The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
THE WORKSHOP FILM GROUP A History 1968 - 2018
By Richard Keys, John Lanser and Michael O’Rourke
Dedicated to Vi & Laurie Collings and Helen Ramsay. With thanks to all of our members who have contributed so much over the journey.
Clockwise from top left: Helen Ramsay, Vi Collings, Laurie Collings
First published by the Workshop Film Group, 2018 Workshop Arts Centre, 33 Laurel St, Willoughby, NSW www.workshopfilmgroup.net
Copyright © Richard Keys, John Lanser and Michael O’Rourke, 2018 Compiled by Ian Grey 16 July 2018
Printed and bound by Forestville Printing, E4/15 Narabang Way, Belrose, NSW 2085
Page | 1
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
CONTENTS
Background 3 Birth of a film society 4 Programming 5 Technical challenges and significant steps forward 6 Residential film weekends 7 Non-residential film weekends 10 The sound of silents 10 Another dollar, Another Day 12 The Group logo 13 Special guests 14 Committee and membership 19 Appendix 1. Filmography 21 Appendix 2. Milestones 22 Appendix 3. Press clippings 23 Appendix 4 Programs 29
Page | 2
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
BACKGROUND
The Workshop Arts Centre (WAC), established by the artist and teacher Joy Ewart, was officially opened by Australian artist Hal Missingham on August 16, 1963. Prior to this Joy had run an art studio in a two-storey building - a former stable with overhead loft - in Dalton Street, Chatswood. Classes were held there from 1955 until 1961 when the Willoughby Council declared the premises unfit for occupation.
A crisis meeting was held in March 1961 and it was clear from the outset that Joy’s plans for her new Arts Centre were to be more ambitious than anything she’d done before. In addition to painting, sculpture and printmaking, she was determined that all of the other arts such as music and film would have a home at the new premises.
A few years earlier, Joy had gone to America on a Fulbright Scholarship and returned home with the idea that "All arts are like brothers, each shines its light upon the others” (this quote from Voltaire became the motto of her new arts centre). Joy had also come to believe that the art of the twentieth century was cinematography.
Two of Joy’s colleagues were Vi Collings (figure 1), a fellow artist, and Vi’s filmmaker husband Laurie. When Joy first saw Laurie with his cameras and his projector she realised he would be the perfect collaborator to help put her ideas into practice. Laurie was commissioned to make a film about Joy’s art classes for children at Dalton Street. That film, Youth Creates (1959) (Appendix 1), was screened at galleries in Melbourne and New York, where audiences were impressed by Joy’s teaching methods.
While Joy and her committee were still seeking premises for their new arts centre, Laurie was asked to screen films at their regular meetings in the supper room of the Willoughby Town Hall, where all of the equipment had to be brought along, with volunteers pitching in to help.
After moving to Laurel Street film screenings became very popular despite many inconveniences, such as poor lighting and seating, the projector in the aisle and people perched on stools or up on tables. At a screening of Ian Dunlop’s Australian documentary Desert People (1969) an overflow audience even came out onto the verandah to watch through the windows.
Becoming more ambitious and requiring a larger venue Laurie presented a program of Australian films at the Chatswood-Willoughby Town Hall in Victoria Avenue, Chatswood on July 8, 1964. Screening on that occasion were 16mm prints of John Heyer’s The Forerunner (1957), and Playing with Water (1955), Click Go The Shears (Dir: Keith Gow, 1961), Land of Australia (Waterside Workers Federation Film Unit, 1957), and Laurie’s own film The Rocks (1964), with a script by Peter Davison (Appendix 1).
Laurie’s passion for cinema included inviting guests to present his programs. In July 1966 John Flaus hosted a weekend of films for the Workshop Arts Centre Film Group at Willoughby with the theme: “If film is an art form, who is the artist?” In July 1967 Ian Klava, former director of the Sydney Film Festival (1962-1965), presented a program of international films.
Page | 3
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Late in 1967 Vi and Laurie were invited to join a film society run by Peter Johnson who screened films at the kindergarten in Chatswood. When this society folded due to Peter’s other commitments (he went on to become Chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney), Laurie and Vi decided it was time to form their own film society at the Workshop so a questionnaire was circulated to gauge interest (figure 33).
BIRTH OF A FILM SOCIETY
At 8pm on August 23, 1968, the inaugural meeting of the Workshop Film Study Group (WFSG) commenced in Studio 1 with Vi Collings acting as Chairman and Margaret Blundell as recorder (figure 34). Most of the people attending were Arts Centre members but there was one ‘outsider’, Richard Keys (figure 1), who had seen an advertisement in the North Shore Times, announcing that the Workshop Arts Centre (which he’d never heard of) was planning to start a film society. Richard was a newsreel cameraman and cinematographer who’d been a member of the Sydney University Film Group during his student days. When speaking about the meeting many years later, Richard recalls that he must have opened his mouth too wide or too often, for much to his surprise he found himself elected as the Group’s inaugural president (a position he held for the next 22 years).
It was decided that the new Group should start slowly, with three ‘test’ screenings to be held at the Workshop in Term III, 1968 (figure 34), during which any teething problems could be addressed. A full twelve-month program would commence the following January, with screenings to be held on the third Friday of each month. Richard suggested that the WFSG should join the NSW Federation of Film Societies, which would allow the Group’s activities to be publicised on the Federation’s mailing list, thereby providing much-needed publicity. Federation membership also provided the Group with insurance cover for film loss and damage.
The inaugural elected office bearers were:
Hon. President: Richard Keys Hon. Treasurer: Richard Elliot Hon. Secretary: Margaret Blundell
The president proposed that all of those present should form the inaugural WFSG Committee, so in addition to the above-named office bearers, the first Committee consisted of Vi Collings, Helen Ramsay (figure 29), Len Gayser, Roy Garwood, Dorothy Wootten and Toni Vrisakis.
