’s of­ ficial entry for Cannes 79, adding to his previous festival appearances with Elvira Madigan and Adalen 31. The film was at a rough-cut stage during last year’s festival, and at that time, festival organizers were disap­ pointed it wasn’t ready.

Sven Nykvist is back from four consecutive films in the U.S. to shoot The Marmalade Uprising for actor-w riter-director Erland Josephson. Nykvist is also co-producer on the household drama which stars Blbi Andersson, Jan Malmsjoe and Maria Goeranzon, with director Josephson in a co-starring role. In a recent poll of French film critics, Nykvist was included in the top 10 cameramen. «

SPAIN Foreign producers have scheduled 11 features, including two blockbusters, for the first half of this year. While last year's overall production was down by 16 films, Madridbased executives predict this year will be one of the busiest on record for Spanish studios.

Italian director Sergio Leone (Fistful of Dollars, Once Upon a Time in the West) is preparing a new western Sagebush, starring Franco Nero, Claude Riendi and Ursula Andressv Other producers setting up shop in Spain for big-budget films are Germany’s Dieter Rahl (Marksman) and Yugoslavia’s Mar Joglia (Dirty Rats).

Leading Spanish director Jose Luis Borau (The Poachers) is already shooting La sabina, starring Geraldine Chaplin, Harriet Anderson and Angela M olina. Sw eden’s Svenska Filminstitute is a co-producer.

Juan Piquer is Spain’s success story with his Supersonic Man, which is breaking all boxoffice records in its national release; it went to Cannes as Spain's main hope this year.

Michael Coby and Silvia Polakov star in the action-drama, and have agreed to star in Supersonic Man II later this year.

Spain’s Information Bureau said 447 films were shown in Spain last year, of which 92 were local productions. The box-office gross of $296 million is an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year, and the highest annual receipts on record.

The Bureau also said “ early attention” was being paid to handing out about $10 million in feature film subsidies dating back to local boxoffice achievements in 1977.

A strike by technicians closed three of Spain’s five major laboratories in Madrid and Barcelona for 40 days earlier this year as workers fought for wage increases. The closures slowed down laboratory services, but hardly interrupted production. The workers went back after being promised a 17 per cent increase in salaries.

MEXICO

Hoger

KOREA

Local productions In the first five months this year steadied at 23, up two on last year, yet down six on 1977. But most interest has centred on Guyana — Crime of the Century, Rene Cardona’s version of the mass-suicide rite in Georgetown. Cardona's recent films include Survive, Tintorera and Bermuda Triangle; they grossed millions in international release.

Guyana stars Stuart Whitman as the Rev. Jim Jones, and co-stars include Mel Ferrer, Bradford Dillman and Gene Barry. Locations include Churusbusco, San Francisco, Vera Cruz and Guyana.

Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk (War and Peace, Waterloo) will direct Red Bells, the first Soviet-Mexican co-production In a three-film agreement between leading companies in both countries. Red Bells is based on the career of American journalist-poet John Reed, who was the centre of controversial incidents relating to politics and guerilla warfare. The budget of $1.4 million will be shared equally by the two countries.

GREECE Two of Greece's leading producers, Gregory Dimitropolous and James Paris, are keen to make co-productions in Australia; they have started feasibility studies through Sydneybased Vic Ramon, of Galleon Films. Both producers say there is a market for GreekAustralian films, as several Australian films involving Greek characters — Promised Woman (directed by Tom Cowan), Takis Emmanuel’s work in Caddie, and now Kostas (for Paul Cox in Melbourne) — have proved.

Paris and Dimitropolous make about 12 films a year between them for screening in Greece, as well as in Australia, through seven clubs and nine Greek-oriented cinemas. Some are screened in the original language, but most are dubbed-Engllsh versions. Ramon Is offering Paris’ The Battle of Crete to Australian distributors. The latest successes in Europe for Dimitropolous have been The Young Tycoon and The Ceremony. Later this year both producers will visit Australia to discuss co­ ventures with local producers. The average feature film in Greece costs about $150,000,, but the producers are aware they will need at least that much money for half the cost of films under the co-production plan.

Greece’s own industry is thriving, mainly with sex-action films, many of which find more exposure outside Greece, where censorship is still a big problem for local exhibitors. Political themes are taboo — more than sex or violence.

In the first six months this year, local producers launched 38 new productions in Greece, and seven producers started shooting on co-productions in Italy, France, U.S. and Germany.

IRELAND The Hard Way is the first film to be shot In Ireland for 1979, with Michael Dryhurst directing, Patrick McGoohan, Lee Van Cleef and Donald McCann. John Boorman (director of Point Blank, Exorcist II) is executive producer for Skyring Productions, with the main shooting at the National Film Studios in Dublin. Dryhurst took over directing after one week of shooting when co-writer and initial director Richard Tombleson left due to

The camera crew of Saturn 3, now shooting at Shepperton Studios in Britain.

Roger Vadim’s Night Games produced by Raymond Chow. "differences between director and cast” . Kevin Grogan is co -w rite r of the scrip t with Tombleson.

The American NBC Network will send another production team to Ireland for a sequel to the Rod Taylor telemovie Murder by Proxy, which American director Michael O'Herilhey shot in Dublin and Cork last year.

Taylor will repeat his Murder by Proxy role.

NBC are enthusiastic about the thriller, and feel a sequel can sustain itself. Shooting is expected to begin in September.

MIDDLE EAST Australian director Peter Sykes is finalizing locations in Israel for the 31-week, $5.2 million Anglo-lsraeli co-production Jesus, being produced by John Heyman and Richard Dalton. Melbourne-born Sykes went to Britain in 1964, and has directed several features and many B ritish television series; the bigbudgeted Jesus is his most ambitious venture to date.

Based on the New Media Bible, the film is using mainly little-known actors, and should be ready for worldwide release before Christmas.

Sykes d ire c te d his firs t fe a tu re , The Committee, in 1968. His other films have been Venom (1971), Demons of the Mind (1971), House in Nightmare Park (1973), Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) and To the Devil, A Daughter (1976).

Egyptian producer Harim Mousada plans a co-production with Japan and Hong Kong, titled Jet Heist, depicting the hijack of a passenger plane between Hong Kong and Japan, ending with a two-day siege at Tokyo Airport. Mousada was co-producer on Orient Dawn with Indonesian and Taiwan producers in 1972, and Lotus Dream in Thailand in 1974.

Josef Sarema will star as the pilot of the jet in Jet Heist, which will be directed by Orient Dawn writer-director Mika Daroube.

Following last year’s Asian Film Festival in Sydney, moves were made by Korean producers and distributors to forge links with the Australian industry, initially to acquire Australian product, and, at a more appropriate time, merge for co-productions.

Young Suh Roh, president of the Motion Picture Promotion Corporation in Korea, believes viable film s can be made by combining talent and locations from both countries. Roh says his country has had little success on the international scene because of the strictly parochial themes used by Korean producers, but there are encouraging signs that some Korean films are finding audiences in Asia.

With 14 major companies making the lion’s share of the 100 features a year in Korea, Roh says technical strength is of an international standard. He also believes Korean filmmakers want to expand their horizons, particularly into the English-speaking world — hence the interest in Australia.

Korea produced its first silent filn rin 1919, and its first sound film in 1935. But Japanese propaganda became the order of the day as World War 2 erupted. The Korean domestic film industry was reborn in 1947, but the Korean War in 1950 brought production to a halt again. Government tax rebates for producers in 1955 got the pendulum swinging again, and the industry reached its peak in 1960 with 196 features. Korea also made the first taekwon-do films, the forerunner of the Chinese kung fu genre.

The biggest attendances for films in Korea peaked in 1969, when 170 million admissions were recorded. Admissions last year, ac­ cording to the latest figures, are expected to be 120 million. About 45 foreign films gained widespread release in Korea last year, and that figure will be increased this year to 60, with Government consent. Although titles have not been mentioned, Young Suh Roh says his im­ port office is considering five Australian films for distribution in Korea later in the year.

INDIA

India’s film hierarchy believe last year’s successes may be eclipsed this year. About 162 features were in production during the first six months — two by overseas producers.

Britain’s Euan Lloyd (Paper Tiger, Wild Geese) had a big contingent of pre-production staff in Goa checking locations for the multi­ million dollar action-adventure drama Sea Wolves, based on the best-selling novel Boarding Party, by James Leasor. Lloyd has signed the leads from Wild Geese, which starred Richard Burton and Richard Harris.

Sea Wolves is about the raid by British commandos to sink three German merchant ships in Goa Harbor during World War 2. Lloyd plans to start production in August.

P ro d u c e r C onrad Rooks is a w a itin g Government approval on script and locations for his drama Zarya. Rooks shot Siddhartha in India some years ago. He plans to locate the new film in Calcutta, Darjeeling, Bombay, Goa, Delhi and Rajasthau. The story is about a Russian princess who makes a pilgrimage to India. Shooting will start in August, if the Indian government approves the script and locations.

INDONESIA THE PHILIPPINES P ro d u c e r W im U m boh is fin a liz in g arrangem ents fo r the firs t IndonesianAustralian feature film co-production, a rom ance-dram a Valley of Dreams, with Sydney-based production company, the Reg Grundy Organization. Roger Mirams is co­ producer.

Indonesia’s Christine Hakim will star as a young woman who inherits an opal mine in Australia, and battles to retain ownership.

Australian writers Tony M orphett.and Ted Roberts wrote the screenplay, and shooting is expected to get under way in Indonesia in August, with main locations in Australia.

Umboh’s Aries Angkasa Films, one of Indonesia’s leading production companies, has frequently used laboratory and sound facilities at the Sydney complex operated by Atlab (a subsidiary of the Seven Network). An announcement is expected soon about the Australian male lead and Australian director.

Tutia Mutia, one of Indonesia’s leading producers, is preparing her 12th feature in 13 years. Mutia was the first Indonesian producer to e n te r in to a c o -p ro d u c tio n o u ts id e Indonesia, and her initial breakaway film A Night in Malaysia set new box-office records throughout Asia, particularly In Indonesia and Malaysia.

Last year she co-produced Loceng Maut with the Shaw Brothers (Malaysia) and it won one of the main awards at the Asian Festival in Sydney. The film has already broken boxoffice records in its initial releases and will cer­ tainly be among the top 10 grossers in In­ donesia and Malaysia this year.

The production of 29 features in the first five months this year was on par with the same period for the three previous years. But at the moment Filipino filmmakers, exhibitors and distributors are concerned over certain aspects of the Batasan Committee’s report which recommends nationalization of the film industry within five years; abolition of the Board of Censors and its functions transferred to a film commission; and halving the number of foreign film imports, from 300 a year to 150.

The committee also wants the Government to force producers or exhibitors to refrain from any ownership or partnership in cinemas. A 100 per cent tax bonus would be awarded as an incentive to the top 20 films on the local market each year. And cinemas would be compelled to screen Filipino films for at least 30 per cent.of their screening time.

The Batasan Committee says it will defend all the proposals at Government level. The committee expects widespread condemnation from most sides of the industry, but believes the Filipino film industry needs immediate and blanket protection and encouragement, and less emphasis placed on the showing of foreign films.

NEW ZEALAND A detailed round-up of production in New Zealand will appear in the next issue. ★

Cinema Papers, July-August — 443

PRODUCTION SURVEY BILCOP and COPPING Producer and d ire c to r................................ Rob Copping Tatts Gold Heritage Lottery.

J.P. PRODUCTIONS

CAMBRIDGE FILMS D ire c to r....................................Ray Wagstaff Call an Ambulance.

FILMPARTNERSHIP

For the Nine Network P roducers................................ Paul Hogan, John Cornell D ire c to r.................................... Peter Faiman 78 and 79 series Paul Hogan Show (Film se­ quences)

Producer ..........................Mike Brayshaw • D ire c to r..............................Dudley Robinson Melbourne Underground Rail Loop. The Building of the Sugarloaf Dam. Streams of Our City.

LES BEARD and ASSOC.

JOHN BOLAND and ASSOC. Producer and d ire c to r................................................... [_esBeard Exec P roducer.......................... John Boland D ire c to r......................................... Jack Frost Bathurst ’78 and ’79.

Moving State.

C.S.I.R.O. FILM Producer and d ire c to r............................ Nick Alexander The Grating Rulers. Energy and Agriculture (Director Chris Oliver).

R and R FILM PRODUCTIONS

Producer and d ire c to r.................................................. RonBrown KESTREL FILMS (AUST) Organ Factory. School Councils.

P ro d u cer............................ John Richardson D ire c to r..................................David Morgan O.C.P. LIMITED Dartmouth Dam. The Wild Spirit (Winner Exec P roducer...........................................BobWeiss A.C.S. award best cinematography for Stax For the Seven Network (Film se­ cinema and television 1979) Westgate quences).

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IAN MACRAE PRODUCTIONS P ro d u ce r....................................Andrea Way D ire c to r............................ .......... Ian Macrae Life. Be In It — Life Games.

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JO H N S TU R Z A K E R E X E C U T IV E PROD UCER What is ATN-7’s involvement with tele-features generally?

We don’t have any fixed phil­ osophy; we are looking for any program that is likely to rate. But we have been involved in tele­ features fairly heavily. Robert Bruning did a number for us, and other producers have made the odd one for us — Alison’s Birthday being the most recent.

We are probably a little more cautious about tele-features now than we were a couple of years ago, because they tend not to work, despite the innate entertainment value that might be there. And the reason is because there is no expec­ tation with the audience. It takes an awful lot of promotion to win an audience to a tele-feature. We are really happier if a feature has had a theatrical release first, because we have found from experience that even features that may have failed at the box-office have at least had wide exposure and established an expectation in the audience.

John Sturzaker spent five years as the director of the Aus­ tralian Radio Advertising Bureau, before taking up his first in­ dustry job, in 1971, as national sales manager for HSV-7.

Sturzaker left HSV-7 in 1972 and joined the Nine Network as marketing manager, where he remained for one year. He left to spend a year as an entrepreneur, promoting concerts at the Sydney Opera House, and touring with artists.

Since 1974, John Sturzaker has been the program develop­ ment manager for ATN-7, where his role is to develop ideas for programs, and to assess projects that are put up to the station by production companies and scriptwriters.

In this interview, by Peter Beilby and Scott Murray, Stur­ zaker talks about his role as executive producer of “Alison’s Birthday”, and the involvement of ATN-7 in the production of feature films and tele-features.

So the publicity which a theatrical feature gets is advance publicity for a network screening . . .

Yes, it’s the number of people who watch it. Maybe I should qualify that, because there will be, from time to time, a feature that we have put on because it has some q u a l i t a t i v e v a lu e . O f th e commercial stations Channel Seven is more likely to do that, even though we know in the short term — in the rating term —■it won’t be to our -advantage. But it leaves some unmeasurable quality taste behind it.

It’s not necessarily pure altruism, because there are some sponsors, too, who will come in on that sort of product. They want their name associated with it in anticipation that the particular audience is of significant numbers in the target group they are after.

We would never buy a program because we thought somebody might want to advertise in it. We would consider it, firstly, on its appeal to an audience. Normally that would be deciding if it would get a large number of people watching it. As a secondary consideration we might believe it has a quality appeal, and therefore we would want it. We would then seek the advertising to go into it.

About 75 per cent of the time, the advertising that goes in there will be run-of-schedule material, that is, the advertiser won’t have pre­ selected the program where his spots appear. It’s only occasionally i- that you will have special money £ going in from an advertiser because I he wants to sponsor it.

What makes a good tele-feature?

to need a continuity of characters more than a continuity of style.

You can, however, have an anthology of a particular genre. But going on research records, they are Do you think name actors are as At the moment there seems to be a no more likely to work than more important in tele-features as they tendency for some producers to diversified forms of entertainment. are in theatrical feature films? devise genre films: for example, horror-thrillers. Do you think, genre So you wouldn’t be more attracted If it’s a made-for-television films can find a ready market on to a horror film than a comedy or a feature, yes, because, going back to television, or do they work better love story . . . my earlibr point on expectation, if theatrically?

No. And if one is buying a madeyou have a star name it will help to I think they work better theat­ for-television feature, you have to establish some expectation in the audience, which is more likely to rically. On television, people tend be very cautious, because they are 446 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Do you rate the success of a tele­ feature solely on ratings?

Do you buy a film for television with the advertising market, ox the audience, primarily in mind?

Yes. Most, or a large percentage of our audience, will have been exposed to the promotion for it, and will have established an expec­ tation for it. It may not have been enough for them to dig $4 out of their pockets and go out in the wet to see it, but they will have made some decision about whether they want to see it or not.

So when it comes to television, and it’s an easy decision just to push a button on a set, then a sig­ nificant number tend to watch it.

The script — first, last, and foremost. Without that, you have nothing to work with, as many people have found to th e ir detriment over the past few years.

For television, the script needs a broad appeal. Theatrically, you can afford to aim at a fairly specific audience, whereas television should aim at a wide spectrum of people.

very hard to promote. So you need to see that it has many elements going for it, and a broad appeal built into it.

get them to watch it. You can get away without star names in a series, because the series builds itself and makes its own stars.

On what basis do you decide to run spot ads, or offer a program to a sponsor as a job lot?

On the one hand it’s a subjective decision. A program may have some special appeal that could attract an advertiser. Sometimes it happens the reverse way around, and an advertiser will have said to our sales department, “ I would like to get into this sort of program. Do you have any coming up?” There will be that sort of liaison.

The other motivation will be if a

PRODUCTION REPORT

p ro g ra m o f any s o r t is a particularly expensive one, and we need to allocate income against it.

Then we may find somebody who is prepared to pay more per spot for the commercials that go in there.

Is that a way for producers to get backing for films: to attract advertisers to a program and then go to a television station?

I’d discourage that in the first instance. I think anybody who has a product they believe will work should bring it along to be assessed. We will make a deci­ sion on its p ro g ram v alu e, rather than on any relationship we think it might have to an advert­ iser. The advertiser comes second.

It might be brutal if you are talking to an advertiser and saying that, but it has to be that way. The programs have to work first; if they work, the advertisers will follow.

What is a good rating for a tele­ feature?

You might plan to get in the high 20s, and hope to get in the 30s. I can’t recall any of them having got there though; from memory, most of them have been in the low 20s, even though some have been good quality. Sometimes it’s been because, either through intent or coincidence, they have been slotted against particularly strong oppos­ ition that might have kept the ratings down.

But in general, a lack of awareness and the lack of expect­ ation, have meant they have not achieved their innate potential. An example, I suppose, would be The Alternative, which I think was a particularly good tele-feature. It got into new ground, and had a new look at something. It was the first time I had seen on television a homosexual relationship treated as a true-love relationship.

Now that was well promoted.

But, from memory, it only got about a 20 rating. On the other hand, End Play, which we ran recently, got a 34 rating. And Eliza Fraser, which didn’t have a lot going for it, also got, I think, a 34 rating.

People were not aware of The Alternative; they had no quality image in mind. On the other hand, those same people would have seen the advertisements for Eliza Fraser, and would have seen critiques saying it wasn’t very good. Never­ theless, they knew enough about it to want to see it and judge for themselves. It cost them nothing, and they didn’t have to go out on a rainy night.

area is one that has worked well.

There seems to be a significant number of people to whom that sort of program has appeal.

I think Alison’s Birthday had the added advantage of realism. It’s not a Dracula film where people fanta­ sise; it gives the feeling that it’s hard to believe, but could in fact happen. The realism was probably the clincher that got us in there, just as more recently we have become involved with David Elfick’s Man on the Edge of the Freeway. Again, while it’s frightening, it is very believable.

To what extent is your decision to become involved in projects like “Alison’s Birthday” a gut reaction to the script?

Gut reaction isn’t a motive. We ^ might make a subjective evaluo ation of something, but it comes from the experience of the people Alison (left) played by Joanne Samuel and friend Chrissie (Margie McCrae) unleash power­ who are looking at it, and I use the ful supernatural forces during a ouija board seance in Alison’s Birthday. plural term. While something like any specific examples where we But with a series you are amort­ Alison’s Birthday specifically came have done that; but we could do it. izing the cost over seven episodes if to me, and I liked it, it was a matter We would do it with a series before it’s a mini-series, or 700 if it’s one of reco m m en d in g it to the it goes on, because the cost of that like Cop Shop.

Network, and then the general initial launch is in effect amortized So it’s an expensive exercise. We managers and program managers over the length of the series. We could well find that tele-features from the stations had to reach a would seek to find out what the don’t have a long life, given the consensus about it. specific appeal of it was, and the current situation; it is hard to With Alison’s Birthday we also elements that made up the appeal, justify tele-features. fed in some research data. We tend so that we could represent those to to research these program s the public in the right way.

That leads us to why you became generally in one, or perhaps two This comes back to the big involved in “Alison’s Birthday”? ways. We use ASI to do specific problem of the tele-feature: that it sample testing of it, and the TAPE is as hard to launch a one-off tele­ We liked it; it’s a good story. The organization, in London, for an feature as it is to launch a series. horror, and the dramatic, spiritual assessment which is based on a data

Obu Films

In feature films it’s common to test the final product with an audience.

Are there any parallels in television?

D'o you test a tele-feature with an audience?

Alison’s boyfriend Pete (Lou Brown) and a Roman Catholic priest (Eric Oldfield) in a scene from Alison’s Birthday.

You could do it. I can’t think of Cinema Papers, July-August — 447

PRODUCTION REPORT

bank of how different elements have worked in the past.

in getting it established — and then I was involved in the contractual arrangements and helped on the financing side.

When a producer presents you with a film ‘package’ for your consider­ ation — which presumably would Does the Network have the approval include the producer, the script, a of the final cut of the film? director and several lead actors — which of the elements do you N o, we leave th a t to the consider the most important? producer. Where we commit to anything, we com m it to the The script is the vital thing. In producer, and only in extreme the first instance I don’t have a lot situations would we want to inter­ of interest in who they are contemp­ fere. I think if you make a commit­ lating casting or who is going to ment, then you take your lumps, direct it. If the script is good, every­ which is an attitude we always have, thing else can be bought. The script whether we are selling television is the one vital, immutable thing rights or investing. that you can’t do without.

Then of course you aim to do it So even if you were a substantial as well as you can, and casting investor in “Alison’s Birthday”, that would come second. It might be a would still be your attitude . . . bit unfair on the director saying that, but it’s just that the cast is Yes. You don’t have a dog and probably more up-front, and more bark yourself. in one’s mind from a promotional point of view.

That attitude is completely opposite to those adopted by the federal and Is the Network’s involvement in state funding instrumentalities . . .

“Alison’s Birthday” an investment, a purchase of television rights, or Yes, I know. I have been at both? meetings of investors representing our interests where there has been In the case of Alison’s Birthday it some debate about how a feature was a purchase of the Australian was looking, and while others have television rights on the under­ wanted to force or persuade the standing that it may or may not producer to make changes, I have have a theatrical release. We always said, “That’s what we have decided to shoot on 16 mm, and bought” . determine later whether it would If it’s a choice of either the come straight to television, or producer or the investors being whether we would blow it up to 35 wrong, I will assume that the mm and release it theatrically. investors are wrong at that stage. If it turns out that the project is a dog, What was your role as executive then one files that information away. Then, if you look at a producer? proposal from that producer in the With Alison’s Birthday, not a lot future, you take it into account. after the original setting up of it.

Initially, I was involved in dis­ When you make an investment in a cussions with the producer on the tele-feature, do you also look at the form that it should take — I liaised international television potential? between producer and the Network

Vincent Ball as Dr Lyall in Alison’s Birthday.

448 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Not really. Our assessment has to be that it will work in Australia, and we will write off all our invest­ ment against the A u stralian showing if it’s a tele-feature, or against the Australian exhibition if it’s for cinema release.

Statistically, so little has been sold overseas and worked that one would be foolish to rely on overseas sales. So unless you can write it off here, and then be elated at a bonus of an overseas sale, you are not being realistic.

What would be a reasonable expect­ ation a producer could have for an advance network sale of a tele­ feature?

I would hope to get it for $60,000, but may pay a little more; it depends on how it’s being made up. If there is somebody in there who is financing part of it against the possibility of overseas sales, then it might be a better deal as far as Australian rights are concerned.

I think it’s probably standard at the moment that in the initial purchase there would be four runs for a tele-feature, but it would also be a normal sort of contract that would give the purchaser unlimited rights. In other words, there would be no term to it, but we would have paid up for four runs, and then, if we wanted to go beyond that, there may be some residuals applicable to the people involved.

The figures networks pay for features that have been released theatrically are much higher than for tele-features, aren’t they?

No. But “Picnic at Hanging Rock” was sold for $100,000, and “Mad Dog Morgan”, which was a flop at the box-office here, got $45,000.

George Cardin as the leader of the ancient Mime cult, who have evil plans for Alison.

Yes, it’s understandable. Picnic was sold after it was successful at the box-office, so it could command that sort of figure. On the other hand, you might get a situation like we had with The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith where, on first look, we w ere p re p a re d to m ak e a substantial offer, which wasn’t acceptable to the main investor in it. Now we would offer consider­ ably less, so it works both ways.

But when I said “ No” , I was thinking of pre-purchase. If a station takes a punt on the script, and says, “ Yes, we’ll come in and pre-purchase television rights to this one” , $60,000 would be about it, I’d say.

What is the usual time between a theatrical release and a network screening?

We would always want it for tele­ vision three years after the first theatrical release. With some we might later agree to stretch it to five years if the film is working very well. Take Storm Boy, in which we invested, and have the television rights: they will become available three years after the film’s first theatrical release, but we have already agreed to defer it by six months because the film is working well theatrically and we are happy about its success. It’s hard enough to get a theatrical success without having to pull it out when it’s still worth it.

Recently, a number of local feature films released theatrically have gone to television soon after. Does that reflect higher prices being paid by networks, or the fact that because certain films aren’t performing well at the box-office the producers, or distributors, are pushing for an early television sale?

I think the problem with Australian features has been in raising finance, and very often producers have found that by pre­ selling television rights they can get some working capital. Obviously it would be preferable, from the point of view of the other investors, if they treated the pre-sale of tele­ vision rights as revenue, and consequently distributed it to the investors. But most producers can’t get all the funds, so $50,000 to $60,000 for the pre-sale of tele­ vision fights becomes a source of working funds. They will then agree at that point to a three or, at the most, a five-year release date.

On the other hand, if the producer hasn’t pre-sold television rights, and isn’t getting anything from the theatrical release, any money then becomes good money, whether it is a sale to television in this country or in another country, or a sell-out of theatrical rights to somebody for a figure that would see the investors happy.

Concluded on P. 479

IAN COUGHLAN D IR ECTO R Where did the idea for “Alison’s Birthday” come from?

I am into writing horror films, and I wanted something that was aimed at young adults. From my limited reading on the subject, that seemed to me to be the most lucrative audience in box-office terms. I came up with a teenage, 1979-type heroine, and then tried to think of the most horrifying thing that could happen to somebody like that — one who is vital and alive. I started from that point, then went back to the beginning and wrote the script.

Were you influenced by the success of films like “The Omen”, and “Carrie”?

They were encouraging. I have never been wild about the tonguein-cheek Vincent Price, Peter Cushing-style of horror, so it was good to see films like The Omen being made, and being a success. I was also glad that Carrie worked, because in some ways there were similarities with Carrie and Alison’s Birthday in the make-up of the central character.

With a background in radio announcing, television and jour­ nalism in Queensland, Ian Coughlan moved to Sydney in 1972, and joined Gemini Productions as a post-production supervisor.

While there, he supervised film, videotape and music editing on “The Godfathers” and “The Spoiler”. He graduated to writing and directing for Gemini, and worked on the first 13 episodes of “The People Next Door”.

Coughlan also wrote and directed episodes of “Silent Number”, for South Pacific Films, as well as their tele-feature, “The Spiral Bureau”. His other credits as writer and director include episodes of “The Lost Islands”, “Chopper Squad”, and the 0-10 Network tele-feature “The Haunting of Hewie Dowker”.

He has also worked extensively with the Reg Grundy Organisation, writing, directing, and acting in episodes of “Young Doctors” and “The Restless Years”.

“Alison’s Birthday”, which Coughlan wrote and directed, is his first film for cinema release. In this interview by Scott Murray and Peter Beilby, he discusses the making of “Alison’s Birthday”.

Is the treatment similar?

The horror in Alison’s Birthday is creeping and atmospheric. The treatment of the film, the way we have shot it, is a deliberate decision to go against the Gothic. There are no brooding, slow, tracking shots past dimly-lit foreground objects and all that sort of thing. The house looks very innocent, with a lot of sunlight and birds tweeting, and the occupants are ordinary-looking people. When you start off with a normal, nice, gingerbread facade like that, and then find out what is going on underneath it, it’s much I have learnt a lot from working more horrifying than brooding on serials. Many people, particular­ shadows and maniacal laughter ly in the feature film area, tend to from the cellar. look down on them as rubbish.

They don’t feel there is anything to When you write a horror story, like be learnt from them — which is like “Alison’s Birthday”, do you follow throwing the baby out with the bath set conventions? water.

I have found from working on Yes, but they are not conventions shows like The Restless Years and that are unique to that genre. With Young Doctors, that it’s very simple A lison’s Birthday, the most to get people to like a character. important thing was to create a You just bring in an actor who has character in Alison that people some degree of basic likeability, were going to like and identify with. have him smile a lot, and have the Once I had done that, it didn’t other characters say what a nice really matter what happened to her. person he is. Before long the Obviously it had;to be exciting audience will accept him as a nice and horrifying for Alison’s Birth­ person and like him. Conversely, if day to be a horror film, but I felt somebody comes in and snarls a lot, that was secondary to the person it and everybody else says, “God he’s an evil person, we hate him”, the was happening to.

audience will hate him as well.

The fact that somebody is hanging by one finger from a 10storey building at the end of an episode of Young Doctors is not what brings them back the next day — certainly nowhere near as much as the fact that the characters are people they know and like.

h o r r o r film is g e n e r a lly unsuccessful. I think that’s because they are unreal. They appeal to a particular cult following in the cinema, and because they are made on very low budgets, that cult following is enough to make them commercially viable.

But if you come up with characters and situations that people can identify with, believe in and like, then the film will appeal to a wide audience.

One of the ingredients of Arthur Herzog’s disaster-horror films has been to inflict extraordinary events on the lives of ordinary people; the characters are usually banal and one- di mens i onal . Is this a convention you have followed in “Alison’s Birthday”?

How interesting a character is depends on the amount of life it has. "People who are lively, are automatically interesting. That is what we tried to do with the characters in Alison’s Birthday.

You can’t have your characters racing around, spouting George Bernard Shaw dialogue. I like to make them sound as though they are intelligent people, so I try to give them a few vaguely witty things to say.

But obviously the characters are stereotypes, because that is the quickest way to get an audience involved. I think you have to keep the characters simple enough for the audience to identify with them within five minutes of walking into the frame.

In the disaster films they are appealing to a wider cross-section of people. They use a fairly large group of characters to increase the likelihood of audience identifica­ tion. Consequently, the characters can’t be too complex — otherwise the whole film would be taken up with character development.

Would you say, then, that the real stars of the disaster films are the disasters, and that the star of “Alison’s Birthday” is the occult happening?

Is “Alison’s Birthday” written for a No, I disagree with that. I think broad audience, or for the horror- the stars of the film are the people occult fans? who are involved in the pheno­ mena. In a disaster film, the actual 1 think it has a very broad earthquake or inferno usually lasts appeal. The right sort of horror only for the last two or three reels. films have always had a very wide If you just focused on that it would audience, certainly in the younger be like watching newsreel footage. age groups, and particularly with The audience would never really teenage women. feel that it was exciting enough.

