| Cinema of Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 2,244 (2024)[1] |
| • Per capita | 8.18 per 100,000 (2024) |
| Main distributors | Disney (23%) Universal (19%) Warner Bros. (16%) Sony (12%) Paramount (9%)[1] |
| Produced feature films (2024)[1] | |
| Total | 84 |
| Number of admissions (2024)[1] | |
| Total | 55,400,000 |
| Gross box office (2024)[1] | |
| Total | A$951 million |
| National films | A$36.3 million (3.8%) |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Cinema of Australia |
|---|
|
| List of Australian films |
| Australian Animation |
| Early years and the Silent film era |
| The war years and post-World War II |
| 1970s |
| 1980s |
| 1990s |
| 2000s |
| 2010s |
| 2020s |
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Thecinema of Australia began with the 1906 production ofThe Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's firstfeature 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 asthe US andthe UK.
Commercially successful Australian films includeCrocodile Dundee,George Miller'sMad Max trilogy,Baz Luhrmann'sMoulin Rouge!, andChris Noonan'sBabe. Award-winning productions includePicnic at Hanging Rock,Gallipoli,The Tracker,Shine andTen Canoes.
The Australian film criticDavid Stratton characterized the history of the country's film as one of "boom and bust": there have been deep troughs, during which few films were made for decades, and high peaks, during which a glut of films reached the market.[2][need quotation to verify]
The first public screenings of films in Australia took place in October 1896, within a year of the world's first screening in Paris byLumière brothers. On 22 August 1896, the first films projected to a paying audience in Australia were at Harry Rickards' Melbourne Opera House (later known as theTivoli Theatre). The film by magician Carl Hertz was screened as part of a variety show act. Australian tours with similar projection machines followed.[3]Australia's first cinema, theSalon Lumière at 237 Pitt Street, Sydney, was operating in October 1896, and showed the firstAustralian-produced short film on 27 October 1896.[4]
The first locally produced and successfully screened cinema program was a series of eleven one-minute film reels taken from theVictoria Derby on 31 October 1896 and theMelbourne Cup on 3 November 1896, both of which races were won by the same horse,Newhaven. Directed byHenry Walter Barnett, theLumiere Brothers film was photographed by celebrated cinematographerMarius Sestier. They were first shown at thePrincess Theatre, Melbourne, on 19 November 1896, then taken to Sydney where they were shown at theCriterion Theatre on 24 November 1896. Three of the reels are still in existence.
TheAthenaeum Hall in Collins Street,Melbourne, operated as a dance hall from the 1880s, and from time to time would provide alternative entertainment to patrons. In October 1896 it exhibited the firstmovie film shown in Australia,[5] within a year of the first public screening of a film in Paris on 28 December 1895 by the FrenchLumière brothers. The Athenaeum would continue screenings, such asLife in Our Navy, a 60,000 foot film of life onHMSJupiter, shown on 26 January 1901 byG. H. Snazelle, who provided additional entertainment.[6]
A landmark of newsreel photography was in 1897, when films of both theCaulfield Cup[7] andMelbourne Cup were screened at theMelbourne Opera House on the evenings of the race.[8] The events had been captured on film forW. C. Baxter anddeveloped the same day by photographer Robert William Harvie (died 5 October 1922)[9] and inventor Ernest J. Thwaites (c. 1873 – 12 July 1933).[10]
Some of the earliest movie film shot in Australia consisted of films ofAboriginal dancers inCentral Australia, shot by anthropologistsBaldwin Spencer andF. J. Gillen between 1900 and 1903. They pioneeredsound recording onwax cylinders and shot their films under very difficult conditions.[11]
The earliestfeature-lengthnarrative film in the world was the Australian-producedThe Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), shown at the Athenaeum. The film, written and directed byCharles Tait, included several of his family members.[12] The film was also exhibited in the United Kingdom in January 1908.[13]
Melbourne also hosted one of the world's firstfilm studios, theLimelight Department, operated bythe Salvation Army in Australia between 1897 and 1910.[14] The Limelight Department produced evangelical material for use by the Salvation Army, as well as carrying out private and government contracts. In its 19 years of operation the Limelight Department produced about 300 films of various lengths, making it the largestfilm-producer of its time. The major innovation of the Limelight Department came in 1899 whenHerbert Booth andJoseph Perry began work onSoldiers of the Cross, described by some as the first feature-length film ever produced.Soldiers of the Cross fortified the Limelight Department as a major player in the earlyfilm-industry. The Limelight Department also produced a film recording of theFederation of Australia.[15]
The 1910s were a "boom" period in Australian cinema. Activity had begun slowly in the 1900s, and 1910 saw four narrative films released, then 51 in 1911, 30 in 1912, and 17 in 1913, and back to four in 1914, when the beginning ofWorld War I brought a temporary pause in film-making.[16] While these numbers may seem small in the 21st century, Australia was one of the most prolific film-producing countries at the time. In all, between 1906 and 1928 Australia made 150 narrative feature films, almost 90 of them between 1910 and 1912.[17]
