REEL GEMS 3
Disco (1977, 11mins) is a hilarious time capsule depicting teenagers of the 70s and their obsession with the weekend disco. Director Phil Noyce captures the observations and confessions of a generation. A warning to viewers: this film contains liberal doses of dubious dancing.
Peter Weir's Michael (1970, 24mins) seems a world away from the disco culture of the late 70's. Against a backdrop of late 60's radicalism, Michael must decide whether he should follow the narrow path of conformity, or listen to the prophets of change and revolution. This film won two AFI awards and is notable for its 'footage' of Sydney in the grip of war.
Violence in the Cinema Part 1 (1972, 14mins), by George Miller and Byron Kennedy, also won two AFI Awards, leading to the founding of the production company. Kennedy Miller and its first feature film Mad Max. As an academic exploration of violence in the cinema—good; as a parody of that era's violent films-outstanding.
Bruce Petty's Leisure (1976,14mins), is a furiously paced and very funny animated short about the value placed on leisure time by societies throughout history. The first Australian short film to win MIFF'S International Short Film Competition, it went on to win an Academy Award.
Jane Campion's A Girl's Own Story (1983. 23mins) is a stylized account of girlhood. Set against the Beatlemania of the 60's, it is humourous, moving and ultimately very, very strange. Listen out for the music by Alex Proyas.