This hasn’t entirely been true on You have to get an audience television. The Hammer style of identifying with the people in the Cinema Papers, July-August — 449

Obu Films

PRODUCTION REPORT

Pete escapes from the house where Alison is held captive by strange psychic forces on the eve of her 19th birthday.

wouldn’t have had anything to do with the story.

keen to go ahead with it.

About that time I thought it had the ingredients to work as a feature film, shot on a low budget. I suggested to Grundy’s that they should put a little bit more money into it and make it a cinema film, but they didn’t have the finance at that stage. That’s when I struck off in other directions, and dropped it on David Hannay’s desk.

a cinema subject?

Originally, I was going to do it through Grundy’s. They said if they liked the script, they would be happy to let me direct it. I had been working fairly closely with them, w riting and directin g Young Doctors, and had a good relation­ ship going.

So when the script was finished I took it in. It was then sent off to TAPE1, the dreaded computer, and it got a 165 rating, which was ex­ tremely good. Grundy’s were then

No, I don’t. I think it is a very artificial distinction. When the script for Alison’s Birthday was revised for the AFC, and extended 12 minutes, I was faced with the decision of what to add to make it more cinematic. There,were sugges­ tions to add more sex, violence and four-letter words, but I decided against it; not on m oralistic How did things develop after you grounds, but because I didn’t feel it spoke to Hannay? was necessary.

I also think audiences react They developed slowly. First up against violence. Ten years ago we made a pre-sale of television audiences were fascinated by the rights to the Seven Network. They violence in films by people like Sam came in immediately because they Peckinpah, but now they are fed up had a lot of respect for David, and with it; it’s all around them, and were impressed by the 165 TAPE they live in fear of it. rating.

As for the sex, it was a tempta­ Alison’s Birthday was also put up tion to make Alison’s Birthday to the A ustralian Film Com­ more explicit — even during the mission as a medium-budget shooting. But we decided against it feature, but they had reservations because there wasn’t any point. It about it. When the original draft was written, I put commercial breaks in, because I knew, that whether it opened in a cinema or not, .it would certainly end up on television. And having seen many a film on television with commercial breaks in the most bizarre places, I thought I may as well put them in at that stage. Unfortunately these were left in the draft the AFC were given, and they had doubts about investing the amount of money we were asking on something they thought was primarily a television subject.

We then had to submit it again as something that could be seen either as a tele-feature or as a low budget feature film. This time the AFC agreed to invest.

The end money was the hardest to get. We came close to giving up, but Fontana Films came in with a facility and staff investment,

Did you find it difficult to shoot “Alison’s Birthday” on the low budget you had?

1. A London-based program evaluation service. !

Do you think there is such a thing as a television subject, as distinct from

Ian Coughlan (far right) setting up a scene during the shooting of Alison’s Birthday. Far left: Joanne Samuel.

“Alison’s Birthday” is your third horror-occult tele-feature. The other two, “The Spiral Bureau” and “The Haunting of Hewie Dowker”, were pilots for series that never got off the ground. Is “Alison’s Birthday” also a pilot?

It is simply a one-off. After those two projects, into which I had put a lot of effort, I became a bit disen­ chanted with the idea of trying to go for a series. In the occult area, it is difficult to conceive something that can be sustained through an entertaining number of episodes. I didn’t think there was much point in knocking myself around trying to come up, with concept after concept for a series that couldn’t eventuate.

So, I decided to stick to one-offs, which are much easier.

Had you spoken to David Hannay at this stage?

450 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Yes. For a start we only had a three-week shooting schedule, so we had to work very fast. Usually, the great escape hatch for a direc­ tor when shooting quickly is the zoom lens. Unfortunately, we couldn’t use zooms on interiors at any stage, because we were shooting for blow-up to 35 mm. We were constantly on standard lenses, which meant we had to spend a lot of time laying tracks, and setting up dollies and cranes. If I was lucky I had three hours to do a scene that had particularly strong production values. So the film is to some extent under-covered. Certainly nobody is going to look at it and say it’s an imaginatively-directed film.

At the same time, I think the simplicity of the coverage and the direction helps the film to main-

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film; so when a brick wall falls on top of Fred Astaire they feel it.

The people are crucial, but I don’t think they have to be complex characters. If you present a stereo­ type, the audience will look at that character, recognize the stereo­ type, then project their own complexities, or the complexities of somebody they know who fits that stereotype, on that character, and th erefo re give it depth and dimension. Then when things start to happen, they accept it.

PRODUCTION REPORT

tain the innocent facade I was talking about before.

To some extent, although David Hannay’s philosophy on this was a very valid one: something shot all in close-up for television is going to be overpowering on the cinema screen, whereas anything shot for cinema will always work on television.

Consequently, we worked in the 1.85:1 ratio, which is a standard wide-screen format.

However, when you are working as quickly as we did on Alison’s Birthday, this does present a few problems. There are certain com­ positions — shots that are a very basic part of the repertoire of filmmaking — that simply won’t compose for both media. If you frame them for 1.85:1 there is too much air over the heads on a tele­ vision screen. So you have to try and find compositions that are going to work for both. Luckily, Kevin Lind was the operator on Alison’s Birthday, and as he had worked with 16 mm for blow-up to 35 mm before, he was aware of the problem, and came up with good I do think the promotion was the results. wrong sort. It was given heavy onair promotion, but unfortunately Apparently most Australian tele- they picked out scenes that made it features have rated poorly. Why do look like a Hammer horror film. you think that is?

There was nothing else apart from the on-air promotions on their own In the case of The Haunting of channel.

Hewie Dowker, which only rated 14 However, in the week before, the in Sydney, it wasn’t because it was Chopper Squad pilot went to air, buried; the channel was right and that had a quarter page ad in behind it, and put it to air at a fairly each of the Sunday newspapers, vital time. And it wasn’t the subject with a block especially made up; matter; at the time it went on, Hewie Dowker had nothing. badly-produced, superficiallyIf you are going to put on a tele­ written docum entaries on the feature, you can’t promote it like an supernatural were rating in the 50s. episode of a series, you’ve got to I know that when something fails promote it like a film. Artwork has on television everybody blames the to be done, and there must be a promotion, but with Hewie Dowker proper promotional campaign to

Cameraman Kevin Lind lines up a shot of Margie McCrae during the shooting of Alison’s Birthday.

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The television format is much smaller than the one used for a cinema film. Did this restrict you during the shooting?

get it into the newspapers and on radio.

Belinda Giblin as the spirit of Mime, an an­ Most people haven’t even heard cient Celtic demoness, in a dream sequence from Alison’s Birthday. of tele-features like Hewie Dowker or The Alternative. If you haven’t heard of something, you can’t see it. If a film has been properly tape is virtually edited as you go. promoted, then people will hear of When you are only using the one it, even if they haven’t seen it. camera, it means you can light That is another reason I think it’s much more accurately. The result important to be able to come up isn’t like film, but it seems to bring with a dual medium film. Films it closer. It still has an electronic shown in the cinema are usually look to it though. Maybe we have promoted properly. So, when they all grown to love the grain in film go to television, at least people have over the years. heard about them.

In the U.S., a tele-feature is What are the differences between marketed in the same way as a working in television and film, and cinema film; they give it the whole which do you prefer? treatment.

I like working in both, and I Most of the work you do is on video, would like to be able to move from which is generally much harsher and one to the other. Television has more electronic than film. However more limitations than film, but I you said that with “The Haunting of like it. I love sitting in a chair with a Hewie Dowker”, which was shot on microphone in front of me knowing video, you achieved a result which I have a captive audience, with was close to film. How was that? headphones on, all over the place.

Working in film is very differ­ The important thing with Hewie ent. There are a number of special­ Dowker was that it was shot with a ists who do what in television is the single camera. In working on video­ director’s job. On a film, a director tape, using multiple camera set-ups mutters a couple of things at the — particularly working quickly — beginning of a set-up, and then it’s virtually impossible to achieve stands quietly in the corner and subtle results. Most lighting direc­ hopes nobody asks for any intelli­ tors in the videotape area are aware gent remarks until they say, “Okay, of the problem; they call it tennis we are ready to go” . Then he walks court lighting. But the fact is that over and says, “Action” , looks at you have to light so that a subject what happens, and at the end asks can be shot from any angle. In everybody if they are happy. If they other words you have to find the are, he says, “Where do you want optimum lighting for a set so that it to go next?” , and then stands in the looks acceptable from wherever the corner again. cameras happen to be.

Film and television are very It’s the time factor involved in different; the end product is differ­ videotape editing that has resulted ent. I would like to feel that I could in multi-camera shooting, where handle both media. ★ Cinema Papers, July-August — 451

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T IT L E

P E R IO D 7.1.79 to 17.3.79

P E R IO D 18.3.79 to 19.5.79 SYD.2

ADL.

BRI.

Total $

Rank

SYD.

MLB.

43,854

—

—

$239,444

1

—

—

—

—

101,217

2

—

—

—

45,003

MLB.

PTH

BRI.

T o ta l $

Rank

—

. —

32,898

3

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

21,857

4

PTH

A D L.

32,898

—

—

—

3

(1*) 13,132

8,725

The Odd Angry Shot

RS

106,362

(9*) 89,228

Mad Max

RS

—

101,217

DawnI

H TS

(3)

(3)

28,631

16,372

(4)

(4)

(10*)

(4/6)

Newsfront

RS

17,314

11,823

—

—

—

29,137

4

69,272

52,532

—

—

30,482

152,286

1

Dimboola

GUO

—

(1) 14,128

—

—

—

14,128

5

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(3/6*)

(1)

11,543

6

56,126

2,172

—

—

—

58,298

2

N /A

—

N /A

9

—

—

(8*)

(5*)

(3/6)

(3)

(2)

(1*)

(9)

RS

10,591

—

—

—

O) 952

Patrick

FW

—

—

5,864

—

—

5,864

7

—

—

—

Picnic at Hanging Rock

GUO

—

2,074

—

—

—

2,074

8

—

—

—

The Irishman

GUO

—

—

—

N/A

—

—

9

—

9,335

—

—

—

9,335

6

The Getting of Wisdom

RS

—

(1)

N/A

—

—

—

—

10

—

N/A

—

—

—

N /A

8

—

18,295

31,306

293,793

Australian Total

(1)

162,898

234,842*

Foreign Total0

2,918,821

—

Grand Total

3,081,719

2,370,629

(2)

49,718

N /A

952

151,123

N /A

721,077

708,602

722,029

1,200,841

* Figures exclude N/A figures. * Box-office grosses of individual films have been, supplied to Cinema Papers by the Australian Film Commission. oT h is figure represents the total box-office gross of all foreign films shown during the period in the area specified * Continuing into next period NB: Rge.es in parenthesis abeve the grosses re,pr.aentweeks in re le a se ,1„o re ,han one figure appears, ,h . ,i,mh a , been released in more than one cinema during the period.

448,410* —

8,083,820

'

(5)

—

-

(1*)

138,530

105,662

3,842,938

3,069,615

1,723,681

1,000,498

1,004,172

10,640,904

3,981,468

3,175,277

1,723,681

1,018,793

1,035,478

10,934,697

(1) Australian theatrical distributor only. RS — Roadshow; GUO — Greater Union Organization Film Distributors; HTS — Hoyts Theatres; FOX —20th Century Fox; UA — United Artists; CIO — Cinema International Corporation; FW — Filmways Australasian Distributors; 7K —7 Keys Film Distributors; COL - Columbia Pictures; REG - Regent Film Distributors; CCG — Cinema Centre Group; AFC - Australian Film C°rB0,a“On ® - **«" K K 1

BOX-OFFICE GROSSES

Cinema Papers, July-August — 453

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Runner ..................................... Roger Jans SA M Focus p u lle rs ....................................... DavidBrostoff, (working title) Jack Endacott POST-PRODUCTION Prod, company .........................Ukiyo Films Clapper/loader .................... Peter Collister Dist. company ...........................Ukiyo Films Key g r ip ................................................... RayBrown P roducers............................Hilton Bonner, Asst g rip ............................Paul Thompson Zbigniew Friedrich G a ffe r............................ ' ..........Hal Trusell PRE-PRODUCTION D ire c to r............................. Don McLennan E lectrician................................................. IanDewhurst BLOOD MONEY S criptw riters......................

Don McLennan, 2nd unit photography . . . .Vincent Monton (Softly Fell the Rain) Hilton Bonner Asst e d ito r..............................Dolly Fendel Prod, co m p a n y ...........

Lunar Productions HARLEQUIN Photography...................................Zbigniew Friedrich Musical director ........................ Brian May P roducers.............................................. TomBroadbridge Sound recordist ...................Lloyd Carrick Prod, c o m p a n y -----F.G. Film Productions Costume designer .. .Jean-Pierre Dorleac and Chris Oliver E d ito r..............................................Zbigniew Friedrich P ro du ce r.......................Antony I. Ginnane Make-up ................................... Irene Walls D ire c to r................................. Chris Fitchett Art d ire c to r................................. Anne Moir Wardrobe .......................Aphrodite Jansen D ire c to r................................Simon Wincer To ensure the accuracy of your S criptw riters......................................... ChrisFitchett, Assoc, p ro d u c e r....................Sonny Naidu S c riptw rite r...................... Everett de Roche Props buyer . . . .Nicolaas Van Roosendael entry, please contact the editor of this John Ruane and Ellery Ryan Prod, manager .................... Rod McNicol C om poser..............................................BrianMayAsst art d ire cto rs.................................CliveJones, column and ask for copies of our Pro­ Photography..............................Ellery Ryan 1st Asst d ire c to r....................Rod McNicol Exec, producer ................. William Fayman Allen Brown duction Survey blank, on which the Sound recordist ....................Lloyd Carrick Continuity .............................

Julie Cutler Prod, manager ........................ Jenny Barty Special e ffe cts ........................ Robbie Knott details of your production can be E d ito r................................................. EmmilePriebe Boom operator ...............Chris Goldsmith Set construction ...................... John Taylor Unit publicist ...................Lynette Thorburn entered. All details must be typed in Prod, manager ..............Tom Broadbridge Prod, accountant................... Sonny Naidu Length .............................................. 94 mins Lab.................................................. Colorfilm Unit m anager...............Andrew Freedman Still photography.............................. MaxineRosewallupper and lower case.

Lab. lia iso n ............................................... BillGooley Gauge .......................... 35 mm Panavision 1st Asst d ire c to r...................... Chris Oliver C atering...................................................LizaRosewall th e cast entry should be no more B u d g e t............................... Aus. $2,700,000 Color/Black and w hite .........................Color than the 10 main actors/actresses — Continuity .................................Sadie Loosli Camera operator ....... Zbigniew Friedrich Gauge .............................................. 35 mm Shooting s to ck..................... Eastmancolor Boom operator .......................Simon Boyle Focus p u lle r............................................ PhilCross their names and character names. The Progress ............................Pre-production Printing s to c k ....................... Eastmancolor length of the synopsis should not Still photography...................... John Ruane Clapper/loader .................Virginia Brooke Release date ......... Cannes Film Festival, Progress .............................. Pre-production exceed 50 words.

Camera assistant .....................Phil Cross Key g rip .............................. Rod McLennan Synopsis: A 1980 version of the Rasputin 1980 Entries made separately should be Key g r ip ................................. Robert Grant G a ffer....................................................GerryLock legend.

Synopsis: Set in the 1890s, the adventures typed, in upper and lower case, Special e ffe cts...................... Brian Pearce Make-up ...............................

Carol Devine of two eight-year-old children marooned on Stunt co-ordinator ............George Novak following the style used in Cinema H airdresser........................................ Renarti a remote tropical island.

Papers.

S tunts................................. George Novak, LEO N SK I Wardrobe m istress..........Penelope Hester Completed forms should be sent to: Chris Anderson Lab............................................................VFLLtd Prod, c o m p a n y ........Sirrocco Productions Lab....................................................VFL Ltd Length ................................................90 min Dist. company ............................. Roadshow THE C A PT IV ES P ro du ctio n Survey, Length .............................................. 72 min Gauge ................................................ 16 mm P ro du ce rs.............................Tony Bonner Cinem a Papers Pty Ltd, Gauge .............................................. 16 mm For details see Issue 20 Color/Black and w hite........................ Color and William Nagle 644 V ic to ria St, Color/Black and w hite........................ Color Shooting s to c k ......................... Kodak 7247 D ire c to r................................Dick Richards Shooting s to c k..................................... 7247 Progress ............................ Post-production N orth M e lbourne, V ic., 3051 S criptw rite r........................... William Nagle Progress ............................ Post-production Cast: Tracy Mann, Bill Hunter, Tony Barry, Telephone: (03) 329 5983 Based on the novel b y ....... William Nagle Release date ..............................September Hilton Bonner, Jack Allen, Kim Rushworth, M u s ic ....................................Glenn Miller — PRODUCTION Cast: John Flaus, Bryan Brown, Chrissie Max Cullen, Suzanne Dudley, Penelope "Serenade in Blue" James, Caroline Cassidy, John Proper, Stewart, Kirsty Grant, Debbie Conway, John B u d g e t.............................................$820,000 Michael Carman, Jay Mannering, Sue Arnold, John Morrison, Rennie Eiiis, Liz Special effects Gauge ............................................... 35 mm Jones, Peter Curtain, Peter Stratford Stephenson, J. Shauvus, Robyn Bourne, photography.................... John Simpson Progress .............................. Pre-production Synopsis: Pete is a professional criminal Neal Henson, Muriell Slater, Anne Phelan, O p tica ls................................Ken Hoffman Synopsis: The events and trial of Edward B R EA K ER MORANT dying of cancer. After five years absence he David McKinley, Bayne Laurie, Tony Bon­ Asst editor ..........

Karl Kabriel Joseph Leonski, a private in the U.S. Army, Prod, company ...............South Australian returns to Melbourne to settle a few old ner, Penelope Hester. who arrived in Australia in 1942 and was Sound editor ....................... Timothy Street Film Corporation scores.

Synopsis: A young girl from the back tried and executed fo r the Brownout Editing assistant ........................ Peter Seigl P ro du ce r................................................ MattCarroll streets of Melbourne, jailed for armed rob­ murders. An investigation of emotions and Neg. m a tch in g ..................................GordonPoole D ire c to r............................ Bruce Beresford bery, becomes a fashion model. The film Musical director .........................Brian King events which occur when American Mili­ S criptw riters.................... Jonathon Hardy, follows her life from the time of her first in­ Mixer . . . . v.............................................. PhilJudd tary justice is applied in an allied country for THE BATTLE OF BROKEN HILL David Stevens volvement in crime.

Asst mixer."............................Phil Heywood alleged crimes against its citizens.

Based on a play b y ........... Kenneth Ross Prod, c o m p a n y .................Sagittarius Film Costume designer ......................Bob Lloyd Photography........................ Don McAlpine and Television Productions Make-up .................................. Leslie Fisher W RO NSKY Sound recordist ..................... Gary Wilkins MAN AT THE ED G E OF THE P ro du ce r............................Robin Levinson Wardrobe m a s te r.................................. BobLloyd E d ito r....................................

Bill Anderson D ire c to r..............................Robin Levinson Producer and d ire cto r.............

Ian Pringle FREEW AY Props m a s te r..................................... RobertJones Art d ire c to r.......................... David Copping S criptw riter........................ Robin Levinson S criptw riters..............................Ian Pringle Prod, c o m p a n y ....... Palm Beach Pictures Standby p ro p s ................. Michelle Mahrer C om poser............................Michael Carlos Based on the original idea by Robin and Doug Ling P ro du ce rs.............................................DavidElfick Stunt co-ordinator ..........Peter Armstrong Assoc, p ro d u c e r................................. MoyaIceton Levinson Photography...............................Ray Argali and George Miller S tu n ts..............................Peter Armstrong, Prod, manager ......................... Pat Clayton Sound recordist .................John Cruthers Photography............................................RayBartram Prod, c o m p a n y ........Palm Beach Pictures Glen Davis, Prod, secretary .................... Barbara Ring Sound recordist . . . .Soundtrack Australia E d ito r................................... Tony Paterson P ro du ce rs.............................................DavidElfick Bob Hicks, 1st Asst director .................Mark Egerton Prod, manager ........................ Mike Walsh E d ito r................................. David Plumber and George Miller Alan Doggett 3rd Asst d ire c to r................................KevinMcKie Art d ire c to r............................Gary Thomas Prod, assistants.....................George Tossi Scenic a rtis ts .................... Ivan Sofilkanic, D ire c to r..................................................... IanBarry Continuity ............................... Moya Iceton C om poser.......................... Robin Levinson and Jenny Darling Billy Malcon Scriptwriter ..................................... Ian Barry Boom operator .......................... Jim Currie Exec, producer .................Robin Levinson Asst d irector........... Tommy Pstomotragos Carpenter ............................. Danny Burnett Based on the original idea b y . . . Ian Barry C asting................................................. AlisonBarrett, Assoc, p ro d u c e r...........................Max Slee Continuity ................................. Jenni Scott Set construction .....................John Denton Photography................ Russell Boyd S.A. casting Boom operator ........... James Dunwoodie Prod, manager ........................ Jerry Elder Title opticals....................O.B. Productions E d ito r......................................................JohnScott Prod, accountant ............. Harley Manners Prod, co-ordinator ....................... Max Slee Camera assistant .................... Lisa Parish Publicity........................... O.B. Productions Length ............................................... Feature W ra n g le r.............................................. HeathHarris Prod, secretary ................Maxine Levinson G a ffer............................ Adam Briscombe Unit publicist ..........................Mary Moody Gauge .............................................. 35 mm R unner....................................... Jenny Miles Asst producer .............................. Max Slee Props mistress .....................Jenny Meany Studios................... Fontana and Supreme Progress .............................. Pre-production Camera operator ..................... Peter Moss 1st Asst d ire c to r........................Jerry Elder Length .............................................. 80 min Mixed at ................................. Atlab Sound Synopsis: A horror-thriller about a scientist Focus p u lle r..............................David Burr 2nd Asst director ...............Steve Newman Gauge .............................................. 16 mm Lab......................................................... Atlab who is immersed in liquid nuclear waste Clapper/loader ...................... Simon Smith 3rd Asst d ire cto r...................................GaryThomas Shooting stock.............Eastmancolor 7247 Lab. lia is o n .......................James Parsons Key g rip .......................... . Ross Erickson and undergoes a Frankenstein transforma­ Continuity .................................. Eila Harris Progress ............................Post-production Length ...............................................95 min tion.

Asst g rip ........... .................. Robin Morgan Boom operator .................. Phil Kennihan Release date ................................July 1979 Gauge ...............................................35 mm G a ffer..................

Rob Young Cast: Ross Thompson, Miranda Brown, C asting......................................... SagittariusFilm Shooting s to ck...................... Eastmancolor Asst e d ito r.....................................JeannineChialvo and Television Productions Doug Ling, John Flaus, Frank Walsh, Phil M O N K EY G R IP Progress ..........................Awaiting release Editing assistant ........... Catherine Murphy Casting consultant ...............Roma Salsby Dagg, Rob Jordan.

Cast: Joanne Samuel, Lou Brown, Bunney Musical director ................. Michael Carlos For details see Issue 20 Still photography........................Chris Bain, Synopsis: A story of a young man’s quest to Brooke, John Bluthal, Vincent Ball, Brian Make-up .................................... Judy Lovell John Brock find his father.

Blain, Adam Bowen, Ian Coughlan, Ralph Wardrobe assistant ___Ruth de la Lande R unner....................................................AlanLove ONE, TWO, THREE, UP Cotterill, Robin Gibbes, Belinda Giblin, BerProps b u y e r.......................... Chris Webster Camera operator ................... Ray Bartram jia rd Lewis, Margie McGrae, Eric Oldfield, Standby p ro p s ......................................ClarkMunro Prod, company ..Ross Wood Productions Focus p u lle r........................ Ian McDermat Stephen O’Rourke, Sonia Peat, Lisa Peers, Special e ffe cts ..................... Monty Feiguth, P ro d u ce r................................. Henri Safran Clapper/loader . . . . . . . . Paul Worthington AWAITING RELEASE Ross Piers, Martin Vaughan, Brian Wenzel, Chris Murray D ire c to r................................... Henri Safran Camera assistant ...............Ian McDermat Julie Wilson, Marion Johns.

Stunt co-ordtnator ........................ Alf Joint S criptw rite rs.....................Graham Gifford, Key g r ip ................................................. John Brock Synopsis: A young girl is puzzled by a se­ Set construction .................Herbert Pintor Henri Safran Asst grip .................................. Dennis Hunt quence of strange events which occur dur­ Carpenters .......................Peter Templeton and Kit Denton 2nd unit photography ........... Peter Smith ing the days leading up to her 19th birthday.

A LISO N ’S BIRTHDAY Glen Finch Sound editor ............................... Bob Allan Based on the story b y ___Graham Gifford Slowly, and with growing horror, she Jo Robertshaw Length ............................................... 90 min Musical director .......................... Paul Both Prod, company ...................David Hannay becomes aware of the celebrations which Set d ecorator..........................................KenJames Gauge ............................................... 35 mm Make-up ............................. Natasha Mallen Productions her “ relatives" have, planned for her.

Title opticals.................. Optical & Graphic Progress ............................ Pre-production Wardrobe ............................... Miki Caspers P ro du ce r..............................David Hannay Unit publicists .....................David Sabine, Synopsis: An adventure/comedy based on Wardrobe assistant ......... Michael Burdon D ire c to r................................ Ian Coughlan Peter Welch Props m a s te r......................................... MaxSlee a true story about an attempt to start an il­ Scriptwriter ........................... Ian Coughlan C atering............................ Movie Munchies legal airline in the South Pacific in a con­ Special e ffe c ts ......................................John Brock Sound recordist .........................Phil Judd K O ST A S Lab.......................................................... Atlab Stunt co-ordinator .................. Dennis Hunt E d ito r.................................... Timothy Street dominium ruled by the French and British.

Prod, company ..Kostas Film Productions Lab. lia iso n ................................Jim Parsons S tunts..................................................DennisHunt Art d ire c to r............................... Lu Kanturek P ro du ce r..............................Bernard Eddy Length .............................................90 mins Set decorator......................... Gary Thomas Prod, designer.....................Robert Hilditch D ire c to r.........................................Paul Cox S O M E O N E LEFT THE C A K E Gauge .............................................. 35 mm Set construction .................. Gary Thomas C om posers...............................Brian King, S criptw rite r..........................Linda Aronson OUT IN THE RAIN Shooting sto c k ....................... Eastmancolor C atering..............................Raymond Jones Alan Oloman, Based on the original idea b y . . . Paul Cox Progress ................................In production Laboratory .....................................Colorfilm Ian Coughlan For details see Issue 21 Additional script Release date ...................... February 1980 Length-....................................................... 90mins Exec, producers ...................... Ric Kabriel, m a te ria l...................... ...H elen Bogdan, Cast: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Gauge -----16 mm for blow-up to 35 mm John Sturzaker Takis Emmanuel C harles Tingw ell, Bryan Brown, Rod Color/Black and w hite........................ Color Assoc, p ro d u c e r..............................MichaelFalloon THE BLUE LAGOON Photography........................

Vittorio Bernini Mullinar, Terry Donovan, Chris Haywood, Shooting sto ck..............................................,. 7247 Prod, executive.................................... JohnWallSound recordist .................. Lloyd Carrick Prod, c o m p a n y ........... Columbia Pictures Alan Cassell.

Progress ............................ Post-production Prod, manager ...............Pamela Vanneck E d ito r.....................................................

JohnScott Dist. c o m p a n y ............... Columbia Pictures Synopsis: Based on the famous Boer War Cast: David Robertson, Harold Berrett, Prod, se c re ta ry ..............................SusanneNewell Art d ire c to r.............................................AlanStubenrauch P ro du ce rs.............................. Randal Kleiser incident in which three Australian soldiers David Dudman, Maurice Howie, Reg Dobay, 1st Asst d ire c to r..............................MichaelFalloon and Richard Franklin were court-martialled by the British Army as Jeff Pullan, John Rand, Stuart Leggett, 2nd Asst director .......................Pennie Hill C om poser...................... Mikis Theodorakis Exec, p ro d u c e r................. Kostas Kalergis D ire c to r.................................. Randal Kleiser political scapegoats and were later ex­ Craig Schutte, Russell Manyon, David 3rd Asst d ire c to r............. Andrew Williams S criptw rite r............... Douglas Day Stewart ecuted.

Norris, Erik Michielsen, Robert Lind, Trevor Continuity . . ' ....................................... LindaRayAssoc, producer . . . Tony Llewellyn-Jones Prod, assistant........... e .. Judy Whitehead Based on the novel by H. De Vere Stacpoole Johnson, Mike Oleinikoff, Steve Verrall, Ian Boom operator ................... Jack Friedman Unit m anager..........................................BobKewley Photography...................Nestor Almendros Southby, Dennis Hunt, Michael Burdon, Prod, accountant ...............Venda Sollars 1st Asst d ire c to r.................................... BobKewley Sound recordist ........................ Paul Clark Julie Hill Whittle, Anne Cole, Gillian Wright, Still photography............. Kevin Broadribb, G R EN D EL G R EN DEL G REN DEL C o n tin u ity ........................Judy Whitehead E d ito r..................................Robert Gordon Lyn Semmler, Jenny Randall, Audrey Jan Reid Boom operator ............. Bruce Lampshed Art d ire c to r..........................Jon Dowding Hewlett, Fiona Guthrie, Miki Caspers, Catering................................. John Faithfull For details see Issue 21 Prod, accountant ................ Sonny Naidu C om poser.............................................. BasilPoledouris Jeanett Drake, Betty Percy, Margaret Script a s s is ta n t..........................Linda Ray Best boy ............................Paddy Reardon Prod, managers ......................Barbi Taylor Atkinson, Janet Brow.

Best boy ................................... Paul Moyes Unit ru n n e r.......................................... Adele Sztar Peter Bogart Synopsis: A dramatized re-enactment of R unner................................ .Wayne Nichols Clapper/loader ........................... Phil Cross Prod, secretaries..............Rosalie Trencher the true events which occurred at Broken Lighting ............................Brian Bansgrove Camera assistant .............. Nino Martinetti Helen Watts Hill on New Year’s Day, 1915, when a Cameraman ................................ Kevin Lind 2nd Asst cam era................

Ian Davidson 1st Asst, director ................... Peter Bogart Turkish patriot and an Indian butcher Focus p u lle r............................Russell Dority Key g r ip ................................................. John Twegg 2nd Asst d ire c to r.................................Mark Piper declared war on Australia.

Camera tra in e e ..........................Mark Owen G a ffer.................... ! ................ Ray Thomas Continuity .......................... Marilyn Giardino Key g r ip ..................................... Ray Brown Still photography............... Julie Millowick Prod, a u d ito r ......................................... FredHarding Asst grip ...................................... Ron Croft Asst editor ..........................Jackie Horvath Prod, accountant .......................Patti Scott G a ffer................................ Brian Bansgrove Theme m u s ic .................Mikis Theodorakis C atering.................................................. FredManly E lectrician................................... Simon Lee Music performed by . Margaretha Zorbala Best b o y ................................Tony Holtham 2nd unit p ho tog ra ph y....... John Simpson Sound transfers......... John Phillips Sound

FE A TU R E S

PRODUCERS, DIRECTORS AND PRODUCTION COMPANIES

Cinema Papers, July-August — 455

GB

Make-up ................................Carol Devine Wardrobe m istress...............Carol Devine Props m a ste r................... Paddy Reardon P ublicity................................Helen Bogdan Unit physician ......................James Khong Lab......................................................Cinevex Length ...........................................105 mins Gauge .............................................. 35 mm Color/Black and w hite .........................Color Shooting sto ck........................Eastmancolor Progress .......................... Awaiting release Cast: Takis Emmanuel, Wendy Hughes, John W a te rs, K ris M cQ uade, C hris Haywood, Tony Llewellyn-Jones.

