The most popular venue in Sydney at the moment for viewing films
presented in curated programmes and accompanied by quality programme
notes is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales located on the edge of the city
in Sydney's Domain. Presented on such a shoestring budget that the curator
Robert Herbert is also the projectionist, the AGNSW presents a film program, of
the same film or films twice on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm and 7.00 pm with another
repeat screening on Sunday at 2.00 pm. By only observation I think the
screenings average a couple of hundred attendees. Programmes are selected to
accompany exhibitions at the Gallery and the curator is thus somewhat hamstrung
in his choices. When the Archibald Prize exhibition is on, the film season will
be 'Potraits' or the like. Currently, to accompany a major exhibition of
Australian photography Robert has curated a season of Australian docos and
features tilted "Brought to Light; Troublemakers, boat-rockers,
trailblazers and whistleblowers." This lack of independence does mean that
the AGNSW screenings have to operate in a lonely fashion. They are not shared
and do not tour to other venues. Nor does the AGNSW allow itself to participate
in any shows, touring to or programmed into ACMI in Melbourne, GOMA in Brisbane
or any retrospectives that may be presented by the major film festivals
in other cities. It is a very restrictive remit and one which probably could
have been abandoned long ago in favour of an independently selected and
presented programme that gives greater freedom and allows for more cooperation
with other institutions. Still the films presented regularly draw crowds that
often go close to packing out the theatre. Admission is free and to get in you
line up early to get a ticket and when the ticket allocation is gone that's it.
The American critic, curator and
programmer Dave Kehr was recently in Australia attending, as part of his new
day job as a Curator of Film at MoMA in New York, the International Conference
of the Federation of International Film Archives (FIAF). He also extended his
stay to host screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. In Melbourne he screened
a 35mm print of Raoul Walsh's Wild
Girl (1932) and a DCP of
Allan Dwan's The
Iron Mask . 279 people attended a screening hosted by the Melbourne
Cinematheque. The next night at a screening in Sydney of The Iron Mask only around fifty people
turned up for an event hosted by the Film Critics Circle of Australia at the
AFTRS Theatre in Moore Park. The AFTRS Theatre has apparently not been
certified to screen film archive prints and thus Wild Girl could not be shown. In Melbourne
admission was confined to people who had either a full twelve months
Cinematheque membership, or used a mini - season pass i.e. one that allow admission to
three consecutive screenings. Both of these are paid. In Sydney admission
was free.
Informed spectators have now explained to me, since this piece was first posted, a couple of things. First, the admission policy of three successive screenings on one ticket purchase ensures that this qualifies the screening as 'non-theatrical' the charge being for a 'membership' rather than a theatrical admission. Specifically it means that films can be screened, eg, from the NFSA's lending collection, without breaching the non-theatrical conditions of loan. A free public screening does not qualify, at least in the case of feature films. In these cases a clearance to use a library print is required from the distributor which generally involves paying a negotiated rental fee. Second, This arrangement gives advantageous access to some films at a cheaper or no licensing fee. It also helps prove their non profit bona fides to some film archives. As well, it does help attract audiences - whilst still price signalling that the screening has some value, compared to a free screening program. My informant suggests that this arrangement should be compared to that which occasionally applies at GoMA in Brisbane. That institution puts on free screenings and there is a tendency for audiences, apparently tolerated by the management, to wander in and out as if it's video art.
Informed spectators have now explained to me, since this piece was first posted, a couple of things. First, the admission policy of three successive screenings on one ticket purchase ensures that this qualifies the screening as 'non-theatrical' the charge being for a 'membership' rather than a theatrical admission. Specifically it means that films can be screened, eg, from the NFSA's lending collection, without breaching the non-theatrical conditions of loan. A free public screening does not qualify, at least in the case of feature films. In these cases a clearance to use a library print is required from the distributor which generally involves paying a negotiated rental fee. Second, This arrangement gives advantageous access to some films at a cheaper or no licensing fee. It also helps prove their non profit bona fides to some film archives. As well, it does help attract audiences - whilst still price signalling that the screening has some value, compared to a free screening program. My informant suggests that this arrangement should be compared to that which occasionally applies at GoMA in Brisbane. That institution puts on free screenings and there is a tendency for audiences, apparently tolerated by the management, to wander in and out as if it's video art.
On Monday nights throughout the year,
Sydney's Chauvel cinema screens a program ‘curated’ by a person employed by Palace
Cinemas, the management. This is called, by the Chauvel, a Cinematheque. The
prints used are 16mm copies supplied by the National Film Lending Service of
the National Film & Sound Archive. The Chauvel does not otherwise have
access to the NFSA's collection. Admission is paid and punters are required to
buy a ticket which admits to three screenings over the forthcoming month. This system is no doubt intended to qualify as a 'membership' in the terms set out above. Audience numbers vary from very few to a few dozen or more.
Film School Confidential commenced this
year and this 'semester' is a program of eight specially selected movies which
began on March 11. It is sponsored by the Australian Film Television and Radio
School (AFTRS) and screens in the AFTRS theatre in Moore Park. Each film is
selected by a guest presenter, these being people from or associated with the
film industry. Audiences have so far ranged from a maximum of fifty to just a
couple of dozen, notwithstanding a massive advertising bombardment via the AFTRS website
, the Film Alert email and a website
specially
created by Barbara Grummels. Admission to the screenings is free though the
organisers make clear that regrettably they have not been able to wangle free
beer for the usually excellent post-screening discussions.
The WEA Film Group screens fortnightly on
Sunday afternoons at the WEA premises in Bathurst Street. The program, mostly
selected by the inveterately enthusiastic Leth Maitland consists of classics
and rarities screened on DVDs supplied by the NFSA and also by the Goethe
Society. Admission is by season ticket which costs about $100 per anum. Average
attendance is about a dozen people, sometimes more.
For decades people have talked about
establishing a Cinematheque in Sydney. By this they usually mean a Film Centre
of the kind represented by ACMI,which incorporates the Melbourne Cinematheque,
GOMA, the former ARC Cinema programmes in Canberra, the Mercury Cinema in
Adelaide and maybe others.