A general consolidation took place in the early 1910s in the production, distribution and exhibition of films in Australia. By 1912 numerous independent producers had merged intoAustralasian Films andUnion Theatres, later Greater Union (now known asEvent Cinemas), which established control over film distributors and cinemas and required smaller producers to deal with the cartel. Some view the arrangement as opening the way for American distributors in the 1920s to sign exclusive deals with Australian cinemas to exhibit only their own products, thereby shutting out the local product and crippling the local film-industry.[18]
Various other explanations attempt to account for the decline of the industry in the 1920s. Some historians point to falling audience numbers, a lack of interest in Australian product and narratives, and Australia's participation in the war. Also, anofficial ban on bushranger films occurred in 1912.[19][20][21] With the suspension of local film-production, Australiancinema-chains sought alternative products in the United States and realised that Australian-produced films were much more expensive than the imported product, which were priced cheaply as production expenses had already been recouped in the home market. To redress this imbalance, thefederal government of Australia imposed a tax on imported film in 1914, but this was removed by 1918.[citation needed]
Whatever the explanation, by 1923 American films dominated the Australian market, with 94% of all exhibited films coming from the United States.[22]
In 1930,F. W. Thring (1883–1936) established theEfftee Studios based inMelbourne to maketalking films using optical sound equipment imported from the United States. The first Australian sound films appeared in 1931: the company producedDiggers (1931),A Co-respondent's Course (1931),The Haunted Barn (1931) andThe Sentimental Bloke (1932). During the five years of its existence, Efftee produced nine features, over 80shorts and several stage-productions. Notable collaborators includedC. J. Dennis,George Wallace andFrank Harvey. Film production continued only until 1934, when it ceased as a protest over the refusal of the Australian government to set Australian film-quotas, followed soon by Thring's death in 1936. It was estimated[by whom?] that Thring lost over £75,000 of his own money on his filmmaking and theatrical ventures.[23][need quotation to verify]
Ken G. Hall became a driving force in establishingCinesound Productions in 1931.[24][25] The company became one of Australia's first feature-film production companies and operated into the early 1940s, becoming Australia's leading domestic studio based on theHollywood model. The company also used the Hollywood model for the promotion of its films and attempted to promote astar system. It was particularly successful with theOn Our Selection (1932) series of comedies, based on the popular writings of authorSteele Rudd, which featured the adventures of a fictional Australian farming family, the Rudds, and the perennial father-and-son duo, "Dad and Dave". Despite its ambitions, Cinesound produced only 17 feature-films, all but one of them directed by Ken Hall. Though financially successful, the company ceased making feature films following the 1939 outbreak ofWorld War II.
In the Wake of the Bounty (1933), directed byCharles Chauvel, starred Tasmanian-bornErrol Flynn. The film was not a success.[26] Flynn then travelled to Britain to pursue a career in acting and later went to America and became a celebrated Hollywood star. Chauvel directed a number of successful Australian films, including 1944's World War II classicThe Rats of Tobruk (which starredPeter Finch andChips Rafferty) and 1955'sJedda, which was notable as the first Australian film shot in colour, and as the first to feature Aboriginal actors in lead roles and to enter theCannes Film Festival.[27]
In Britain, theCinematograph Films Act 1927 established aquota of films that had to be shown in British cinemas. One could shoot compliant films in the British Empire as well as in Great Britain; this stimulated Australian film-production. However theCinematograph Films Act 1938 mollified the British film industry by including only films made by and shot in Great Britain in the quota - this removed Australian films from the film quota in the UK, and saw the loss of a guaranteed market for Australian films.[28]
Kokoda Front Line! (1942), directed by Ken G. Hall, won Australia's firstOscar.[29] Chips Rafferty and Peter Finch became prominent international stars of the period. Rafferty's onscreen image as a lanky, laconic bushman struck a chord with Australian filmgoers, and he appeared in iconic early Australian films such asForty Thousand Horsemen (1940),The Rats of Tobruk (1944),The Overlanders (1946) andEureka Stockade (1949) (Overlanders andEureka were part of a series of Australian-themed films produced by Britain's iconicEaling Studios). In Hollywood, Rafferty also appeared in Australian-themed films, includingThe Desert Rats (1953),The Sundowners (1960) andMutiny on the Bounty (1962). Similarly, Peter Finch starred in quintessentially Australian roles (such as "digger" andstockman) through a series of popular films and had a successful and diverse screen career in Britain and the United States.