Synopsis: Set in Melbourne today, Kostas concerns the love affair between Kostas, a G re e k, and C a ro le , a m id d le -c la s s Australian divorcee. Divided by barriers of culture and language they come together In what is a sensitive love story and a story of the new multi-racial Australia.

SNAPSHOT

Prod, company . . . Australian International Film Corporation F.G. Film Productions Dist. c o m p a n y ............................... Filmways P ro du ce r........................ Antony I. Ginnane D ire c to r................................. Simon Wincer S criptw rite rs................................Chris and Everett de Roche Photography...................... Vincent Monton Sound recordist ......................... Paul Clark E d ito r......................................... Phillip Reid Prod, designer......................... Jon Dowding C om poser..................................Brian May Prod, manager ...................... Barbi Taylor Prod, s e c re ta ry...................... Jenny Barter 1st Asst d ire c to r................................... TomBurstall 2nd Asst d ir e c to r .................................John Hipwell C o n tin u ity ................................................JanTyrell Boom operator ......................... Phil Stirling Casting c o n s u lta n t.................. Barbi Taylor Still photography.................................. SuzyWood MY BRILLIANT CAREER Prod, assistant.......................................RuthRosh Prod, co m p a n y ......... Margaret Fink Films Best boy ............................... Colin Williams Dist. c o m p a n y ....... GUO Film Distributors Runners................................... Stuart Beatty, P ro d u ce r..............................Margaret Fink Vicki Rowlands D ire c to r............................................... GillianArmstrong Camera operator ..................... Louis Irving S criptw rite r.....................Eleanor Witcombe Focus p u lle r......................................... DavidBrostoff Based on the novel by . . . . Miles Franklin 2nd unit focus puller .. .Peter van Stanten Clapper/loader .......................... Ian Jones Photography . . . ! .................Don McAlpine Sound recordist ....................Don Connolly Key g rip ...................................... Noel Mudie The Journalist The Last of the Knucklemen G a ffe r...................................... Tony Holtham E d ito r....................................Nick Beauman Lighting a s sistan t............. Stephen Arnold Prod, designer.................... Luciana Arrighi Asst editor ........................ David Pulbrook Associate producer ...................Jane Scott Continuity ................................... Lyn Galley Lab.......................................................... Atlab Boom operator ........................ Joe Spinelli Sound editor .................... David Pulbrook Length ............................................ 92 mins Prod, su pe rviso r...................................JaneScott C asting..................................Hilary Linstead Mixing .................................... United Sound Prod, s e c re ta ry ........... Helen Everingham Gauge .............................................. 35 mm IN RELEASE Prod, accountant ....................

Penny Carl Art d ire c to r............................... Jon Dowding Unit manager and Progress .......................... Awaiting release Costum e/wardrobe.........Aphrodite Jansen location manager . ......... Toivo Lember Still photography.................. Mike Giddens Cast: Gerard Kennedy, Michael Preston, R unner.................................

Rosslyn Hawke Make-up ................... ............. Jose Perez Peter Hehir, Michael Duffield, Dennis Miller, 1st Asst d ire c to r.................................. MarkEgerton Focus p u lle r.........................................DavidBurrStephen Bisley, Michael Caton, Stewart H airdresser.................................Jose Perez 2nd Asst director .............. Mark Turnbull Clapper/loader ........... Richard Merryman Asst art director ............................Jill Eden Faichney, Steve Rackman, Sean Myers, 3rd Asst d ire cto r............... Steve Andrews IN SEARCH OF ANNA Special e ffe c ts ......................................Chris Murray Gerry Duggan, Ross S k lffln g to n , Les Continuity ................................. Moya Iceton Key g rip ........................ Graham Lletchfleld S tu n ts....................................................GrantPage James, Tim Robertson, Saviour Sammut, Prod, c o m p a n y ........... Storm Productions Boom operator .........................Joe Spinelli G a ffer....................................Robbie Young Asst editor ................................... Jo Lyons Length ...............................................90 min M argaret Buza, James Parker, Denise Dist. c o m p a n y ....... GUO Film Distributors C asting........... M & L Casting Consultants Dubbing editor .......................Dean Gawen Gauge ................................................ 35mm.

Producer, director Drysdale, Helen Watts.

Children's dialogue Progress ....................................... In release and scriptw riter...................Esben Storm Synopsis: Set in the outback of South c o a c h ............................ Michael Caulfield Asst dubbing e d ito r....... Shirley Kennard Release date ....................

June 1979 Prod, accountant .................Trelsha Ghent Second editor ...................... Ron Williams Australia, The Last of the Knucklemen is Photography.......................... Michael Edols Cast: Chantal Contouri, Sigrid Thornton, the story of a gang of w!ld-cat miners. The Sound recdrdlst ............. Laurie Fitzgerald Bookkeeper .............................. Pam O’Neill Costume designer ................ Anna Senior M ake-up/hairaresser. . . . Deryk de Niesse Robert Bruning, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Denise boss of the gang is Tarzan who rules his un­ E d ito r................................... Dusan Werner Still photography................................. DavidKynoch Wardrobe b u y e r......................Marina Gray Drysdale, Vincent Gil, Jacqui Gordon, Peter disciplined. violent men by force. He is the Art d ire c to r........................ Sally Campbell Anlmal/vehicle w ra n g le r......... John Baird Stratford, Lulu Pinkus, Stewart Faichney, M u s ic ................................... John Martyn, last of the ‘knucklemen’.

Saddle horse wrangler .. Harold Greensill Standby wardrobe . . . Robyn Schuurmans C atering.................................Keith Heygate Julie Blake, Jon Sidney, Chris Milne, Bob Allan Stivell Best boy ................................Paul Gantner Lab................................................... Colorfilm Brown, Peter Felmingham, Christine Amor.

Assoc, p ro d u c e r............................... NatalieMiller R unner.................................................. CathyBarber Transfers.................................Palm Studios Synopsis: A young girl, a madman, her Prod, manager ..........................

Jane Scott Camera operators .................. Louis Irving, THIRST dreams, her fantasies.

Prod, assistant............. Zelda Rosenbaum Peter Moss Length .............................................. 85 mins Gauge ..............................................

35 mm Prod, company . . . .

F.G. Film Productions Prod, s e cre ta ry.................Robyn Bucknall Focus p u lle r................................David Burr Shooting sto ck....................... Eastmancolor Dist. c o m p a n y....... GUO Film Distributors Location..............................Kate Grenville Clapper/loader ........... Richard Marryman TIM Progress ........................... Awaiting release P ro du ce r........................ Antony I. Ginnane 1st Asst d ire c to rs .................... Ilian Tiano, Key g rip ................................................. RossErickson D ire c to r................................................... RodHardy George Miller Prod, company .......... Pisces Productions Grip .................................Graham Litchfield Cast: Jack Thompson, Elizabeth Alexander, Sam Neill, Carol Raye, Jane Harders, S criptw riter............................................JohnPinkney Continuity ................................... Jo Weeks G a ffe r.....................................................BrianBansgrove Dist. c o m p a n y ....... GUO Film Distributors Photography..................................... VincentMonton Best boy ................................. Paul Gantner Producer, director and Third electrix ............................ Paul Moyes Michelle Jarman, Bud Tingwell, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Frank Wilson, Martyn Sound recordist ........................ Paul Clark Focus p u lle r........................................... PaulMurphy Generator operator ......... Sam Bienstock s c riptw rite r.......................... Michael Pate E d ito r........................................... Phil Reid Sanderson, Fiona S ullivan, M ichelle Clapper/loader ......................... Grant Fenn Based on the novel by Colleen McCullough Asst editor ...................Frans Vandenburg Art d ire cto rs............................................JonDowding, Key g r ip ............................Noel McDonald Dubbing editor .............................Greg Bell Rupeena, Ron Mee Lee, Brian Anderson, Photography......................... Paul Onorato Jill Eden G a ffer................................Brian Bansgrove Asst dubbing e d ito r............... Helen Brown Fiona C oleman, Jodi Hanson, W ally Sound recordist .................Les McKenzie Sullivan, Stuart Wagstaff, Jude Kuring, Ken C om poser....................................Brian May Additional photography .Malcolm Richards Neg. m a tch in g .................Margaret Cardin E d ito r....................................... David Stiven Exec, producer ................. William Fayman Asst editor ................................ Hugh Piper Art d ire c to r..............................John Carroll Musical director .................... Nathan Waks Goodlet, Slim de Grey, Dennis Miller, Ray Marshall, Ray Meagher, Frankie J. Holden, Assoc, p ro d u c e r.....................Barbi Taylor Sound editor .................... Michael Norton Art d ire c to r..............................................NeilAngwln C om poser................................... Eric Jupp Ray Bennett, John Foster, Margo Lee, Prod, manager ...................... Jenny Barty Make-up ............................Anne Pospichil Costume designer .................Anna Senior Assoc, p ro d u c e r............Geoffrey Gardiner Prod, assistant...................................... VickiRowland Stunt co-ordinator . . . . Graham Matherick Make-up ....................................... Jill Porter Laurel MpGowan, Bill Redmond, Pamela Prod, manager ...................Betty Barnard Gibbons, Beryl Cheers, Victoria Nlcholls.

Producer's s e c re ta ry............................

Ann Pierce Still photography..................................CarolJerems Hairdresser........................Cheryl Williams Prod, secretary .Rosanne Andrews-Baxter Synopsis: A wry comedy about a likeable 1st Asst d ire c to r....................Tom Burstall Length ............................................ 91 mins Wardrobe m a s te r.................... Terry Ryan Producer's assistant....... Christopher Pate 2nd Asst director .................John Hipwell Gauge .............................................. 35 rhm Wardrobe a s s is ta n t........... Melody Cooper journalist.

Unit m anager............................Mark Piper 3rd Asst d ire cto r...................Stuart Beatty Color/Black and w hite...................... Color Standby wardrobe .................... Robyn Hall 1st Asst d ire c to r..............................MichaelMidlam Continuity ............................Joanna Weeks Shooting stock...................... Eastmancolor Props b u y e r.........................................DavidWhan 2nd Asst d ire c to r................. Keith Haygate Boom operator ......................... Phil Stirling Progress ..................................... In release Asst props buyer ............... Sally Campbell THE LAST OF THE KNUCKLEMEN 3rd Asst d ire c to r...............................

BenCardillo Prod, accountant ..............Michael Roseby Release date ..............................July, 1979 Standby p ro p s ......................... Clark Munro Prod, c o m p a n y ___Hexagon Productions C o n tin u ity .............................................LindaRay Still photography.................................. SuzyWood Cast: Richard Moir, Judy Morris, Gerda Animal standby p ro p s ............. Harry Zettel Dist. c o m p a n y ___Roadshow Distributors Boom operator .................Andrew Duncan C atering................................................. KeithHeygate Nicholson, Chris Haywood, Gary Waddell, Casting............................................... FelippaPate Choreography .......................... Keith Bain, Producer, director Best b o y ............................................... ColinWilliams Bill Hunter, Ian Nimmo, Alex Taifer, Richard Michael O’Reilly and scriptw riter.................................. Tim Burstall Prod, accountant ...................... Lyn Barker R unners............................Craig Emanuel, Murphett, M aurie Fields, Lou Brown, Still photography.........Robert Moorehead Set d resse r............................................. SueArmstrong Based on the play b y ............ John Powers Tony Shlff Shuvus, Martin Sharp, Virginia Mort.

Scenic a rtis t............................................. BillMalcolm Photography........................................... DanBurstall C atering................................................Jem's Catering Camera operator ..................... Louis Irving Synopsis: In Search of Anna Is a story Best boy ................................. Ted Williams Construction m anager........................... Kim Hilder Sound recordist .....................John Phillips Focus p u lle r.........................................DavidBrostoff about coming to terms with one’s past and Construction.....................Ken Hazelwood, E d ito r.................Edward McQueen-Mason Producer’s se c re ta ry........................... LynnHyem Clapper/loader ............................ Ian Jones then with the present, accepting the here Camera operator ........... Frank Hammond Paul Martin, Art d ire c to r............................... Leslie Binns Key g r ip ............. ........................ Noel Mudie and now, and moving into the future with a Focus p u lle r..........................David Brostoff Danny Daems C om poser........................... Bruce Smeaton Asst grip ................................Terry Jacklin positive attitude towards life.

Standby construction............................. PhilWorth Assoc, p ro d u c e r................ Byron Kennedy Clapper/loader ........... Richard Merryman G a ffer.....................................................TonyHoltham P a in te r.........................

NedMcCann Prod, c o -o rd in a to r........... .. Christine Suli Key g r ip ................................................. RossErikson Electrician................................................. IanDewhurst THE KING OF THE TWO DAY Asst g r ip ................................................ PaulThompson Unit publicist ............................David White Prod, se cre ta ry.......................... Jenny Day Asst editor ..............................Ken Sallows C atering.....................John & Lisa Faithfull Unit m anager........................ James Parker WONDER G a ffe r................................................... DerekJones Sound editor ........................Terry Rodman Lab.................................................. Colorfilm 1st Asst d ire c to r................................... Tom Burstall Asst editor ............................ Joanna Lynes Neg. m a tch in g .................. Margaret Cardin Dist. co m p a n y .................. Vincent Library.

Lab. lia is o n ................................Bill Gooley, C o n tin u ity..................................................JoWeekes, Sound editor ........................ Tim Wellburn Mixer ....................................... Peter Fenton P roducers.................Kevin Anderson and Jill Taylor Dick Bagnell Walter Dobrowolskl C ostum e/wardrobe..................................PatForster B u d g e t........................................... $830,000 Boom operator ....................

PhilSterling Costume designer ....... Aphrodite Jansen Make-up and hairdresser.. Michelle Lowe Make-up ................................ Jose L. Perez Director and scriptw riter. .Kevin Anderson Props b u y e r.................................... Barbara Gibbs Length ............................................. 100 min Prod, accountant ....................... Patti Scott Photography.......... ......... Kevin Anderson Hairdresser...................... Ursula Werthelm Gauge ............................................. 35 mm Still photography............. . Des Sheridan, Standby p ro p s .....................................Philip Worth Sound recordists ................

Phil 'Stirling, Make-up assistant ..................... Leo Reyes Shooting sto ck............ Eastmancolor 5247 Robin Copping Nick Alexander, B u d g e t........ ................................$650,000 P ro g re ss .......................... Awaiting release Best b o y .............................. lariDewhurst Props b u y e r................ Georgina Greenhil!

Lloyd Carrick, L e n g th ......................................................100min Special e ffe c ts .............Conrad Rothman, Cast: Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Patricia Ken­ R unner..................................................... DesSheridan John Phillips Gauge — ................................................ 35mm Chris Murray, nedy, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb, Max Focus p u lle r......... .........Peter van Santen P ro g re s s ..................................................... Inrelease Geoff Richardson E d ito rs.................................................. KevinAnderson, Cullen, Aileen Britton, Peter Whitford.

Clapper/loader ............. ........Tim Smart Tony Stevens Release date ..............................July, 1979 Stunt co-ordinator ..................

Grant Page Synopsis: A love story, based on the novei Key g rip ................................................ DavidCassar Cast: Piper Laurie, Mel Gibson, Alwyn C om poser........................................Gregory Sneddon Set construction ............................Ian Doig written by Miles Franklin in the 1890s, about Asst g r ip ................................................ PaulHolford Kurts, Pat Evison, Deborah Kennedy.

Production assistants ........Brenton Evans Unit publicist .......................Lyn Thornburn a girl divided between the stirrings of pas­ G a ffer..................................... Stewart Sorby and Murray Ware Synopsis: A love story of an older woman sion and her need for self-fulfilment.

Asst editor ............................

KenSallows Studios.................... Cambridge, Melbourne and younger man.

Key Grip ............................Paul Ammitzboll Mixed at ................................United Sound Dubbing editor .Edward McQueen-Mason Re-recording ........................John Phillips, Lab.................................................. Colorfilm Asst dubbing e d ito r............. Peter Burgess John Rowley Lab. lia is o n .........................................

BillGooley THE JOURNALIST Assembly editor ...................Peter Burgess Neg. m a tch in g ................. Warwick Driscoll For complete details of the following feature Length ....................................... .......98 min Mixer .......................................

Peter Fenton Prod, com pany...................Edgecliff Films films see Issue 20: Mixer ................................

Les McKenzie Gauge .............................................. 35 mm Wardrobe ............................... Kevin Regan, Dist. com pany___Roadshow Distributors L e n g th ......... ................................67 mins Shooting and printing Norma Pollard Producer.................................................PomOliver Dawnl stock ........... Eastmancolor, Panavision Gauge .............................................. 16 mm Make-up ...................... . .Lois Hohenfels D irector.......................... Michael Thornhill Felicity Progress ........................... Awaiting release Shooting Stock ...................................7252 Asst make-up ...........................Joan Petch Scriptwriters...................Michael Thornhill, Little Boy Lost Cast: Chantal Contouri, David Hammings, Color/Black and w hite...................... Color Edna Wilson Wardrobe assistant ...................... Jill Eden Progress .....................................

In release Money Movers Henry Silva, Max Phipps, Shirley Cameron, Standby p ro p s ...................................... John Powditch Photography........................ Don McAlpine Rod M u llin a r, W a lte r Pym , R o b e rt Cash Walter Dobrowolskl, Sigrid Thornton,' Palm Beach Art director's assistant .......

Peter Kendall Sound recordist ........................ Tim Lloyd Allen Bickford, James Robertson, Maureen The Night The Prowler Thom pson, Rosie S turgess, Am anda Special e ffe cts ............... Geoff Richardson E ditor.................................... Tim Wellburn O'Loughlin.

The Odd Angry.Shot Muggleton, Lulu Pinkus.

Fight co-ordinator..........Graham Mathrick Art director.......................................... JennyGreen Synopsis: A film which explores the process Synopsis: A suspense thriller involving a Prod, manager ..........................Pom Oliver Fight assistan t.......................... Matt Burns of writing and the author’s involvement with For complete details of the following feature group of cultists.

Karate stu n tm a n ................ Richard Norton Prod, secretary..................Su Armstrong his fictional characterizations. Initially the films see Issue 21: Set construction ............................Ian Doig, Location manager................................ BrianRosen film 's structure mirrors the author's own Keith Handscombe 1st Asst director.................................. BrianRosen dissatisfaction and sense of chaos. He Cathy’s Child Studios.........................................Cambridge 2nd Asst director ............... Steve Andrew reaches crisis point and learns to face the Dlmboola Mixed at ................................ United Sound 3rd Asst director............... Chris Maudson future.

Mad Max

456 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Cast: Bryan Brown, Sally Edwards, Marie Coombs, Sidy Roll, Harry Neilson, Clive Marshall, Louis McManus, Berys Marsh.

Synopsis: Four people who work at the Sydney Royal Easter Show get up and go to work through the early morning city . . . when they arrive, they encounter something out of the ordinary . . .

B u d g e t.............................................$47,000 PORTRAIT OF A D IA R IST Length ............................................... 48 min THE LU C K OF THE DRAW Gauge ............................................... 16 mm Prod, company ......................Portrait Films Prod, company ........................ Arrow Films Color/Black and w hite ...................... Color P ro d u ce r................................................RossMatthews Director and scriptw rite r___Emmil Priebe Shooting s to c k ............. Eastmancolor 7247 Director and scriptw rite r......... Linda Blagg Photography......................................... ElleryRyan Progress ........................ in release in U.S. Photography............................ Russell Boyd Sound recordist ............... Brett Southwick (television), and awaiting Sound recordist .................. Kevin Kearney E d ito r.................................. Brett Southwick A BO Y ON THE W ING release locally. E d ito r.........................................................re d Otton.

Continuity .............................. Jennifer Reed Prod, c o m p a n y ............. Ankh Productions Cast: Nat Young, Glen Woodward, Randy Prod, designer.....................................GraceWalker Heather Love Producer, director and Wieman, Kate Wieman, Wayne Lynch. Prod, manager ....................Barbara Gibbs Camera assistants ........Michael Pattinson C O N C E R T O FOR A D S AND H EA D S s c rip tw rite r......................................Al Kemp Andrew De Groot Synopsis: A film which explores the dif­ 1st Asst director .................Mark Turnbull Photography.............................. David Budd G a ffe rs.................................... Chris Fitchett ferences and similarities between surfing, 2nd Asst d ire c to r................................ ChrisMaudson Prod, company ................. Horizontal Films Sound recordist ......................... Judi Cann Continuity ..........................Therese O’Leary Chris Oliver skiing and hang-gliding.

Dist. co m p a n y ................... Horizontal Films E d ito r........................................... Kamel Pen Boom operator ................. Andrew Duncan Sound assistants................... Simon Boyle P ro d u ce r................................................. IvanGaal Casting consultants .. .M & L Casting P/L Asst d ire c to r.........................................HenryBartnik D ire c to r................................................... IvanGaal Jacqueline Fine C o n tin u ity .................................... Moira East Best boy .................................... Paul Moyes S crip tw rite r..............................................IvanGaal IN THEIR C RO O KED M A C H IN E S C atering..................................Jennifer Reed Boom operator . . . . ............. , David Nolan R unner........................ Stephanie Richards C om p o se r....................................j .

Bach Heather Love Prod, and dist. c o m p a n y ___Di Net Films Still photography................................. HenryBartnik Camera operator ..................

Nixon Binney Camera operator ......................... Ivan Gaal P ost-production...................... Mike Reed’s Clapper/loader ...............Kim Batterham Producer, director, scriptw riter and and Robin Woods Neg. m a tch in g ........................... VFL Ltd. Post-production Co. G a ffer................................Brian Bansgrove Graphics ..................................Steve Mason photography......................Diana Nettlefold Lab......................................................Cinevex Title d e sig n e r........... Louise Merriweather L ig h tin g ....................................... Peter Bull Sound recordist ........................John Ertler Asst e d ito r...........................................KathySheehan Length ...............................................30 mins Lab...................................................... VFL Ltd Camera assistant ................... Sally Bowles Sound editor ............................... Ted Otton E d ito r.................................Diana Nettlefold Gauge ...............................................16 mm B u d g e t....................................................$500 Clapper/loader .....................Mike Nlcholls 1st Asst director ......................John Ertler Make-up . : ............................................ Sally Gordon Color/Black and w hite.........................Color Length ................................................ 5 mins Special effects in make-up Bob McCarron Key g r ip ....................................................DonMason Runner and g r ip ............... Andrew Winkler Shooting s to c k ........................Eastmancolor Gauge ................................................ 16 mm Music and m ix e r........................John Ertler Props and wardrobe ........... Grace Walker Length ............................................. 20 mins.

Printing s to c k ......................... Eastmancolor Color/Black and w hite......................... color Asst m ix e r....................................Ann Stubs Asst art d ire c to r........................Edie Kurzer Gauge ...............................................16 mm Progress ..................................'____Editing Shooting sto ck ..................................... 7247 C atering.................................................JemsCatering Lab................................................... VFL Ltd. Shooting s to c k ....................... Eastmancolor Cast: Jay Mannering, John Flaus.

P ro g re s s ....... ............................. In release Length ......................................... 27% mins Lab....................................................Colorfilm Progress ........................................... Editing Synopsis: Charles, a mysterious stranger, Release date ...............................June 1979 B u d g e t...............................................$42,000 Gauge ............................................ 16 mm CAST: Dorethy Barber, Catherine Steel, briefly stumbles into Hackery’s life. When Synopsis: Time lapse photography of one Length .............................................55 mins Shooting s to ck............. Eastmancolor 7247 Luke Smith, Bridgette, Cheffins, Caroline he leaves, it Is not without consequences. television station’s program on our T.V. Gauge ...............................................16 mm Progress .....................................

In release Poulton, Debbie Chaloupka, Murray Van screens. The time span is from 9 a.m. till 2 Cast: Sam and Stuart Nettlefold; Jane Shooting sto c k ....................... Eastmancolor Luyn, Nigel Goode, Gerald Burns, Kathie a.m. The result is objectivity, not emotion.

Fiona, Michelle, Helen and Bruce Cutts; Progress .............................Post-production Hough, Jacqui Levinson.

THE W RONG H AN D S John Ertler; Andrew Winkler.

Release date ............................... July, 1979 Synopsis: A boy and his love for a seagull.

For details see Issue 21 Cast: Lorna Lesley, Sam Neill, Martin Synopsis: Sam and Stuart go to live with a C O S M IC ART family on a farm, while their parents are Vaughan, Ian Gilmour, Judi Farr, Lou Prod, company ...................... T.K.A. Films B E S T EACH WAY away. They become interested in pea­ Brown, Jackie Dalton, Lisa Kidney.

Dist. c o m p a n y ........................T.K.A. Films harvesting machines, and find one of the Synopsis: A contemporary drama depicting Prod, company .......................Andrew Vial P ro du ce rs.................. T. and A. Kamenew TWO S T E P S BEH IND drivers drinking on the job. The man is a young woman’s conflicts with her parents; Film Productions D ire c to r................................... A. Kamenew Dist. c o m p a n y ..........................Andrew Vial sacked. He comes back and tries to a love affair at school; her marriage to her P ro d u c e r................................... Wayne Levy R esearch................................. A. Kamenew sabotage the machines, but is foiled by the former teacher; their separation; and her Film Productions Director, scriptwriter Photography............................A. Kamenew subsequent suicide.

P ro d u c e r................................... Andrew Vial children. and photography ................Neville Stanley Sound recordist .......................... C. Slater D ire c to r.................................... Andrew Vial.

Sound recordists ................... John Scales, E d ito r....................................H. Clutterbuck Photography..............................Andrew Vial Neville Stanley C om posers............................. R. Chadwick E d ito r......................................... Andrew Vial SARAH Continuity ................. Louise Merriweather LOW FLYING and M. Pandelis C om poser.............................. Don Burrows Gaffer and lig h tin g .........

David Brockwell Prod, c o m p a n y .................................. R.M.T.Films Prod, assistant.. ! ........................G. Amena Prod, c o m p a n y ........Window Productions Title d esig n er........................ Neville Stanley and George Gola P ro du ce r............................... Rod Wayman Camera assistant ........................ C. Woods P ro du ce r..............................Glenn Thomas O p tic a ls ..................................Acme Opticals Length .................................................10 min D ire c to r................................. Rod Wayman Music performed by . . . R. Chadwick and Directpr ......... ...................Ray Lawrence Sound editor ..................... Andrew Stewart Gauge ................................................ 16 mm Photography.......................................... MikeWalsh M. Pandelis S criptw riters............................Peter Carey Neg. m a tch in g .......................... Pam Toose Sound recordist ...............

PeterKnight Shooting sto ck......... Ektachrome reversal Music recorded b y ...................... R. Bryant and Ray Lawrence E d ito r..................................... Rod Wayman Musical director ..................Don Burrows Progress ....................................... |n release Set design......................................B. Nelson Based on the short story Happy Story by Assoc, p ro d u c e r.......................... Joe Ford Cast: Ros Chataway, Rush Rehm.

Music performed by ........... Don Burrows Costumé designer ................. T. Kamenew .................................................. Peter Carey Synopsis: The film traces the breakdown of and George Gola Unit m anager.................................... GeorgeTosi B u d g e t...............................................$20,000 Photography........................Glenn Thomas a relationship.

Mixer ................................... Sound On Film Prod, assistant........................................RobJordan Length ............................................ 55 mins.

Sound recordist ...............Ken Hammond Mixed at ..............................Sound On Film C o n tin u ity............................................. j enniScott Gauge ...............................................16 mm E d ito r..................................... Richard Clark C la p p e r..........................................Liz Burke Lab................................Atlab and Colorfilm Color .....................................................Color Art d ire c to r...................Victoria Alexander Length ............................................... 5 mins Camera assistant .............Jim Dunwoodie Shooting sto ck ....................... Eastmancolor C om poser................................... Peter Best Gauge ................................................. 35mm For details of the following films see Issue M u s ic .......................................... Erwin Lehn Printing s to c k ......................... Eastmancolor Prod, manager .................Jillian Nicholas Color ....................

Color Title s............................................... Bill Owen Cast: Virginia Amena, Professor Brin Continuity .......................... Jillian Nicholas Progress ....................... .. Awaiting release The Book and the Briefcase, Sound transfers.........................

Peter Lord, Newton-John; Professor Eric Sharpe, Dr Boom operator ............. . Chris Goldsmith Synopsis: The Australian sportsman — the inside Looking In. Barbara Thiering, Dr. Don Diespecker, Dr. Wally Shaw Casting............................... Robyn Gardiner myth and the reality.

Truda Howard, Neville Drury Sound Mix ........................Steve Edwards Camera operator ...............Glenn Thomas Synopsis: Enigmatic paintings of artist Camera assistant ............... John Swaffield Neg. m a tch in g ..........................Ursula Jung C H A LLEN G IN G Y EA R S Length .............................................23 mins Virginia Amena which she claims are Key g r ip ....................................... Neil Head Gauge ............................................ 16 mm produced under the guidance of “cosmic Prod, c o m p a n y ...................Motion Picture Sound editor ............................... Greg Bell force” . Within the film there are scenes of Associat©s Mixer ....................................... Peter Fenton Progress ....................................... In release Cast: M iranda Brown, Rod Wayman, the force. Professor Brin Newton-John acts Dist. c o m p a n y ___NSW Film Corporation Asst m ix e r ....................Julian Ellingworth John D’Arcy, Carole Gladstone, Robyn as a mediator between the artist and a pan­ In conjunction with the Hairdressing.....................Penny Saunders Dodds, Ernie Ward, DI Earnshaw, Jenni el of experts in the field of symbolism.

NSW Council on the Ageing Title designer......................................... PaulSoady Scott.

FEATURES P ro d u c e r..............................Stanley Hawes Mixed at ................................ United Sound Synopsis: The story of a young unemployed D ire c to r................................David Barrow L a b ..................................................Colorfilm woman: her relationships and conflicts.

S criptw rite r.......................... Stanley Hawes B u d g e t.............................................. $30,000 DOW N UNDER DOW NUNDER!?!

Photography.............................. John Leake Gauge ...............................................16 mm Sound recordist .. .Benny van Bronkhurst Shooting s to c k ....................... Eastmancolor Prod, co m p a n y ..............Sydney University STA LLIO N OF THE SE A Editor ................................Peter Fletcher Filmmakers’ Society Progress ...........................Awaiting release S L A C K VANGUARD Producer, director C om p o se r....................Christopher Nicolls Cast: Henri Szeps, Kate Ferguson, Martin P ro d u ce r............................................... PeterCribb and scriptw riter.............. John C. Fairfax Exec, p ro d u c e r...................Richard Davis Vaughan, Robert Hughes, Abe Worthington Prod, company . . . Black Star Illumination Director and scriptw riter.. Gary O’Donnell Inspired b y .................. Paulette McDonagh Mixed at ......................A.P.A. Leisuretime Synopsis: A couple’s failure to com­ Producer, director and Photography....................................... RobertBondy Photography........................John C. Fairfax S criptw rite r........................ •... Oliver Robb International Ltd. municate. ends with a supposed suicide.

Sound R ecordist............Greg McFarlane Sound re c o rd s t............................ Cliff Curl Photography..................................... Andrew Vial, Lab............................... Color Transcriptions E d ito r.................................... Tim Segulin Oliver Robb E d ito r....................................................... TimWellburn Gauge ...............................................16 mm Prod, manager ......................... Peter Cribb Sound, recordist .................Trevor Prouse Musical director ............. Michael Lawler Progress .......................... Awaiting release Continuity ...................................Kate Gould O XIDE STR EET JUNCTION E d ito r....................................................OliverRobb Stills photography............Warwick Gibson Release date ..............................June 1979 Boom operator ...................Peter Leonard Mixer ...........................................

