About

ABOUT THE BLOG

Ever since 1896, when French Lumiere agent Marius Sestier exposed the first foot of motion picture film in Sydney, Australian cinema has maintained a global perspective. From the imported American directors of the silent area, to the Australian Ealing films of the 1940s and ’50s and through to the co-productions and locally-shot studio blockbusters of today – not to mention the many iterations of the Hollywood ‘Gum-Leaf Mafia’ – Australian cinema has occupied an intriguing position in the global film marketplace.

With that in mind, I present The Far Paradise, a mildly academic blog about Australian cinema from a British perspective. Except that’s not strictly true. I am, in fact, an ex-pat Australian living in London and the son of British (mostly Scottish) parents. Sometimes I feel Australian and sometimes I feel British, but I’m always obsessed with film and – despite being many thousands of miles away – I have an unwavering interest in the past and present fortunes of the Australian film industry.

Thus, this blog aims to explore themes around the vague concept that is ‘Australian cinema’ from the perspective of someone living in London. Occasionally it will focus specifically on films that are in British cinemas, or showing on British television, but it will just as often look at events in Australia itself: new production announcements, the prospects of local films on the Australian market, restoration or research projects, Australian film festivals, etc.

The name of the blog – The Far Paradise – is borrowed from an Australian film of the late 1920s by the inimitable McDonagh sisters. The name was chosen partly to reflect on the notion of writing about Australian cinema from afar (as well as serving my own mild obsession with silent cinema), but also to act as a reminder that, despite continual suggestions to the contrary, Australia possesses a long and illustrious film history, full of great characters, great stories and – most importantly – great films.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When not fussing over Australian cinema, I spend the majority of my time researching and writing about film in general. As well as various freelance bits and bobs, I’m currently undertaking a PhD at King’s College, London, investigating the Australian films of Ealing Studios and the politico/socio-cultural links between Australia and the UK in the fifteen years following the end of World War 2.

Many of my most incoherent ramblings can be found over at the blog formerly known as Screen Addict, whilst my slightly less incoherent academic(ish) work is detailed on my Academia.edu profile. I am always willing to write/speak on Australian cinema, so please get in touch with any proposals.

Thanks for reading,

Stephen Morgan