September 27, 1968, was set as the date of the first test meeting, with filmmaker Michael Thornhill as guest presenter for a screening of Sam Fuller’s Hell and High Water (1954).
The second test screening a month later in October 1968 was the Figure 2. WFSG’s Czechoslovakian film Peter and Pavla, (Dir: Milos Forman, 1964) with David first film screening Stratton, the Sydney Film Festival director, as the guest speaker (figure 34).
Page | 4
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
The third test screening in November 1968 surprisingly did not mention the name of the film in the promotional leaflet but screened on that occasion was Little Caesar (Dir: Mervyn LeRoy, 1931) with film critic John Baxter as the guest speaker (figure 34).
Following the successful test screenings, a program for the first six months of 1969 was distributed. The monthly screenings included Citizen Kane (Dir: Orson Welles, 1941), Stagecoach (Dir: John Ford, 1939), A Bout De Souffle (Breathless) (Dir: Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) and Forgotten Cinema (Dir: Tony Buckley, 1967).
The first full program was so successful that it was decided to increase screenings to the first and third Fridays each month. Regular Sunday screenings were tried at one stage but were soon discontinued due to lack of support, though special events on Sundays would occasionally still be scheduled (figure 35). After much debate in the early 1970s the word ‘study’ was eventually omitted from the Group’s name to emphasise the informality of the Group’s activities.
PROGRAMMING
In addition to their regular twice-monthly screenings, the Group continued to program a wide variety of additional events. An animation weekend was a huge success thanks to strong support from the animation community. “A Weekend of Propaganda Films” became the subject of a lengthy article by Alan Gill in that Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald. The sudden upsurge in interest caused mayhem in the Arts Centre’s office where the phones rang hot. By the time the Herald’s article appeared, Leni Riefenstahl’s controversial Triumph of the Will (1935) - filmed during the Nazi party’s 1934 rally in Nuremberg - had already been shown so it became necessary to organise an encore screening.
Other notable events were a talk on film editing by Peter Vile, and another on screenwriting by Joan Long. A filmmaking training exercise (in collaboration with the Film & Television School) resulted in the production of the Group’s film Another Day (Appendix 1). There was a program on film archives by Ray Edmondson, Chief Librarian of the National Film Library – a joint venture with the Workshop Film Group. On another occasion Mr Edmondson presented a program devoted to “An Evening of Poverty Row or Rubbish Films of the 1930s”. Despite the title, it was a very popular, well-attended session.
Over the years the Arts Centre and the Film Group embarked on further joint ventures. One of the most adventurous was an entire weekend (March 11-13, 1983), devoted to “Films on the Arts”, with a selection of films for each of the following categories: theatre/arts, poetry/literature, photography/graphic arts, painting/sculpture, and music (figure 36). Another collaboration between the WAC and WFG featured a program of five new films from the Women’s Film Fund (figure 37), introduced by Project Officer, Vicki Molloy, who would later become Executive Director of the Australian Film Institute. The Women’s Film Fund had been established within the Australian Film Commission to provide financial support in the form of investment for films by, for and about women.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s the program committee often chose themes to be explored during a season, with one screening per month devoted to the chosen theme, while
Page | 5
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 the other added variety to the program. One of the most ambitious programs was a year-long look at the effects of technological developments on the history of cinema. There were examples from the world of silent cinema, the advent of sound, early colour processes, and wide screen formats developed to combat the advent of television, for which the Group’s CinemaScope screen would be unfurled like a giant sail at the front of Studio 1. John Lanser’s session on the three-strip Technicolor process was a highlight of this particular season.
There were programs devoted to German Expressionism, Neo-Realism, the French New Wave, McCarthy-ism in the United States, and the re-birth of the Australian Cinema of the 1970s. A selection of films tracing the development of the Hollywood musical was extremely popular. Commencing with King Vidor’s Hallelujah (1929), filmed in the early days of sound with an African-American cast, the season included such classics of the genre as On the Town (1949), Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and It’s Always Fair Weather (1955), all produced by the Arthur Freed Unit at MGM and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen.
During one of our occasional attempts to boost membership - and in a piece of experimental programming - the Group entered into a joint venture with the WEA Sydney Film Society. The plan was that at one of their Sunday screenings, WEA would show La Chartreuse de Parme (Dir: Christian-Jaque, France 1948) and on the following Friday the Workshop would screen Before the Revolution (Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy 1964), a loose adaptation of the same Stendhal novel upon which the former film was based. Members of each society were invited to attend the other group’s screening. By doing this we were able to explore the art of adaptation in a new and inventive way and it was hoped that by attending these screenings members of one society might become interested in joining the other. Sadly, although there were some attendees who belonged to both film societies, neither group actually gained new members and the experiment was never repeated.
The program committee was extremely diligent in finding the best possible films for its seasons but there was one particular tradition which seemed to be the most popular of all: the Assessment Screening.
The National Library was the main source of prints at that time. Bruce Hodsdon, the head of the Library’s film lending collection, would send a ‘mystery film’ for the Group to run during each of its six-monthly programs. After these screenings the audience would diligently fill in questionnaires to be mailed back to the Library. As this mystery film would often be the best attended film of each six-month season, it was quite sobering for the program committee to realise that despite their best efforts to select a host of cinematic gems it was the unknown film which usually turned out to be the most popular.
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES AND SIGNIFICANT STEPS FORWARD
When some of the equipment began to show signs of wear it became necessary to raise funds for the purchase of replacements. In a touching gesture of solidarity, other groups at the Workshop donated artworks - pottery, paintings and sculptures - for an auction which raised enough money to buy a new projector.
Page | 6
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
The Group then sought the Arts Centre’s permission to embark on its most ambitious undertaking to date: the building of a projection bio box at the rear of Studio 1. After further fundraising efforts this was eventually built with the support of an enthusiastic group of volunteer labourers and great invention by project managers Laurie Collings, David Bruce- Steer and Jim Tasker, who used their limited funds wisely.