Ian Adkins Prod, facilities .....................George- Pallos Prod, c o m p a n y .......

University of Sydney Synopsis: A film designed to show that Camera assistant ............... Greg Burgman B u d g e t...............................................$3,051 Aerial effects ........................ Peter Walker Television Service retirem ent can be a satisfying period of life Lab.................................................. Colorfilm Length .............................................25 mins Special e ffe c ts ..................Edwin Jay Gould Dist. company ...........Sydney Filmmakers especially if adequate preparation is made B u d g e t.............................................. $2,300 Gauge ............... Super 8 to be distributed Special assistants..................................IndyShriner, Co-operative for it.

Length ........................................... 5'/2 mins on %” video David Kopsen P ro d u ce r.........................................j | m Dale Gauge ...............................................16 mm Shooting sto c k........................ Agfachrome Underwater assistants..........John Lindsay, D ire c to r.......................................... Jim Dale Color .....................................................Color Progress ................................In production Dale Chapman Photography....... ...................

Colin Hawke Shooting sto ck..............................Fuji 8527 Synopsis: What does the future hold for Additional photography___ Simon Cotton, CON MANHARRY AND THE C om poser........................... Ian Fredericks Progress .............................. In production Australia’s unemployed? An experimental Walter A. Starck Exec, producer ...................... Peter Bailey O T H ERS Synopsis: A satiricalglimpse at the way examination of some options.

Special advisers ...................... Blake Paul, Neg. matching ..C hris Rowell Productions Australians, Americans, and Europeans Dist. c o m p a n y ........... Sydney Filmmakers' Charlie Chambers Music performed by ......... Ian Fredericks Co-operative and Vincent Library look at themselves.

Lab.......................................................... Atlab Mixed at ..............................Sound on Film P ro du ce r........ .....................Lawrence Hill Lab. lia is o n .....................Neil Lutherborrow THE ISLA N D OF NEVAW UZ Lab....................................

Colorfilm Director and scriptwriter: Stephen Wallace Shooting s to c k.............Eastmancolor 7247 Length .............................................. 42 mins Prod, company ...F a b le Film Productions FALL LINE Photography............... Martha Ansara and Length ............................................93 min Gauge ...............................................16 mm Producer and Tom Cowan Prod, co m p a n y ............... Nat Young Films Gauge ..................................................16mm Color/Black and w hite.........................Color S criptw rite r............................ Paul Williams Sound R eco rd ist.............Lawrie Fitzgerald P ro du ce r.................................................. NatYoung B u d g e t...............................................$88,000 Shooting sto ck..................................... 7247 Animation ..............................Gus McLaren E d ito r....................................Henry Dangar D ire c to r................................................. ..N at Young Progress ............................ Post-production P ro g re s s .................................... in release Paul Williams Art D irector.......................... Lee Whitmore S criptw rite r.............................................. NatYoung S ynopsis: A sto ry of a black m arlin Release date .......................... March 1979 Sound recordist ...................John Phillips C om p o se r........................Ralph Schneider Photography...................David Lourie and gamefish with a character of will, deter­ First released (cinema and Music recording .......................Wally Shaw Prod, su p e rviso r...................Lawrence Hill Tom Cowan mination and stamina similar to that of a city) ...................‘.Union Theatre Sydney C om poser............................................ Adele Sztar Asst d ire cto rs.............Stephanie Richards, wild stallion. The film is told and seen from Sound recordists ......... Richard Mordent, S yn o psis: E nvironm ental a rtist, M arr Rostrum ca m e ra ...................Terry Russell Mahalya Jewson, Phil Judd and the marlin’s point of view, related through Grounds, leads a group of students and Sound editor ........................ Paul Williams Ashley Crommelin, the dramatized voice of a ‘spirit’ that returns David Lourie filmmakers who construct a giant sculpture Neg. m a tch in g ..............

Ursula Jung Alec Morgan to te ll th e s to ry of a fig h t w ith a Editor ...........................................John Scott using, in part, the Dingo fence, situated 80 Music performed by ......... Priscilla Taylor Casting co n su lta n ts.............Hilary Linstead M u s ic ........................................ Bill Motzlng gamefisherman. km from the township of Tlbooburra In Mixer ................................... Steve Edwards (M and L) and Taj Mahal north-west New South Wales. The artwork Track reading ............................. Julie Bird Neg. m a tc h in g ...................... Joyce Orchard Assoc, p ro d u c e r.................................... BertDeling TO FIGHT THE W IND is completed with the aid of animal bones, Asst a n im a to r......... i . . . .Maggie Geddes Prod, c o m p a n y ......... Richard Oxenburgh Music performed by ........Louis McManus Asst d ire c to r......................................... BertDeling feathers, chicken wire and a bulldozer, and B u d g e t................. $40,0Q0 Mixer ..................................... ...J o h n Leslie Camera assistants . . . George Greenough, Productions the local residents are Invited to a “grand Gauge ...............................................16 mm Dist. c o m p a n y .............................. Artis Film Asst art d ir e c to r....................................Edie Kurzer Jack McCoy opening".

Length ..........................................46 mins.

Title d esig n er...........................................WalLogue Productions Special effects Shooting s to c k ........................Eastmancolor P ro du ce rs.................. Richard Oxenburgh, Mixed a t .............................Dubbs and Co. photography........... George Greenough Progress .....................Awaiting release Lab. .................................. . . ......... Colorfilm Rachel Percy Sound edjtor ............................... .Greg Bell Voices: Carole-Ann Aylett, Brian Hannan, S criptw rite r.............................Rachel Percy Lab. liaison ..................... ...........Bill Gooley Mixer ....................................... .PhilJudd Hardy Stow, Ross Williams Photography...........................Keith Loone B u d g e t......................................... $12;000 N arra to r.................................................... NatYoung Synopsis: A children's animated action Sound recordist ............. Roland McManis Length ............... ......................... .30 mins.

Title d esig n er........................ Lindsay Creva adventure film with an environm ental E d ito r..........................................Bill McCrow Gauge . . . . ............... ......................16 mm Title optica ls............... Optical and Graphic theme.

C om posers.......................... Robert Lagettie, Shooting s to c k ___,. Ektachrome negative Mixed at . . . ...... ..............................Atlab Norman Wilkinson Release date _____________ _ .June 1979 Laib, . . . ...................................Colorfilm

SHORTS

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21:

D O C U M EN TAR IES

Cinema Papers, July-August — 457

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L y ric s ......................................... Rod Ansell Synopsis: Tony recalls the frustrations and THE SNOWY — MOUNTAINS FOR expect other people to do it: teachers, GOLDEN SOAK Prod, secretary .......................Peggy Limb failures of his past caused by his illiteracy. politicians, parents, children, the com­ FOUR SEASONS Additional photography.........................PaulTait,The film shows how he is taught to break Prod, c o m p a n y ..........ABC TV drama and munity. A film to get people arguing about Prod, c o m p a n y .........!

— Austral Pacific Jan Kenny this cycle of failure, and learns to read and Portman Productions Ltd (London) Productions responsibility in education. write.

Camera assistant .............. Michael Harley Dist. c o m p a n y .....................ABC/Portman Dist. company ............................ Roadshow Asst e d ito r............................ Chris Benaud Productions Ltd P ro d u c e r.....................Andrew J. Helgeson Mixer .......................

PhilHeywood NON-COMPLIANCE — THE P ro du ce rs.................................Ray Alehin D ire c to r.................................. Eric Fullilove Re-recording .......................Dubbs and Co. and James Gatward HIDDEN HEALTH HAZARD S criptw rite r.............................Eric Fullilove P ub licity................. Berry Williams Pty Ltd For details of the following films see Issue Director ................................. Henri Safran Photography................................Phil Dority Prod, c o m p a n y ....... University of Sydney Recording studios................................ Atlab 21 : S criptw rite r..........................

Peter Yeldham Sound recordist ........... Ray Scarborough Television Centre Lab. .......................................... Colorfiim The Australian Numerical Meteorology Based on the novel, by .. Hammond Innes E d ito r..................................... Paul Maxwell P ro d u ce r................................. Susan Hayes Length ............................................... 93 min Research Centre Photography.......................... Peter Hendry O p tic a ls .............

Optical and Graphic Shooting s to ck........................Eastmancolor7247D ire c to r................................................. ColinHawke From the Ocean to the Sky Sound R eco rd ist........................ Bob Peck Neg. m a tch in g .......................Roy Christian S criptw rite r..............................Susan Hayes Gauge ............. 16mm (blow-up to 35mm) In Search of a Landscape E d ito rs ...................Richard Francis-Bruce Laboratory ............................................Atlab Photography..........................................Colin Hawke Progress^............................. Post-production Oranges and Lemons and'Neil Thumpston Sound recordist .......................Paul Turner Laboratory liaison . . . ! ......... Peter Willard Release date ............................... July, 1979 Solar Energy Prod, designer.................... Laurie Johnson E d ito r..................................

Colin Hawke Length ...............................................20 min Cast: (as themselves) Rod Ansell, Luke Mc­ C om poser................................Peter Jones C om poser.............................. Peta Williams Gauge ........16 min for blow-up to 35 mm Call, Rupert Wodidj, Raphael Thardim, Exec, producers . Geoffrey Daniels (ABC), Neg. m a tch in g ......................................ChrisRowell Color/Biack and w hite......... Eastmancolor Joanne Van Os. James Gatward (PPL) Shooting and printing stock Eastmancolor Music performed by Peta Williams Combo Synopsis: In 1977, Rod Ansell had an acci­ Asst p ro d u ce r..................... Dickie Bamber Synopsis:A documentary showing the N a rra to r........................ Stewart Littlemore dent while fishing in the remote Queen’s SERIES Prod, manager ............. Michael Baynham Mixed at ................................Palm Studios Snowy Mountains as a tourist resort in all Channel off the coast of northern Australia.

Prod, secretaries............... Anne Ferguson seasons, with reference to the history of ski­ Lab....................................................Colorfiim He paddled up the Fitzmaurice River until Wendy Borchers ing and the Snowy Hydro Electric scheme.

Length ...............................................

24 min he found fresh water, and he was rescued Unit m anager............................ Val Windon Gauge ...............................................16 mm two months later. Basically, a story of sur­ 1st Asst director ................

Ray Brown Color/Black and w hite .........................Color vival. The events are recreated by the peo­ 2nd Asst d ire c to r................ ..Peter Wilson WE BUILT SOME GREAT SHIPS Shooting sto ck......................

7247 ple involved in the locations where they oc­ A HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA Continuity ............................. Carolyn Gould Progress ..........................

Awaiting release P ro du ce r.................................Peter Green curred.

Boom operator ....................Michael Breen Prod, company .................Shopfront Films D ire c to r...................................Peter Green Synopsis: The failure of patients to comply 2nd unit d ire c to r.....................................SueWillis Dist. c o m p a n y ___Vega Film Productions with their doctor’s instructions is a major R esearch...........................Frank Campbell C asting.............................................. JenniferAllen, P ro du ce rs..................................Edwin Baft, Photography........................... Mike Rogers problem associated with improving the Joy T'rinder Gayle Hannah general standard of health. This film looks Sound recordist ............. Mike Sutherland Prod, accountant . .. . . .Pat Howell (PPL) and Garry Patterson SHORTS at some non-compliance and suggests and Martin Wright Still photography................

Warren Penney D ire c to r..............................Garry Patterson Archive narration ................ Rowan Forster ways in which these problems can be C atering....................Alexandra Receptions R esearch............................Garry Patterson Shipyard s o n g .........................................RaySowerby remedied.

Camera operator .........

Danny Batterham E d ito r................................. Garry Patterson G u ita r..................................................... John Hannah Focus p u lle r ..............................Jeff Malouf B u d g e t.................................................$5,000 N arra to r..............................Garry Patterson Clapper/loader .....................Barrie Heggie AUTISM, WHO CARES? Length ...............................................26 min Lab...............................................MediaVision Key g r ip ................................Brett McDowell QUIETLY SHOUTING Gauge ...............................................16 mm Lab. lia is o n ............................ Gale Hannah Prod, c o m p a n y ............... Horizontal Films Asst g rip ............................................... Andy Glavin Color/Black and w hite ................

Color Length .......................... 7-1 hour programs Dist. company . . : ........... Victorian Autistic Prod, c o m p a n y ............. Rainbow Pictures G a ffe r....................................Jack Kendrick Gauge ....... Super 8 for transfer to Video Shooting s to c k .......................... Ektachrome 7240 Children’s Association Producer and d ire cto r............. Bill Hughes E lectrician............................ Brian Leonard Progress .......................... Awaiting release Color/Black and w hite.........................Color P ro d u c e r........................................ Ivan Gaal Photography.......................... Ray Henman 2nd unit photography .. ..John Shinerock Release date ................................July 1979 Shooting s to c k .................. Kodachrome 40 D ire c to r.......................................... Ivan Gaal Sound recordist . . r ........Bob MacDonnell Sound editor ........................ Helena Harris Cast: Bill Parfitt, John Spence, Ray Sower­ Ektachrome 7244 sound S c rip tw rite r.....................................Ivan Gaal E d ito r......................................................RossSimmons Editing assistant .................Jeremy Mann by.

Progress ................................ In production P hotography.............................. Leigh Tilson Neg matching ..................Warwick Driscoll Neg. m a tch in g ..................................... RosieDodd Snyopsis: A documentary study of Whyalla Synopsis: The film w ill in c lu d e a Sound recordist ........................ Ron Brown M u s ic .............................................. Kanguru Musical director ........................ Brian May in 1978. The closure of the shipyard and its chronological coverage of places, events E d ito r............................................ Ron Brown Mixing .................................. David Harrison Music performed by ....... ABC Showband effects on the lives of three men are ex­ and people along Highway 1, seen in the C om p o se r.........................Franciscus Henri B u d g e t.................................................$3000 Mixer ...........................................

Alan Allen amined in the light of the indifference of the light of the narrator’s historical perspective.

Exec, p ro d u c e r............. Jennifer F. Coder Length ............................................... 13 min Art d ire c to r..........................................Laurie Johnson Government and BHP. Prod, manager ........................... Kevin Duff Gauge ............................................... 16 mm Asst art d ire c to r......................Col Rudder Progress .....................Released April 1979 Camera operator .................... Leigh Tilson Make-up ............................. Christine Ehlert Cast: David Spain and the people of the Sound editor ..............................Ron Brown Bozena Zurek WEST COASTER 78 Neg. m a tch in g ........................................ VFLLtd Rainbow Region.

Wardrobe m a s te r................................. ElsieEvans Title d esig n er........... Louise Merriweather Synopsis: Glimpses of the New Age, with a Prod, company .. Cellar Film Productions Wardrobe assistant ....................Dot Jones look at alternative lifestyles. The documen­ P ublicity.......................... Jennifer F. Collar P roducers..................... Andrew Jones Props b u y e r........................................PaddyMacDonald tary is an attem pt to heighten public Lab..............................................

VFL Ltd and Tim Smart Bill Booth awareness in the Rainbow Region of B u d g e t.................................................. $5000 D ire c to rs ..................................................Tim Smart Standby p ro p s ........................................ DonPage northern New South Wales.

Length .................................................14 min and Andrew Jones Special e ffe c ts....................................... JackArmytage Gauge .................................................. 16mm Photography............................................ Tim Smart S tunts....................................................... BobHicks Color/Black and w h ite .......................... Color recordist ~ ................................ PaulElliott Set d ecorator..................................... RobertHutchinson SOME OF OUR AIRMEN . . . ARE NO Sound THE BUSH BUNCH Shooting stock ....................................... 7247 E d ito rs ...........................Andrew Jones Set construction ........... Stan Woolveridge Progress ................................ In production LONGER MISSING (Television pilot) and Tim Smart Title d esig n er.............Megan Venn-Brown Release date ....................November 1979 Exec, producer ......................

Simon Feely Prod, company .

Aranda Film Productions P ublicity............................ Virginia Sargent Prod, company .....................Nomad Films Synopsis: A documentary surveying the ac­ Prod, co-ordinator .................. Libby O’Neil Producer and Studios........................ABC Forest Studios International tivities of the Victorian Autistic Children’s Camera assistant ................ Andrew Jones Mixed at .....................ABC Forest Studios d ire c to r....... ........Bruce McNaughton Andromeda Productions Association's Centres in the area of special Key g r ip ..................................David Cassar Lab.................................................. Colorfiim S criptw rite r.............................................AlanHopgood Producer and education and the care of autistic children.

2nd unit p ho to g ra p h y.........Andrew Jones Photography........................... Peter Bilcock Length .......................................6 x 53 min. d ire c to r........................ Douglas Stanley Gauge ...............................................16 mm Still photography..................... David Staley Sound R ecordist.....................Geoff Wilson Based on the T itle s..................................................Graphix Inc.E d ito r.................................... Mark McAuliffe Color/Black and w hite ...................... Color original idea b y .................... John Clive, Shooting s to c k ........................Eastmancolor7247 Mixed at ...................... R.G. Film Services Douglas Stanley Art d ire c to r............................................ John Wregg BIRTH Length .................................................. 8 min C om poser.............................................. MikeBrady Progress ..................................... in release Photography......................... Alex McPhee Prod, c o m p a n y ............. Illumination Films Gauge ................................................ 16 mm Exec, producer .....................Colin Herbert Release date .....................March 13, 1979 Sound recordist .............Laurie Robinson P ro du ce rs.............................. Brayn Gracey Shooting s to c k ...................... Eastmancolor First released.....................ABC Television Prod, manager .......................... Gary Gray E d ito r............................... Guye Henderson Helen Bogdan Progress ............................ .

In release Prod, secretary ................. Sylvia Stephens Cast: RayBarrett, Christiane Kruger, Prod, manager ...................Kate Faulkner D ire c to r......................................... Paul Cox Synopsis: The 1978 Melbourne to Hobart Continuity ................................Ann O'Leary Elizabeth Alexander, Heinz SchlmmelpfenB u d g e t.............................................$45,000 S criptw rite rs..................................Paul Cox nig, Ruth Cracknell, Gunther Ungeheuer, West Coaster Yacht race: a hard race and Best boy ..................

Adrian Bruch Length ................................................ 60 min Brendon Lavelle the people behind it.

David Cameron, Bill Hunter.

Camera operators ...................Ernie Clark, Gauge ................................................ 16 mm C om p o se r............................................ Bruce Smeaton.

Synopsis: Adaptation of a Hammond Innes JackJEndacott Shooting sto ck........................ Kodak 7247 Progress ......................................... Scripting novel. Mining man Alec Hamilton comes to Lab............................................................ VFLLtd Key g r ip .................................................KerryBoyle Synopsis: A documentary on childbirth for Australia to escape fraud charges con­ Progress ............................Post-production Asst g r ip ..................................... Chris Cain the Royal Women’s Hospital. nected with his work in Cornwall and starts Release date .............................. July, 1979 WHO OWNS SCHOOLS? G a ffe r...................................................... PaulDickinson Synopsis: A film which looks at the work of (And what are they doing about it?) Musical director ....................... Mike Brady a new life in Western Australia. the Dutch airforce in recovering allied and Mixer ........................................Bruce Green DISCOVERY 4 Prod, company •..................Media Centre, German aircraft shot down' during World Canberra C.A.E. Make-up .......................Margaret Archman Prod, c o m p a n y ___Perth Institute of Film PRISONER War 2 in the Zuider Zee. It examines the ef­ Wardrobe m istress............. Josie Constable P ro du ce r......................................... Ian Hart and Television (Inc.) fects of identifying the dead and notifying Wardrobe assistants ........... Jutta Goetze, D ire c to r...... ................................Ian Hart For details see Issue 21 Dist. c o m p a n y ........Perth Institute of Film the next of kin. and Julie Eaglen S criptw riters.....................Dean Ashenden, and Television (inc.)

Ian Hart, Props, m istre ss........... . Susan Greaves P ro d u c e r............................ Owen Paterson Set construction ...................... Peter Turley David Swain Progress .............................. Pre-production RIDE ON STRANGER C atering........................................... Pancake Place Photography .......... John Houldsworth Synopsis: A series of short documentary THE COUNTRY EDITOR Prod, company .................ABC Television Labs................................. Cinevex and Atlab Sound recordist ...................... Alan Walsh film s on th e th e m e , “ L ife s ty le s of E d ito r.........................................................IanHartB u d g e t...............................................$81,000 Drama, Sydney Prod, company .......................... Rob Brow Teenagers” .

Length ...............................................24 min.

Exec, p ro d u c e r........................ Alan Burke Productions for Art d ire c to r..................................Ron Jubb Gauge ...............................................16 mm D ire c to r................................... Carl Schultz Film Australia C om poser................................... Greg Clift DRAMA IS S criptw rite r.......................... Peter Yeldham Color/Black and w hite.........................Color Prod, manager .................... Libby Hughes Dist. c o m p a n y .....................Film Australia Shooting s to c k ........................Eastmancolor Is t Asst director ............. Leisa Simmons Based on the novel b y ........Kylie Tennant' P ro d u ce r.............................. Peter Johnson Prod, c o m p a n y ........... ...A V E C Film Unit Continuity .........................Helene Jamieson Printing s to c k ......................... Eastmancolor D ire c to r....................................... Rob Brow Progress .................................... in release Dist. c o m p a n y ....................AVEC Film Unit Progress ............................Awaiting release First released.......................... Television— S criptw riters........................

Noel Field and Still photography...........

Helene Jamieson Producer and d ire c to r___Rob McCubbin Cast: Costumed animal characters, with Ric Geoff Taylor Focus p u lle r........................Peter Shannon ABC on July 15, 1979 S c rip tw rite r.....................Maree Teychenne Hutton, Walter Pym, Paddy Burnet, Michael Key g r ip ....................................Bill Redpath Based on an original idea by ..

Noel Field Cast: Liddy Clark, Noni Hazlehurst, War­ L e n g th ................................................. 20min Carmen, Gary Kleiger, Barry Michael, Rob Photography............................ Peter Sykes E lectrician................................. Les Whaley wick Sims, Peter Carroll, Barbara Wyndon, Gauge .................................................. 16mm Sound recordist .................Ian Jenkinson Asst editor .......................Helene Jamieson Hewitt.

Elspeth Ballantyne, Fiona Spence, Kerry Color/Black and w hite .................... Color Voice characterization: Brian Hannan, Ken Neg. m a tch in g ..........................Don James E d ito r....................................David Hipkins Michael Aitkens, Moya O’Sullivan, Ron P ro g re s s ........... ’. ........................... Scripting James, Jim Smillie, Hamish Hughes, David Musical dire ctio n ........................

Glo Audio C om posers...................................... Cobbers Graham, Bunney Brooke, Lorna Lesley, Synopsis: The film examines a number of Music performed by ..........................Bruce Cameron, David Coombe, Bethany Lee. Margo Lee. Prod, manager ...................Robert Kewley approaches to the teaching of drama In the Synopsis: The adventures of the Bush Mixer .............................Julian Ellingworth Camera assistant ............... Robert Powell Synopsis: Set in the 1930s, the series primary curriculum.

Make-up .............................Mairl McGregor Bunch. Six Australian animals who live Key g r ip ................................ Tony Sprague follows the life and loves of Shannon Animation ...........................Mairi McGregor underground in a ghost town somewhere in Jones.

G a ffe r.....................................................Brian Adams Title d esig n er..........................

RonJubb Australia, have a mission to correct mis­ E lectrician..............................................BrianAdams Full details will be listed in Issue 23.

I THINK I CAN . . . I KNEW I COULD 2nd unit p h o to g ra p h y ....... Barry Malseed S tudios............. . IMC Studios, Canberra takes made by people. This is a pilot of a costumed children’s program.

Mixed at ................................United Sound Editing assistant ................... .Felicity Cox Prod, company ...............AVEC Film Unit STAX Music performed by ..................... Cobbers Lab.........................................Colorflim/Color Dist. company..........: ... AVEC Film Unit Prod, company ............................ OCP Ltd Transcriptions Title d esig n er.......................................... RayStrong Producer........................................... IvanGaal Dist. company . ; ............... Seven Network Length ................................................ 40 min Director.............................................IvanGaalLab. .......................... .................. VFL Ltd P ro du ce r..................................... Bob Weis Gauge ................................................ 16 mm FALCON ISLAND Scriptwriters...................................... IvanGaalLength ...............................................25 min Series d ire c to r.....................Ray Hennessy Shooting sto ck........... ...........Eastmancolor and Barbara Boyd Gauge ............................ 16mm and 35mm Contributing d ire c to rs ........... Ian Macrae, Based bn a short story b y .........Ivan Gaal Shooting s to c k ......... ..........Eastmancolor Progress : ...................* .............. In release For details see Issue 21 Chris Lofven, Casting.................... Barbara Boyd Progress .............................Post-production Release date ...............................May 1979 Michael Pattinson, . and Ivan Gaal Synopsis:: A week in the hectic life of the Cast: John Beynham, John Walker, David Anne McLeod, Length .......................................20-25min editor of a country newspaper, The Boort Swain, Liz Ferguson, Judi Buyers.

John Hughes Gauge ............

16mm and Quambatook Standard Times, and the Synopsis: Where education is concerned, S criptw riters___Workshop Tutors & Cast Color/Black and White — ............Color* inflü e n ce the pap e r and the e d ito r's everyone is an expert, everyone has an opi­ Photography................................Alan Cole nion about what should be done, and they Progress ...........................Pre-production remarkable personality have on the town.

TE LEV IS IO N SER IES

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Cinema Papers, July-August — 459

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Sound recordists .................... Ron Brown, John Rowley, Lloyd Carrlck Film editors ...................Guye Henderson, Chris Batson Videotape e d ito rs ........... Andy Chapman, John Leonard C om poser................................. Ian Mason Exec, producer ............................ Bob Weis Assoc, p ro d u c e r....................................JudiStack Prod, manager ..............Vincent O'Donnell Prod, secretary ..............Margot McDonald R esearch.............................. Anne McLeod, Barbara Hall -Workshop tu to rs .................................... BobDaly, Claire Dobbin, Sue Broadway, Sylvie Leber Boom operators .................Mark Wasivtak, Jacqui Fine Still photography...................Sandra Irvine Director’s assistant............ Ann Callaghan Camera operators ..................... Alan Cole, Sasha Trikojus, Malcolm Richards G a ffers................................ Peter Maloney, John McGarry, Ted Nordsuan Neg. m a tch in g ................................Cinevex, Ride on Victorian Neg Cutting Services Mixers ....................................... Ron Brown, Steven Edwards Synopsis: A se rie s set a g a in s t the Animation .......................... Denis Tuplcoff, professional and private life of a prominent Flicks, Max Bannah ‘talk-back’ radio personality, Steve Black.

Carpenter and general hand . .Bob Bishop Set designer.......................................Robbie Perkins Title d esig n er....................................... DenisTupicoff W ATER UNDER THE BR IDG E Unit publicist .......................... Barbara Hall Prod, co m p a n y ....... Shotton Productions S tudios...................................................OpenChannel P ro du ce r............................. John D. McRae Mixed at ..................................... R.G. Films Director ..................................... Igor Auzins Lab......................................................Cinevex Scriptw riters...................Eleanor Witcombe Lab. lia iso n ....................................... LindsayParker and Michael Jenkins Length ........... 20 x Vz hours for television Based on the novel Gauge ........... 16 mm, %” & 1” Videotape by ...............Sumner Locke Elliott Color/Black and w hite .........................Color Shooting s to ck....................... EastmancoiorandPhotography .....................7 .. .“DarTBurstall video-tape (%” & 1") Art d ire c to r............................... Tracy Watt Printing s to ck ...................1-inch videotape 1st Asst d ire c to r.................... Tom Burstall Progress ..................................... In release Prod, accountant ...................... Patti Scott Release date ..........................Weekly from Costume designer ......... Bruce Flnlayson May 4, in Melbourne Make-up and hairdresser....... Jose Perez Other dates to be advised S tudios.................Armstrong Audio Visual First released................................Television Length .................Nine one-hour episodes Gauge .............................................. 16 mm Cast: David- Thompson, Paula Bell, Jaki Shooting sto ck ....................... Eastmancoior Fisher, Jackie Legge, Natasha Guantai, Tom Dugdale, Paul Levine, Matthew Zurbo, Progress ............................ Pre-production Synopsis: The story of a group of people Steven Gonis, Craig Levine, Fiona Morley, Peter Bloem, Sharon Grouios, Anne-Maree whose lives, through time and circum­ Neasey. stance, are entwined in several ways — from love to murder.

S ynopsis: A c h ild re n 's p a rticip a tio n program — about kids, for kids, by kids.

THE O RACLE

A U STR A LIA N FILM C O M M ISS IO N

Prod, company ............... ABC TV Drama, Sydney Exec, producer ........................ Alan Burke Directors .......................... Michael Carson, Sandra Levy, Julian Pringle, Chris Thomson, Alan Burke PROJECT DEVELOPM ENT S criptw riters..............................Alan Burke BRA NCH Laura Jones, Tony Morphett, Projects approved at the Australian Film Colin Free, Barry Donnelly, Commission meeting in March 1979.

Michael Cove Designers .................................. Roger Kirk, Script Development Pre-production George Liddle, Dennis Gentle, Investments Ken Muggleston, Brett Moore J. B. George, for a first draft script of The Lighting ..................................Peter Knevitt, Spirit Wind, $5000.

Roy Jeffrey, John Wharton, Yoram Gross Film Studios Pty Ltd, for a first Peter Tkachenko, Dave Arthur draft script of Sarah, $4500.

Videotape e d ito rs ............... Mike Audcent, Trevor Miller M IS C E L L A N E O U S Prod, manager ................. Michael Collins Richard Oxenburgh, bridging loan for To 1st assistants...................Ken Richardson, Fight The Wind, $8525.

Brian Shannon, Graham Millar, South Australian Film Corporation overage Peter Wilson, Kit Laughlin guarantee for Breaker Morant, $94,650.

2nd assistants .........................Tim Higgins, Peter Fisk, John Rooke CREAT IVE DEVELOPM ENT Producer’s assistants .. .Elizabeth Steptoe, BRANCH Marta Ninaus, Rhonda MacAvoy, Projects approved at the Commission's Carol Chirlian, Lee Seery, meeting in March 1979.

Larraine Quinnell, Brenda Kotarska, Script development Pauline Thomas Paul Harmon (NSW), for a first draft script Wardrobe ...........................Caroline Marsh, Maggie Gategood of Double Exposures, $1000.

Make-up .........................Christine Balfour, Gilbert Serine (NSW), for a first draft script of Prisoner, $1000.

Valerie Smith Standby p ro p s ........................................ BobBruce, Ken Enderby and George Rickards (NSW), Russell Whiteoak, David Oldrey for a TV pilot script of Reserved: Norm C a m e ra s................................... Ian Marden, Grady, $3200.

Richard Bond, Ross Milligan, Production John Lander, Murray Tonkin, Michael Buckley (Vic), The Corpse of Tony Connolly Desire, $2133 Sound ....................................... John Bourn, Tom Cowan (NSW), I Ching on a Double Dave Rothwell, Noel Cantrill Bed, $28,210 Vision c o n tro l................... Ray Sutherland, Sarah Gibson, Sue Lambert and Jan Dave Pike Mackay (NSW), The Yellow Wallpaper test Vision m ix e r............................Bruce Wilson scene, $400 Music and e ffe cts........... Terry Saunders, Chris James (NSW), Flights and Fantasies, Ron Marton $3982 Script e d ito r........................ . .Sandra Levy Klaus Jaritz (NSW), Orange, $6390 C asting...................................Jennifer Allen Naughty Girls Collective (NSW/Vic), Fan­ Prod, s e c re ta ry ....................................... LynKnight Length ...................................

