This is the first book to offer an in-depth examination of the history, operation, and growth of film festivals as a cultural phenomenon within Australia. Tracing the birth of film festivals in Australia in the 1950s through to their present abundance, it asks why film festivals have prospered as audience-driven spectacles throughout Australia, while never developing the same industry and market foci of their international fellows. Drawing on over sixty-years of archival records, festival commentary, interviews with festival insiders and ephemera, this book opens up a largely uncharted history of film culture activity in Australia.

Autorentext

Kirsten Stevens is Teaching Associate in Film and Screen Studies at Monash University, Australia.

Klappentext

This is the **first book to offer an in-depth examination of the history, operation, and growth of film festivals as a cultural phenomenon within Australia. Tracing the birth of film festivals in Australia in the 1950s through to their present abundance, it asks why film festivals have prospered as audience-driven spectacles throughout Australia, while never developing the same industry and market foci of their international fellows. Drawing on over sixty-years of archival records, festival commentary, interviews with festival insiders and ephemera, this book opens up a largely uncharted history of film culture activity in Australia. 

Inhalt
List of Illustrations.- List of Abbreviations.- Introduction.- 1.Enthusiastic Amateurs: Origins of Australia's film festival movement.- 2.Growth and Change: Curator-led festivals, fragmenting audiences and shifting film exhibition cultures.- 3. From Film Weeks to Festivals: The spread of the urban film festival after 1980.- 4. Between Success and Failure: Crisis and recovery at the Melbourne International Film Festival.- 5. Programming Perceptions: Film festivals and the construction of taste.- 6. A Festival for Every Occasion: Niche programming, event culture and vertically integrated film festivals.- Conclusion.- Appendix 1: Early Melbourne and Sydney Film Festival programs.- Appendix 2: Summary of film exhibition and film culture activities, 1949-1990.- Appendix 3: Film Festivals in Melbourne, 1949-2000.- Appendix 4: Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals.- Archives and Research Collections.- Bibliography.