BothRon Randell andRod Taylor began their acting careers in Australia - initially in radio and on stage before appearing in such Australian films asSmithy (1946) for the former andLong John Silver (1954) for the latter. They each transferred to the United States to become Hollywoodleading men in a number of films of the late 1940s (Randell) and both from the 1950s onwards. Taylor had starring roles inThe Time Machine (1960) andThe Birds (1963) as well as in several American television-series such asHong Kong (1960–1961).
In the 1950s British and American production-companies made several notable films in Australia based on stories fromAustralian literature (generally with strong rural themes). These includedA Town Like Alice (1956, which starredVirginia McKenna and Peter Finch);The Shiralee (1957, also starring Peter Finch with Australian actorsCharles Tingwell,Bill Kerr andEd Devereaux in supporting roles);Robbery Under Arms (1957, again starring Finch); andSummer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959, starringErnest Borgnine,John Mills andAngela Lansbury). In 1960,The Sundowners was shot partly in theSnowy Mountains ofNew South Wales with foreign leadsDeborah Kerr,Robert Mitchum, andPeter Ustinov but a supporting cast including Australians - Chips Rafferty,John Meillon andLeonard Teale.
In 1958,Australian Film Institute was formed[by whom?] and in the same year began awarding theAustralian Film Institute Awards.
After filmingWhiplash in the country in 1960,Peter Graves said that the biggest problem was the shortage of Australian actors.[30] Australian film-production reached a low ebb with few notable productions during the 1960s.[31] The 1966 comedyThey're a Weird Mob, starringWalter Chiari,Chips Rafferty andClaire Dunne, was a rare hit of the period which also documented something of the changing face of Australian society: telling the story of a newly-arrived Italian immigrant who, working as a labourer in Sydney, becomes mates with his co-workers, despite some difficulties withAustralian slang and culture. The film foreshadowed the successful approaching"New Wave" of Australian cinema of the 1970s that would often showcase colloquialAustralian culture.
Overseas cinema continued to attract Australian actors as "action-men" with the casting of AustralianGeorge Lazenby to replaceSean Connery in portraying the superspyJames Bond in the 1969 U.K. filmOn Her Majesty's Secret Service.
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John Gorton,Prime Minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971, initiated several forms of government support for film and the arts, including theAustralian Film Development Corporation. TheGough Whitlam government (1972–75) continued the support via its successor theAustralian Film Commission, and state governments also established assistance programs. These measures led to a resurgence of Australian film-making in both the low budget 16mm format and 35mm cinema – theAustralian New Wave – which lasted until the mid-to-late1980s. The era also marked the emergence of the "Ozploitation" style – characterised by the exploitation of colloquial Australian culture.
Also notable during this era was the effect of the growingfeminist movement. The role of women's films was discussed at the Women's Liberation Conference inMelbourne in 1970,[32] and groups such as the Feminist Film Workers collective (1970s and 1980s), Sydney Women"s Film Group (SWFG, 1972–), Melbourne Women's Film Group (1973–), Reel Women (1979 to 1983 in Melbourne), and Women's Film Unit (Sydney and Melbourne, 1984/85) were established.[33] A number of filmmakers, includingJeni Thornley, Sarah Gibson, Susan Lambert,Martha Ansara,Margot Nash andMegan McMurchy, were involved in these groups.[32] The 1975International Women's Film Festival, the first of its kind,[32] was initiated by the SWFG,[34] but groups around the country organised screening events in other state capitals. In Melbourne andSydney the festivals ran for nine days (with an audience of around 56,000), and in the other states they spanned two to three days.[35]
Films such asPicnic at Hanging Rock (directed byPeter Weir, 1975) andSunday Too Far Away (Ken Hannam, 1975) made an impact on the international scene. The 1970s and 1980s are regarded by many[who?][quantify] as a "golden age" of Australian cinema, with many successful films, from the dark dystopian fiction ofMad Max (George Miller, 1979) to the romantic comedy ofCrocodile Dundee (Peter Faiman, 1986) and the emergence of such film-directing auteurs asGillian Armstrong,Phillip Noyce andBruce Beresford.