12 x 50 min tastic Lies video test, $500 David O’Brien (NSW), Vox Populi — Vox Cast: John Gregg, Pamela Gibbons, Julie Dei, $8142 'Hamilton, Don Pascoe, Craig Ashley, Hugh John Sharpe (NSW), Once Upon a Time, Keays-Byrne, Tina Bursill, Joe Hasharh, $2418 Trevor Kent, Kate Sheil, Mary Lou Stewart, Phil Simon .(NSW), The Mysterious Bee, Danny Adcock, Carol Burns, Ray Meagher, $5000 Maggie Dence, Alan Wilson, Geraldine Megan McMurchy, Margo Oliver and Jeni Turner, John McTernan, Jill Howard, Thornley (NSW), Women’s Work: The Murray Rose, June Thody, Martin Harris, Image In Film, $17,597 P e te r S u m n e r, R obyn N e vin , Ruth Cracknel!, Ian Gilmour, Ralph Cotterill.

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY Exec, producer ............. Lesley Hammond Gauge .............................................. 16 mm S ponsor....... Education Department, S.A. Synopsis: A film on educational technology and its appropriate uses for teachers.

ENVIRONMENT/POLLUTION SERIES Exec, producer ............. Lesley Hammond Gauge .............................................. 16 mm S ponsor....... Education Department, S.A. Synopsis: A series of films, for upper primary school audiences, dealing with the physical environment and how it works; the body as an environment and how not to pollute It, the mind as an environment, noise pollution, visual pollution (advertising signs, bunting, etc.) and how advertising (In particular T.V.) works and encourages peo­ ple to buy things they don’t really need or can afford etc.

HISTORY OF MUSIC

Stranger Mark Turnbull (NSW), Now and Then, $37,546 W.E.S.T. Film/Video Unit and Jane Oehr (NSW/Vic), Just An Ordinary Life, for sam­ ple scenes $1000 Paul Winkler (NSW), Project M, $12,069 Craig Wood, Phillip Colville and Craig Cooper (NSW), The Mind Block, $5752 Serge Zaza (WA), Eddy Makes The Team, $14,701

Post-production Louis Brown (NSW), Albrecht For You, $1045 Ian Campbell (Vic), Honeymoon Conver­ sion, $1517 M ichael K araglanldis (Vic), Face of Greekness, $1369 Narja Kaspar (Qld), Another Day, $781 Chris Maguire (NSW), L’Artiste, $526 Gavin Wilson (NSW), Exile, $942

Exec, producer ...............Lesley Hammond Gauge .............................................. 16 mm S ponsor....... Education Department, S.A. Synopsis: A series of films, for upper primary/early secondary school students, being designed for use in geography, history and social studies classes In addi­ tion to art classes.

MIND-MADE Prod, company ......... Pepper Audiovisual Exec, producer ..........................Bruce Moir Director and e d ito r................ Max Pepper S criptw riter................................... David Hills Photography........................... Paul Dallwitz Length .............................................. 12 mins Gauge ................................................35 mm S ponsor...............................Royal Australian Institute of Architects Synopsis: A theatrical short promoting the services of architects and educating the public in the values of architecture.

Synopsis; Magazine items on aspects of Tasmania. Produced for the Department of Tourism.

K A SH M IR A PPLE S Dist. c o m p a n y............................ TasmanianFilm Corporation P ro d u ce r................................................JohnHoney D ire c to r.................................................BarryPierce S criptw rite r..........................John Patterson Photographer........................ Gert Kirchner Sound recordist ........... John Schiefelbein Grip ......................................Gary Clements Unit m anager.................... Daphne Crooks Length ........... 1 x 15 min and 1 x 1 0 min Progress .................................... In release Synopsis: Documentary to assist Indo-Australian Apple Project for the teaching program on packing and exporting of apples.

M AP READING Dist. company .................. Tasmanian Film Corporation P ro du ce r.......................... Anne Whitehead Director and scriptw riter.../.. Barry Pierce Photographer........................Gert Kirchner Length .......................................5 x 12 min Progress ............................... In production S ynopsis: Dram atised docum entaries taking situations in which map reading ability is crucial. Produced for the State Emergency Service.

MENTAL HEALTH Dist. co m p a n y.................. Tasmanian Film Corporation P ro du ce r.....................

AnneWhitehead Director and s c rip tw rite r....................Anne Whitehead Length .............................................. 25 min Progress .......................................Scripting S y n o p s is : D ram a tise d d o c u m e n ta ry examining the case history of a schizo­ phrenic patient in a mental hospital.

P ro d u c e d fo r th e M e n ta l H e a lth Commission.

PA RENT/TEACH ER CO M M U N IC AT IO N

Dist. company .................. Tasmanian Film PICHI RICHI RAILWAY Corporation Prod, c o m p a n y ......... Bosisto Productions P ro du ce r................................. John Honey Exec, p ro d u c e r..........................Bruce Moir Director and scriptw riter. . . . . John Honey Photographer........................ Chris Morgan Projects approved at the AFC meeting in Length .........................................12-15 mins Gauge ................................................35 mm Sound recordist ........... John Schiefelbein April, 1979 Synopsis:A theatrical short showing the Camera assistant ........... Russell Galloway reconstruction of the historical Pichi Richi E d ito r.................................................... KerryRegan Project Development Branch railway.

Asst editor ............................Debbie Regan S cript D evelo pm en t/P re-p ro ductio n Length .............................................. 25 min Investments RED CROSS Progress ............................................ Editing First draft of The Secret Valley, $4000 Synopsis: Examining the processes of Prod, company .........Slater Studios P/L Production Investments com m unication between parents and P ro du ce r................................................

Nich Cockram Palm Beach Pictures Pty Ltd, The Man at the Edge of the Freeway, $103,000 invest­ Exec, producer ......................... Bruce Moir schools. Produced for the Education Department.

Director , ...............................................

Brian Hannant ment and $65,250 overage loan.

Crawford Productions Pty Ltd, The John Photography.........................................DavidForeman SH IPPIN G Sullivan Story, investment increased from Sound recordist ...................... Rod Pascoe Dist. company ................... Tasmanian Film E d ito r................................................ Andrew Prowse $67,500 to $87,750.

Corporation Length .............................................. 17 mins P ro du ce r.......................... Anne Whitehead ■ Gauge . . . . 16 mm for blow up to 35 mm Director and S ponsor........... The Australian Red Cross scrip tw rite r...................Anne Whitehead Synopsis: A film revealing the scope of the Length ................................................15 min Australian Red Cross, and showing the Progress .........................................Scripting work of its professional and voluntary staff.

Synopsis: A look at Tasmania’s ports and shipping fa cilitie s. Produced fo r the TEENAGE DRINK/DRIVING Transport Commission.

Exec, producer ......................... Bruce Moir SLIPPE R Y SLID E S criptw riter....................................... RichardTipping BLASTING FOR B E G IN N ER S Length .........................................10-12 mins Dist. c o m p a n y................... Tasmanian Film Corporation Gauge .............................................. 35 mm Prod, company ......... Pepper Audiovisual P ro du ce r........................................... DamienParer Exec, producer ..........................Bruce Moir S ponsor......... ...........Road Safety Council Director and Synopsis: A film for schools and community S criptw riter......................... Terry Jennings scrip tw rite r...................Donald Crombie groups, Intended to educate young people Photography........................... Paul Dallwilz Length ................................................47 min who drink and drive.

E d ito r...................................... Colin Budds Progress .........................................Scripting Length ................

15 min Synopsis: Produced for television about Gauge ................................................16 mm adolescents and delinquency in today’s S ponsor......................................Departmentof society.

- Mines and Energy Synopsis: A drama which demonstrates THE AU STRALIAN LITTERING that with blasting you are always a beginner; QUEST experience cannot ever'negate caution. The Dist. company ................... Tasmanian Film film follows an investigation when caution is Corporation blown to the wind.

P ro du ce r........................................... DamienParer ENTREPREN EU RIAL M IG RAN TS Director and scriptw riter. . . .Jack Zalkalns Dist. co m p a n y ...................Tasmanian Film BRAIN DEATH E d ito r..............................Mike Wooiveridge Corporation Asst editor ............................. Posie Jacobs Exec, producer ......................... Bruce Moir P ro du ce r................................. John Honey Length ...............................................17 min S criptw riter......................... Terry Jennings D ire c to r............................Phillip Mark Law Progress .......................................... Editing Length ................................................15 min S criptw riter..............................John Honey Synopsis: A satirical anti-litter film in which Gauge ................................................16 mm Photographer...................Russell Galloway Australians compete in a national contest to S ponsor................ Royal Adelaide Hospital Sound recordist ........... John Schlefelbein be crowned the Australian king or queen of Synopsis: Teaching film for nursing staff, Grip ................................... Gary Clements litter. Produced for the Deparment of the r e s id e n t m e d ic a l o f f i c e r s , a n d Unit m anager.....................Louise Sanders Environment. physiotherapists.

Length ...................... t ......................12 min Progress ...........................................Editing Convention Tasmania C LU ST E R H OUSING Synopsis: A film to attract skilled migrants to Tasmania. Produced for the Premier’s Land Use Exec, producer ............. Lesley Hammond Marine Resources Department.

Gauge .............................................. 16 mm North West Coast S ponsor............... Department of Housing, G L IM P SE S Safety in the Forest Urban & Regional Affairs Dist. com pany...................Tasmanian Film are now in the editing stage. For full details Synopsis: A film to show the public the con­ Corporation see Issue 21. cept of cluster housing and its advantages. P ro du ce r............................... Damien Parer D ire c to rs ............. ..........Alistair Matheson, DEVELOPM ENT OF ENERGY Barry Pierce, John Bale, RESO U RCES Di Nettlefold A comprehensive and up-to-date survey of Exec, producer ......................... Bruce Moir Photographers ............... Russell Galloway, Film Australia’s and the Victorian Film Cor­ Gert Kirchner S criptw rite r............................................JohnDick poration’s productions will appear In Issue Length ..............................................50 mins Sound recordists ............Peter McKinley, 23.

John Schiefelbein Gauge ........................ ......................16 mm S ponsor............... Dept. Mines and Energy Camera assistant ......... John Jasiukowicz Synopsis: An information film for the public. Grip ..................................... Gary Clements Presenters............................Judith Storey, Suzannah Fuchs Length ........... ........................... 20 x 5 min Progress ............................. In production

SOUTH AU STR ALIAN FILM CO RPORATIO N

TA SM A N IA N FILM CO RPORATIO N

Cinema Papers, July-August — 461

Sydney Filmmakers Co-op. Ltd.

WOMEN’S FILM FUND Applications for Financial Assistance

A co-operative of independent filmmakers with: • Australian and overseas films for sale covering documentaries, animation, women’s issues, dramas, avant garde, Black Australia, health, education and environmental issues • a library of 800 films and video tapes available for hire throughout Australia.

• 100-seat preview cinema for hire • programs of independent films screening in Sydney every Fri. Sat. & Sun. (see Sat. SMH for details) • Filmnews, a monthly newspaper on independent cinema

The Fund invests in films by, for and about women. It aims: • to change attitudes, both in the film industry and amongst the public generally, to women in their roles both as filmmakers and as film subjects • to show women as equal members of society with an infinite variety of interests, aspirations and achievements • to assist women working in the industry to overcome discrimination or disadvantage incurred because of their sex.

Applications are assessed by an Advisory Panel, chaired by the Office of Women’s Affairs, with membership drawn from the film industry and the community. Financial management of the Fund is vested in the Australian Film Commission.

The Advisory Panel assesses applications for funding according to criteria set out in the Fund’s guidelines.

The Guidelines suggest support for film s

with particular emphasis on film in Australia.

Subs. $8/year Aust. $10 foreign Catalogue of Independent Women’s Films ($4 posted) and free brochures

P .O . Box 217 , Kings Cross, N S W Australia, 2011 . ( 02 ) 31 -0721 .

• in which women are portrayed as individuals in their own right, are central characters and as such, do not represent conventional stereotypes • which focus on areas or problems of primary interest to women • which, through their appeal and commercial viability will reach a wide audience, thus being influential in changing attitudes towards women • in which women are given an opportunity to work in key roles, e.g. produc­ tion and direction, camera operating, sound recording and editing.

Proposals eligible for funding include feature films, television productions and low budget, special interest films.

C L O S IN G D A T E F O R A P P L IC A T IO N S 4 S E P T E M B E R 1979 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Contact Louise Hand in Canberra 062/ 46-7440 or Anne Pidcock in Sydney 02/ 922-6855 Application forms available from: Office of Women’s Affairs Australian Film Commission P.O. Box 1252 8 West Street Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601 North Sydney, N.S.W. 2060

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K o sta s Keith Connolly Paul Cox’s Kostas works well enough as a love story. It’s got romantic rhythm, the music of Theodorakis, a handsome man protagonist — who could ask for anything more?

Well, this curmudgeonly old reviewer for one, because the whole premise of the film arouses other, greater expectations.

It can’t be regarded as just a boy-meetsgirl confection, because the principals are in fact a mature Greek migrant who gets, loses and maybe regains a choosy Australian woman. And the plot hinges on their racial, cultural and social differences. These factors are neither sufficiently exploited nor ex­ plained, the film constantly raising problems of migrant alienation only to drop or gloss over them.

As Kostas premiered on the opening night of the Melbourne Film Festival, one’s ears were unavoidably soon buzzing with a good deal of informed debate about it. Opinion divided between those who liked the way the trendy, if somewhat novelettish, story is told and malcontents who, though acknowledg­ ing the Film’s undoubted felicities, deplored

its superficial and selective approach.

Both camps may be seen to have a case, although I must count myself among the lat­ ter.

Linda Aronson’s screenplay, from an original concept by Cox, builds our interest in the affair between what is — even in modern Melbourne, the world’s third-largest Greek city — still a pretty odd couple.

Kostas (Takis Emmanuel), a Greek jour­ nalist working as a taxi driver for less than explicit reasons, spots Carol (Wendy Hughes) at the airport. A diffident, reserved and intense man, he zeroes in on her in a big way. Again his motiyations are unexplained — is it love at first sight, or does he (wrongly) sense an easy lay? He jumps the taxi queue to drive her home, and after some psychological loin-girding, nerves himself to ask her for a date.

Their first evening at a Greek taverna es­ calates predictably; Carol pisses off her boorish boyfriend (Tony Llewellyn-Jones) and so to bed.

Then, of course, comes trouble. Kostas feels out of place in Carol’s milieu, they spat and make up. But Kostas really blows it at a dinner party at Carol’s home — and, in this sequence, Cox raises similar apprehensions.

An abusive fellow guest (Chris Haywood) provokes Kostas into a knock-down-drag-

out fight across the dinner table. This belligerent chauvinist talks and behaves so abominably that, if the scene weren’t such a palpable narrative device, the other guests would have either hushed him up or hustled him out.

Carol however over-reacts so the incident can provide grounds for breaking off the relationship. She’s adamant that it’s all over, although there is little enough justification for her vehemence — we are left to accept this either as narrational ellipsis or conjec­ ture for ourselves about her motives.

Kostas, his distress compounded by the death of his mother in Greece, pleads, storms, collapses. He flies home after a fleeting reunion at the airport, Carol dashing to Tullamarine after a hasty confrontation with his Melbourne relatives (Amalia Vassiliades and Saki Dragonas).

This conclusion, the best-handled part of the film, could have been a disaster. Cox runs the risk of ending knee-deep in corn, but the low-key ambivalence of the scene satisfies the happy-enders, yet mollifies the cynics.

While narrative and characters are on the move in this way — as in other scenes, such as the edgy fencing of the original meeting and the escalating chemistry of the first clinch — the film is quietly arresting. (A pity

Carol (Wendy Hughes) and Kostas (Takis Em­ manuel) in Paul Cox’s Kostas.

the latter scene is immediately devalued by an unnecessary bedroom interlude.)

The film is laced, too, with pleasantly un­ obtrusive wit. Several sardonic cameos, notably Norman Kaye’s archetypal culturalcringer and Dawn Klingberg’s resentful landlady, pinpoint Australian peculiarities.

(It should be noted, incidentally, that the director and screenwriter are themselves migrants.)

Cox also shows an unexpected flair for the visual gag in a silent comedy of mistaken identity between minor characters played by Peter Thompson and Kris McQuade.

In all, Kostas is a considerable improve­ ment on Cox’s earlier Inside Looking Out (1977), a less than lucid account of another troubled couple. It is also the most convinc­ ing Australian film about migrants in one vital particular — they speak their own language to each other (with sub-titles), un­ like the incongruous conversations in broken English between the Greeks .of Tom Cowan’s Promised Woman (1974) and the Turks of Ayten Kuyululu’s The Golden Cage (1975).

All that said, what then is wrong with Kostas? The shortcomings may be grouped

Cinema Papers, July-August — 463

KOSTAS

THE JOURNALIST

Kostas in the hands of Greek military police during the fascist regime of the colonels, in a scene from Kostas.

There is, in fact, quite a lot to like in Kostas. But I suspect I would have liked it a whole lot more if there had been more to it.

under three headings: gaps in the narrative structure, insufficient elucidation of the characters and, above all, lack of commit­ ment.

It’s one thing to arrive at a denouement of sorts by way of narrational ellipsis, quite another to leave dangling matters in which the audience’s interest has been aroused.

Early in the film we see a flashback to Kostas being beaten up. Later, he confirms that this was at the hands of the fascist regime of the colonels (1967-74). He tells Carol, in vague self-exposition, that he was forced to leave Greece, returned after the fall of the regime but couldn’t settle, and again came to Australia. A journalist, Kostas now works as a taxi-driver. But when he re-enters journalism for a local Greek paper, he refuses to write about politics.

We are left to conjecture about his reasons, which also apparently led to the taxi-driving (it’s clearly not the money, as Kostas is laid off by the taxi proprietor for failing to put in enough hours). One possible explanation is that his Greek experiences, personal and political, have reduced him to an apathy from which Carol awakens him.

The very stuff of romantic fiction and, shucks, fellers, there’s no call to be ashamed of it! Until The Girl arrives on his scene, there appears to be absolutely nothing to keep Kostas here. Apart from visiting his cousin and her husband at their cafe, he ap­ pears to do little except re-run jerky home movies.

But he is not so introverted that he can’t appreciate the difficulties of fellow migrants.

One of the film’s few insights into such mat­ ters is dealt with sympathetically when Kostas wryly puts aside his own affairs and nationalist antipathy to drink with a lonely Turk.

The character of Carol is also too much of a cipher. Divorced (or maybe separated), mother of a young daughter, she is trendy, comfortably middle-class and works in a commercial art gallery. Her boorish sleeping partner and male dinner guests, however, could have stepped over from Don’s Party; and her smart-arse female confidant (McQuade) is a similarly shallow character device. Carol is barely believable as a person, although Wendy Hughes does her very professional best.

By contrast, the background is satisfyingly credible. Within a moderate budget, Cox achieves a high level of verisimilitude as when Kostas’ taxi plies Melbourne, and in sequences such as the singing-dancing-platesmashing night out in darkest South Yarra — all eloquently photographed by Vittorio Bernini.

Kostas: Directed by: Paul Cox. Producer: Bernard Eddy. Associate producer: Tony Llewellyn-Jones.

Screenplay: Linda Aronson. D irector of photography: Vittorio Bernini. Editor: John Scott.

Music: Mikis Theodorakis. Art director: Alan Stubenrauch. Sound recordist: Lloyd Carrick.

Cast: Takis Emmanuel, Wendy Hughes. Produc­ tion company: Kostas Film Productions. Distribu­ tor: Helen Bogdan. 35mm. 100 min. Australia and Astypalea Island. 1979.

464 — Cinema Papers, July-August

The Journalist Meaghan Morris The Journalist is a difficult film to discuss; partly because it is hard to believe that so much talent could finally converge to make such a mean little film, but mostly because there is almost nothing to say about it.

Everything about The Journalist is tired

and cliche-ridden — from the camera-work to the good old-fashioned sexism. And if it is a weary, critical ploy these days to point out and simply enumerate grotesque represen­ tations of women on screen, then it is also a weary film which invites such a crude attack, and has no other charms with which to deflect it.

Simon Morris (Jack Thompson) is a cheerless sort of soul, an ageing exploiter of women and, incidentally, a journalist. The few rudiments of narrative in the film (job crisis, pregnancy) and the touches of local color (newspaper room, bar, Hong Kong hotel) are arranged to present Simon passing down a parade of female stereotypes, flat­ tened and faded quite beyond belief.

The zestless Simon has: a nagging, thwarted wife; a demanding and jealous mis­ tress (whose intelligence, and that of the actress in question, is quaintly stressed by the film’s production notes); an alluring Asian service girl; a rich older woman (“ 1 want to discuss your career”); a couple of aggressive ‘chickies’, and a swinging young daughter (presumably the New Breed, these girls) and an assortment of witless neurotics and simpering morons.

The odd thing is that this dreary declen­ sion is supposed to have something to do with sophistication. In this respect, The Jo u rnalist has perhaps been unfairly represented by its own publicity, which manages only to highlight the film’s triteness and implausibility.

It is unfortunate, for example, that the film has been promoted as Jack Thomp­ son’s graduation to serious acting in a leading role; since in this film, for the very first time, he gets by on nothing but his own screen sex appeal.

So perfunctory is the characterization of Simon in the film, that one is led to wonder, in a literal-minded way, why on earth these supposedly sophisticated women are falling all over themselves to seduce such a cipher — and the answer can only be that Simon is really Jack Thompson disguised as a journa­ list.

Simon, as the successful philanderer in­ carnate, is absurd; his charms consist of

heavy innuendo, clumsy compliment and glassy stares. Equally improbable are the modes in which the women’s responses are scripted to range from crass suggestiveness, to a shrill and stupid carping.

Indeed, at its most interesting, The Jour­ nalist seems to bear the imprint of some dreadful puritan dream in which all conflict is reduced to an impossible and im­ poverished choice between the security of fidelity, seen as doomed to be stifling, and the wicked lures of licence, seen as doomed to become insipid or unsatisfying.

This is not exactly a new theme in Aus­ tralian cinema, though it has rarely been treated with such graceless baldness. The dismal thing about The Journalist is that it is relatively solemn, avoiding the wild exag­ geration that made Alvin Purple as gay and funny as it was small-minded; on the other hand, its own saturation in puritanism is uncomfortably half-knowing, in a brittle sort of way, precluding either critical distance from, or amusing identification with the bloodless, trivial world which the film creates.

The Journalist has certain themes in com­ mon — with Alvin Purple as well as with Petersen. All three films star that unlikely legend, the all-Australian womanizer, sur­ rounded by women unable to keep their hands off him. (Here, one has to struggle hard to keep simplistic theses about films as compensatory wish-fulfilment very firmly at bay.)

All three attach some sort of guilt to womanizing (which Petersen alone does not confuse with serial poking) and all of them transfer the blame, required by this attitude, onto women. The man’s spirit is tapped by shallow insatiables on one side, and uncom­ prehending intolerants on the other.

With this staple Australian substance, however, the resemblance begins and ends.

One sequence in The Journalist, for example, is the theme of Alvin Purple in a nutshell; an abashed and overtaxed Simon sits before the doctor confessing inability to resist women, and adding “They egg me on . . .” . Alvin Purple works by inflating this ridiculous pro­ position into a comic saga, while The

Simon (Jack Thompson) proposes to Liz (Elizabeth Alexander) in Mike Thornhill’s The Journalist.

THE KING OF THE TWO DAY WONDER

THE JOURNALIST

Journalist hovers weakly between furtively admitting hypocrisy, and still begging for credulity.

Similarly, Simon Morris is a kind of muted, middle-class Petersen only in terms of his supposed susceptibility. The Journalist and Petersen are also intensely misogynist in their portrayal of the female decor for male activity, but there is more emotional com­ plexity and credibility in 10 minutes of Petersen than in all the long duration of The Journalist — since Petersen’s perceptions are so aggressively asserted, and so generously privileged, that it becomes im­ possible to resist or to dismiss them.

The Journalist does make some gestures towards socially placing the appalling cari­ catures it presents, but since the bits and pieces about journalism and business life mainly serve to hook episode to episode, gestures these remain.

It also makes half-hearted motions towards being a film about fear of failure and ageing, but this remains a possibility lurking in the background. The two girls who pick up Simon to give him a ‘refresher course’, have the surreal quality of creatures of somebody’s fantasy; yet all that is finally made of this disturbing sequence is that Simon has only been overdoing it else­ where.

The few good moments in the film are pale in themselves, but are thrown into relief by the surrounding blandness — for exam­ ple, Simon’s mistress (Elizabeth Alexander) upsetting a restaurant table to make her pregnancy announcement heard above the babble.

Penne Hackforth-Jones as Gillie Griffith, however, lights up the screen whenever she appears, and she alone manages to carry off her dreadful dialogue with some life and humor. Elsewhere, a depressing dullness pre­ dominates; whoever described The Jour­ nalist as a “ cheeky comedy’” either had a cheek themselves or a tongue therein.

The Journalist is thoroughly small-scale and limp, and everything in it leads to defla­ tion. Even the theme song, which is ex­ cellent, embarrasses through its inappropri­ ateness to the film’s paltry hero; and the.title

Walter Dobrowolski as the pulp writer, Robert Damian, in The King of the Two Day Wonder.

sequence, with its magnificent aerial photo­ graphy of Sydney, promises marvels which never materialize.

In the recent moves towards capturing commercial success for Australian cinema, some films have appeared which anger many people — The Odd Angry Shot, for example, or even Dawn! But The Odd Angry Shot is

good entertainment, and Dawn! is a failure worth discussing. The Journalist is neither; and if it may well be part of the develop­ ment of a national cinema to acquire a stock of poor films, then it is also the case that the interest these can provoke rapidly becomes minimal.

The Journalist: Directed by: Michael Thornhill.

Producer: Pom Oliver. Screenplay: Michael Thornhill and Edna W ilson. Director of photography: Don M cAlpine. Editor: Tim Wellburn. Music: Wayne Kent-Healing. Art director: Jenny Green. Sound recordist: Tim Lloyd. Cast: Jack Thom pson, Elizabeth Alexander, Sam Neill, Penne Hackforth-Jones.

Production company: Edgecliff Films. Distributor: Roadshow Distributors. 35mm. 90 min. Australia.

1979.

The K in g of the Tw o D ay W onder Jack Clancy

The Journalist. Liz disrupts dinner in a restaurant to announce that she is pregnant.

For young authors, an unpublished first novel is sometimes the necessary prelude to more assured and later publishable efforts.

The first low-budget achievements of young filmmakers, however, do not win commer­ cial release, but they are at least shown and seen in informal non-commercial ways.

These films are often more thematically and stylistically daring than later works which do achieve commercial recognition. It is, at least in part, on efforts like these and on the development of such talents, that a film industry is built and maintained.

The King of the Two Day Wonder was written, directed, photographed, and co­ produced by Kevin Anderson, and its production — a more extreme case than usual of the difficulties of such semiprofessional first film — took four years, with interruptions and lengthy delays.

It is an extremely ambitious film in con­ ceptual terms. It experiments with time and n arrativ e, and even with notions of character. It presents the kind of complex, even baffling, surface which makes one ap­ plaud its daring, while retaining the uneasy suspicion that not all of its apparent com­

plexities are fully under directorial control, and that some of them may be the result of the long production period, or of postproduction exigencies.

Two Day Wonder begins with the very nice idea of a writer, Robert Damian — played effectively, if a touch narcissistically, by co-producer Walter Dobrowolski — completing his latest pulp Fiction novel in­ volving a detective called Blake. Having met his two-day deadline, he delays submitting the manuscript to his publisher because he is not satisfied with the ending.

Damian is not concerned so much with multiple possibilities of narrative as with the inter-relation between the narrative and his own life. In re-examining the novel, he becomes involved in a re-examination of his own life, to the point where the two become interchangeable. He sits at his typewriter smoking endless Gauloise cigarettes, while in intercut scenes we see aspects of his previous life, and the lives of the characters in the novel.

The detective story provides opportunities enough for a filmmaker to parody, pay homage to, or simply make references to other films, and the number and breadth of these references in Two Day Wonder in­ dicates love of cinema which is so often a feature of young filmmakers’ work, and a self-indulgent eclecticism which so frequent­ ly flaws it. This eclecticism is equally evident in the cinematic style (or styles), and in the use of music.

My reaction to Two Day Wonder, even after a second viewing, was almost uniform­ ly ambivalent; delight at seeing so much genuinely cinem atic inventiveness was cancelled by irritation at so many wilful ob­ scurities; and admiration for the sheer com­ petence and authority of particular se­ quences was dampened by recognition of what seemed stylistic self-indulgence.

But a review of a film of this kind should, I believe, concentrate on particular achieve­ ments. The kind of thumbs-up or thumbsdown critical judgment appropriate to a more obviously commercial undertaking is out-of-place here. What is at issue is whether the creative development that is so impor­ tant is truly in evidence; and on that score there can be only one verdict. Anderson has

Cinema Papers, July-August — 465

Features and shorts on 16mm and 35mm for commercial and non-commercial exhibi­ tion: And not even cry, Antartida, Antonio das mortes, Asylum, Before the Revolution, Black god, white devil, Blood o f the condor, Boesman and Lena, B of !, British sounds, B ullfight at Sincelejo, Campamento, Companeras and companeros, Days and nights in the forest, Dear Irene, Death o f a bureaucrat, Dillenger is dead, D istant thunder, Dream life, Dyn amo, Film in revolution: an introduction to ‘The Traitors’, Film portrait, First charge o f the machete, The gladiators, Going home, H allelujah the h ills, How to draw a cat, Ice, Infernal triangle, In the name of the father, In trod u ction to th e enem y, K ashim a p arad ise, La m arseillaise, La villeggiatura, Lancelot du lac, Le voyage de monsieur Guitton, Letter to Jane, Life wasn’t meant to be radioactive, Lions love, Living with Peter, M acunamia, T h e m id d le m a n , M in a m a ta , O ra n g es and le m o n s, Punishm ent park, Re-Lone, Rem iniscences o f a journey to Lithuania, Rocket ship, Sangham: aid to liberation, The soldier and the three sisters, The spirit o f the beehive, Strike, Terra em transe, Themroc, Throw away your books le t’s go into the streets, Tools o f change: introduction to appropriate technology, To the people o f the world, Tout va bien, The traitors, Tupamaros, Valparaiso, Valparaiso, W hen the people awake, W ind from the east.

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CATHY’S CHILD

real filmmaking talent, and one hopes he gets the chance to exercise it in further pro­ jects.

One of the most striking, even haunting moments in the film is when Damian, work­ ing away at Gauloises and typewriter, looks out through the window and sees himself (Blake or Damian?) leaving the building.

The two selves exchange looks of awareness.

On the level of literal realism, it is of course absurd. However, the film is not con­ cerned with presenting, but with comment­ ing on forms of realism, and it is particular­ ly effective because it presents the sense of a divided self that has been implicit in the por­ trait of Damian the writer so far.

Part of his past is shown, in particular the writing group he belonged to, and his friendship with the leader of the group, Don McCauley, who had since killed himself. It is the triggering off of these memories, reminding him of his earlier ambitions, which makes his present inability to com­ plete his piece of detective fiction all the more painful. He wants to be a writer, and perhaps he also wants to be Blake, the crea­ tion of what remains of his literary im­ agination; but he does want to be a writer of detective fiction.

Even the resolution of his dilemma has a divided, ambivalent tone to it. He takes the manuscript with him down to the beach, and in a gesture of independence and defiance throws it to the waves. But the waves bring it back to him and he scrambles after the sheets of paper — we gather, too late.

The ending of the film returns us to one of its motifs (there are any number of them, particularly images of water, images of repetition and of parallel actions, such as different characters engaging in the same ac­ tion as the film cross-cuts between them).

