Discovery of only known voice recording of Sir Keith Murdoch
The NFSA recently discovered what is believed to be the only known voice recording of the late Sir Keith Murdoch.
The recording was made at the launch of radio station 3LK, Melbourne on the 4 January 1937 before an audience that included then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.
ABC Radio National program Background Briefing was in the process of researching a radio documentary about media ownership and in particular, the contribution of the successive generations of the Murdoch family when they found the Sir Keith Murdoch's speech in the NFSA collection.
The speech was found on lacquer disc labelled 3LK Opening (NFSA Title #198114) which was later determined to be the sole audio recording of Sir Keith Murdoch in existence.
The NFSA is making arrangements to present the Murdoch family and News Ltd a copy of the recording for their own archives.
NFSA and the Canberra International Film Festival
Noni Hazelhurst in Fran (1985)
The NFSA is again a proud partner of the Canberra International Film Festival in 2009, and is presenting a range of festival screenings in Arc cinema, including a stunning showcase of new film restorations from around the world, The Archive Connection.
Highlights include th-e Australian premiere of the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 classic The Red Shoes which has been digitally restored by Robert Gitt for
the UCLA Film and Television Archive in association with the British Film Institute, The Film Foundation, ITV Global and Janus Films.
The NFSA also had the opportunity to present a new pristine print of Fran, one of the most critically acclaimed Australian features of the 1980s. Directed by Glenda Hambly in 1985, Fran starred Noni Hazlehurst in the title role and follows the fortunes of a struggling young single mother in Perth.
Fran is the latest film to be preserved by the NFSA as part of the Deluxe/Kodak Project, which aims to preserve and make available a selection of significant colour Australian feature films in the format and condition they were originally intended to be seen.
The NFSA was delighted to welcome Noni Hazlehurst to Arc for the screening of new pristine print of Fran. Noni shared with the audience her memories of making Fran and offered an actor's perspective on the Australian film and television industry.
The Corrick Collection - a hit a Pordenone
The 28th Pordenone Silent Film Festival took place in Italy, from 3-10 October 2009 and included the two latest programs from the NFSA's major Corrick Collection preservation project. In addition, the festival highlighted one of the films preserved through the NFSA/National Film Preservation Foundation collaboration Film Connection: Australia USA. On Strike (Bud Fisher, US 1920) the animated Mutt and Jeff short proved a hit with the Pordenone audience, and the Corrick programs of over twenty short films from 1904-1909 were so much in demand that a second session was scheduled for each to accommodate audience interest.
La Metallurgie au Creusot (Pathé, Fr 1905) was a particular hit along with the beautifully restored stencil colour of the Little Street Singers (Pathé, Fr 1909), and the various chase comedies were all much enjoyed. With continued acknowledgement to John Corrick, the donor of the Marvellous Corrick Entertainers' original film collection, these films are thrilling new generations of audience and scholars worldwide. Senior Curator Meg Labrum introduced the films and confirmed that international interest in the Corrick Collection continues to grow.
A Great Beginning!
New logo for World Day for
Audiovisual Heritage © UNESCO
On Tuesday October 27, UNESCO's World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the NFSA hosted the first Audiovisual Collections Summit, a meeting of many of the key audiovisual collections in Australia.
The purpose of this gathering was to open up discussions at the national, state and regional levels about shared interests in collection policies, challenges, interactions and opportunities for collaboration and information sharing. Collections represented included the Australian War Memorial, National Archives of Australia, National Library of Australia, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the Australian Jazz Archive, the State Libraries of South Australia and Queensland, Foxtel, SBS, Network 7 and the ABC.
Discussion was animated as we all learnt more about one another's collections and further meetings will follow to target a national online inventory of relevant collections, and to work together on matters of joint interest including digitisation strategies and rights management. The meeting was an exciting first step towards vital collaborations in our field.
Bruce Johnson Lecture Series
From Champagne Flapper to Beer Larrikin: the 'Australianising' of Jazz, from 1918 to the 1980s
Bruce Johnson
Professor Bruce Johnson recently returned to the NFSA to undertake his second Scholars and Artists in Residence research fellowship. As the country's pre-eminent jazz historian, his illuminating insights into the development of jazz in Australia throughout the 20th century are eagerly anticipated in this inaugural SAR lecture series.
Professor Johnson will present lectures in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in November and December exploring jazz in Australia, its impact on social change and its presence on the silver screen. Professor Johnson will draw on the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive as well as the research he conducted during his fellowship.
Details of the venues and dates of the free lectures are on the NFSA website.
The NFSA is proud to be associated with the 2009 IF Awards and would like to congratulate all nominees. In particular, Adam Elliot (Mary & Max), Warwick Thornton (Samson & Delilah) and Robert Connolly and David Williamson (Balibo) for being nominated for Best Direction. The IF Awards will be presented at Luna Park in Sydney on 18 November. See the rest of the nominees and buy tickets at www.ifawards.com.au. The awards will be broadcast on SBS on 19 November at 10pm and on Showtime and Showcase at various times from 20 November.