A major theme of Australian cinema which matured in the 1970s was one of survival in the harsh Australian landscape. A number of thrillers and horror-films - dubbed "outback gothic" – have appeared, includingWake in Fright,Walkabout,The Cars That Ate Paris andPicnic at Hanging Rock in the 1970s,Razorback,Long Weekend andShame in the 1980s andJapanese Story,The Proposition andWolf Creek in the 2000s. These films depict theAustralian bush and its creatures as deadly, and its people as outcasts and psychopaths. These elements combine with futuristic post-apocalyptic themes in theMad Max series. 1971'sWalkabout was a British film, set in Australia, which became a forerunner to many Australian films related to indigenous themes; it introducedDavid Gulpilil to cinematic audiences. 1976'sThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith directed byFred Schepisi re-told an award-winning historical drama from the book byThomas Keneally about the tragic story of an Aboriginalbushranger.
Classic stories fromAustralian literature andAustralian history continued to provide popular cinematic adaptations during the 1970s and 1980s.Gillian Armstrong'sMy Brilliant Career (1979) featuredJudy Davis andSam Neill in early lead-roles. 1982'sWe of the Never Never followed up on the theme of the female experience of life in theAustralian bush. 1982'sThe Man from Snowy River, starringTom Burlinson andSigrid Thornton, dramatised the classicBanjo Paterson poem of that name and became one of the all-time box-office successes of Australian cinema. In addition to the serious historical dramas popular in the 1970s, a number of films celebrating and satirizing Australian colloquial culture appeared over the decade, including:The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972),Alvin Purple (1973), andBarry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). TheBarry McKenzie films saw performing-artist and writerBarry Humphries collaborating with directorBruce Beresford. In 1976,Peter Finch won a posthumousAcademy Award for Best Actor for his role in the American satireNetwork, thus becoming the first Australian to win an Oscar for best actor.[36]
1980'sBreaker Morant (starringJack Thompson andEdward Woodward) dramatised the controversial trial of an Australian soldier during theBoer War of 1899–1902; there followed 1981'sWorld War I dramaGallipoli (directed byPeter Weir and starringMel Gibson). These films, now considered classics of Australian cinema, explored contemporary Australian identity through dramatic episodes in Australian history. Gibson went on to further success in 1982'sThe Year of Living Dangerously before transferring to pursue his Hollywood career as an actor and director. Many other Australian stars would follow his path to international stardom in the coming decades. The director ofThe Year of Living Dangerously, Peter Weir, also made a successful transition to Hollywood. Weir contributed to the screenplay along with its original author, Christopher Koch, and playwrightDavid Williamson. Williamson rose to prominence in the early 1970s, and has gone on to write several other original scripts and screenplays made into successful Australian films, including:Don's Party (1976);Gallipoli (1981),Emerald City (1988), andBalibo (2009).[37]
Actor/comedianPaul Hogan wrote the screenplay and starred in the title role in his first film,Crocodile Dundee (1986), about a down-to-earth hunter who travels from the Australian outback to New York City. The movie became the most successful Australian film ever, and launched Hogan's international film career. Following the success ofCrocodile Dundee, Hogan starred in the sequel,Crocodile Dundee II in 1988. 1988 also saw the release of the dramaEvil Angels (released outside of Australia and New Zealand asA Cry in the Dark)[38] about theLindy Chamberlain saga, in which adingo took a baby atAyers Rock and her mother was accused of having murdered the child.