In -this case the motif is a musical one. Da­ mian meets a girl playing, very tentatively and imperfectly, the Albinoni tune which has so frequently recurred. It is the kind of open ending from which the viewer can take his own meaning.

To me, the scene, touching, beautifullyshot, yet puzzling, suggested a comment on creative activity that becomes a comment of the film itself. Like the playing, The King of the Two Day Wonder is uncertain, not total­ ly in command, but full of promise.

The King of the Two Day Wonder: Directed by: Kevin Anderson. Producer: Kevin Anderson and Walter Dobrowolski. Screenplay: Kevin Anderson.

Director of photography: Kevin Anderson. Editor: Kevin Anderson and Tony Stevens. Music: Gregory Sneddon. Sound recordist: John Phillips and John Rowley. Cast: Walter Dobrowolski, Sigrid Thornton, A llen Bickford, Jam es Robertson, Maureen O’Loughlin. 16mm. 67 min.

Australia. 1979.

C a th y ’s C h ild Barbara Alysen Filmmakers, like journalists, know the selling power of sentiment mixed with im­ mediacy. In Cathy’s Child, a journalist who helps a young mother find her abducted daughter observes what a “ bloody good story” it is. But he also knows that when the story loses its punch, his paper’s help will run out.

In a similar vein, director Donald Crombie exploits the dramatic high points in Cathy’s Child, the story of Cathy Baikas and her child, deleting those aspects which don’t constitute ‘good copy’. While this may be an accepted part of dramatic construction, it is irritating in a film which derives much of its impact from the fact that the story on which it-is based is true.

In J a n u a r y 1973, a G re e k -b o rn naturalized Australian, John Baikas, flew out of Sydney for his homeland. With him was his two year-old daughter, Maris, travelling on a forged passport. Hundreds of

MONEY MOVERS

film. And as a bonus, it offers practical ad­ vice to parents who, like Cathy, have a child abducted, and don’t know where to turn.

Cathy’s Child: Directed by: Don Crombie.

Producers: Errol Sullivan and Pom Oliver.

Screenplay: Ken Quinnell. Director of photo­ graphy: Gary Hansen. Editor: Tim Wellburn.

Music: William Motzing. Art director: Ross Major. Sound recordist: Tim Lloyd. Cast: Michelle Fawdon, Alan Cassell, Bryan Brown, Willie Fennell, Arthur Dignam. Production com­ pany: C.B. Films. Distributor: Roadshow Distri­ butors. 35mm. 90 min. Australia and Greece, 1979.

M o n e y M o v e rs Denise Hare

Cathy’s Child. Top: Cathy Baikas (Michelle Fawdon) and the Sun ‘Hotline’ editor Paul Nicholson (Bryan Brown). Above: The tenacious journalist, Dick Wordley (Alan Cassell), on the trail of Cathy Baikas’ abducted daughter.

children vanish from Australia each year, abducted by parents (usually fathers) fed up with restricted access to their children, seek­ ing to escape maintenance payments, or (like Baikas) just wanting to intimidate their es­ tranged partner.

Four months after losing Maris, Cathy, having exhausted all legal means of reclaim­ ing her child, approached Dick Wordley, a journalist on the Sydney Sun. Wordley not only helped Cathy Baikas get back her child, against daunting odds, but later wrote a book about the incident called A Piece o f Paper, on which the film has been based.

The film opens with Cathy (Michelle Faw­ don) and her daughter Irene (Flavia Arena), sharing a room in a bleak part of industrial Sydney. We follow Cathy’s pre-dawn trek from home to a child-minder, and then to her factory job. We then follow DickWordley (Alan Cassell), nursing a hang­ over, from his sparse quarters in a Kings Cross hotel to the cluttered newspaper office where he works.

As the story unfolds, Cathy and Wordley enter an Alice in Wonderland-type, fantasy, in which he shepherds her through a bureau­ cratic maze that extends to the Minister for Immigration. Along the way, Wordley dis­ covers the frequency with which children in Australia are abducted by parents against instructions from the courts. He also finds that a closed Greek community is pro­ tecting Baikas from an ‘outsider’ — his Maltese-born wife Cathy.

Although the end of the film is as predic­ table as it is implausible, Crombie manages to sustain a series of credible cliffhangers as he recounts the sequence of events which led to the recovery of the child.

When we leave Cathy and Wordley, beside them are two charming and happy children.

But this tranquil scene is a far cry from the bleak opening, and suggests that Cathy,

in finding her child and moving from sadness to happiness, has also moved from poverty to wealth — which she hasn’t. For a while Wordley has found a cause which has lifted him out of near-alcoholism and depression Cathy faces a future in a factory, a solo parent with two children and no prospect of any help from their father.

If we think about this, the happy ending is severely compromised. But the style of Cathy’s Child will ensure that most people won’t consider what happens outside its frame.

Crombie’s best-known work is Caddie, with which Cathy’s Child shares certain characteristics, among them a glowing moralism. No doubt the world needs more people like Caddie'and Cathy Baikas, but at times their virtue is almost stifling: as when Cathy contemplates prostitution to find the money she desperately needs for a trip to Greece; and again when she and Wordley first kiss, and Wordley, a hardened drinker, switches to soda water.

This insistence on uncompromised good­ ness seems to have excluded a planned se­ quence showing Wordley and Cathy in bed together, and ensures that the villain, Baikas, never appears on the screen.

Despite this treatment, Michelle Fawdon’s Cathy remains sympathetic and believable throughout: beginning as a timid woman, aware only of her duties, and becoming self-assured and conscious of her rights. Fawdon, who has to speak MalteseEnglish and a little Greek, gives an extra­ ordinary performance. Alas, not so Alan Cassell as an over-bearingly earnest Dick Wordley, imbued with a sincerity reminis­ cent of Richard Nixon during his last months in office.

But, if one ignores the sometimes trite dialogue and accepts the conventions that allow reality to be consumed by hope, Cathy’s Child is a touching and beautiful

Australian filmmakers have been copping some deservedly harsh treatment in recent months. The reviews by Meaghan Morris (Dawn!), Susan Dermody (The Odd Angry Shot)1, and Howard Lehman’s ,‘Australia’s Ten Most Neurotic Directors’, in the June issue of Filmnews, have been particularly critical. But none of these reviews could be described as vitriolic or irresponsible; all are concerned with the lack of substance in cer­ tain Australian films.

Whether this superficiality is in the plot, the script, the characterization, or other aspects of the films, the blame must .fall on the directors. Although Lehman’s dismissal of the first wave of new Australian film­ makers as talentless is too severe, in review­ ing Money Movers, I feel obliged to add to his criticism.

Money Movers stands out because its m akers have b latantly ignored basic cinematic conventions, and completely lack any appreciation of the genre in which they are working. By observing the conventions of the cops-and-robbers thriller, and by us­ ing the language of film, it could have been saved from being the tiresome film that it is.

The story revolves around a robbery at the counting house of an armored guard security company called Darcy’s. The men who have been planning the theft for some years are employees. For various reasons, the police, an underworld gang, and an undercover agent for an insurance company become in­ volved. These conflicting interests come together in a violent finale that is best described as sickening.

Although the publicity release for Money Movers emphasises that it is “ based on real events” , one could reasonably ask what in fact these are, because it is clear that in the film, crime and corruption are never ex­ plored beyond what is necessary to further the action. There may have been a-security company that almost lost its money in the same way, but there the verisimilitude would appear to end. I do not know enough" about criminals to determine whether Bruce Beresford’s bullies ring true, but I do know enough about the police forces of this country to say that the film is inaccurate in its presentation of crime and corruption.

Admittedly, we are spared the popular television folk hero — the honest cop. But small wonder when one reflects on the findings of the Beach Report (Victoria) and the suppressed Criminal Intelligence Unit’s Review (NSW), which are only a part of the well-documented history of the connections between politicians, big business, crime, and the police.

Admittedly Money Movers wasn’t in­ tended as a documentary, but the film could have been fleshed out by some accurate social history and local color. Chinatown and Taxi Driver are two films that come to mind which highlight the failure of Money Movers.

A 1960s morality pervades the sexual relationships we are allowed to glimpse in 1. Both reviews appeared in Cinema Papers (MayJune, 1979).

Cinema Papers. July-August — 467

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MONEY MOVERS

the film — and glimpses are all we get.

Whether it is the relative unimportance of these to the real subject of the film, or whether the makers just don’t have much to say on the topic, the characters portrayed are cliched and stereotyped.

Jack Henderson (Charles Tingwell), the big boss of the Toe Cutter gang — the un­ derworld’s answer to a multi-national cor­ poration — has a blue-rinse mother whose presence is obviously supposed to convey an unnatural, if not pathetic dependence.

The star of the film, Eric Jackson (Terence Donovan), who masterminds the robbery, is married to a frigid woman who is ‘nuts’ about her dog. Eric gave up a promis­ ing career as a racing car driver because his mother-in-law didn’t approve, and because he thought his wife was worth it; presumably she hasn’t been worth it since.

His brother, and collaborator in the crime, Brian (Bryan Brown), has a girlfriend (Jo-Anne Moore) whose role involves having his hand thrust in her crotch, given a few fond embraces, and dismissed from the room when business gets serious.

The third member in the team, union organiser Ed Gallagher (Ray Marshall), has fond memories of the soft thing he knew in Korea — as “soft as a mouse’s ear” in fact.

Thankfully, we are saved the embarrass­ ment of flashbacks, and the film relies on a photograph to evoke the splendor of this deep and meaningful war-time romance.

Obviously the makers of Money Movers were not concerned about analysing any of th e c o m p l e x it ie s o f m a le - f e m a le relationships in contemporary Australia.

Perhaps Susan Dermody is correct in her analysis of the realist, male-oriented Australian films, in which, she maintains, the action self-righteously excludes women while using this imposed exclusion as the cause of male angst, implying women are to blame.

The women in this film provide the butt for the sort of jokes Australian men are sup­ posed to make when the women aren’t there; and they add a bit of titillation to certain scenes — like the one where Eric robs a m anager who is too busy fucking his secretary to defend himself. To add insult to injury the money being removed from the safe is piled next to her naked body.

Naturally, there are quite a few female ex­ tras — the worker bees, who just count money all day long. They are seen hard at work, to show how tight the security precau­ tions are, and how difficult it will be to pull the robbery off.

The only woman in the film with any power is Mindel Seagers (Candy Raymond), the trusted former secretary of the com­ pany’s owner. But she achieves her status by playing the dumb broad, and fucking staff members as a security check for Darcy (Frank Wilson).

Apart from the portrayal of women as weak wives, w hores, and dom inating mothers, there is also the frustrated male homosexual, David Griffiths (Hu Pryce), who works for Darcy’s as head of security.

David makes a tactful but unsuccessful pass at Eric, whom he later shoots in a scene overtly suggesting th a t this type of vengefulness is all that can be expected from such aberrations. A charming piece of ‘poofter bashing’ by the filmmakers!

In her review of Dawn!, Meaghan Morris remarked on the filmmakers’ undue concern with superficial aspects of the production — such as a lookalike actress and an un­ derwater camera — at the expense of the rest of the film. In Money Movers, the bloody special effects by Alf Joint and Ian Jamieson seem to have taken precedence over a welldesigned plot and potentially stunning idea.

Unfortunately, overstated violence and sen­ sational bloodbaths are not enough to sus­ tain an audience for the length of a feature film.

Money Movers may be packed with ac­

tion, but like Dawn! Beresford’s script is the main weakness of the film. Without words, actors are left in a flat and awkward land­ scape, and apart from jokes about women and homosexuals, the dialogue is merely an explanation of the action.

However, despite the poverty of the material, there are some fine performances.

Bryan Brown, in particular, adds subtlety to his role where there is none scripted. As the strong, silent, younger brother of Eric, he doesn’t seem to like violence, and is the most lovable bruiser in the film.

Eric Jackson, according to the press release, is meant to be hard-bitten and rugged, with a deeply-concealed sensitivity.

And deeply concealed it remains. Eric the bully is a swish macho boy in the style of Steve McQueen, with a touch of Bruce Lee thrown in for popular measure. The transi­ tion from ruthless racing car driver to the force behind a $20 million robbery is, like many things in this film, never explained.

Eric may love his brother and doesn’t bash homosexuals, but he doesn’t have much time for those who get in his way.

Terry Donovan does his best in the role, but the dialogue and direction restrict his portrayal of a potentially fascinating character. But then, there aren’t many peo­ ple in this film anyway — only men.

Ed Devereaux is well cast as the officious security guard Dick Martin, the slightly crooked, crackshot career policeman who was tossed out of the force on a minor cor­ ruption charge. He is bitter and out to vin­ dicate himself. The man who set him up for discharge is the very crooked, very slimy detective Sammy Rose (Alan Cassell). As detective Rose scornfully says of Martin, he would be happy with a medal for bravery, and award wages.

Cassell provides a convincing portrait of Sammy, who plays a dangerous game between the two big business groups — the Toe Cutter underworld racketeers and Dar­ cy’s Security Services. He has good, though corny, ‘tough kid on the block’ lines, which encourage the audience to withhold judg­ ment. He is a new kind of top cop. who gets his control through manipulation and not

the gun.

Money Movers is basically a cops-androbbers shoot ’em up film. The only divergence from the formula is that the police are replaced by security officers — most of whom are ex-cops. The robbers are also security officers. Unfortunately, the predominance of ex-police and ex-army types in the security business is never seen as anything more than that, and no conclusions are drawn. There are no comments on this new breed of private police that are flourishing in our midst.

I would like to have been told more about the people in the film, more about the Toe Cutter gang, about the corruption of law en­ forcement agencies, and more about what makes a group of people decide to pull off a $20 million robbery that will change their lives.

Towards the end of Money Movers, when the storyline becomes as clear as it’s ever go­ ing to be, the audience realizes it knows very little about the characters, and feels even less. Consequently, the shocking, gut-tearing violence in the last scene doesn’t work on the emotions. Who cares if these nonentities get shot to pieces?

Eric Jackson (Terry Donovan) being persuaded by stand-over man Jack Henderson (Charles Tingwell) and his right-hand, Sainsbury (Cary Files) to cut them in on the action in Money Movers.

Scripts have to be written by writers with a feel for the subtleties of language that add to the audience’s understanding of a character. We don’t all walk or talk the same way. As long as dialogue is seen as secondary to action, Australian films will re­ main ineffectual.

I would also like less blatant billboard advertising for the audience to read slowly, and, instead, more information. Let’s not. have such seriously portrayed superficiality.

If it’s escapist cinema, then do it properly.

Money Movers: Directed by: Bruce Beresford.

Adapted from a book by Devon Minchin.

Producer: Matt Carroll. Screenplay: Bruce Beresford. Director of photography: Don McAlpine. Editor: Bill Anderson. Art director: David Copping. Sound recordist: Don Connolly.

Cast: Terence Donovan, Ed Devereaux, Tony Bonner, Lucky Grills, Alan Cassell. Production company: South Australian Film Corporation.

Distributors: South Australian Film Corporation/Roadshow. 35mm. 90 min. Australia. 1979.

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Cinema Papers, July-August — 469

The B u s in e ss of Film m akin g Kodak (New York) 1978 Recommended price: $7 and Getting into Film Mel London Ballantyne Books (New York) 1977 Recommended price: $9.50 Nigel Buesst Kodak continues to be one of the largest of the multi-national corporations, not only because research keeps improving their products, but also because of its energetic marketing strategies. From Rochester, its base in the U.S., comes a steady stream of data and instructional books on how to make films, and more importantly, how to make them profitably. They guide you, with almost evangelical fervor, toward more and better photography, because your success is theirs.

There is an air of complicity: you and Kodak are working together to make you more creative, so long as you keep ordering your photographic materials in little yellow boxes.

Business o f Filmmaking is 96 pages of in­ spiration and guidance for those engaged in making films of an applied nature. It ex­ plains how to find clients, sell them on a film as the best way to solve their communication problem, and then, how to produce the goods as fast and economically as possible.

There are chapters under such headings as ‘Marketing the Film Concept’, ‘The Suc­ cessful Film Proposal’, ‘Production’, ‘Post Production’, ‘Film Distribution and Pro­ motion’, and a detailed examination of the alternative structures and methods of running a small film production company.

For those trundling off to some seed fac­ tory or sewage farm with an Arriflex camera in a battered case, or those stranded in some editing room doing a fifth recut on Plastics for Tomorrow, this book will be an in­ spirational tonic.

Problems and pitfalls are stressed, par­ ticularly the fundamental ones on es­ tablishing and keeping your operation viable.

My major reservation about The Business o f Filmmaking is not so much with the book itself, or the fact that it’s written very much for the American experience, but with the nature of business films in general. It seems that getting them commissioned is not im­ possible, while completing them to a decent standard is largely a matter of hard work.

The weak link always appears to be in the area of distribution and exhibition: of get­ ting the film seen.

The Business o f Filmmaking glosses over this crucial area with some facile advice on how to tee-up interested audiences, and how to persuade your local television station to take it.

What is really needed is a book devoted to making and exhibiting sponsored films.

There is always a huge credibility gap between the possible and the actual. Most of us have experienced film screenings in halls and boardrooms where the projector bulb

470 — Cinema Papers, July-August

blows, someone trips over the speaker lead, or the blackout curtain falls halfway through, transforming a potentially signifi­ cant occasion into a farce.

Until foolproof methods of showing spon­ sored films without hassles are developed, the potential of the business film will only be partly realized. Meanwhile, this latest publication covers the rest of the subject with thoroughness and objectivity.

☆

☆

☆

With a number of good books in circula­ tion, explaining the intricacies of filmmaking (e.g., Lenny Lipton’s Independent Filmmaking), self-tuition is a viable alter­ native to fighting your way into a film school, or trying to get that proverbial job sweeping the studio floor.

A recent addition to this collection, Get­ ting into Film , by New York producer Mel London, takes a different tack by skirting the technical details and concentrating, with some thoroughness, on career prospects.

Getting into Film begins with an in­ troduction by London’s award-winning Lee Bobker: “The attraction of film as a career and a lifestyle is obviously very great. It offers creative work in an art form; jt offers the opportunity of excellent financial rewards; it can provide great ego satisfaction (e.g., names on marquees and in the columns of Pauline Kael); it can provide travel to far off exotic and interesting places; and it makes possible lifelong associations with other creative, interesting, charismatic and intelligent people.”

This sounds like a hard sell for a gold rush, but London takes over to guide the desperate unemployed film technicians.

London describes every facet of the American industry: he explains what a job in the industry entails, what qualities are needed in the aspirant, and how to get a foot in the door in the first place.

London also reiterates the truism that big feature films are only a small section of a huge industry; that the real bread and butter is earned in a whole range of less-publicized productions; and that an individual with the right drive and talent should be able to find a niche somewhere.

Of course, Getting into Film is written with the American industry as a model. But with a little imagination, the reader can make a useful transposition to the local scene. For instance, whether you are going for a job in Salt Lake City or Sydney, it’s handy to know what the employer is looking for and how you can meet his expectations.

The chapter on women in film, however, has a somewhat rhetorical note that doesn’t quite ring true. It explains how technical jobs have been traditionally male preserves, and that the prejudice is only breaking down very slowly.

London gives examples of women who have broken through and are now doing well, and examples of women who have found it hard going. Apparently it wasn’t till 1973 that a woman (Bri Murphy) made it into Hollywood’s cam eram an’s union.

Males such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola earned multi-film contracts after their first successes: not so Joan Micklin Silver after Hester Street, or Claudia Weill after Girlfriends. Just a book full of rave reviews and a few dollars in the bank.

Many argum ents have weight, but

generally this chapter has a slight air of trendy tokenism. But apart from this mild slap on the wrist, London’s book deserves praise. He has poured in a lifetime of per­ sonal experience, making it a work.rich in observation and hard-earned knowledge.

The chapter on job-hunting is based on the author’s own experience as a freelancer; as such it is loaded with first-hand guidance.

Getting into Film is recom m ended reading for anyone even remotely planning to give the film industry a go. For thousands of students graduating from American .film and television courses every year, it should be mandatory, and like Lenny Lipton’s book prove a best seller.

Recent R e le a se s The following books were released in Australia between April and June 1979. All titles are on sale in Australian bookshops.

The publishers are listed below the author in each entry, and the local distributor is shown in brackets. If no distributor is indicated, it denotes that the book is imported. Prices listed are for paperbacks, unless otherwise indicated, and are subject to variation between bookshops and states.

This list was compiled by Mervyn R. Binns of the Space Age Bookstore, Melbourne.

Popular and General Interest Film Review 1978-1979 Ed. by F. Maurice Speed W. H. Allen/Hutchinson $16.80 (HC) The latest volume in this series which details all the films released in Britain during the year, plus arti­ cles, reviews and other information.

The Films o f Sherlock Holmes Chris Stein Brunner & N. Michaels Citadel/Davis $22.50 (HC) A complete survey of the films featuring the great detective.

Headlines Movie Monsters Mike Samuda E. Arnold/Edward Arnold $2.80 (PB) A small reference book on famous actors of the horror films and their roles.

One Interior Day Ronald Harwood Seeker & Warburg/Heinemann $9.45 (HC) A collection of stories set in the film industry by a top-ranking scriptwriter.

The TV Addict's Handbook Bert Andrews Dutton $6.95 (PB) A popular, nostalgic history of American televi­ sion.

Biographies, Memoirs, and Experiences in Filmmaking and Filmographies The Actor's Life (Journals 1956-1976> Charlton Heston Allen Lane/Penguin $14.95 (HC) Over a period of 20 years Charlton Heston has kept a record of his work. It makes fascinating reading. Due for July publication in Australia.

Charlie Chaplin John McCabe Magnum/Rical $4.50 (PB) The definitive Chaplin biography — a new portrait of the artist by a noted film historian The Gift Horse Hildegarde Knef Panther/Gordon & Gotch $4.25 (PB) The autobiography of the German actress — one of the best.

Haywire Brooke Hayward Bantam/Gordon & Gotch $3.25 (PB) The daughter of actress Margaret Sullavan and producer Brooke Hayward tells of the triumphs and tragedies of her family. A rare, eye-opening memoir which was 17 weeks on the U.S. bestseller list.

James Dean Revisited Texts and photographs by Dennis Stock Penguin/Penguin $6.95 (PB) A photographic essay on James Dean, the man behind the legend.

Marlene Charles Higham Mayflower/Gordon & Gotch $4.35 (PB) A biography of one of the screen’s most enduring idols. ' My Drama School Edited by Margaret McCall Robson/Hutchinson $16.80 (HC) The early theatrical experiences of Robert Morley, Lilli Palmer, Flora Robson, Mai Zetterling, and others.

Olivier: The Films & Faces o f Laurence Olivier Margaret Morley LSP/Hamlyn (Paul Hamlyn) $12.95 (HC) A complete illustrated filmography of the stage and screen’s leading actor.

Peter Finch: A Biography Trader Faulkner Angus & Robertson/Gordon & Gotch $14.95 (HC) The biography of the leading Australian actor by his close friend and confidant of many years, with a foreword by Liv Ullman. A ‘must’ title for anybody interested in the actor, and the Australian theatre and screen.

Who's Afraid o f Elizabeth Taylor?

Brenda Maddox Panther/Gordon & Gotch $3.25 (PB) An unusually objective biography of the most publicised actress of them all.

Directors Federico Fellini (Essays in criticism) Edited by Peter Bondanella Oxford/Oxford $7.50 (PB) Designed to produce a basic understanding of Federico Fellini’s characteristic themes and ar­ tistic style, this collection of essays reflects an international cross-section of the best film criticism on Fpllini.

John Ford Peter Bogdanovich California University Press/ANZ $9.50 (PB) A new edition of this excellent survey of John Ford’s films.

Critical Andre Bazin Dudley Andrew Oxford/Oxford $17.95 (HC) The book is a history of the successful fight a new generation of filmmakers waged against their elders.

D ream s and D ead Ends: The A m erican Gangster/Crime Film Jack Shadoian Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press $22.50 (HC) A critical survey of the film genre, which is a significant part of American cinema.

50 from the '50s David Zinman Arlington House $30 (HC) A critical, illustrated survey of 50 important films screened in the U.S. in the 1950s.

Grierson on Documentary Intro, by Forsyth Hardy.

Faber/Oxford $7.95 (PB) A new edition of the classic text on documentary cinema.

Guts and Glory Lawrence Suid Addison-Wesley/Addison Wesley Aust. $8.95 (PB) A critical survey of the American war film — from glorification to strong criticism of war.

Politics and Cinema Andrew Sarris Columbia University Press $12.95 (HC) An examination of the place of politics in films by a leading critic of the cinema.

Ten Film Classics: A Reviewing Edward Murray Ungar/K & P Kaimon and Polon $5.65 (PB) A discussion of classic films such as Potemkin, Citizen Kane, La Strada, and Bonnie and Clyde.

Reference A Catalogue o f Independent Women's Films Barbara Alysen Sydney Women’s film group $4.50 (PB) An excellent survey of women’s films, with com­ plete lists of films available and criticisms of them.

It includes sources of borrowing and reviews of books on women in the cinema. With a supplemen­

ALBIE THOMS

BOOKS

tary catalogue of Independent Women’s films up to March 30, 1979.

Academy Awards: An Ungar Reference Index Richard Shale Ungar $11.20 (PB) A complete index volume to all American Academy Awards up to 1978.

International Index to Film Periodicals 1976 Frances Thorpe Macmillan/Macmillan Aust. $69 (HC) A complete index to reviews of films released in 1976, from 80 of the world’s leading film magazines. The index is divided into three main sections: General Subjects, Film and Biography.

16 mm Feature Film Catalogue Compiled by the Australian Council of Film Societies, 20 Craithie Ave, Park Orchards, Victoria, 3144.

A useful book for people organizing programs for societies, institutions, and film buffs in general. It has a list of all the 16 mm films, as well as details of distributors, directors, and countries of origin.

Melbourne Filmmakers Resource Catalogue Compiled by Nigel Buesst, assisted by Leigh Tislon, for the Association of Independent Film­ makers.

The information covered includes: film stocks, equipment, processing laboratories, editing facilities, sound recording, technicians, extra ser­ vices (distribution, titles, the economics of filmmaking etc.), and a recommended reading list of books and magazines.

Order from the Association of Independent Film­ makers, 335 Belmore Rd, North Balwyn, Vic. 3104 Media and Education The Control o f Candy Jones Donald Bain Futura $2.50 (PB) The extraordinary story of a leading American model who was ‘used’ by the CIA, and its final at­ tempts to drive her to suicide.

Film Art David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson Addison Wesley/Addison Wesley Aust. $10.95 (PB) An introductory text to the aesthetics of film. For students and the general reader.

Media Culture: The People, The Product, The Power James Monaco Delta $6.20 (PB) How the media shapes the American culture through television, radio, records, books, magazines, newspapers, and films — and all the people behind them.

Story and Discourse Seymour Chatman Cornell University Press $19.95 (HC) Narrative and structure in fiction and film. A com­ prehensive approach to a theory of narrative in ver­ bal and visual media.

THE PAPER OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

True Confessions John Singleton Cassell. Cassell/Collier/Macmillan $10.95 (HC) An inside look at the Australian advertising business by a man who started the most successful agency at the ripe old age of 26.

Television The Plug-in Drug Marie Winn Viking/Penguin $9.95 (HC) Television, children and the family. The questions answered in this book present a frightening picture of society dominated by television.

Small Screen, Big Business Susan Kippat & John Murray Angus & Robertson/Gordon & Gotch $1.95 (PB) A critical assessment of the television industry in Australia.

Goin' South Jack Nicholson Corgi/Gordon & Gotch $2.75 (PB) H urricane Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall Corgi/Gordon & Gotch $2.95 (PB) The Invasion o f the Body Snatchers Jack Finney Sphere/Nelson $2.75 (PB) A new edition of the novel to coincide with the film re-make, starring Leonard Nimoy and Donald Sutherland.

Just a Gigolo Rosemary Kingsland Corgi/Gordon & Gotch $2.75 (PB) King o f the Gypsies Peter Maas Corgi/Gordon & Gotch $2.75 (PB) Slow Dancing in the Big City Barra Grant Coronet/Hodder $2.50 (PB)

Television & Human Behaviour George Comstock and others Columbia University Press $14.95 (PB)

Non-cinema and Associated Titles

Novels and Other Books Based on Films

The Biography o f Joe Orton John Laup Allen Lane/Penguin $15.95 (HC) ,

The Deer Hunter E.M. Corder Coronet/Hodder $2.95 (PB)

On with the Show!

Robert C. Toll Oxford University Press $34 (HC) The first century of showbusiness in the U.S. ★

The First Great Train Robbery Michael Crichton Panther/Gordon & Gotch $3.25 (PB)

INTERNATIONAL INDEX TO FILM PERIODICALS 1976 A guide to leading articles and essays published in the world’s 80 leading film magazines.

25 fi lm archives consulted.

9000 entries.

Order now at $69.00 — and take out a Standing Order for future issues.

INTERNATIONAL e d ite d b y P e te r N o b le

ESSENTIAL READING FOR ALL FILM ENTHUSIASTS Europe’s leading film industry paper keeping you informed with Reviews Reports from Film Festivals News of Films in Production Technical Developments

Available weekly Send for free specimen copy to: Christine Fairbairn, Screen International, Film House, 1 4 2 Wardour Street, London W .1.

\ Æ

IV I

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Magazines include Plays & Players, Dance & Dancers, Films & Filming, After Dark, Dance Magazine, T.D.R ., and Cinema Papers Melbourne’s largest range of Stage Make-up including ultra high quality Stein Theatrical Make-Up from USA an efficient and prompt mail order service

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67 oono A lbie Thom s

Continued from P. 431 T h e re h a p p e n e d to be a Queensland policeman who was on holiday. He came running up to the actor who had fake blood all over his head, saying, “ You all right mate, you all right?” . It was fright­ ening. If he’d had his gun he would have pulled it and shot Bryan.

Bryan Brown was very good in those situations. He’s a real method actor, and he wants to do it right. In

A p art from choosing him another scene where he comes running into the house, bolts the because he can enrich characters, door and ends up spewing in the he was also chosen because it was a basin, the character was supposed genre character. He has studied to have run a couple of miles. To genre films, and the whole Film get the feeling, Bryan actually went Noir movement. Private eyes a mile away and started running. I featured prominently in that, as did had to wait until I heard these foot­ existential thought, and when I steps coming and then turn over the wrote that character I saw the camera and sound. It was so real! private eye as an archetypal existential character. It’s like a John Flaus was an interesting choice character in, a Jean Gabin film — for the role of the private detective. the sort of person who always He always brings a great sense of wanders through landscapes, like the character in Cam us’ The compassion to his characters . . .

Outsider.

I liked the idea of John doing that, because he could bring all sorts of references and signs from his understanding of American private eye films. But it would still be totally Australian, because John has also tried to understand Aust­ ralian characters.

Why did you give him a wig?

It was his idea to do the wig. It was a reference to private eyes. In the 1960s and early 1970s, private Continued next page Cinema Papers, July-August — 471

ALBIE THOMS

eyes made a lot of money mut of divorce raids. John’s character obviously had a more prosperous existence at that time, but now he was basically getting by on jobs like going out to communes and rescu­ ing daughters from Hare Krishnas.

So John came up with the wig idea to give the character vanity. He is trying to preserve his appearance, and to maintain a successful image, when in fact he is not.

As soon as John suggested that, I grabbed it, because I had already structured a wig into the plot with Paul (Bryan Brown) and Kate (Julie McGregor). Julie wears a wig in hei^ performance, and Bryan has to use that wig as part of his escape.

I suppose its something developed from Performance, where James Fox moved into a transexual world.

When Flaus came up with that, it just reinforced the parallels, and was a very good dramatic device to suggest the failure of his male image. When he gets home, off it comes, and his persona is exposed.