The building of the bio box was a big step forward for the Group. Prior to this, films were screened on 16mm with a projector set up at the rear of Studio 1. The bio box cut down the sound of the projectors; it also allowed for the running of two projectors with a change over from one to the other, which meant there was no longer a need for breaks between reels.
David Bruce-Steer was the projectionist at this time and was soon joined in the bio box by our current stalwart John Lanser (another former member of the Sydney University Film Group). John joined the Group in 1988 and his technical know-how and inventive approach to problem solving has been a godsend ever since. On one occasion a CinemaScope print arrived for a screening and a mount for the anamorphic lens could not be found. A cancelled screening was a real possibility but John wouldn’t hear of this. With a bit of sticky tape and a steady hand, he got the film on screen with no one in the audience being any the wiser.
RESIDENTIAL FILM WEEKENDS
David Bruce-Steer joined the Group in 1970 and later became its Technical Officer. He also served as vice-president, and, for a short time, filled in as president. It was David who suggested that the Group might undertake a challenging new project: the organising of a residential film weekend at an alternate venue where screenings, food and accommodation could all be provided.
The idea had a lot of appeal, but many thought it too ambitious. However, during 1976 a venue was found at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College at Richmond (now an external campus of the University of Western Sydney). During term breaks student accommodation became available, the University’s cafeteria continued to provide meals on-site, and a lecture theatre with raked seating provided a suitable screening venue (figures 3 and 4).
Figure 3. The Hawkesbury screening theatre Figure 4. The Hawkesbury projection room
Page | 7
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
The logistics of moving temporarily from our Willoughby base to Richmond were extremely complicated. The Group’s sound and projection equipment, as well as 16mm prints of feature films and shorts, had to be transported to the venue. Disproving the doubts of many, the residential film weekend was a great success and over the next 23 years these annual events at Hawkesbury became a highly successful part of the Group’s activities, despite major problems in 1996.
For many years the Group had been well served by two, second-hand, 16mm Bauer projectors (and a third which was later acquired as a back-up). Although considered ‘Rolls-Royce’ quality in their day, by the 1990s they had definitely had their day, as screenings became more frequently interrupted for running repairs. Of course, Murphy’s Law mandates that if several things can go wrong they will all do so at the same time, and so it was at the 1996 Hawkesbury weekend that all three machines successively malfunctioned. Early arrivals in the theatre on Sunday morning were bemused to find the projectionist squatting on the floor amidst three partly dismantled projectors from whose collective components he was cobbling together two, semi-working machines. This exercise in cannibalism succeeded just enough to get through the balance of the program, with the take-up spool on one projector needing to be hand wound. The Bauers were retired within weeks.
During the 2000 Sydney Olympics the Hawkesbury venue became unavailable (it was used to accommodate the additional police required for security at the Games). Rather than cancel the residential weekend, the Group found a temporary home at Bundanoon, a lovely part of the world, close to Kangaroo Valley, south of Sydney (figures 5 and 6).
Figure 5. Bundanoon Hotel Figure 6. Bundanoon 2000. (l-r) Laurel Catchpool, Noel Morgan, John Lanser, Richard Keys, Mary Francis, Michael O'Rourke
Meals and accommodation were available at Bundanoon Hotel and screenings could be held in a detached conference room. There was one drawback: the conference facility had no separate projection room, an essential to isolate viewers from the grind of projector motors. However, an adjacent storeroom suggested a solution.
A portable projection facility – in reality a disused door into which was cut a glazed projection port for two machines mounted on a fold up shelf – was constructed and transported to
Page | 8
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Bundanoon. There, it was temporarily fixed in the connecting doorway between the store room and conference room to provide cramped, but effective, sound proofing (figure 7).
Figure 7. Bundanoon: the somewhat basic conference (screening) room and portable projection facility.
At Hawkesbury there was a feeling of “getting away from it all”, whereas in Bundanoon there was more interaction with the local community. Discovering that there was a group in town which held occasional film screenings we discussed a future collaboration. The following year the locals would organise a screening in the Town Hall to be held during the October long weekend and our Group would join them for Saturday Night at the Pictures. The film selected was Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997), with the writer/director Chris Kennedy introducing the screening and holding a Q&A afterwards. This joint venture was a very popular addition to the traditional residential weekend format and we hoped that many more collaborations would follow. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way.
When the hotel management failed to honour our booking for the following year, cancelling at very short notice, we were on the move once more. Intrepid projectionist John Lanser and then President Michael O’Rourke took to the road in John’s ‘equipment transportation vehicle’ in search of a new venue. Eventually the perfect replacement was found at the Metropole Guest House in Katoomba (figures 9 and Figure 8. Packed vehicle for transporting 10), where the residential weekends continue to equipment flourish.
One of the advantages of these weekends is that it allows for greater variety in programming. Entire trilogies can be screened, longer features than would be possible to screen at the Workshop often find their way onto the program, and late-night horror films, B movies and low budget sci-fi films have become a popular fixture for the night owls. The camaraderie of the weekend is also a very special feature with members having breakfast and evening meals
Page | 9
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 together. Film discussions often continue in the Metropole’s dining room, in its lounges and hallways and even in the cafes and streets of Katoomba.
Figure 9. The Metropole Hotel, Katoomba Figure 10. The screening room at the Metropole Hotel, less Spartan than at Hawkesbury
NON-RESIDENTIAL FILM WEEKENDS
For many years members who suffered withdrawal symptoms between annual Hawkesbury musterings could get a short-term fix by attending non-residential weekends at Willoughby. Predating the weekends away, they appear to have started in May 1970 with a two-day temptation: a Saturday matinee for children offered the 1950 Yugoslavian fantasy/adventure, The Magic Sword (plus cartoons), then on Sunday grown-ups could take in Honour Among Thieves (France/Italy, Dir: Jacques Becker, 1968) and Saddled With Five Girls (Czechoslovakia, Dir: Evald Schorm, 1967).
