From the CEO
CEO Dr Darryl McIntyre
Since joining the NFSA in November 2008, I have been impressed by the enthusiasm of the staff and the passion they have for the work we do here. As a newly autonomous agency, it is time to shape and position the NFSA so we become more interactive and engaging and are better able to stimulate people's curiosity in our audiovisual heritage and new media.
Major projects like the restoration of Wake In Fright, the development of a new online presence, an increase in cinema programming within Arc and being able to work with the National Library and National Archives to find a solution to collecting the deluge of digitally born media and digitising our collections for preservation and greater access, firmly places the NFSA amongst the leading cultural institutions in the country.
Now is the time for the NFSA to be proactive. We will be actively seeking to record Australia today in sound, film and artefacts. To capture Australia in all its parts, urban, regional and rural, young and old, Indigenous and the multitude of cultures that make up our country. We will be engaging with more Australians through travelling film festivals and education programs, by providing greater access to our collection online, through exhibitions and to academic researchers, by recording more oral histories and by developing partnerships with institutions and communities.
The NFSA has long been known in archiving circles for our ability and desire to help other nations develop their own collections and we will continue to do this. Not only can we help with the storage of vulnerable collections, we will continue to provide training for archive staff from other countries both in situ and here in Canberra.
As you can see, we have busy times ahead. I look forward to sharing more with you over the coming months.
Dr Darryl McIntyre
Chief Executive Officer
Wake In Fright
A lost masterpiece is rescued, restored and rediscovered
For the last three decades the film was long‐believed lost until the film's editor Anthony Buckley traced the original negatives to a vault in America marked for destruction. NFSA with the assistance of Ausfilm has fully digitally restored Wake in Fright to pristine condition in partnership with Atlab/Deluxe Australia and it is now ready to be rediscovered by a completely new audience.
Wake in Fright made its first appearance in Cannes in competition in 1971 and has made a comeback some 30 years later to be entered into the Cannes Film Classics program this year. Based on the powerful novel by Kenneth Cook and directed by Ted Kotcheff (Uncommon Valour, Law and Order SVU), Wake in Fright stars the late Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond and Chips Rafferty (in his last feature film role) and marked the first feature film appearance of a young Jack Thompson.
Wake in Fright screens at the Sydney Film Festival on Saturday 13 June 2009. Director Ted Kotcheff, editor Anthony Buckley, actor Jack Thompson and Graham Shirley will discuss Wake in Fright in a forum from 3.00pm, at the Statement Bar, State Theatre on Saturday 13 June 2009. For tickets go to the SFF website.
Wake in Fright will be released in cinemas from 25 June 2009 by Madman Entertainment. A special season will also run in the NFSA's Arc Cinema from 1 July.
Learn more about Wake in Fright at NFSA's australianscreen online.
Very Rare Paget Plates Discovered
Conservators Darren Weinert and Brooke Shannon, of the NFSA's Still Image Services team, were surprised and delighted recently to discover a number of Paget plates in the Collection.
The Paget process was a very early colour photography system that used a glass plate, which was a standard black-and-white photographic plate and a coloured screen that started in Britain in 1912. The plates are a rare find due to the relatively short life of the process which ended in the 1920s. The screen comprised of a series of red, green and blue filters laid down in a regular pattern of diamond shapes, called a reseau.
ANU Reconciliation Lecture
On 10 June, the NFSA partnered with the Australian National University and Reconciliation Australia to host the 2009 ANU Reconciliation Lecture by Professor Mick Dodson, AM. A short film of items from the NFSA's collection relating to reconciliation was screened as part of the event, a compelling example of relevant stories the national collection can tell. Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter performed live, captivating everyone present.
Watch a video of the lecture>
The Voss Journey
Love, death and opera
For four days in May, the NFSA, together with over a dozen cultural institutions, was immersed in The Voss Journey - exploring Patrick White's iconic novel.
Encompassing concerts, exhibitions, forums, films and lectures, The Voss Journey also marked the first time NFSA has led such a diverse cross-cultural collaboration and lays the foundation for similar events and programs in the future. The Voss Journey demonstrated how rich and deeply interwoven our culture is… and how the adventures of an ill-fated explorer has inspired, and continues to inspire, generations of artists, musicians, filmmakers and thinkers.
NFSA Survey
For the first time since we became an independent agency the NFSA is conducting a major research project into the thoughts and opinions of our users, audiences and visitors.
We want to learn more about you, what you know about us, what you like about us and what you think we can improve.
Simply click here to be directed to the online survey>
