The general neglect of Australian films
David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz discuss why Australian audiences are hesitant to see confronting Australian films.
“I think people want to go [to the cinema] and be taken away from their lives; they don’t want their lives confronting them on screen,” said Pomeranz.
“But surely there’s room in our cinemas for films like these,” argued Stratton.
“Absolutely. I’m not against people making them, but I’m talking about why people hesitate to go to them,” explained Pomeranz.
Stratton and Pomeranz presented the At the Movies Goes Silver session at the Adelaide Film Festival last week. They each presented three films they love but feel have been neglected and forgotten over the years; Stratton’s third selection was Ana Kokkinos’ 2009 film Blessed, which started the discussion about the general neglect of Australian films.