From 1973 these weekends were biannual fixtures, always themed, and usually launching with a Friday night screening, continuing on Saturday night (alas, aspirant artists commandeered the studio during the day), and climaxing on Sunday with matinee, intermediate and evening sessions, including interval for a hot meal catered by members in the adjacent Workshop Gallery. Subjects included directors Max Ophüls, Marcel Pagnol, Vittoria de Sica, David Lean and John Ford, genres (propaganda, animation, femmes fatales) and national identity: France, Japan, China, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand and in August 1989, to mark our 21st birthday, Australia.
The WFG in partnership with the Arts Centre promoted the Arts weekend in April 1975 showcasing Laurie Collings’s Youth Creates (1959) and Adventure in Art (1972) along with the Group’s own foray into film making, the 10 minute Another Day (1974). Occasionally the menu complemented the movies; we ate Asian for a Chinese weekend and Bush Tucker when digesting the local product (figure 35). The non-residential weekends faded out with the move to themed regular Friday screenings, as elsewhere recorded.
THE SOUND OF SILENTS
As any film historian knows, silent films were never meant to be screened in silence. At major
Page | 10
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 city theatres they were accompanied by modest orchestras, in regional centres by small musical ensembles and in local halls by, at least, a pianist.
Some 16mm prints of silent films come with a musical soundtrack, but not all do, so from time to time the Group found itself programming a film which really was silent. Just such an occasion was the Residential Film Weekend of 1990 and the film was The Mark of Zorro (Dir: Fred Niblo, 1920). Breaking new ground for the Group, it was presented with a musical backing pre-recorded on two tape cassettes and mixed to follow a somewhat complex cue sheet. By this means music of suitable mood could be matched with appropriate sequences in the film, and the technique was again employed at the Group’s regular Willoughby meetings to provide musical support for 1992 screenings of the silent documentaries Rien Que Les Heures (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, 1926), Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Dir: Walter Ruttmann, 1927) and Man with a Movie Camera (Dir: Dziga Vertov, 1929), and again in 1999 for Show People (Dir: King Vidor, 1928).
Inventive as the process was, it still could not provide for synchronised sound effects. In 2000, John Lanser became custodian of a Schmid editing table (figure 12), which could record fully synchronised sound tracks on 16mm magnetic film, and a Bauer double-head projector capable of reproducing them in tandem with the projected film. It was first used at the inaugural Bundanoon residential weekend that year to present Snowy Baker’s The Man from Kangaroo (Dir: Wilfred Lucas, 1920), the film’s many locations in nearby Kangaroo Valley evoking cheers of recognition as they appeared on screen. The following year The Cheaters (Dir: Paulette McDonagh, 1929), by Australia’s McDonagh sisters, was shown with a similarly crafted audio accompaniment and, as a bonus, was introduced by the National Film and Sound Archive’s Marilyn Dooley, who had worked on the film’s restoration.
Figure 11. The double head projector in operation at Figure 12. The editing table used to record the sound tracks Bundanoon
With the tradition now established, bespoke soundtracks accompanied screenings at the residential weekends in 2002 of Robbery Under Arms (Dir: Kenneth Brampton, 1920), in 2004 of The Breaking of the Drought (Dir: Franklyn Barrett, 1920), in 2005 of Silks and Saddles (Dir: John K Wells, 1921) and in 2006 of Chess Fever (Dirs: Vsevolod Pudovkin and Nikolai Shpikovsky, 1925) and The Empire Builders (Dir: Duke Worne, 1924). Back at Willoughby, synchronised tracks were created for Naming the Federal Capital (Dir: Raymond Longford,
Page | 11
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
1913) (screened in 2001 for the anniversary of Federation) and for Paris Qui Dort (Dir: Rene Clair, 1925) in 2002. Man with a Movie Camera was reprised in 2001, The Man from Kangaroo in 2008 at the Group’s 40th birthday party (figures 31 and 32), and Show People in 2011, all with new musical accompaniments incorporating synchronised effects.
John’s collaborator throughout has been his colleague from undergraduate years, Roger Woolnough who, although not a member of the Group, has devoted many hours to every one of these sound tracks, and to the restoration of Another Day ... but that’s another story, below.
ANOTHER DOLLAR, ANOTHER DAY
In earlier years the Group obtained some modest financial support for its expanding activities. That it was able at the time to boast an association with directors Bruce Beresford, Chris McGill and Chris McCullough, and critics John Hinde and Bill Collins, would not have been a handicap in making applications. Assistance from the Department of Sport and Recreation (later the Division of Cultural Activities of the Premier’s Department) of the NSW Government, which rose from $200 in 1974 to $600 in 1980, was earmarked to raise the Group’s profile through wider advertising and additional screenings with guest speakers. The spending was obviously well targeted. In 1974 alone membership increased from 48 to 97 and by 1976 the Group was feeling financially secure enough to experiment with the first residential weekend. Stewardship of the moneys received was subject to annual review, the meticulous documentation maintained by treasurer Helen Ramsay ensuring this was never a problem.
Figure 13. Breakfast scene: living well from Another Day Figure 14. Breakfast scene: living rough from Another Day
The Federal Government was also doling out dollars. In 1974 the newly established Film and Television School made a grant in the singular sum of $866.73 “to the Willoughby Film Workshop to make a film as part of film study activities.” So, a film now had to be made. The $866 would have defrayed only laboratory charges and sufficient film stock for single takes (there is no record of what the 73 cents were squandered on) so reliance on favours and ‘foreign orders’ would be mandatory. Ted Alder (who had been active in the Darlinghurst- based Filmmakers’ Co-operative) heard of the project through the Workshop Arts Centre and came up with a script which he subsequently directed. He recruited Warwick Hercus, a freelance film editor with Film Australia access, who in turn inveigled 16mm camera-owning Ray Steiner to join the crew. Rodney Simmons was a member of the Group who owned his
Page | 12
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 own sound recording equipment and enlisted Peter MacGoldrick for a role in front of the camera.
