The State of Australian Cinema

This is my video essay on exploring what is happening with the decline in Australian cinema today - which wasn’t always the case. Because while Hollywood may be the home to movies, in the 1970s, Australia was the home of bold cinema.

The films released in that decade spawned the birth of what was called the Australian New Wave and it led to even bigger things later like Crocodile Dundee, Muriel’s Wedding, and the Castle. For a country that gave birth to the first movie ever made, this was a period when Australian filmmakers were hitting nothing but net.

But since the dawn of the new millennia, something changed. Ever since the 2000s, the Australian film industry has seen a steep decline at the box office and it feels like the period of great Australian movies of the past, no longer seems to be a thing of the present.

So, what could explain the sharp decline? This is my video exploring that question.

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What is Australian Cinema?

The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers with international reputations started their careers in Australian films, and many of these have established lucrative careers in larger film-producing centres such as the United States.
Commercially successful Australian films include: Crocodile Dundee, George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, and Chris Noonan's Babe. Award-winning productions include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, The Tracker, Shine and Ten Canoes.

The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians also increased over the period of the 1990s and early 21st Century, with Nick Parsons' 1996 film Dead Heart featuring Ernie Dingo and Bryan Brown; Rolf de Heer's The Tracker, starring Gary Sweet and David Gulpilil; and Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence in 2002. In 2006, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes became the first major feature film to be shot in an Indigenous language and the film was recognised at Cannes and elsewhere.

Lantana, directed by Ray Lawrence attained critical and commercial success in 2001 for its examination of a complex series of relationships in suburban Sydney, and events surrounding a mysterious crime. It won seven AFI Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Anthony LaPaglia and Best Actress for Kerry Armstrong.

In 2008 following Ledger's death, the documentary film celebrating the romps of the Australian New Wave of 1970s and 1980s low-budget cinema: Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! The film was directed by Mark Hartley and interviews filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Hopper, George Miller and Barry Humphries.

Sally Riley, as inaugural head of the Indigenous department at ABC Television, after her previous role at the Australian Film Commission (later Screen Australia), has done much to develop Indigenous talent in the film and television industry. Contemporary Indigenous film-makers include Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair, Trisha Morton-Thomas and Rachel Perkins.

The Australian film industry continues to produce a reasonable number of films each year, but in common with other English-speaking countries, Australia has often found it difficult to compete with the American film industry, the latter helped by having a much larger home market. The most successful Australian actors and filmmakers are easily lured by Hollywood and rarely return to the domestic film industry. The South Australian Film Corporation continues to produce quality films, and Adelaide has been chosen as the location for films such as Hotel Mumbai.

And if you’re still reading this – hello.

This video is made through Fair Use under copyright law for the purposes of education in criticism or review; as well as parody or satire. https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92c https://www.copyright.org.au/ACC_Prod

Видео The State of Australian Cinema канала Motion In Art