The main characters in the surf scene appeared conscious of feminism, but very chauvinist in behavior . ..

If you look at that small sub­ culture, the contradictions are very pronounced. It’s a very sexist sub­ culture, which tries to claim some sort of superior position relative to other sub-cultures within the society. But it has no superior characteristics at all.

The “hipper than thou” syndrome. I detected a similar attitude in the drug scenes. The male cameraderie, the search for $1000 worth of acid, and the conversations which take place. And when they go into the surf shop and start a normal con­ versation^ but quickly drop into a kind of codified language in an attempt to find the source. A predominantly male language . . .

That’s the chauvinistic element.

He’s quite happy to dob in the American, but he would never have dobbed in his mate. He is quite happy if it’s a Yank. And he’s not even cautious enough to protect the girl. In fact, it’s part of the process, and she gets caught as well, which he hadn’t engineered and hadn’t thought about. She’s just somebody he’s used. He fucked her, but he is contemptuous of her next day on the beach, and Finds it hard to believe that she is actually going to come up with the acid. After all, she’S only 16, how would she know? #It also occurs in the relationship between Nick and Joe . . .

That’s also translated into class terms, because Nick is now living at Palm Beach. He has sort of made it, while Joe is still on the southside, crawling around. N ick’s attitude is: “ Can’t you get it together? Are you always going to be coming up and getting in the 472 — Cinema Papers, July-August

make it, on the basis that nobody wants to see it. But, if you total up The surf scene is also put under the all the other so-called commercial features you find that no one microscope . .. wanted to see them either!

There has been a massive I wanted to show how the surfing industry has affected those rejection of the majority of Aust­ northern beaches, and how a lot of ra lia n film s by A u stra lia n suburbs, to some extent depend on audiences, and a lot of money could the surf scene. It provides work, have been saved by not making money, board shops, health food those films. Some of that could stores, magazines and cinemas. The have been given to make more whole economy is built around creative films, which, by the nature something that in the beginning of their bold attempts, have some everyone was very sceptical of. chance of breaking through.

What was once regarded as having no social usefulness now provides a I think there is a great prejudice and lot of employment, and is very reluctance towards doing that. It involves a lot of different elements, important to the area.

The surfing films are another not just money. You make it sound important part of the industry, and like a business proposition to look at have been neglected for so long by experimental films in that way. But the film industry. They are quite the nature of the prejudice towards fascinating, and there are so many experimental film is emotional and of them made. They reflect the intellectual, as well as economic . .. times and the lifestyle of the period.

But it reflects bad business When people talk about Aust­ ralian cinema, they forget that for a management. If you look at other long time the surf films were the industries, they are always experi­ Australian cinema. All through the menting and trying out ideas; 1960s, when there were no films devoting a lot of their budget to it.

How many records are produced being made, surf films were at their relative to the ones that are success­ height. ful? In Australia we only get the best films from the rest of the TH E AU STR A LIA N world.

We assume that’s all they FILM C O M M ISSIO N ever do. You forget how much stuff You spent a year as the project they churn out to get those good officer for the AFC’s Experimental ones. I’ve been in commercial Film Fund. How did you find this cinemas in Paris, Rome, and Berlin where experimental films are tried experience? out. People are given a chance to I was always very critical of the look at them. German television Experimental Film Fund. It was also shows an enormous amount of seen as a way of funding people to that material. evolve into the m ass-m arket commercial feature area. I thought How did you find working with the the premises were completely AFC assessors? wrong. The best way to make those Most of the time, I had no sort of films is train people on the confidence in their assessments. spot, in the industry. Work on the floor and do an apprenticeship, like They were often based on, factors quite extraneous to the proposition any commercial art.

But I guess it is different in film. being offered. The “little battlers” What people think is commercial, got money, regardless of whether doesn’t always turn out to be. Aust­ there was a film there.

Another favorite was, “ Is it good ralia is a great example of that. for his/her development at this About $30 million has been spent in the past 10 years making so-called stage?” Who are they to know all commercial features, and at the this sort of stuff? They are most $3 million making so-called employed to tell you whether it is a experimental films. But on a cost to good idea for a film or not.

Most of the time they didn’t even, return ratio, the experimental films confront that. It was all the other have made much more money than the so-called commercial ones. factors th a t. they were talking There has been so little return on about! “ What was the budget?” films that were made only because “ Do you think you can do it on that they were meant to be commercial. budget?” “ How are you going to do And money has been skimped on it?” “ What sort of techniques are the area of creative filmmaking on you going to use?”

It’s pretty“ hard when you get the basis that it is non-commercial.

I think there is a bit of a con going assessment systems like that.

Perhaps you need producers who on there. like a project, get involved in it, and make it happen. This before-theWhat sort of con? event examination works you over, If you argue that your film has a so you are almost fucked by the mass-market, you can ask for time you get to start the film.

Most of the time I found asses­ $500,000 and get it, regardless of whether or not the film turns out to sors really wanted to see the film be commercial. If you claim your before they funded it. One of the film is experimental you are only things they were really good at was allowed a tiny amount of money to assessing double-head cuts, rather way?”

than scripts and treatments. On a script assessment you’d get long pauses, dull silences and looks of confusion. But if you show them a double-head, then they say, “yes” or “no” , “good” or “bad” , “This is what’s wrong with it”, etc. That is a terrific way of assessing films, but somehow you have to get them to that stage.

SYDNEY F ILM M A K E R S CO-OP How do you view the development of the underground from the UBU days to the Co-op?

The Co-op is now a firmly rooted organization, but it has developed gradually. No Maoist coups, no purges, or anything like that.

There were lots of films made in the early 1960s that had no way of being distributed, and something had to be established. We tried a co-operative effort as opposed to setting up a company. We believed the 'film makers should control distribution. They weren’t badly made films, but the way they were being presented to audiences didn’t do them justice. And there was no f a ith in th e c o n v e n tio n a l distribution outlets.

No one wanted Australian films at all in those days, so it was a priority for me, and the UBU group, to set something up. We were able to give help to people like Peter Weir with his first film, and Jim Sharman on his — which was an avant-garde film.

Phil Noyce is totally a product of the Co-op. When he was a school kid, he saw a program of our films.

He liked mine so much that he went back to his school and arranged a screening to raise money for the .Aboriginal University Scholar­ ships, or something like that.

I was very impressed by his enthusiasm and got him involved in the Co-op. He eventually became the manager. All the films he saw there shaped his filmmaking enormously. The value of it as a resource for people, to express themselves and learn about things, is very important.

NEW PRO JECT Are you working on a new project?

The next film I want to do is about living in the city, about night­ life and cultural aspirations — a bohemian sort of thing. A film that comes to mind is that very early Jacques Rivette, Paris Belongs To Us. I saw it so long ago, but it sticks in my mind.

The new film has been coming to me in grabs and starts. It still isn’t very clear. I don’t know how films come into my head. They come like dreams, but they never come as whole films. They 'get pieced together over periods of time. ★

m

Basil Gilbert

■

WÊ

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Books on the Film Against the Wind by Richard Butler, Melbourne, Corgi, 1978

The ‘renaissance’ of the Australian film industry, which began in the late 1960s and has continued throughout the 1970s, has precipitated a growing interest in the study of Australian film and television in secon­ dary and tertiary institutions throughout the country, as well as overseas.

This has led to the publication, and production of study materials, including monographs, sem inar papers, film and television scripts, literary sources, study guides and ' kits, archive documentation material, film periodicals, articles in non­ specialist publications, biographical studies, ethnic studies, manuals on practical filmmaking, university theses, overseas reports, and reviews of Australian films.

• Films listed in bibliographies are no longer referred to as “ Fine A rt” , but as “ Cinema, Australian” .

This introductory guide to some of the study materials available in Australia is only a sample. A more comprehensive account will be published by Cinema Papers at a later date.

Alvin Rides Again, Sydney, Horwitz, 1974 Blue Fin by Colin Thiele, Adelaide, Rigby, 1978

Donnan, Noel — Brodie's Notes on Ronald Me K ies The Mango Tree, Sydney, Pan Books, 1977, Dixon, John — Brodie’s Notes on David William­ son's The Removalists, Sydney, Pan Books, 1977.

Blue Fire Ladv by Jean Dixon, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1977

Else, Eric — The Back o f Beyond: A Compilation bv Eric Else fo r use in studying John Heyer’s film o f Inland Australia, London, Longmans, 1968.

Break o f Day by Cliff Green, Sydney, Hodder & Stoughton, 1976

National Film Archive

Baxter, John — The Australian Cinema, Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1970 (Pacific Books).

7. Resources

Reade, Eric — The A ustralian Screen: A Pictorial History o f Australian Film-making, Sydney, Lans­ downe, 1976.

Buesst, Nigel (comp.) — Melbourne Filmmakers Resource Book, Melbourne, Association of Independent Filmmakers, 1979.

Reade, Eric — A ustralian Silent Films: A Pictorial History o f Silent Films from 1896 to 1929, Melbourne, Lansdowne, 1970.

Dawson, Jan — A Report on Information Resources, Publications and Distribution and Ex­ hibition Services, Melbourne, Australian Film In­ stitute, 1976.

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, Melbourne, Penguin Books, 1978

The National Film Archive, National Library of Australia, Canberra, maintains a comprehensive collection of documentation material related to films and the film industry, for the use of research students. The Australian material is particularly impressive, and includes about 50,000 stills and lobby cards, mainly from features and on per­ sonalities, and to a lesser extent shorts, documen­ tary, and television stills.

There is a collection of about 1100 Australian posters, comprising old and new day-bills, onesheeters, a few three-sheeters and non-standard size posters. The Archive also holds a collection of publicity material, largely dealing with Australian contemporary features, documentaries and shorts, as well as a small collection of unpublished scripts of Australian features, and some television series.

There is also a file of newspaper clippings on Australian film and television, and a collection of Australian film festival programs and clippings.

About 14,000 titles on film and videotape in­ clude material dating from 1896 to the present day: 200 feature films; 3000 issues of Cinesound Review, Australian Movietone News and other newsreels; hundreds of documentary and actuality films; television series and shows; commercials; and fic­ tion films. Audio materials available include the tapes of interviews with Australian film per­ sonalities conducted by Cinema Papers.

For more information, the following brochures are available from the archive: National Film Archive (printed folded sheet); Use o f the Docum entation C ollection, three pages; A Chronological List o f Australian Feature Films held in the National Film Archive, October 1976, nine pages, 168 titles listed; Footage Service, two pages. Inquiries should be directed to: Film Archive Reference Officer, National Film Archive, National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra, A.C.T. 2600. Tel: (062) 62 1359.

Note: The video and sound tapes of the Film Pioneers Project, organized by the Australian Film Commission and the Australian Film and Televi­ sion School (consisting of interviews with 35 Australian film pioneers — actors, writers, producers, directors, technicians) are also deposited with the National Film Archive.

The Picture Show Man by Lyle Penn, Melbourne, Thomas Nelson, 1977

Australian Film Periodicals

Performing Arts Yearbook o f Australia, Sydney, Showcast Publications, 1979.

The Removalists by David Williamson, Sydney, Currency, 1972

8. Television history

Ride a Wild Pony by James Aldridge, Melbourne, Penguin Books, 1975

The Chant o f Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally, Sydney, Collins, 1978 Dimboola by Tim Robertson, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1978 Don’s Party by David Williamson, Sydney, Currency, 1973 Dot and the Kangaroo by Ethel Pedley, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1978 Eliza Fraser by Kenneth Cook, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1976 End Play by Russell Braddon, Melbourne, Thomas Nelson, 1975 The Getting o f Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson, Melbourne, Heinemann, 1977 The Irishman by Elizabeth O’Connor, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1977 Journey Am ong Women by Diana Fuller, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1977 The Last Wave by Petru Popescu, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1977 Let the Balloon Go by Ivan Southall, Melbourne, Penguin Books, 1972

Monographs and Papers It is not possible to list the hundreds of monographs and papers that have been published on the Australian film and television industry, Australian films, and educational aspects of film and television study. The following is a highly selective sample. The authoritative source for Aus­ tralian publications is the Australian National Bibliography (see ‘Bibliography’), and for the current availability of texts, the reader is referred to Australian Books in Print 1979.

1. Australian film history

Reade, Eric — The Talkies Era: A Pictorial History o f Australian Sound Film-making, 19301960, Melbourne, Lansdowne, 1972.

Thoms, Albie — Polemics for a New Cinema, Sydney, Wild and Woollew, 1978.

Wasson, M. — The Beginnings o f Australian Cinema, Melbourne, Australian Film Institute, 1964.

2. Australian Film and Television School For a list of the extensive publications available, see the AFTVS Handbook 1978. Of particular in­ terest are thè Research Monographs available from the research and survey unit of the School.

Audio visual material available is listed in a b roch u re O pen P ro g ra m R e s o u r c e s , mimeographed, 8 pages, 1978.

3. Censorship Bertrand, Ina — Film Censorship in Australia, St. Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1978.

Bibliography.

4. Education Gross, Yoram — The First Animated Step, Sydney, Martin Educational, 1975.

Kennedy, K. — Film in Teaching, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1972.

The Meptia Centre Papers, Melbourne, La Trobe University, 1977. (Nos. 1-7 are reviewed in Cinema Papers, voi. 4, no. 14, October 1977, pp. 180-81).

Murray, John — The Box in the Corner, Melbourne, Georgian House, 1969.

Murray, John and Jan ette — In Focus, Melbourne, Georgian House, 1972.

Murray, John — Ten Lessons in Film Apprecia­ tion, Melbourne, Georgian House, 1972.

Perkins, William — Learning the Liveliest Arts: The Critical Enjoyment o f Films and Television, Sydney, 1972.

South Australia. Dept, of Education. Film Study Courses, Adelaide, 1971.

Tulloch. John (ed.) — Conflict and Control in the

Cinema: A R eader in Film and S ociety, Melbourne, Macmillan, 1977. (Ch. 16 is devoted to aspects of Australian feature filmmaking.)

Mad Dog Morgan by Bob Ellis and Anne Brooksbank, London, Transworld, 1976

5. Personalities

The Mango Tree by Ronald McKie, Sydney, Fon­ tana, 1975

Porter, Hal — Stars o f Australian Stage and Screen, Adelaide, Rigby, 1965.

The M on ey M overs by Devon Melbourne, Hutchinson, 1978

6. Posters

Newsfront by Robert Macklin, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1978

Adamson, Judith — Australian Film Posters 19061960, Melbourne, Australian Film Institute, 1978.

(See also ‘National Film Archive’).

Hall, Sandra — Supertoy: 20 years o f Television, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1976.

McCallum, Mungo (ed.) — Ten Years o f Televi­ sion, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1968.

McQueen, Humphrey — Australia's Media Monopolies, Melbourne, Widescope, 1977.

9. Women and media Women and the Media: The Professional Par­ ticipation o f Women in the Audio-visual Media: Film. Radio and Television, Sydney, Australian Film and Television School, 1976.

Film and Television Scripts Humphries, Barry — Barry McKenzie Holds his Own: An Original Photoplay, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1974.

Green, Cliff — Picnic at Hanging Rock: A Film.

Melbourne, Cheshire, 1975.

Dingwall, John — Sunday Too Far Away, Melbourne, Heinemann, 1978.

McFarlane, Peter (comp.) — The Projected Muse: Extracts from Six Australian Film Scripts (Picnic at Hanging Rock; Caddie; Storm Boy; The Devil’s Playground; The Fourth Wish; The Cars That Ate Paris), Adelaide, Rigby, 1977.

M inchin,

The Night The Prowler by Patrick White, Melbourne, Penguin Books, 1977 The Overlanders by Dora Birtles, London, Shakespeare Head, 1947 Patrick by Keith Hetherington, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1978

In Search o f Anna by Esben Storm, Melbourne, Widescope, 1978 The Siege o f Pinchgul by George Kay, London, Landsborough, 1960 The Squatter's Daughter by Charles Melaun, Sydney, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., 1933 Storm Boy by Colin Thiele, Adelaide, Rigby, 1976 Sunday Too Far A way by John Dingwall, Melbourne, Heinemann, 1978 The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, Sydney, Harper & Row, 1977 Thoroughbred by Edmond Seward, Sydney, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., 1936 Tim by Colleen McCullough, Sydney, Pan Books, 1978 Two Minutes Silence by Leslie Haylen, Sydney, Macquarie Head, 1933 Two Thousand Weeks by Tim Burstall and Patrick Ryan, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1968

Current Australian film periodicals include Australian Journal o f Screen Theory: Cantrill’s Film Notes: Cinema Papers: Federation News: Film Index: Film news: Metro: Movie News-, and Movie 79.

For critical comment on and profiles of these journals, and on 52 out-of-print Australian jour­ nals, refer: G ilbert, Basil — “ Film P eriodicals: A Historical Survey: Part 4: Australia 1918 - 1969”, Cinema Papers, vol. 5, no. 18, October/November 1978, pp. 121; 163 and “Film Periodicals: A Historical Survey: Part 5: Australia 1970 - 1978” , Cinema Papers, vol. 6, no. 19, January/February 1979, pp. 196-7.

Articles on Australian Film in Non-specialist Journals This is a brief survey of articles on Australian film in chronological order. For a comprehensive list, refer to the sources listed under the heading ‘Bibliography’.

Hall, K.G. — “Why is there no Australian film in­ dustry?”, Masque, vol. 1, November/December 1967, pp. 24-8.

Walkabout by James Marshall, Melbourne, Penguin Books, 1971

Hall, K.G. and Thornhill, M. — “The Australian film industry observed”, Masque, vol. 1, May/June 1968, pp. 4-11.

Study Guides and Kits

Ellis, R. — “Two Thousand Weeks”, Walkabout, no. 35, February 1969, pp. 12-15.

Jones, Ian and Bronwyn Binns — Against the Wind (episodes 1, 8, 13), Melbourne, Heinemann, 1979.

Lane, Richard (ed.) — Take One: A Selection o f Award-winning Australian Radio and Television Scripts, Milton, Jacaranda, J972.

Reid, Don and Frank Bladwell (eds.) — In Focus: Scripts from Commercial Television's Second Decade, Melbourne, Macmillan, 1972.

For a comprehensive survey of film study guides and kits see “ Film Study Resources Guide”, Cinema Papers, vol. 6, January/February 1979, pp. 231; 240. The Film in Focus, Course 3, Australian Cinema, has now been published and has study guides on: The Getting of Wisdom by Elizabeth Jones: The Last Wave, Mouth to Mouth, Newsfront, Storm Boy by Barbara Boyd; and Sun­ day Too Far Away by John Benson and Imre Hollosy. See also: ^

Reid, Don and Frances de Groen (eds.) — Zoom In: Television Scripts o f the Seventies, Melbourne, Macmillan, 1977.

Dixon, John — Brodie's Notes on Thomas Keneally’s The Chant o f Jimmie Blacksmith, Sydney, Pan Books, 1977.

“ More news concerning the world’s first feature movie (1899): Australia’s Soldiers of the Cross” , Australian Photography, no. 20, February, 1969, p. 38.

“The good old days of Aussie films”, Walkabout, no. 36, August 1970, pp. 49-53.

Strange,. D. —• “Walkabout: a 16-week safari through the modern dreamtime”. Walkabout, no.

37, August 1971, pp. 8-15.

Concluded on P. 476 Cinema Papers, July-August — 473

Audiovision Pty Ltd

Perth Institute of Film and Television (Inc.)

15 Denny Way Alfred Cove, WA, 6154 Telephone: (09) 330 5070 Contact: Darryl Binning

South Australia Film Corporation

92 Adelaide St, Fremantle, WA, 6160 Telephone: (09) 335 1055 Contact: Paul Barron

------------ ------------'____________________________________

64 Fullarton Rd, Norwood, SA, 5067 Contact: Mike Rowan

Tasmanian Film Corporation

Bilcop Productions Pty Ltd

1 Bowen Rd, Moonah, Tas., 7009 Telephone: (002) 30 3531 Contact: Don Donleavy

Crawford Productions

B & C Movie Rentals and Sales Division 30 Inkerman St St Kilda, Vic., 3182 Telephone: (03) 534 4883 Contact: Trevor Pope

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Cnr Campbell and Reserve Rds, Artarmon, NSW, 2064 Telephone: (02) 439 8387' Contact: Oscar Scherl

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Samuelson Film Service (Aust.) Ltd

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8 Dungate Lane, Sydney, NSW, 2000 Telephone: (02) 26 1981 Contact: Rick Smith

This is the third part of an occasional series on services and facilities available to producers in the Australian film and television industry. The companies included in this survey are either exclusively in the business of equipment rental or production companies which have an equipment rental division.

27 Sirius Rd, Lane Cove, NSW, 2Ó66 Telephone: (02) 428 5300 Contact: Paul Harris

Equipment Rentals

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Services and Facilities Guide

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GUIDE FOR THE FILM PRODUCER

Guide for the Film Producer Continued from P. 441 Fourthly, as the Division applies to legal or equitable interests in copyright, it seems that in the situation where a Film producer is a trustee, double deductions may be available. Thus the trustee may be able to obtain a deduction in respect of the production moneys expended on acquiring a legal interest in the film copyright, while the investors obtain deductions in respect of their subscriptions to acquire their equitable interests. It seems unlikely that this result was intended by the legislators.

Finally, unless the copyright is in a certified Australian film, the available write-off under Division 10B is spread over the whole life of the copyright interest (up to a maximum of 25 years); though this is subject to the ability to write-off the full residual value in the year of Final disposal of the interest.

Certification of an Australian Film The two-year write-off under the amend­ ments to Division 10B is not available in respect of a film that was marketed before November 22, 1977. Nor is it available in respect of any copyright other than that in an Australian film.

It therefore does not apply to the costs of various ancillary rights that a producer commonly ac­ quires in the course of producing a film, e.g. rights in the film script, in the music, in the stills and in a ‘book of the film’. These are distinct copyrights, and the producer must separate their costs from the film cost for tax purposes.

The copyright interest must be in respect of an Australian film as defined, i.e. (apart from films made pursuant to inter-government arrange­ ments) a film that the Minister for Home Affairs certifies has been, or is to be, made wholly or substantially in Australia or in an Australian ex­ ternal territory, and has, or will have, a signifi­ cant Australian content.

In considering whether a film has or will have such content, the Minister must have regard to

“(a) The subject matter of the Film; (b) the place or places where the film was or is to be made; (c) the nationalities and places of residence of — (i) the persons who took part, or are to take part, in the making of the Film (including authors, composers, actors, scriptwriters, editors, producers, direc­ tors and technicians); (ii) the persons who are, or will be, the beneficial owners of the shares or stock in the capital of any company con­ cerned in the making of the Film; and (iii) the persons who are, or will be, the beneficial owners of the copyright in the Film; (d) The source from which moneys used, or to be used, in the making of the film were, or will be derived; and (e) any other matters that he considers to be relevant” .

The wording on the Department’s form of application for a certificate is reproduced below (see box), but this may be revised from time to time.

According to the Minister’s office, since the amendments took effect in early December 1978, up to the first week in June 1979, no appli­ cations were rejected, about 36 films (including films for television) were certified, and many other applications are being processed.

Some producers have complained of delays in having their applications considered. It appears that, initially at least, the Department pro­ cessed applications one at a time in order of receipt, with the result that straightforward, properly completed applications were held up while earlier, more difficult or incomplete appli­ cations were being dealt with.

The Department is unofficially quoting a pro­ cess time of between two and four weeks after lodgement of a properly completed application.

The Department points out that many delays are due to failure to complete the application form fully and accurately. It appears that some appli­ cants just don’t read the instructions.

Concluded on P. 478

D E P A R T M E N T OF HOM E A F FA IR S IN C O M E T A X A S S E S S M E N T ACT 1 9 3 6 SE C TIO N 1 2 4 K ( 1 ) A P P L IC A T IO N FOR C E R T IF IC A T E 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Title of film:1 Description of film:2 Name of applicant:3 Business address of applicant: Telephone number: Application lodged on behalf of:4 Address of production entity: Date of first use of the film for income-producing pur­ poses:5 8A. Outline the subject matter of the film so as to give a description of its contents and its non-Australian dimensions, if any, and, in addition, state the source material6 and whether it is of Australian origin: 9. Name the place or places where the film was, or is to be, made and provide details of activities which have taken or will take, place outside of Australia or its ex­ ternal Territories together with details of the duration of the work involved and its approximate cost in rela­ tion to the total cost of the film7 and8: 10. Give the number and category of persons who took part, or are to take part, in the making of the film (including authors, composers, actors, scriptwriters, editors, producers, directors and technicians) who are (a) permanent residents of Australia and (b) citizens of Australia.

Where those taking part are not permanent residents a n d citizens of Australia give (i) name; (ii) category; (iii) place of residence; and (iv) nationality.

11. Give the name, nationality and place of residence of the persons10who are, or will be, the beneficial owners of the shares or stock in the capital of any company concerned in the making of the film and the percent­ age of their interest8 and11: * 12. Give the name, nationality and normal place of resid­ ence of the persons10 who are, or will be, the bene-

13.

14.

ficial owners of the copyright in the film 8: Give the source from which moneys used, or to be used, in the making of the film were, or will be, derived and if moneys are to be provided by an overseas source, indicate whether funds recouped from the film have been, or are to be, repatriated to another country: Provide any further information that could réasonably be regarded as relevant to the Minister when deter­ mining whether a film is to be classed as an “ Austra­ lian Film" including studios, production houses and laboratories commissioned to provide services to the film 8; contractual arrangements and whether agree­ ment has been reached with industry trade unions and associations in the employment of non-Australians in the making of the film 8: Signature of Applicant Date

FOOTNOTES 1. This title will appear on the certificate, if issued.

2. Nominate feature film, television program, documentary, spon­ sored film for promotional use, or other most suitable brief descrip­ tion.

3. The person authorized by the production entity to lodge the application and provide full Information to the Minister or a person delegated to act on the Minister’s behalf.

4. Name of production entity. This name will appear on the certificate, if issued.

5. Certification is not applicable to an Australian film that was used for income-producing purposes before November 22, 1977.

6. State whether the film is based on an original idea, a book, a play or other work or subject matter.

7. Name the country or territory, not towns. The external Territories of Australia include the Territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keel­ ing) islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Nor­ folk Island, Heard and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

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Strand Electric have a full range of lighting and control equipment suitable for small displays, schools and non-professional theatre performance requirements up to the largest television and professional theatre and film requirements.

Included in our range of equipment are:

Memory Lighting Control Systems 2 to 10 kW Dimmers A hill range o( flank Strand Electric Theatre Spotlights A full range of Quartzcoior Rim and Television Luminaires Pani HMI Projectors and Follow Spots Arriflex HMI Fresnel Spotlights Light fantastics disco lighting effects Our staff are available to advise you in selecting the m ost suitable equipment.

Please call or w rite to any of the addresses below.

A DIVISION OF

R A IM K A U S T R A L IA

PROFESSIONAL. SERVICES GROUP

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12 Barcoo Street, East Roseville, Sydney 2069.

Phone 406 6176 60 Rosebank Ave, Clayton South, Vic 3169 Telephone 541 8502 299 Montague Road, West End, Brisbane 4101.

Telephone 44 2851 101-105 Mooringe Avenue, Camden Park, SA 5038.

Telephone 294 6555 430 Newcastle Street, Perth 6000.

Phone 328 3933 120 Parry Street, Newcastle 2300.

Phone 26 2466

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Cinema Papers, July-August — 475

FILM STUDY RESOURCES GUIDE

STAX •

Stax

Continued from P. 420 About five per cent of the program is being shot on film, mainly for the animation and pixillation sequences. Film material is mostly dubbed onto 3/4-inch tape for high-band editing, then dubbed to the one-inch format.

Adjacent to the main studio at Open Channel, a separate audio control booth is used to mix the program onto three tracks.

This facility will be expanded with the arrival of new equipment, and the mixing will be done onto seven tracks.

In the studio, the production utilizes a vision mixer and two helical scan videotape recorders, which, production manager Vince O’Donnell believes, provide the same capability as an op­ tical film laboratory — at a substantially reduced cost.

O’Donnell says he doesn’t have any problem keeping within the budget for the series. If someone on the production team wants to do a story that is expensive, it is a matter of assess­ ing the impact of the segment against its cost.

The highest expenditure for the show is on the animation, and effects sequences. Studio sets and props are relatively simple, and the children Resources Guide

Continued from P. 473 Streer, G. and D. Strange — “The heroes — and the villains” (chronicle of Australia’s film in­ dustry), Walkabout, no. 38, November 1971, pp.

23-4.

“How to finance high risk ventures, Rydges, no.

46, March 1973, pp. 110-12.

Pike, Andrew — “ Early, Commercial — and Good Film” , Hemisphere, vol. 20, no. 1, January 1976, pp. 2-9.

P ik e, Andrew — “ Film R e n a iss a n c e ’’, Hemisphere, vol. 20, no. 9, September 1976, pp. 210.

Pike, Andrew — “Australian cinema and society: Some thoughts on the films of Harry Watt”,7owrnal o f the A.C.T. Teachers’ Association, June 1977, Burstall, Tim — “Triumph and disaster for Australian films”. The Bulletin, August 24, 1977.

Lewis, Glen — “Two too honest films” (Love Let­ ters from Teralba Road; Queensland), Overland, no. 71, 1978, pp. 42-3.

Spence, J.J. — “ Films: at last a look at contem.porary society”, Rydges, no. 51, June 1978, pp.

189; 191.

Pearse, Louise — “An interview with Andrew Vial” (discusses Dreams; Catapult; No Bag Limit; Ack Ack Girl; Avalanche), Passing Show, vol. 6, June 30, 1978, pp. 10-13.

Kershaw, Nigel — “Two steps to the top” (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith), Pol, July/August 1978, p. 76-78.

Daniels, Kay and Mary Murnane — “The last Tasmanians are alive and wejl, Nation Review, July 28 - August 3, 1978, p. 10.

Morris, Elwyn — “Sex and the Australian movie”, Cosmopolitan, September 1978, pp. 142-145; 148.

Byrnes, Frank — “The silent films of my boyhood” , Quadrant, vol. 22, October 1978, pp.

56-58.

Connolly, Keith — “ Australian scenes and scenarios”, Overland, no. 71, 1978, pp. 47-52.

Biography Chauvel, *Elsa — M y Life with Charles Chauvel, Sydney, Shakespeare Head Press, 1973.

Hall, Kenneth — Directed by Ken G. Hall: Autobiography o f an Australian Film-maker, Melbourne, Lansdowne, 1977.

Jeffrey, B. — “ Hi-ho Boomerang!” (Career of Australian actor “Snowy” Baker), Walkabout, vol. 38, May 1972, pp. 52-53.

Johnson, Patricia — “The Women Behind Australian Movies” (Gil Armstrong, Sar Bennett, Pat Fiske, Denise White, Sonia Hofman), Cosmopolitan, July 1978, pp. 68-69; 130.

Moore, John — The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1975. “ Introducing . . . Peter Weir: director”, Cinema Australia, vol. 1, March 1976.

AKo — Cinema Papers, July-August

g £ | | Jackie Fisher rehearses for a pixillation sequence in Stax.

and workshop tutors often work together on making suitable props.

Future Directions For OOP The contribution of Stax to children’s television is substantial, but its success will rest on viewer acceptance. Pressure groups, such as the Australian Children’s Television Action Committee, have been campaigning for 18 months to raise the standards of children’s tele­ vision. Many of their aims are closely aligned to

“ Introducing Philippe Mora: director”, Cinema Australia, vol. 1, April 1976.

Walker, Katherine — “Admirable Pigheadedness” (on Australian actor Peter Finch), Hemisphere, vol. 21, no. 3, March 1977, pp. 23-28.

Browne, Lindsay — “Peter Finch”, Hemisphere, vol. 21, no. 3, March 1977, pp. 28-9.

