Video MayFair
Sydney Filmmakers Co-op Weekends, 4th - 20th May, 1979
Program Weekend 1: Unions, the Economy and the State
Friday May 4, Saturday May 5, Sunday May 6 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. sessions
Bauxite Mining in Our Jarrah FreVideo, Western Australia.
How Charles Court and the multinationals are systematically destroying 50% of the Jarrah forests and polluting Perth's water supply.
Queensland Dossier Jeune Pritchard/Luce Pellissier
A persuasive documentary linking Bjelke's ban on street marches with the state's repression of opposition to uranium mining and land rights.
Who'd Be a Shop Steward AMSWU Video Unit
A video drama set around the problems faced by factory workers and the level of commitment needed by the shop stewards to overcome them.
Sack Black - the struggle for democracy in the BLF Russ Hermann/Tom Zubrycki
A documentary about the first election campaign in the union since Norm Gallagher took over the NSW branch with the help of the MBA and property developers in 1975.
(Between the 5.30 and 8.30 sessions (i.e. approx. 8 p.m.) on Saturday and Sunday the Media Action Group will screen The History of Mayday - a slide kit.)
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Weekend 2: Media, Institutions and the Police
Friday May 11, Saturday May 12, Sunday May 13 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. sessions
Psychological Manipulation.
A rare expose of advertising ideology by the advertising industry itself.
The Sixty Cycle Cyclops Show Brian Williams
A powerful visual statement against the desensitizing of children by television over 21 years in Australia.
The People's Commission - an interim report.
An analysis of the findings of the P.C. in the context of the Broadcast Tribunal hearings.
Prisoners Parrarnatta Recidivist Group and Western Access
A day in a maximum security gaol produced by the prisoners themselves.
Stretch-a-Family Young People's Refuge and Western Access
The tape publicizes a new program at the Refuge: the fostering of adolescents. At present, the only alternative is institutions.
Deaf, Dumb & Blind Oliver Robb & Trevor Prouse
An impressionistic statement about the most notorious branch of the police force in the state.
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Weekend 3:
Communications: Personal and Social
Friday May 18, Saturday May 19, Sunday May 20. 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 pm. sessions
Keep It Down to a Shout Dasha Ross
An expression of the way deaf people live their lives and how they want to improve them.
Generations Alec Morgan
What it's like to live on a reserve on the fringes of a white town. An inside look at an aboriginal community in North West NSW.
Does It Feel Like a Long Ten Minutes Liz Rust / Andrew Vial
A tape reassuring women about the straight forward procedure of having an abortion.
Grandma Rose, Elsie Mae and Lottie Kim Rendall / Carol Sklan
A positive statement on old age. Three immigrant women whose lives span the history of the 20th century reminisce about their philosophies and experiences.
Brett & Friends: Why Stick to a Job? Film Australia
Lifestyles and attitudes of a group of young boys, especially to work. The tape also explores their attachment to each other and the area in which they live.
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Video Artists
Works exhibited in the upstairs foyer each weekend: They are described in the main Programme Notes published in Filmnews for the festival,1 extracted below.
Peter Dallow: Centreline II
Dallow is a videoartist and photographer currently holding an installation at the Holdsworth gallery. "Centrelines", part of the installation is a conceptual piece based on a camera following a 30 km centreline on the Sydney to Newcastle Rd. The tape pursues the phenomenon of time while travelling between two points of space.
Jim Hughes: Ritual
Hughes is a Video-artist, dancer and choreographer
'The evolution of man from animal forms or stages has been a main concern of my work. Through the study of Lorenz's writings on aggression (with animals) it is not difficult to see its relevance to modern man. Darwin's theory of evolution also fascinates me. In the unfolding of the piece, I try to listen to my inner body, try to feel and find out the hidden gestures, the movements lost along the way, in our forward march to present civilisation? Perhaps man in the pure animal state without knowledge moving functionally according to his needs is the answer to the present problems. One can be reminded of Rousseau's (the philosopher) 'Noble Savage' and the other Rousseau's (the painter) wild exotic jungle pictures. The performance becomes. a meditation, an attempt to get in touch with a lost innocence, a slow unwinding never ending process, the circle of life."
Robert Randall & Frank Bendinelli: Figures in a Landscape (May 11 - 13 only)
Randall and Bendinelli are Melbourne Video Artists.
"Figures in a Landscape is an attempt to discover and illustrate how the written word, sound and/or visual imagery interact and influence what we see and understand. The tape consists of three movements, each of 15 minutes duration. Each movement can be viewed in any order, either separately or simultaneously. The subject matter of the videotape is a scene from contemporary Australian life - the Sunday barbecue. The visual imagery is a pastiche of a well known painting, Manet's "Dejeuner sur I'Herbe". Each movement consists of four people at a barbecue; they arrive, spread their picnic, relate to each other and generally talk about the weather, the food, then pack up and leave."
Stephen Jones: Open Processes
Jones started with the original Bush Video group back in the heady days of 1973. He has performed a number of gallery installations both in Sydney and Melbourne, and is currently collecting the best of Australian Video-Art for an international video Biennale in Brazil.
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General All sessions will be accompanied by discussion with tapemakers present. All tapes not selected for the main programme will be available for viewing in the video booth upstairs. Forum: Where to From Now? Sunday 20th May 2pm A discussion about the state of video production and distribution, access to the media and the future of Mayfair.
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1Filmnews, May 1979, pp.9-12