The film was shot over a month or less, mostly on weekends when everyone was able to attend. As a location for the interiors Pam Hutcheson procured a very tolerant Joyce Landau’s elegant St Ives residence, remembered for its 14 metres long gallery of Dobells and Drysdales.
Figure 15. Cameraman Ray Steiner takes a light reading Figure 16. Marking a take, Another Day Exteriors were shot at Oxford Falls and Waverton. Post production was one long night at Film Australia, (“alive with other people doing their own personal projects”), and co-ordinating all this was David Bruce-Steer. The outcome was Another Day (working title initially Monday), a ten-minute snapshot of how the other half lives, paralleling the daybreak domestic rituals of suburban stockbroker (MacGoldrick) and homeless hobo (George Pollack).
After being ventilated before an appreciative full house and reprised as part of the April 1975 non-residential weekend the print was consigned to a cupboard in the projection box at Willoughby. There it lay undisturbed until 2013 when ventilation of a different kind, a vinegar-like aroma, signalled it had done what 40 year old Eastmancolor generally does: turned red-brown. The hours spent by Roger Woolnough in regenerating the colour of Figure 17. Ted Alder (rear) directs George Pollack a hastily arranged telecine transfer would probably rival the time taken to make it in the first place. There are still gaps in what we know about this enterprising episode in the Group’s history but telling the full story will have to wait for ... another day.
THE GROUP LOGO
A corporate image was thought desirable even for an unincorporated body (as the WFG is), so when the committee in November 1992 was pondering the perennial problem of raising
Page | 13
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 the Group’s profile the merit of adopting a suitable logo was quickly agreed. Not agreed was what a suitable logo would look like. Devices incorporating projectors and reels of film were predictably proposed and unenthusiastically received.
Then, former president Pat Wilson thought outside the (bio) box to suggest an owl as a motif, her logic being that the owl plies in darkness, the same environment in which cinephiles transact. There was general concord when the concept was ventilated at a subsequent screening, during which a new member, Andrew Burns, disclosed his day job: graphic designer. He offered to prepare a treatment of the owl option and duly delivered, at the Christmas party, artwork featuring an owl perched on a clapper board and Figure 18. WFG having lens diaphragms for eyes. Italian film theoretician Ricciotto Canudo’s logo designation of film as The Seventh Art was acknowledged in an arc over the precocious bird.
A few other contributions were received from members, including sketches of a jester, a small parrot and a koala, but Andrew’s offering was the clear favourite and began to appear on correspondence and program notes from April 1993. It has, therefore, been in use for one half of the Group’s 50 year existence. Andrew, meanwhile, extended his creativity to producing several T-shirts bearing the logo, and this one promoting the annual residential weekends when they were still held at Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Figure 19. T- SPECIAL GUESTS shirt
From the time of our first screening when Michael Thornhill introduced Hell and High Water the Group has continued to invite guest speakers who can enrich the audience’s appreciation of the seventh art.
The Group chose well when electing its inaugural president, for Richard was able to call on his industry contacts for a steady stream of guest presenters. During director Bruce Beresford’s introduction to his film The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) he announced that as Barry Humphries was in town and was not performing that evening, he’d invited him to attend the screening. Half an hour later a hire car pulled up outside and Mr Humphries swept in, brandishing a Dracula cape, saying they were filming a sequel and would make a special little version for our little screen. He then swept out again, leaving the audience gobsmacked! That night, in Bazza’s honour, there was a ‘Fosters Bar’ and when the lights came up after the screening one of the attendees was discovered slumped in a chair snoring his head off, surrounded by a dozen empty Foster’s cans!
In 2017 Bruce Beresford (figure 20), accepted an invitation to introduce his film Tender Mercies at the residential film weekend at Katoomba followed by a Q&A, despite being very busy working on pre-production of his new film Ladies in Black (2018), which was due to commence shooting at David Jones and the Blue Mountains shortly thereafter. The audience was enthralled, particularly as he was able to discuss his new film.
Page | 14
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 20. Bruce Beresford introduces Tender Mercies at Katoomba, 2017
On another occasion, the ABC Radio film critic, John Hinde was invited. As the screening was about to commence, an apologetic Richard announced that John had not turned up, only to hear a quiet voice from the back of the hall, saying simply, “I am here!” Mr Hinde had arrived an hour early and sat at the back without anyone noticing him!
In 1996, the film critic Adrienne McKibbons programmed the Residential Film Weekend which featured films devoted exclusively to the film noir genre. Some attendees loved Adrienne’s informed presentation, while others said “Please give us some laughs!” From then on variety was the rule!
Once, during a period when the Group advertised its screenings in the Sydney Morning Herald, David Stratton agreed to be our guest. As the newspaper deadline approached our guest hadn’t chosen the film, so we advertised the evening as “David Stratton’s Choice”. The place was packed!
Figure 21. David Stratton Producer Don Catchlove joined us at Hawkesbury for a screening of With Prejudice (Dir: Esben Storm, 1983), a controversial film about the Sydney Hilton bombing. The darker side of Sydney life also featured in Heatwave (1982), an atmospheric thriller based on the disappearance of heiress and newspaper publisher Juanita Nielsen. Director Phillip Noyce travelled to Hawkesbury to introduce this screening and stayed on for a Q&A afterwards. Another disturbing slice of Australian life is presented in Shame (Dir: Steve Jodrell, 1988), in which a female lawyer travelling through the Western Australian outback by motorcycle discovers a community which is trying to silence a young girl who’s been raped by the son of a wealthy local landowner. The film’s co-writer Michael Brindley
Page | 15
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018 joined us for a bracing session on the making of one of the best films to emerge from the far west of this country.
