It came from a land down under . . . From the early seventies through the mideighties, a generation of brave, unconventional new voices gave Australia a brief but bright-burning cinematic renaissance. Among the filmmakers who emerged from this artistic flowering were pivotal figures like Peter Weir, George Miller, Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, Fred Schepisi, and Phillip Noyce, many of whom went on to successful international careers. Their formally bold, thematically provocative films delved into the intricacies of Australian society and identity—including the country’s mistreatment of its Indigenous people—with newfound fearlessness.
Looking for a place to start?
One of the most powerful films to address Australia’s history of racism, Schepisi’s The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith follows the downward spiral of a half-Aboriginal, half-white young man. And Beresford’s Puberty Blues offers a refreshingly naturalistic answer to the Hollywood teen movie with its frank look at the experiences of two adolescent girls growing up in early-eighties Sydney. |