Australian film

Australia has a film industry that pre-dates ‘Hollywood’ by over a decade, and yet it was in constant danger of extinction. Public subsidies launched the Australian film Revival’ of the 1970, which surprised the world with movies such as Picnic at Hanging Rock or Gallipoli, Shine or The Piano. In order to thrive, Australian film making – more so than other national film industries – had to focus on narratives presenting its own land, culture and fabled identity. Postmodernism pluralized and problematised all of the above. In the 21st century, some genres - multiculturalism, Aboriginality and the presentation of an increasingly problematic rural life being the most conspicuous without breaking the original frames. These themes continue to produce rich narratives anchored in a collective discourse of the national, although the growing dependence of Australia’s film industry on Hollywood suggests that a new leaf is about to be turned.