Nicole Kidman began appearing in Australian children's TV and film in the early 1980s – including starring roles inBMX Bandits andBush Christmas. During the 1980s she appeared in several Australian productions, includingEmerald City (1988), andBangkok Hilton (1989). In 1989 Kidman starred inDead Calm alongsideSam Neill andBilly Zane. The thriller garnered strong reviews, and Hollywood roles followed.[39]
"Is everyone in Australia a few degrees off from true north? You can search in vain through the national cinema for characters who are ordinary or even boring; everyone is more colorful than life. If England is a nation of eccentrics, Australia leaves it at the starting line."
The 1990s proved a successful decade for Australian film and introduced several new stars to a global audience. Low budget films such as the comedy/dramaMuriel's Wedding, starringToni Collette,[41] the gently satirical suburban comedyThe Castle directed byRob Sitch (which castEric Bana in his first prominent film role), andBaz Luhrmann's flamboyantStrictly Ballroom[42] each attained commercial and critical success, and explored quirky characters inhabiting contemporary Australian suburbia – marking something of a departure from theOutback and historical sagas which obtained success in the 1970s and 1980s.Stephan Elliott's 1994 filmThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert mixed traditional outback cinematography and landscape with contemporary urban sub-culture: following threedrag queens on a road trip toCentral Australia.
While a number of major international stars gained early prominence in Australia over the period, an important stable of established and emerging local stars with prodigious film credits remained prominent, including screen veteransCharles Tingwell,Bill Hunter,Jack Thompson,Bryan Brown andChris Haywood.
The World War II dramaBlood Oath (1990) debuted bothRussell Crowe andJason Donovan, in minor cinematic roles. Crowe demonstrated his versatility as an actor in this early period of his career by starring soon after as a street gang Melbourneskinhead in 1992'sRomper Stomper and then as an inner-Sydney working-class gay man in 1994'sThe Sum of Us before transferring to the US to commence his Hollywood career.
George Miller'sBabe (1995) employed new digital effects to make a barnyard come alive and went on to become one of Australia's highest-grossing films. The 1996 dramaShine achieved anAcademy Award for Best Actor award forGeoffrey Rush andGregor Jordan's 1999 filmTwo Hands gaveHeath Ledger his first leading role.
Ausfilm was established in 1994 as the Export Film Services Association, afterAustrade recognised potential opportunities for the country in the American market. It was converted to an incorporated association, Ausfilm International Inc., in 1998. It continues to promote the use of Australian filmmakers, and to getfilm production work done in Australia.[43]
After Ledger's successful transition to Hollywood, Jordan and Ledger collaborated again in 2003, with Ledger playing the iconicbushranger title role in the filmNed Kelly, co-starring Australian actressNaomi Watts.
The canon of films related toIndigenous Australians also increased over the period of the 1990s and early 21st Century, withNick Parsons' 1996 filmDead Heart featuringErnie Dingo andBryan Brown;[44]Rolf de Heer'sThe Tracker, starringGary Sweet andDavid Gulpilil;[45] andPhillip Noyce'sRabbit-Proof Fence[46] in 2002. In 2006, Rolf de Heer'sTen Canoes became the first major feature film to be shot in an Indigenous language and the film was recognised atCannes and elsewhere.
The shifting demographics of Australia following post-war multicultural immigration was reflected in Australian cinema through the period and in successful films like 1993'sThe Heartbreak Kid; 1999'sLooking for Alibrandi; 2003'sFat Pizza; theWog Boy comedies and 2007'sRomulus, My Father which all dealt with aspects of the migrant experience or Australian subcultures.[47]
Fox Studios Australia andVillage Roadshow Studios had hosted large international productions likeGeorge Lucas'sStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones andEpisode III – Revenge of the Sith, and theWachowskis'sThe Matrix.
Rob Sitch andWorking Dog Productions followed the success ofThe Castle with period comedyThe Dish, which was the highest grossing Australian film of the Year 2000 and entered the top ten list of highest grossing Australian films. Big budget Australian-international co-productionsMoulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) andHappy Feet (which won theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature for filmmakerGeorge Miller in 2006) also entered the top ten list during the first decade of the new century. Baz Luhrmann directed a series of international hits and returned to Australia for the production of 2008'sAustralia, which showcased a host of Australian stars includingNicole Kidman,Hugh Jackman andDavid Wenham and went on to become the second highest-grossing film in Australian cinematic history.
