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.

Examines the Australian response to and engagement with film festivals beyond models set by Europe and North America Traces the history, proliferation, and current practice of film festivals in Australia Explores Australia's audience-focused practice in relation to the global film festival operation

Autorentext

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