15 May 2013

4 short films series

[Guest Speakers: Oslo Davis, Naomi Bishops + Richard Raber, Peter McIntyre]

///

Guest Speaker: Oslo Davis Melbourne-based Cartoonist and Illustrator

Melbhattan (animation)

2012, Dir. Oslo Davis, 4:40 minutes

Melbhattan is part homage, part pastiche of the opening sequence of Woody Allen’s seminal 1979 film Manhattan. Drawn and animated by Oslo Davis, Melbhattan features more than sixty black and white tableaux of Melbourne each composed to mimic images in Allen’s film. Melbhattan features an original score by local composer and musician Biddy Connor. (source: melbhattan.com)

///

Guest Speaker: Naomi Bishops + Richard Raber Traces Films

Straight and True

2013, Naomi Bishops and Richard Raber, Short teaser, approx. 5 minutes, English

Australians all strive for the utopian dream of owning their own home. What if this dream had embraced the notion of an Australian “way of living” unique to our identity and landscape? Following World War Two a group of passionate, young architects attempted a revolution to achieve this vision. They craved to break from the traditions of Mother England and develop homes that were modern, open, light and totally connected to the local landscape. They had a huge battle on their hands fighting conservatism and ignorance. ‘Straight and True’ is a documentary that looks at the ‘Modernist’ movement through the eyes of forward thinking architects and their brave clients who tried to create a new Australian identity. The results sadly resonate through the streets of suburbia today as the likes of neo-classical McMansions take over our landscape. (source: Traces Films)

Hawkes House

2011, Naomi Bishops and Richard Raber, 5:20 minutes, English

A visual exploration of the ‘Hawkes House’ designed in the late 1960’s by the architecture firm McGlashan Everist. The firm designed a series of striking beach houses on the Mornington Peninsula. Their most noted residential work was ‘Heide ll” – commissioned by art patrons John and Sunday Reed in 1967. With a narration by architect Neil Everist. (source: Traces Films)

///

Guest Speaker: Peter McIntyre Director of McIntyre Partnership Pty Ltd

Your House and Mine

1954, Dir. Peter McIntyre, Written by Robin Boyd, 23 minutes, English

This film documents styles of housing, with each sequence featuring a different aspect of Melbourne. There is some rare footage of the demolition of great Victorian mansions made during the boom era of the 1880s. Perspectives on housing needs are drawn from the voice-over comments (which are caricatures of Australian types), and are worked into pictures of Melbourne slums. Comical skits of haphazard “do-it-yourself” house builders are also shown. Eric Kerr shot and edited this film. One sequence has innovative, quick-cut editing with cue tones to show several houses of various design and style. (source: ACMI)

Visit the website for ticketing information (important).
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30PM; PROGRAMME STARTS PROMPTLY AT 7:00PM.