Lantana, directed byRay 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 sevenAFI Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor forAnthony LaPaglia and Best Actress forKerry Armstrong.
Emerging starSam Worthington had early lead roles in the 2002 mobster black comedyDirty Deeds and 2003's crime caperGettin' Square.Gettin Square also featured rising starDavid Wenham who demonstrated versatility with a string of critically acclaimed roles including the title role inPaul Cox's 1999 biopicMolokai: The Story of Father Damien and the 2001 thrillerThe Bank, directed by the politically conscious film directorRobert Connolly.
In 2005,Little Fish marked a return to Australian film for actressCate Blanchett and won fiveAustralian Film Institute Awards including Best Actor forHugo Weaving, Best Actress for Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress for screen veteranNoni Hazlehurst.
In 2008 following Ledger's death, the documentary film celebrating the romps of theAustralian 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 includingQuentin Tarantino,Dennis Hopper, George Miller andBarry Humphries.
The early 2000s were generally not successful years for Australian cinema, with several confronting dramas proving unpopular at the box office. In 2008, no Australian movies made $3 million at the box office, but a conscious decision by filmmakers to broaden the types of films being made as well as the range of budgets produced a series of box-office hits at the close of the decade. Strong box office performances were recorded in 2009–10 byBruce Beresford'sMao's Last Dancer; the Aboriginal musicalBran Nue Dae the dramatization ofJohn Marsden's novelTomorrow, When the War Began; and the crime dramaAnimal Kingdom which featured major Australian screen starsBen Mendelsohn,Joel Edgerton,Guy Pearce andJacki Weaver.Animal Kingdom achieved success at the 2010Australian Film Institute Awards and was acclaimed at film festivals around the world.[48]Tomorrow, When the War Began became the highest-grossing domestic film of 2010 and it was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards.[49][50]
Other award-winning films of the period includedBalibo (2009) starringAnthony LaPaglia; Middle Eastern crime flickCedar Boys (2009) directed by Serhat Caradee; and animated comedy dramaMary and Max.
World War I dramaBeneath Hill 60 (2010), directed byJeremy Sims and starringBrendan Cowell, was nominated for numerous awards and won three.
Sally Riley, as inaugural head of the Indigenous department atABC Television, after her previous role at theAustralian Film Commission (laterScreen Australia), has done much to develop Indigenous talent in the film and television industry.[51][52] Contemporary Indigenous film-makers includeWarwick Thornton,Wayne Blair,Trisha Morton-Thomas andRachel 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 theAmerican film industry,[53] the latter helped by having a much larger home market. The most successful Australian actors and filmmakers are easily lured byHollywood and rarely return to the domestic film industry. TheSouth Australian Film Corporation continues to produce quality films, andAdelaide has been chosen as the location for films such asHotel Mumbai (2019).[citation needed]
The Australian film and TV industry was greatly impacted by theCOVID-19 pandemic, with at least 60shoots being halted and around 20,000 people being put of work.[54] On Monday 23 March, all productions funded byScreen Australia were postponed.[55] As of 15 April 2020[update], after some improvement in COVID-19 statistics in Australia, Screen Australia continues to fund work and process applications, intending to use all of its 2019/20 budget.[56]
Sometime after the movie and TV industries reopened, several films restarted production. Two such films wereEscape from Pretoria (2020) andMortal Kombat (2021).[57][58][59]
Gothic films incorporate Gothic elements and can be infused within different genres such as horror, romance, science fiction, and comedy. Australian Gothic films have been an accordant genera ever since the 1970s. Gothic Australian films means to make films that are diverse and use camera techniques in different ways to question what the audience may perceive. One of the Australian Gothic films created by female filmmakers Suzan Dermody and Elizabeth Jacka calledThe Screening of Australia (1987), shows different stylistic thematic terms and was the most successful at showing what is called theocker, a term to describe a (white) Australian savage man. Other than this, there is a strong relationship between Australian Gothic films and Gothic literature. The characters and the actions that happen in a Gothic novel is created into a Gothic film. Most Gothic novels during the 1970s referred to female characters and their Australian cultural values.[60]
