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The Gallery’s Australian Cinémathèque presents two unique film programs held in conjunction with the exhibition ‘Contemporary Australia: Women’ — Contemporary Australia: Women in Film and Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film.
Curated by renowned Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz, Contemporary Australia: Women in Film focuses on representations of women in contemporary Australian cinema through different perspectives — of women by women and of women by men.
Screening concurrently is Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film, a two-part program of early Australian cinema that looks at the roles played by women on screen and the creation of a modern national identity through cinema. This program features a number of silent films with live organ accompaniment. Not to be missed is a special talk on Sunday 6 May by Professor Jill Matthews (Australian National University), who will discuss the multiple relationships between Australian women and moving pictures during the first decades of the twentieth century.
Also beginning this fortnight is Micro Strategies to Change the World, a program of documentaries featuring extraordinary stories of individuals acting within their local communities to create change for the betterment of society. |
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| GOMA CINEMA | FILM SCREENINGS: 25 aPRIL – 7 MAY 2012 |
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| Film notes by Margaret Pomeranz appear abridged. |
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Griff the Invisible 2010 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Leon Ford |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Wed 25 Apr 3.00pm + Sun 29 Apr 3.30pm (90 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Griff is a reclusive, shy young man who takes refuge in an imaginary world where he is a superhero defending the city from crime. Quirky, sad and funny, ultimately generous and romantic, Griff the Invisible is the product of a singular imagination. Read more |
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Shame 1988 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Steve Jodrell |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Wed 25 Apr 6.00pm (94 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Deborra-Lee Furness is a bike-riding barrister who arrives in a country town where the hidden subtext involves community acceptance of rape by a group of young feral men. The male agenda permeates this isolated town where everyone is afraid to disturb the status quo. Read more |
The Boys 1998 MA15+
| DIRECTOR: |
Rowan Woods |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Fri 27 Apr 6.00pm + Sun 6 May 3.30pm (86 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
The women in this disturbing film adaptation of Gordon Graham’s stage play are both victims and catalysts. A sense of menace hangs over the Sprague family as soon as Brett gets out of jail. A seething resentment festers that will have devastating repercussions for, no surprise here, a woman. Read more
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Animal Kingdom 2010 MA15+
| DIRECTOR: |
David Michôd |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Fri 27 Apr 8.00pm (86 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Animal Kingdom portrays motherhood as a complex mix of need and dominance. No wonder Jacki Weaver got an Oscar nomination for her role in this film — the steeliness of her confrontations when her children are at risk is powerful, contrasting cleverly with the earth-mother persona she at first conveys. Read more |
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Radiance 1998 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Rachel Perkins |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Sat 28 Apr 1.00pm (83 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Three aboriginal sisters — Cressy, Mae and Nona — are reunited at the family home in north Queensland after the death of their mother. Only Nona seems to have any semblance of affection for their mother, although she has always wanted to meet with her long-gone father. Read more |
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Road to Nhill 1997 PG
| DIRECTOR: |
Sue Brooks |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 29 Apr 1.30pm (94 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
This film strikes a lovely balance between Australian country town and French farce. Partly a dig at male incompetence and insensibility, partly a comment on the role of these women in their men’s lives, it nevertheless celebrates something intrinsically Australian in the stoic nature of the female sex. Read more |
Look Both Ways 2005 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Sarah Watt |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Fri 4 May 6.00pm (100 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Sarah Watt’s debut film combines her background in animation with a compassionate emotional intelligence. Death hovers over this film. The women are in trouble, one is pregnant to a man who doesn't want to be involved; one is grieving; and the heroine is living timidly in a world she regards as alien, full of threat. Read more |
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Lantana 2001 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Ray Lawrence |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Fri 4 May 8.00pm (121 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Women yearn for connection with their husbands, husbands yearn for connection with their wives – but often take dangerous sidesteps to allay their pain. What distinguishes this film is not only the direction but the performances from an ensemble cast that includes Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Anthony LaPaglia and Geoffrey Rush. Read more |
