Melbourne independent filmmakers

in memoriam Giorgio

Like in most major cities in the world, there is a thriving, intense independent film and video scene in Melbourne, Australia, underneath the attention given to feature films that either do well at the box office or cause some sensation at some film festival.

The aim of this site is to provide some documentation about the myriad independent filmmakers that have existed, and continue to exist, in Melbourne, as this information seems to be sorely lacking on the web.

I classify a filmmaker as "independent" if he or she has shown or is showing an individual spirit and committed attitude to realising their particular cinematic vision. And if they have also (at some point) shown some initiative in making their work without official financial support - that they have or had (for those directors from the past) a willingness to create their works, at whatever cost.

And so genre or gauge do not matter here - the filmmakers (note: directors only) covered in this site range from feature filmmakers to doco makers, through to experimentalists and animators. Making their works on Super 8, video, 16mm, 35mm, and, increasingly, branching out into multimedia forms (which are listed in some of the filmographies).

This site was launched in May 2003, with profiles of 28 directors. 7 more profiles were added in September of that year. A further 9 profiles were added in June 2004, and a further 13 in April 2005. 8 more were then added in March 2006, and 11 in May 2008, making 76 in total. All the profiles are/will also be kept up to date (as much as possible, with the co-operation of the filmmakers, etc.)

The next instalment will be in 2009 sometime. If you would like to nominate a filmmaker to be profiled here, email me.

Bill Mousoulis

This site is archived by the National Library of Australia's Pandora Archive.

Acknowledgments to these people for providing some assitance in the creation of this site: Ken Berryman at the National Film and Sound Archive; Tilly Heald, Carole Sklan and Lawrence Johnston at the Australian Film Commission; Arthur Cantrill; Graeme Cutts and Rosemary Mangiamele; Cerise Howard; Adrian Martin.

PROFILES OF
MELBOURNE INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS

Luigi Acquisto

Stephen Amis

Genevieve Bailey

Mark Bakaitis NEW

Steven Ball

Leo Berkeley

Heinz Boeck

Philip Brophy

Anna Brownfield NEW

Michael Buckley

Nigel Buesst