Tony Buckley’s films as producer or director have been screened on many occasions at both Hawkesbury and Willoughby, with particular highlights being Forgotten Cinema (1965) and Snow, Sand and Savages: The Life of Frank Hurley (1972). Mr Buckley had joined us as a special guest on several occasions, but when he was unavailable to attend an encore screening of Forgotten Cinema at Willoughby the film’s writer Bill Peach agreed to fill in for what turned out to be an unforgettable evening. Tony Buckley has said that Mr Peach and the narrator of the film, disc-jockey Phil Haldeman, were not paid for their work on the film because “They feel the way I do about the [Australian film] industry and gave up their time to help me with a project they felt was worthwhile.”
Albie Thoms was a member of Ubu Films and the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative who went on to write and direct Palm Beach (1980), for which he gained a “Best Original Screenplay” nomination at the 1979 AFI Awards. Albie came to the Workshop to introduce his film about the drugs-and-surf culture of the northern beaches of Sydney, and although the setting of the film is only about an hour’s drive from Studio 1 the world it depicted could not have been more different.
Gil Brealey, who passed away on April 1, 2018, was a fascinating figure in the Australian film industry. He was a producer and director who spent a large part of his career working behind the scenes to make the industry viable. His efforts in helping to create the South Australian Film Corporation led to the production of many notable feature films of the Australian cinema revival of the mid-1970s. In 1999 Gil joined us at Hawkesbury, where he presented the films Manganninie (Dir: John Honey, 1980), for which Gil was Executive Producer and Annie’s Coming Out (1984) which he directed himself. It was a wonderful afternoon with a remarkable man. Film Group subscriber Mick von Bornemann, cinematographer on Annie’s Coming Out, and the film’s producer, Don Murray, were also in attendance. Also screened was the short film Where Dead Men Lie (1971), which was produced by Gil Brealey and directed by Keith Gow, whose work would feature in a very special evening back in Willoughby.
Vi Collings invited her friend Norma Disher to present a selection of films made by The Waterside Workers Federation Film Unit (WWFFU). Ms Disher was one of the principal members of the Unit, along with her friends and colleagues, Keith Gow and Jock Levy. The WWFFU’s films explored social issues and were designed to combat the misinformation and anti-worker propaganda of the Menzies government. Pensions for Veterans (1953) and The Hungry Miles (1955) were hard-hitting political films, but in the humorous Four’s a Crowd (1957) the lens was turned on some extremely flawed waterside workers (all played by the Unit’s Jock Levy).
Another film from the South Australian Film Corporation’s golden era was highlighted when Geoff Burton, cinematographer on Sunday Too Far Away (Dir: Ken Hannam, 1975), joined us for a fascinating session at Hawkesbury. This classic film of the Australian New Wave was produced by Gil Brealey and based on a remarkable screenplay by John Dingwall.
Page | 16
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
The multi-talented Tom Cowan was our guest on several occasions. His work as a writer, director and/or cinematographer featured in a wide variety of films we’ve screened over the years, including his early work on films of the Carlton Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, his features The Office Picnic (1972) and Orange Love Story (2004), the last mentioned developed with the help of writer Adam Bowen from the true love stories of the inhabitants of an Australian country town. We have also screened his beautifully photographed film, Winter of Our Dreams (Dir: John Duigan, 1981).
Ray Argall, writer-director of the wonderful Australian film Return Home (1990), was invited to present his film at Willoughby. Ray, who had won the award for Best Director at the 1990 AFI Awards, was living in Melbourne at the time but, fortunately for us, happened to be visiting Sydney on the weekend of our screening. Ray agreed to come and introduce the film before going out to a pre-arranged dinner with his sister but promised to return in time for a Q&A. As the houselights came on after the screening Ray and his sister reappeared to cheers and warm applause. Michael O‘Rourke found it a very poignant occasion to see Ray’s sister watching on from the sidelines as Ray discussed the making of his warm-hearted film with a very responsive group. The WFG program committee were so impressed with the director and his film that he was invited to present it again at Katoomba on a later occasion.
Actor Tony Barry (figure 22), joined us at Willoughby for a hugely entertaining screening of Goodbye Pork Pie (Dir: Geoff Murphy, 1980), a New Zealand road movie, which was filmed in sequence as its characters travel from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South in a rapidly disintegrating yellow Mini-Minor. Tony described how a small enthusiastic crew - many of whom were learning on the job - helped this to become the first New Zealand film to earn back its budget from the domestic market. Figure 22. From left: Rozamunda Waring, Tony Barry, Michael O'Rourke and Tim Gard
In 2010 then president, Michael O’Rourke, represented the Australian film society movement at the AGM of the International Federation of Film Societies (IFFS) in Recife, Brazil. When the outgoing president of the IFFS, Paolo Minuto, arrived in Sydney not long afterwards he agreed to travel to Katoomba to present the film The Orchestra of the Piazza Vittorio (Dir: Agostino Ferrente, 2006), a stirring documentary about the creation of a multi-cultural orchestra, formed to combat racism in a suburb of Rome near the central railway station.
Producer Kerry Herman, a guest at Katoomba, screened her documentary Vietnam Symphony (Dir: Tom Zubrycki, 2005). This is the amazing true story of how the Hanoi Conservatory of Music survived the Vietnam War by transporting their instruments to a small village in the mountains where they tunnelled into the hillside to create studios and an auditorium where their lessons could continue. The film ends with the musicians returning to the village many years later to perform a concert for the villagers who had sheltered them during the war.
Page | 17
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Director Geoffrey Bennett has presented films for the Group on two occasions. His film Smart’s Labyrinth (1994), featuring the Australian artist Jeffrey Smart at work in his home studio in Tuscany, was screened at Katoomba with the entire crew in attendance. His documentary about Tim Winton, The Edge of the World (1998), was the opening night screening of the Group’s 50th anniversary year program. Again, the crew was in attendance, so during the Q&A after the screening we were treated to a masterclass on the making of the film. One of the notable subscribers at the 2016 Residential Film Weekend was Richard Brennan (figure 23), a true cineaste, with extensive credits on many classics of the Australian cinema. Richard, who was associate producer on Newsfront (Dir: Philip Noyce 1978) (figure 24), spoke about the creation of one of the most important films of the 1970s, a film which explores the lives of newsreel Australia’s Figure 23. Richard Brennan cameramen, with archival footage deftly Figure 24. Newsfront screened at incorporated into the film’s narrative. The program committee also invited Katoomba, 2016 inaugural president Richard Keys to present an illustrated talk on his own time as a newsreel cameraman, which made for a wonderful double-bill.