Aboriginals Dunlop, Ian (comp.) — Retrospective Review of Australian Ethnographic Films, 1901-1967, com­ piled for the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Sydney., Australian Commonwealth Film Unit, 1967.

Pike, Andrew — “Aboriginals in Australian Feature Films” , Meanjin Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 4, December 1977 (reprinted in Metro “Australian Film Special” no. 44, Winter 1978, pp. 15-18).

Foley, Gary (ed.) — “ Racism in Swinburne Film and TV Course”, Maureena (Aboriginal student newspaper), vol. 3, no. 3, August 1978. “ Black Australian Films Success at Cannes”, Filmnews, vol. 8, August 1978, pp. 7; 14.

Hughes, John — “ Interview with Garey Foley on Jimmie Blacksmith”, Nation Review, September 1-7, 1978, p. 21.

Practical Filmmaking in Australia Fist, Stewart — Filmmaking, Sydney, R.J. Cleary, 1972.

Haines, Peter — In the Picture: Films and Filmmaking, Melbourne, Cassell, 1974.

Hill, Herb — So You Want to Make Home Movies, Sydney, Ure Smith, 1973.

Levy, Wayne and Richard Franklin — Fred Ott sneezes for Edison: An Introduction to Film and Filmmaking, Sydney, Methuen, 1976.

Thomas, Warren — Film in English: A Discussion o f the Approach to Film and Photography at Dandenong Technical School, Melbourne, Publications Branch, Education Dept, of Victoria, 1974.

Theses In the coming years, there will be an increasing number of undergraduate and post-graduate theses produced by film and television students in Australian tertiary institutions. The major sources for information on unpublished studies are Media Information Australia and Union List o f Higher Degree Theses in Australian University Libraries (see ‘Bibliography’).

Information on theses in preparation could be obtained by applying to the institutions listed in the publication by the Australian Film.and Television School, Microfiche Listing o f Media Courses in Tertiary Education, 1978, which names 94 institu­ tions in Australia conducting media courses.

The following is a sample of several unpublished post-graduate theses on film and media: Cooper, Ross — “And the Villain Still Pursued Her’’: Origins o f Film in Australia, 1896-1913.

A.N.U. Canberra,'1971.

Pike, Andrew — The History o f the Australian

the concept and guidelines for the Stax program.

Across a broad spectrum, Bob Weis feels that there is a consumer-led demand for more local product, as seen by the success of such shows as Cop Shop, which now out-rates the Americanproduced Starsky and Hutch. Despite the substantially lower budgets of local shows, they are proving as popular with Australian viewers as the overseas programs they compete with, which have higher budgets, but which are bought relatively cheap by the stations.

Weis believes television has come of age in Australia, and that the local producers have the talent, the ideas and the professionalism required for quality programming. However, like their overseas counterparts, our local pro­ ducers need to have more scope, more room to experiment, and to develop professionally — even if this sometimes involves failure to realize a more mature range of television production.

Only then will the industry adequately reflect the multi-faceted nature of contemporary Aus­ tralian society, its needs, aspirations, and its interests.

Stax is a step in this direction. It is a unique experiment which sets new standards in what has been a neglected area of network programming.

Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-1970, A.N.U. Canberra, 1972.

Cook, John — Government Regulation o f the Media in Australia, School of Humanities, Flinders University, S.A. 1978.

Overseas Reports and Reviews Higham, C. — “Australian Blues”, Sight and Sound, vol. 39, no. I, Winter 1969-70, pp. 15-16.

Collier, C. — “Australian retrospective”. Films in Review, no. 22, June 1971, pp. 383-4.

Baxter, J. —’ “Australian Revival?”, Sight and Sound, vol. 42, no. 2, Spring 1973, pp. 87-88.

Page, D. — “The Australian Film Industry” , Australia Now, (Australian Information Service, New York), no. 6, 1976, pp. 2-5.

Lightman, H.A. — “ Film-making ‘Down Under’ ”, American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 980-985; 1022-3; 1054-6. “ The ‘Film Australia’ Story” , Am erican Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 986-7.

James, P. — “The Photography of ‘Caddie’ ”, American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp.

988-9; 1018.

Appleby, B. — “Australia’s new Film and Televi­ sion School” , Am erican Cinem atographer, September 1976, pp. 992-4; 1041-49.

Watts, K. — “ How the Australian Film Commis­ sion stim ulates prod u ction ” , A m erican Cinematographer, September 1976, p. 995.

“The ‘new vintage’ cinematographers of Australia speak out” (Mike Malloy; Geoffrey Burton; Russ e ll B oyd ; P e te r J a m e s ) , A m e r ic a n Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 998-9; 1038-41.

Benson, B. — “The Panaflex Comes to Australia” , American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp.

1020-1; 1037.

Barry, J. — “Growing With the New Australian Film Industry”, American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 1024; 1030; 105L SamUelson, M. — “The Renaissance of Australian Film Production”, American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 1025-6.

Smeal, R. — “Anamorphic Film and Video com­ bined for Australian Commercials, American Cinematographer, September 1976, pp. 1028-9; 1052-3.

Bachmann, G. — “ Films in Australia”, Sight and Sound, vol. 46, no. 1, Winter 1976-7, pp. 32-6. “ In the Picture”, Sight and Sound, vol. 46, no. 3, Summer 1977, pp. 150-3. “ Special ^Report: Film in Australia” , The Hollywood Reporter, April 17, 1979, pp. 1-49.

“Walkabout” , Film Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 4, Sum­ mer 1973, p. 64.

Wilson, D. — “Swastika”, Sight and Sound, vol.

42, no. 3, Summer 1973, pp. 177-8.

Houston, P. — “ Picnic at Hanging Rock”, Sight and Sound, vol. 43, no. 3, Summer 1976, p, 149.

Dawson, J. — “ Picnic at Hanging Rock”, Sight and Sound, vol. 45, no. 2, Spring 1976, pp. 83; 961.

★

Milne.T. — “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, Sight and Sound, vol. 45, no. 4, Autumn 1976, p. 257.

Cook, P. — “ Fantasm”, Films in Review, vol. 28, December 1977, pp. 619-20.

Combs, R. — “ Last Wave, Sight and Sound, vol.

47, no. 2, Spring 1978, pp. 121-2.

Bibliographies Australian National Bibliography, National Library of Australia, Canberra, January 1961.

This is the most important bibliographical source for all books and pamphlets published in Australia since 1961. The Dewey Decimal Clas­ sification system was adopted from 1972, e.g.

Cinema is classified at 791.43; and Australian Fic­ tion at A823.3. There is also an author, title, and subject index.

A PAIS, Australian Public Affairs Information Service, National Library of Australia, Canberra.

An invaluable bibliographical resource for arti­ cles on films, directors, producers, actors, which have been published in Australia. There is a review of APAIS in Cinema Papers, vol. 5, no. 18, October/November 1978, p. 153.

Media Information Australia, Media Information Research Exchange, Australian Film and Televi­ sion School, Sydney.

A quarterly with reports on courses and con­ ferences, books, research in progress, surveys, research resources, international notes, and media briefs. Reviewed in Cinema Papers, vol. 5, no. 16, April/June 1978, p. 373; and vol; 5, no. 17, August/September 1978, p. 71.

Film Periodicals in the National Library of A u stralia, Canberra, National Library of Australia, 1976.

An 18-page bibliography, listing 604 titles of in­ ternational film journals held by the National Library of Australia, Canberra.

Serials in Australian Libraries: Social Sciences and Humanities (SALSSAH), National Library of Australia, Canberra.

This is a national union list, useful for locating film journals held in Australian libraries. There is a 1978 supplement available on microfiche.

Reis, Brian — Film: A Guide to Reference Books, Griffith University,Queensland, 1978.

A 25-page list, reviewed in Cinema Papers, vol.

5, no. 16, April/June 1978, p. 373.

Union List o f Higher Degree Theses in Australian University Libraries, Tasmania, University Library.

Gepp, Meryl — Australian Women, 1952 - March 1975: A Bibliography o f Articles on Women's Place in Australian Society, State Library of S o u th A u s t r a lia , R e fe r e n c e S e r v ic e s Bibliographies no. 2/75, Adelaide, Libraries Board of South Australia, 1975.

There is a useful section on women involved in mass media, pp. 41-42.

The Pinpointer, Adelaide, State Library of South Australia, vol. 1, no. 1 — January 1963 This lesser-known “current subject guide to pop­ ular literature” includes many references to the journal literature on amateur and sem i­ professionalfilmmaking published in Australia.^

SELLING NEWSFRONT

seven-day period the increase over the preceding period was more than $6000 for the one cinema.

In fact it would have been more, had it not been Continued from P. 439 for Hooper displacing Newsfront to City Cinema By the second week, Newsfront had improved 2. These figures are shown in Table B. to take $21,736 and displace The Goodbye Girl Apart from the discrepancy caused by the from the prime Cinema City 1 screen, which had reduced capacity house of the smaller theatre, 647 seats compared with Cinema City 2’s 414. the figures for the period immediately after the The third week was down to $17,531, but still Awards showed a marked increase over the up on The Picture Show Man (third week, down previous week. A corresponding increase was to $10,971), Storm Boy (down to $19,103) and experienced at Parramatta and Balgowlah, particularly Hooper (down to $20,752). where the film was also playing. By com­ parison, virtually all other films screened during The figures are summarized in Table Al. Newsfront had begun well. On some nights it the same period suffered the normal steady had even been doing turn-away business. In decline.

Parramatta, where it had opened simultan­ The takings in the fourth week rose to eously, the figures were sufficient to confirm the $21,289, which compared favorably with Storm Boy ($22,412), The Picture Show Man ($7926) film’s wide appeal.

The fourth week of Newsfront’s run was and Hooper ($10,549).

The figures are shown in Table A2 (an exten­ perhaps the most significant; not only did it con­ firm the film’s strong opening, but also sion of Table Al).

Selling N e w s fro n t

TABLE A1 «W EE K

N EW SFR O N T

1 2 3

P IC T U R E SHOW MAN

STORM BOY

HOOPER

$

$

$

$

18,846 21,736 17,531

11,567 16,831 10,971

20,848 20,355 19,103

31,418 29,776 20,752

* All figures are for a single Sydney theatre.

success in Sydney (as had been the case with The Picture Show Man) proved groundless. In fact, in the opening weeks, the film did even better business than in New South Wales, possibLy as a result of the AFI awards. In the first week it grossed $31,233 (cf Sydney $ 18,846), the second $31,250 (Sydney $21,736) and the third $23,591 (Sydney $17,531). Even in the ninth week, the figures were comparable — $13,069 (Sydney $14,353).

By December, Newsfront was still playing in a hardtop theatre, and was also released in Village’s extensive drive-in chain (though less satisfactorily).

The campaign was reproduced in varying degrees across Australia. In Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, the stars and principals assisted in the promotion. The film repeated excellent business wherever it was screened.

In Sydney, when Newsfront entered its 14th week, returns were down to $9000 (and technically approaching the house ‘nut’, and a loss for Village), so it was necessary to give the film a television ‘boost’. The figures immed­ iately reflected the power of television adver­ tising, and rose to $13,000 before settling down to around $10,000. The lift was enough to allow the film to continue until Christmas and the New Year. Although playing in smaller cinemas (and thus needing only to sustain a smaller margin) Newsfront was able to survive into the busy holiday period.

O verseas TABLE B W E E K (2)

W E E K (3)

W E E K (4 )

W E E K (5)

(Week beginning Thurs.3/8)

(Week beginning Thurs. 10/8)

(Week beginning Thurs. 17/8)

(Week beginning Thurs. 24/8)

CCI Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday W ednesday

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2325 3624 6015 3097 2252 1796 2295

CCI

CCI

CCI 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 192 20 21 22 23

1519 3602 5326 2161 1294 1408 2033

1884 2738 6023 2758 2315 2449 3010

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

2667 3409 45641 2814 2907 3764 3676

1. Capacity house smaller theatre 2. AFI Awards

TABLE A2 W EEK

4 5 6 7 8 9

N EW SFR O N T

P IC T U R E SHOW MAN

STORM BOY

HOOPER

$

$

$

$

21,289 22,829 18,016 13,631 11,332 14Ì353

7926 8623 9730 8017 7225 6260

22,412 27,583 15,923 8093 13,206 12,059

10,549 11,729 11,361 9388 6465 5213

presented a unique opportunity to examine the effect upon a film’s performance of the annual industry awards.

Since. Cannes, the successes of Newsfront at the Taormina and London festivals had kept the film gossip columns busy. And the film’s 14 nominations for the AFI awards had been incorporated in the advertising.

On August 19, Newsfront won eight AFI awards, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Achievement in Direction.

The effect on the box-office was staggering.

Within 48 hours the takings, on a day-to-day basis (compared with the previous week), had in­ creased 80 per cent, and within a week by as much as up to 150 per cent. In the subsequent

Roadshow’s overall interpretation was that Newsfront was proving a durable product, or, to use the industry term, had acquired ‘legs’.

In te rs ta te . The D eveloping Cam paign By mid-August, Newsfront was being prepared for Melbourne. Based on the Sydney success, the pattern was to remain virtually the same, except that all advertising would incor­ porate success in the AFI awards.

On August 24, Newsfront opened in Mel­ bourne. Early fears that the film would only be a

Since the Cannes Film Festival, the NSWFC, through David Roe, has been active in promoting Newsfront overseas. The atmosphere they helped create at Cannes, and the subsequent wire reports they encouraged, were responsible for the interest in Newsfront in Australia.

Similarly, when the film began accumulating awards and acclaim at various festivals and screenings around the world, it was the NSWFC who kept the wire services and the film world in­ formed.

Their efforts were not without reward. By April 1979, Newsfront had sold to Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, and Canada. Acting directly as distributors, the NSWFC secured a release in London’s Screen on the Hill, where the film did sell-out business.

In addition, the British television rights were sold to the BBC, aided by the successful theatrical release.

In almost all cases, the sales were facilitated by the initial festival successes, either at Cannes, or in individual countries, combined with the at­ tendant promotion and follow-up by the NSWFC, and principals David Elfick and Phillip Noyce.

Up to May 1, 1979, Newsfront had grossed $1,794,979 in Australia. The final return, together with ..monies derived from overseas sales, television and various 16mm rights, should make Newsfront one of the more successful Aus­ tralian releases of recent years.

S um m ary Newsfront is undoubtedly a well-made film which has appealed to a wide section of the Aus­ tralian public. It utilizes a unique format which combines authentic footage, with a dramatic narrative; it has humor, pathos, good perfor­ mances, and tight direction. Above all it is enter­ taining.

And the marketing of Newsfront is a good ex­ ample of a cost-effective campaign, profession­ ally conceived, vigorously prosecuted, with a certain element of fortuity shrewdly exploited.* Cinema Papers, July-August — 477

FILM AND TELEVISION TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA

GUIDE FOR THE FILM PRODUCER

G uide for the Film P ro d u ce r

Continued from P. 475 The information requested on the form is both comprehensive and technical, and a producer may benefit from professional assistance in fill­ ing it in.

A major difficulty, which has brought com­ plaint from producers, but which is inherent in the drafting of the Division 10B amendments un­ der which the Minister must operate, is that although in practice a producer needs to obtain, or be reasonably assured of, a certificate before he can interest prospective investors in his film, let alone produce the film, the application form calls for much information that cannot be known for certain until after the investment moneys have been obtained and the film pro­ duced.

The legislation does not empower the Minister to issue a provisional or interim certificate; and the Minister takes the view that he must have the information that he is required to have regard to, before he can certify. For example, the Depart­ ment insists that the beneficial owners of the film (i.e. film investors) be listed in the applica­ tion.

One solution suggested by the Department is that the producer can enter into contracts with investors, or obtain from them expressions of investment intent, subject to the Minister’s cer­ tificate being issued. Many producers, however, still find these suggestions unrealistic.

Unless a more convenient procedure can be worked out, producers may prefer — in the in­ terests of obtaining a certificate more quickly — to adopt the practice of nominating as film owner in their applications an Australian invest­ ment packager or intermediary, who will assign to the real investors later. Once the certificate is granted, its tax effect is not affected by assign­ ment of the whole or any part of the investors’ interests.

What is not clear, however, is whether the cer­ tificate may be invalidated by other subsequent changes in facts stated in the application form, e.g. the film title, or members of the cast and crew.

The Department’s current view is that it should be informed of such changes, but there is not yet any procedure for ratifying them with a further certificate.

The Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Ellicott, has not published any guidelines on how he Film Training Continued from P. 427

interprets the requirement that a film be sub­ stantially “ made” in Australia (does “ made” refer to each step in the production, or only to the final step?), or as to the relative weight given by him to the various matters that he must have regard to in determining significant Australian content.

Unofficially Mr Ellicott has shown that he takes a fairly broad and practical view of the commercial need for foreign elements to be incorporated in Australian film productions, and that he regards an unfettered discretionary ap­ proach to certification as in the best interests of the film industry for the time being.

Leverage Schemes Some film production structures offer in­ vestors tax deductions greater than the net amount of their personal investment contribu­ tion. For instance, if the investor borrows moneys and invests them in film production, he gets a greater deduction than he would have been able to from his own resources. The drawback with this scheme is the investor’s obligation to repay the loan, which could be very embar­ rassing if the investment proves a commercial failure.

Consequently, what is sometimes suggested is a ‘non-recourse’ loan, where the repayment obligation is conditional on the commercial suc­ cess of the investment. Such an arrangement can be further modified to allow for the fact that loan repayment is a capital outlay, whereas the investment proceeds are assessable income (e.g. by providing for the loan to be repaid after allowing for tax thereon, having regard to such deductions as are allowable in respect of the investment).

In practice, the organization making such a non-recourse loan has to be one which intends, anyway, to invest in the film, and to recoup its investment only out of the proceeds, and which is not concerned about obtaining a tax deduc­ tion for its investment.

In Australia, only the government film cor­ porations (which do not pay tax) answer this description. The Australian Film Commission, however, has refused to make non-recourse loans to private investors, and not all the state film corporations are willing to do so. Perhaps an overseas entity, such as a distributor, may be able and willing to do so.

Distribution of Trust Income A recent tax amendment, which all film pro­ ducers who are acting as trustees for investors should note, has had the effect of removing the exemption from tax of foreign income in the hands of trustees.

Previously, the liability of a trustee to pay tax on trust income undistributed at June 30, ap­ plied only to income from an Australian source.

Producer trustees could, therefore, safely retain foreign proceeds of a film past June 30, in order to provide for expected distribution expenses in the subsequent financial year. Now it has become necessary to account for and distribute all surplus trust income by the end of the finan­ cial year, if it is not to be taxed, at a 50 per cent rate, in the trustee’s hands. ★

their experience in developing playwrights for tion by making it more relevant to the practical the stage can, with appropriate training, be and creative problems facing film and television adapted for training scriptwriters for the com­ today. mercial film industry. Gil Brealey will be the ex­ Sources consulted ecutive producer of this course, assisted by pro­ ject officer Julia Overton.

Australian UNESCO Seminar Professional Training o f

Program activities from 1976-78 includes such areas as video for the community, make-up and prosthesis, management, regional television, portapak workshops, 16 mjn film workshops, N ational G raduate Diplom a advanced editing, law in relation to the media, Schem e children’s film and television seminars, exposure theory and lenses, animation, lighting, sound, One of the most recent, and exciting, AFTVS and camera assistants courses.

The Women’s Course, which began in Sydney Open Program innovations is the National in 1977, is one of the most successful Open Graduate Diploma Scheme, an idea which Programs. The intake is limited to 25 women aims, rather ambitiously, at co-ordinating and from the industry, and from women’s media extending tertiary media education on a organizations. The course is run over 12 weeks. nationwide basis. A wide range of media sub­ In 1978, the experiment was repeated in Mel­ jects are being taught within colleges and uni­ versities throughout Australia, and the concept bourne during September and October.

Another course that has been proposed is of allowing students from all states to have training in film direction for established stage multi-institutional access to existing tertiary directors. To date, most Australian film direc­ media subjects (practical and theoretical com-, tors have come from documentary filmmaking bined with supplementary courses, workshops or television, and the School has conducted ac- and seminars run by AFTVS, is an important tor/director workshops to supplement their educational innovation. With luck, the National experience. Now the reverse is to be attempted. Graduate Diploma Scheme will provide breadth As the American example has proved, theatre and variety for film and television teachers and directors can become good film directors, and practitioners, and also revitalize tertiary educa­ 478 — Cinema Papers, July-August

Another drawback of non-recourse loan struc­ tures is that, if over-used, they may be targets for anti-tax avoidance legislation, which may be retrospective.

A safer structure, which can provide an in­ vestor with many of the advantages of a non­ recourse loan, is the use of a limited partnership as the borrowing and investing entity. Within Australia, such a partnership may be formed in Queensland, Tasmania or Western Australia.

The investor, as a special or limited liability partner, is credited with his share of the total investment which includes the borrowed moneys, but (so long as the partnership carries on business in a certain way) has no liability for repayment beyond the amount of his invest­ ment and his share of any profits retained by the partnership. The loan repayment obligation is carried by the general partner or partners.

To ensure the limited liability of the special partners, the partnership must confine its business to jurisdictions which recognize limited partnerships, or else must insert in its contracts a clause limiting the special partners’ liability.

To set up such a structure depends on having general partners who are willing to undertake unlimited liability for the loan repayment.

To compensate for such liability the general partners may well seek special remuneration in the form of partnership or production manage­ ment fees. Care should be taken over this, as such fees may be non-tax deductible for the partnership.

Film and Television Scriptwriters, Producers and Directors, Canberra, 1969.

Reports of the Interim Council for a National Film and Television Training School, Canberra November 1970, and Parliamentary Papers nos. 71 and 72.

Annual Report o f the Interim Council 1971-72, Depart­ ment of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts, Canberra, 1972.

The Film and Television School, Annual Reports 1973 — The Film and Television School Newsletter, no. 1, May 1974-— Australian Film and Television School, External Courses 1977-1978, Sydney, 1978 Australian Film and Television School, Handbook 1978 (ed. J.J. Howard), Sydney, 1978. (Revised edition in preparation).

Appleby, Basil — “ Australia’s New Film and Television School” , American Cinematographer, vol. 57, no. 9, September 1976, pp. 992-994; 1041-1049 (Special Aus­ tralian Film Industry Edition).

Barrett, Karen ana Andree L’Estrange — “ Film and TV School Bonanza” , Farrago, vol. 54, July 1976, pp. 18-19.

“The Australian Film and Television School” , Camera & Cine, November 1978, pp. 27-31.

Leyda, Jay — Kino: A History o f the Russian and Soviet Film, London, 2nd ed. 1973. ★ —_

PRODUCTION REPORT

John S tu rza k e r

invested in a number of features feature films in Australia. and very few of them have worked.

Continued from P. 448 So we still have a lot of our money Although features haven’t worked' for you, you are in fact investing in out there waiting to come back.

Given the uncertain future of teleIt takes a long time even to get future television programs at a time features in Australia, are there any your money back, let alone show a when prices for feature films are plans for Channel Seven to become profit. From memory, the only one escalating .. . more involved in feature film that has been a significant profit productions? earner has been Storm Boy. Yes, that’s true to an extent.

Against that, I guess The Fourth No, we look at each one on its Wish will never get its distribution So it should be worthwhile investing merits. Our involvement is more expenses back, let alone return any in features to secure programs for likely to be the pre-purchase of tele­ investors’ capital. Blue Fin is coming years . . . vision rights than investment. I struggling along, and Dawn! is out think we will be more cautious of circulation already.

Yes, but it’s all a matter of doing about investing in features for two the sums. If one was to pay $60,000 reasons. Firstly, our line activity is Are these ones you have invested in? to secure television rights for television, where the bulk of our something you get in about three working capital should be tied up Yes, and others such as Long years, with interest you end up — we might as well be buying Weekend and Breaker Morant. In paying about $80,000. Perhaps if stocks and shares as investing in some cases the Network, in others you waited until the end of three something else like a feature film. ATN-7. In fact, I’d say that after years you would buy it for about T he second re a s o n , a very the government bodies, ATN-7 is the same price anyway. pragmatic one, is that we have probably the biggest Financier of Admittedly, it secures that sort

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Australian producers haven’t been particularly successful in releasing their films theatrically overseas.

Nor have they been successful with either tele-features or feature films in securing network screenings, syndication, or cable sales. Do you think this is an area where tele­ vision networks, such as the Seven Network, through their involvement in tele-features like “ Alison’s Birthday”, can help make a break­ through ?

Where we are involved with something and we have an equity in overseas sales, there is a strong motivation for us to help wherever we can. That help might involve establishing contacts. We are buying from some overseas people, so we can also attempt to sell to them, or at least introduce them to the producer or his agent. We will also assist in more down-to-earth ways, like getting cassettes made and distributed, and that sort of thing.

What is the main barrier in selling features to television overseas, part­ icularly in the American market?

Fast,efficient,professional services are available AnneGRAHAffl H im

of product for us, and there is a shortage of features — theatricallyreleased features — for television.

Television chews them up at an alarming rate. In 20 years we-have caught up with 50 years of theatrical films, so the more we secure the better.

Telephone (02) 4 ll 2255,

I don’t know of any particular barriers. I think the Americans are very pragmatic in their buying.

They have a look, and if they see that something is likely to work, I don’t think it worries them whether it was made by an American, or an Australian, or somebody from Afghanistan; they will buy it.

We are not doing well in sales, but I don’t think we are doing badly either. I think, statistically, we are probably doing about the same as anybody else.

We are more aware of not making sales of features that we see here, and we assume that we see all of the American output because we are not aware of the many, many times greater number that are never released. It’s interesting, from time to time, to see catalogues for cassette distribution that might have a list of 40 films, two of which we have seen released theatrically out here and the other 38 we have never heard of. Now, they have been buried, just as a lot of ours have been buried out here, and I suspect that the percentages are about the same.

The same sort of statement can be made with writers. We can say there is a problem with writers, and we don’t have enough in Australia.

But there aren’t many writers here, because there are only 14 million people. We have our share of creative people in all the arts in about the same proportion as other countries. ★ Cinema Papers, July-August — 479

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Snapshot.

480 — Cinema Papers, July-August

N um ber 9 Ju ne-July 1 9 7 6 Milos Forman. Miklos Jancso. Luchino Visconti. Robyn Spry. Oz. Mad Dog Morgan. Joan Long.

N um ber 1 0 S ep tem b er- O ctober 1 9 7 6 Nagisa Oshima. Philippe Mora. Gay Cinema. John Heyer. Krzysztof Zanussi.

Marco Ferreri. Marco Bellocchio.

N um ber 11 January 1 9 7 7 Emile de Antonio. Australian Film Cen­ sorship. Sam Arkoff. Roman Polanski.

The Picture Show Man. Don’s Party.

Storm Boy.

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Order a Bound Volume or Easy Binder now!

BOUND VOLUMES

EZIBINDER

O R D ER V O LU M E 5 NOW

Please send me □ copies of Volume 3 (numbers 9 -12) at S30.00 per volume.

Please send me D copies of Volume 4 (numbers 13-16) at S30.00 per volume.

Please send me d copies of Volume 5 (numbers I 7-20) at S30.00 per volume.

(numbers 17-20 Aug. 1978 to May 1979)

VOLUMES 3 AND 4 STILL AVAILABLE Handsomely bound in black w ith gold embossed lettering.

Each Volum e contains 400 lavishly illustrate d pages o f • Exclusive interviews with producers, directors, actors and technicians.

• Valuable historical m aterial on Australian film production.

• Film and book reviews.

• Production surveys and reports from the sets o f local and international production.

• Box-office reports and guides to film producers and investors.

S T R IC TLY L IM IT E D E D IT IO N S TO PLACE AN ORDER FILL IN THE FORM PLEASE NO TE : Volume l (numbers I -4) and Volume 2 (numbers 5-8) ARE NOW U N A V A IL A B L E .

OVERSEAS RATES (including postage) (A) Subscriptions and gift subscriptions (per 6 issues).

Zone 1 (New Zealand, Niugini): Surface — $19.80; air — $31.80. Zone 2 (Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Indonesia etc): Surface — A$19.80; air — $A36.00. Zone 3 (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Philippines, China etc); Surface — SA19.80; air — $A40.20. Zone 4 (North America, Middle East): Surface —

ORDER FORM BOUND VO LUM ES

Enclosed cheque/postal order for S _

EZIBIN D ER Please send me D copies of Cinema Papers' E/ibinder at SI2.50 per binder.

Enclosed cheque/postal order for S _ (available Australia only)

NAME. ADDRESS. Cinema Papers is pleased to announce that an Ezibinder is now available in black with gold embossed lettering to accommodate your unbound copies. Individual numbers can be added to the binder independently, or detached if desired. This new binder will accommodate I 2 copies.

TO PLACE AN ORDER FILL IN THE FORM

$A1 9.80; air — SA44.40. Zone 5 (Britain, Europe, Africa, South America): Surface — SA19.80; air — SA46.50.

(B) Bound Volumes (per volume). Zone 1: Surface — SA30.20; air — SA33.00. Zone 2: Surface — SA30.00; air — $A35.00. Zone 3; Surface — SA30.40; air — $A36.80. Zone 4: Surface — SA30.80; air — SA40.30. Zone 5: Surface — SA30.80; air - SA42.20.

(C) Back Issues. To the price of each copy add the following:

Postcode Total amount enclosed $_ NOTE: Remittances in Australian dollars only.

Cinema Papers Pty. Ltd., 644 Victoria Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3051 Please allow up to four weeks for processing.____

Surface (all zones):- SA0.80. Air:- Zoned — $A2.80; Zone 2 — SA3.50; Zone 3 — SA4.20; Zone 4 — SA4.90; Zone 5 — SA5.25.

NB (1) All remittances in Australian dollars only.

(2) Surface Air Lifted available to U.K., German Federal Republic, Greece, Italy and U.S.: (a) Subscriptions (per 6 issues) — $27.60; (b) per bound volume — $A32.80; (c) Back issues — add $2.60 per copy.

¿1473*11 A G F A -G E V A E R T

Communication without visuals is like putting on a play with all the actors behind the curtains...

... and for your visuals by far the best and most flexible medium is film. Film is the medium capable of capturing a unique moment in time in all its richness and colour.

In full action. In pulsating reality. Because whatever the eye can see, film can record.

But that’s not all.

It can capture moments that exist only in the imagination. Science fiction, mystery, fantasy, horror. Film has become one

For millions of people it is an indispensable part of their daily lives.

Whether at the cinema. On television Or in their home projectors.

Agfa-Gevaert is a film pioneer.

We grew up with it and we know its possibilities. We also know that while it may have matured

it has not aged. Film will be as vibrant tomorrow as it is today.

All this, because communication without film just isn’t on.

AGFA-GEVAERT LIMITED Melbourne 878 8000. Sydney 8881444 Brisbane 391 6833. Adelaide 42 5703 Perth 361 5399 SYSTEMS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY • MOTION PICTURES • GRAPHIC ARTS • RADIOGRAPHY • VISUAL ARTS • REPROGRAPHY • MAGNETIC RECORDING

c ■ 1

*

Queensland offers a magnificent diversity production finance, logistic help, concessional of locations. Tropic islands, deserts, jungles, transport allowance and many other tangible mountain ranges, endless white beaches. T h e ^ ^ ^ ^ i x forms of film production assistance.

Queensland sun just shines on regardless.

So if Queensland sounds exciting, The mud crabs, mangoes and other // \ ’phone Tony Krimmer on (07) 224 7018 Queensland foods are superb. In short, // / \\ and find out more about putting pictures Queensland’s got it all. And the Queens- It ( J F K H K ) together in one of the most diverse film land Film Corporation can assist you with ^ A // locations in the world.

BWF0211