Although the filmPicnic at Hanging Rock (1975) was directed by a male filmmaker, it was written by storytellerJoan Lindsay. Lindsay decided to make this film culturally related to Australian societal issues of day-to-day lives.[60] Her film included Gothic materials and gave a twist of horror that later the director will showcase through the mise-en-scene and cinematography. The use of Gothic materials were offered by the filmmakers Dermody and Jacka to other Australian Gothic films that have opened up to a more thematic analysis. Other Gothic films were made to broaden Australian characteristics and features.Smoke Em If You Got ‘Em (1988), produced by Jennifer Hooks, showcased the protagonist in a supernatural horrific way, but also added a comedic twist to not lose its characterization of film style.[60]
There are several film schools in Australia, most notably theAustralian Film, Television and Radio School, known as AFTRS inSydney. Others includeGriffith Film School,Australian Performing Arts Conservatory (APAC) inBrisbane; theWA Screen and Media Academy atEdith Cowan University inPerth; and Media Arts and Production,University of Technology Sydney (MAP UTS). All are full members ofCILECT, the international association of film schools.[61]
InMelbourne, Victoria,Swinburne Film and Television School (1966–1991) produced many notable filmmakers, before merging intoVictorian College of the Arts, becomingVCA Film and Television School (later merged into theUniversity of Melbourne).[62] HoweverSwinburne University's Swinburne School of Film and Television (SSFT) remains,[63] and both the VCA and SSFT are full members of CILECT.[64]RMIT University runs various degree and diploma courses relating to filmmaking.[65] In addition, in collaboration with AFTRS, it started delivering four short intensive courses relating to filmmaking and the film industry from December 2024.[66][67]
InSouth Australia,Flinders University introduced their Bachelor of Creative Arts Screen (BCA) in 2002, which proved both popular and successful.[68]
John Gorton,Prime Minister of Australia from 1968–1971, initiated several forms of Government support for Australian film and the arts, establishing theAustralian Council for the Arts, theAustralian Film Development Corporation and theAustralian Film, Television and Radio School.[69] Prime MinisterGough Whitlam continued to support Australian film. TheSouth Australian Film Corporation was established in 1972 to promote and produce films, while theAustralian Film Commission was created in 1975 to fund and produce internationally competitive films.
The federal Australian government had supported the Australian film industry through the funding and development agencies ofFilm Finance Corporation Australia, theAustralian Film Commission andFilm Australia. In 2008 the three agencies were consolidated intoScreen Australia.
| Rank | Title | Year of release | Budget (A$) | Australian gross (A$) | Worldwide gross (US$) | Co-producing countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crocodile Dundee | 1986 | $11,500,000 | $47,707,598[70] | $328,203,506[71] | United States |
| 2 | Australia | 2008 | $200,000,000 (US$130,000,000, US$78,000,000 after tax incentives)[72] | $37,555,757[70] | $211,342,221[73] | United States, United Kingdom |
| 3 | Babe | 1995 | $30,000,000 | $36,797,861[70] | $254,134,910[74] | United States |
| 4 | Elvis | 2022 | $120,000,000 | $33,612,964[70] | $193,701,000[75] | United States |
| 5 | Happy Feet | 2006 | $132,740,000 | $31,786,593[70] | $384,335,608[76] | United States |
| 6 | Lion | 2016 | $15,000,000 | $29,567,752[70] | $140,312,928[77] | United States, United Kingdom |
| 7 | Moulin Rouge! | 2001 | $52,000,000 | $27,765,415[70] | $179,213,434[78] | United States |
| 8 | The Great Gatsby | 2013 | $105,000,000 | $27,392,375[70] | $353,641,895[79] | United States |
| 9 | Peter Rabbit | 2018 | $50,000,000 | $26,794,641[70] | $351,266,433[80] | United States |
| 10 | Crocodile Dundee II | 1988 | $15,800,000 | $24,916,805[70] | $239,606,210[81] | United States |
High-grossing Australian films from earlier decades include:
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The Australian film industry has produced a number of successful actors, actresses, writers, directors and filmmakers many of whom have been known internationally.
Actors
Actresses
First published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, (MUP), 1990
The Film and Television School at Swinburne is to be transferred to the Victorian College of the Arts from January next year... The Federal Government has agreed to provide $12 million for a building, which is to be built or refurbished inSouth Melbourne, commencing in January 1991 and completed by 1993. The School will stay at Swinburne until it can move to the new building, but will belong to the Victorian College of the Arts, which is itself merging with Melbourne University next year.