Things didn’t always run smoothly, however. Richard remembers an occasion when the producer Joan Long joined us for a Q&A after a screening of The Picture Show Man (Dir: John Power, 1977). From the audience a man started shouting at her, demanding to know why she hadn’t accepted a script of his. Our bravest member, David Jones, managed to get him to leave. David was commissioned to refuse him entry should he re-appear, which luckily, he didn’t. Richard rang Joan the next day to apologise, and she was very gracious about it.
This is Richard’s only negative memory from 50 years of screenings at the Workshop, though he also tells the story of how we once lost a young member (our assistant projectionist) after a screening of Les Enfants du Paradis (Dir: Marcel Carne, 1945). Apparently, the young man was so overawed by Jean-Louis Barrault’s performance that he left us to become a mime artist in a circus!
It should be said that even without guest presenters we have always believed that discussion of the films we screen is an essential part of the Group’s activities. Members such as Richard Keys, John Wilson, John Lanser, Michael O’Rourke and David Young have introduced the films in order to provide some background and context before the screening. But it is the post- screening discussions which are the most important and distinctive part of what we do. The shared knowledge on these occasions is often enriching and helps to create a better understanding of cinematic storytelling and the filmmaking process. It can also be a source of some very revealing one-liners. After a screening of Chinese Roulette (Dir: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1976), one elderly member complained that “Every time I woke up they seemed to be saying the same thing!” But the importance of the discussions was perfectly illustrated by our former treasurer, Millie Rea (figure 31), who once said, “You know I was very glad when that film ended but now that we’ve had the discussion I’d really like to watch it again.”
Page | 18
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
COMMITTEE AND MEMBERSHIP
Since its inception the Group has been blessed by the quality of its committee members. When Richard Elliott resigned at the end of 1969 Helen Ramsay took over the duties of treasurer. Later, when Margaret Blundell stood down, Leila Cumming became our secretary, (in 1976 the position was held for a short time by Beris Moffat).
Joy and Alan Henry were long term committee members whose commitment to the Group is legendary. For many years they organised refreshments at the break between screenings during our residential film weekends. Joy and Alan would often miss the beginnings and endings of films in order to ensure the smooth running of the weekend. Alan also served on the program committee and as a relief projectionist. Denis Trimas was another who could be called upon as a projectionist when required.
Others to serve on the committee have been Wendy McGeachie, John Rich, Bob Hodge, Gwen Richards, Pam Hutcheson and Margaret Windell. When Richard Keys went overseas at one point, it was Pam and Margaret who shared the duties of President.
For more than twenty years Helen Ramsay had been an absolute powerhouse, with a passionate commitment to the Group and its members. When she decided to resign it could have been a major setback, especially when David Bruce-Steer stood down soon thereafter. Fortunately for us, a new era was about to commence. Noel Morgan took over as Secretary and the Group continued to thrive. It was Noel who negotiated the Residential Film Weekend’s move from Bundanoon to Katoomba. Millie Rea volunteered to be our new Figure 25. David Bruce- treasurer. Apart from Millie’s excellent financial management skills, Steer she was also a warm and welcoming voice when potential new members phoned for information about the Group. Millie would often arrange to meet the new person beforehand and accompany him or her to the screening. It’s this kind of warmth and hospitality which has been one of the hallmarks of the Group.
Our projectionists have also been remarkable for their long-term commitment. For many years David Bruce-Steer was chief projectionist and, since 1992, John Lanser has presented the films, maintained the projectors, and come up with solutions to every problem that has arisen. He has also trained a valuable roster of assistant projectionists, such as Andrew Burns, Tim Gard and Brendan Smith, another member of the Group who went on to work at the National Film and Sound Archive. Since the advent of digital screenings, Nathan Wilson has become a valuable member of the projection team.
Inaugural president Richard Keys continued in the position for twenty-two years until a career change in 1990 took him to the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra. During the next five years we had three presidents. David Bruce-Steer filled in until Pat Wilson was elected. Pat was succeeded by her husband John. When John retired in 1997 and moved to Figure 26. Richard Keys the Central Coast he encouraged Michael O’Rourke (figure
Page | 19
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
31), to take over the presidency, a position he filled for the next fifteen years until he relocated to Western Australia in late 2012.
The Group’s committee continues to be tireless in its quest to improve the viewing experience. Current office bearers are: Joanne Jones, secretary/treasurer; Jenny Cronan, advertising and membership, while Ian Grey, David Young and John Lanser make up the program committee. Rounding out the committee are Anna Petrou, whose photography can be seen on the Group’s website, and assistant projectionist Nathan Wilson. As a musician and composer, Nathan is able to point out the subtleties of the soundtracks of the films we screen.
For a Group which is now celebrating its 50th birthday it is interesting to note that existential angst has been an almost constant companion. At the time of our fourth birthday, acting president Margaret Windel spoke passionately about the need to attract new members, saying that ‘our future existence may depend on it!’ Similar entreaties were made at the time of the tenth anniversary, and currently we face the same problem.
During 2017 there was concern once more about our aging demographic. Jenny Cronan took it upon herself to promote the Group on social media and through the local councils, an approach which is already attracting many new faces. Jenny and Ian Grey undertook a review which updated the website to make it more attractive to younger audiences.
