The Archive Project: The Realist Film Unit in Cold War Australia

Filmmaker John Hughes explores a largely forgotten period in Australian filmmaking during the Cold War. This book examines the work a small group of dedicated film enthusiasts - The Melbourne Realist Film Unit (1945-1959) - who forged an Australian response to threats to freedom of speech and sought social justice through an engagement with European and American documentary, feature and avant-garde cinema. In their body of work - their films and equally importantly their exhibition practices - lies an important foundation of Australia''s contemporary independent film culture. Their story is told through the first person account of a filmmaker today, digging through archives. This ''book of the film'' was a long time in preparation. ''The Archive Project'' is an illustrated screenplay of the film of the same name that premiered at the Australian International Documentary Conference in 2006. The film quickly accumulated a number of awards and nominations. See more