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Suburban Mayhem 2006 MA15+
| DIRECTOR: |
Paul Goldman |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Mon 7 May 1.00pm (95 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
You couldn’t get a more dystopian view of contemporary Australian womanhood than is represented by Katrina, a pathological monster whose overweening passion for herself and for her murderous brother overwhelms any sense of social responsibility. Read more |
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My Year Without Sex 2009 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Sarah Watt |
| PROGRAM: |
Contemporary Australia: Women in Film |
| WHEN: |
Mon 7 May 3.00pm (100 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Mother of two, Natalie suffers a brain aneurism that will, according to the doctor, disrupt her sex life with husband Ross for one year. This puts pressure on the relationship, but it is the minutia of ordinary suburban life that is explored here in a comic, but often painful, way. Read more |
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The Woman Suffers (incomplete) 1918 G
| DIRECTOR: |
Raymond Longford |
| PROGRAM: |
Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 29 Apr 10.30am (62 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
With a complicated plot of three story lines involving domestic violence, seduction, tragedy and seduction for revenge, the film was billed as a ‘problem play’ on its first release. Today, the film is noted for its thoughtful exposè of the double standard of morality – ‘The woman suffers while the man goes free’. Read more |
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The Sentimental Bloke 1919 G
| DIRECTOR: |
Raymond Longford |
| PROGRAM: |
Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 29 Apr 12 noon (78 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
After his release from jail, Bill – the bloke – sees his ‘ideel tart’, Doreen, in the marketplace and romance begins. The Sentimental Bloke is considered the most important Australian silent film. Read more |
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Showgirl's Luck 1930 G
| DIRECTOR: |
Norman Dawn |
| PROGRAM: |
Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 6 May 11.00am (55 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
A musical about the star of a touring tent show in Queensland and her efforts to get into the first Australian ‘talkie’ being filmed in the Blue Mountains. The film experimented with sophisticated optical effects, such as double exposures. Read more |
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Sunshine Sally (incomplete) 1922 G
| DIRECTOR: |
Lawson Harris |
| PROGRAM: |
Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 6 May 12.15pm (69 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Set in Sydney, the story follows the spirited Sally who works in a sweatshop: the ‘White Star Laundry’. Although missing much of the last reel, the film’s plot reveals itself with reformed larrikins and the fulfilment of Sally’s romance. Read more |
Women in Early Australian Film – Talk
| PRESENTER: |
Professor Jill Julius Matthews |
| PROGRAM: |
Thoroughly Modern: Women in Early Australian Film |
| WHEN: |
Sun 6 May 2.30pm (60 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
Professor Jill Julius Matthews, Head of the School of Cultural Inquiry at the Australian National University, Canberra, will discuss the multiple relationships between Australian women and moving pictures in the first decades of the twentieth century. Read more |
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The Interrupters 2011 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Steve James |
| PROGRAM: |
Micro Strategies to Change the World |
| WHEN: |
Sat 28 Apr 2.30pm (127 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
‘The Interrupters tells the story of a group of former gang leaders who now work for an organisation that tries to interrupt the tide of violence on Chicago’s streets.’ Adelaide Film Festival. Read more |
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A Small Act 2010 Ages 18+
| DIRECTOR: |
Jennifer Arnold |
| PROGRAM: |
Micro Strategies to Change the World |
| WHEN: |
Wed 2 May 6.00pm (88 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
‘A Small Act follows Chris Mburu, a Kenyan boy whose life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education.’ Sundance Film Festival. Read more |
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The English Surgeon 2007 M
| DIRECTOR: |
Geoffrey Smith |
| PROGRAM: |
Micro Strategies to Change the World |
| WHEN: |
Sat 5 May 3.00pm (93 mins) |
| WHERE: |
Cinema A, GOMA |
‘Geoffrey Smith’s exceptional documentary follows the maverick neurosurgeon [Henry Marsh] on his latest trip to the Ukraine, as he once again encounters patients for whom he is their last chance.’ Hot Docs Film Festival. Read more |
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Contact Us
Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane
Queensland 4101, Australia
T: +61 (0)7 3840 7303
F: +61 (0)7 3844 8865
E: gallery@qagoma.qld.gov.au
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Opening Hours
| Monday to Friday | 10.00am – 5.00pm |
| Saturday and Sunday | 9.00am – 5.00pm |
(The Gallery has late opening hours when evening
Australian Cinémathèque screenings are scheduled.) |
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