Over the years the challenge of attracting new members has been addressed in a variety of ways. In order to make the screening conditions more attractive, cleaning and painting bees have been organised, sound equipment has been modernised, and more comfortable chairs purchased. Advertisements have been taken out in local papers, there have been leaflet drops, and word of mouth is always important. In the early days refreshments consisted of tea, coffee and biscuits but magnificent spreads appear now at most screenings. Joanne Jones is not only doing a wonderful job as treasurer, she also caters for the parties on opening night and at the end of year Christmas screening with exquisite home-cooked food and a well- chosen selection of wine.
As mentioned previously, the Group’s memorable ‘owl logo’, created by Group member Andrew Burns, made its debut in 1993. Later, assistant projectionist Tim Gard (figure 22), created our first website. Digital projection of DVDs now allows for a wider variety of titles for our programs, though 16mm prints are still occasionally screened from the bio box. When Ian Grey joined the program committee he took on the task of booking the films, preparing the programs and maintaining the Group’s website. He commenced organising the Residential Film Weekends at Katoomba from 2017, taking over from Joanne Jones and Jenny Cronan, who had performed the role so admirably. David Young has an encyclopaedic knowledge and a passion for cinema which comes across in the program notes he provides and in his introductions to the films before each screening.
The Workshop Film Group remains the longest running, still-active film society in New South Wales and as we enter our sixth decade we do so with a sense of cautious optimism about what lies ahead.
Page | 20
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
APPENDIX 1
FILMOGRAPHY
The pre-history of the Workshop Film Group can be glimpsed in the two films made by founding member Laurie Collings, in 1959 and 1964. Since the birth of the Group in 1968 another two short films have been made and there is documented evidence of a three- minute newsreel featuring a ‘Children’s art class with Sue Buckley at the Workshop Arts Centre’ but unfortunately all efforts to locate this 16mm film have failed.
YOUTH CREATES (Dir: Lawrence Collings, 1959), silent, colour, 18 minutes. Made by Laurie Collings for Joy Ewart, who took the film with her to the U.S.A. on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1959. It shows her approach to teaching art to a group of young people in her studio at Dalton Street, Chatswood (Appendix 2 and page 3).
THE ROCKS (Dir: Lawrence Collings, 1964), 21 minutes, script by Peter Davison. As a young boy plays hide and seek among the back streets of the Rocks, the area’s colourful past comes alive through drawings. The film stars 10-year-old paper boy Warren Sparkes, a third generation resident of The Rocks. Public hangings, convict mutinies and street gangs are shown along with the beauty of the Garrison Church and the splendour of the sailing ships which berthed there (figure 27 and page 3).
ADVENTURE IN ART (Dir: Lawrence Collings, 1972), colour, 11 minutes. Prod Co: Supreme Sound Studios. Producers: Lawrence Collings, Australian Film Institute, photography: Lawrence Collings; story: Robyn lanssen, child’s voice: Miriam Roos. The story of a child’s trip to Luna Park, based on an exhibition of children’s paintings, drawings, prints, collages and models from the Workshop Arts Centre. The film is an examination of the thought processes of six-year old children, told through the medium of painting and recorded improvisations (Appendix 2).
ANOTHER DAY (Writer/Director: Edward J. Alder, 1974), colour, 10 minutes. Starring Peter MacGoldrick and George Pollack. With thanks to Raymond Steiner, Warwick Hercus, Rodney Simmons and the Film & Television School (now: the Australian Film, Television and Radio School). Made originally by members of the Workshop Film Group (Appendix 2 and page 12). Restored by John Lanser and Roger Woolnough. The film contrasts the start of another day for a young executive and a homeless man living rough.
Page | 21
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
APPENDIX 2
MILESTONES
1959 Laurie Collings directs the film Youth Creates for Joy Ewart (Appendix 1)
1963 Opening of the Workshop Arts Centre, 16 August
1968 Inaugural meeting of the Workshop Film Study Group, 23 August
First Screening: Hell and High Water (Dir: Sam Fuller, 1954), with filmmaker Michael Thornhill as guest presenter, 27 September
1972 Laurie Collings directs Adventure in Art based on The Workshop Arts Centre’s exhibitions (Appendix 1)
1974 Another Day, made by members of the Workshop Film Group
1976 First Residential Film weekend at Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Richmond
2000 25th Residential Film Weekend relocates to Bundanoon Hotel
2003 28th Residential Film Weekend relocates to Metropole Guest House, Katoomba
2008 The Workshop Film Group celebrates its 40th anniversary with a party and the screening of The Man From Kangaroo (Dir: Wilfred Lucas, 1919), 5 September
2013 Purchase of a DVD projector to allow for more varied programs
2018 The Workshop Film Group celebrates its 50th year of continuous running, with a party and anniversary screening of Adventure in Art, Another Day and Les Bicylettes de Belsize (Dir: Douglas Hickox, 1968), 17 August
Page | 22
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
APPENDIX 3
PRESS CLIPPINGS
Figure 27. Newspaper article about The Rocks film, 1964.
Page | 23
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 28. Newspaper article on guests at Willoughby and Hawkesbury, 1982
Page | 24
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 29. Northern Herald article about the WFG, 1993
Page | 25
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 30. Richard Keys promoting the 21st Residential Film Weekend at Hawkesbury, 1996
Page | 26
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 31. North Shore Times article about the WFG's 40th Anniversary. Pictured are Michael O’Rourke and Millie Rea
Page | 27
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 32. North Shore Times article about the 40th anniversary screening, 5 September 2008
Page | 28
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
APPENDIX 4
PROGRAMS
Figure 33. Questionnaire to assess the viability of starting the film group, 1968
Page | 29
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 34. A flyer for a meeting to discuss the formation of a film group and promotional notices for the second and third screenings, 1968
Page | 30
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 35. Sunday program of special films, (Discover Five Crafts Day), 1975
Page | 31
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 36. Program of Literary Arts, 1983
Page | 32
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 37. Program of new films from the Women's Film Fund, 1987
Page | 33
The Workshop Film Group – A History 1968 – 2018
Figure 38. Program flyer created by Andrew Burns, 2007
Page | 34