INTRODUCTION

Australia’s outback is the vast and sparsely populated interior region of Australia that some people see as harsh and dry, but others describe as a place of exceptional beauty and wonder. In the outback you can travel for days without meeting anyone. It is the region sometimes known as ‘the Never-Never’, the land of never-ending landscapes. Where once the outback was seen as a hostile and unforgiving place that needed to be tamed and developed, today there is a greater understanding and appreciation of this unique environment. Where once the concept of distance was daunting, today the outback is more accessible than ever before.

While over 70 percent of the Australian continent is classed as desert, classifying these outback areas as ‘arid and lifeless’ denies the rich variety of topography and landscapes, the impact of the changing seasons and the diverse lifestyles of the people who live and work in the outback. The unique landscapes, unusual flora and fauna, and spectacular scenery draw tourists from all over the world, to appreciate and explore these hinterland areas of Australia. Today over 94 percent of Australians live within 100 kilometers of the sea, so only about 6 percent of our people are outback dwellers.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Film Australia’s Outback is the first production by Film Australia designed especially for DVD, and the first project of its type to be released. It provides rich and varied insights into the unique features and stories from the outback regions through time. The Australian outback–real and imagined–is captured in this diverse and fascinating selection of films. The collection also provides an interesting study of the development of the film industry in Australia.

The film material comes from Film Australia’s archive, spanning 80 years of Australia’s audiovisual heritage.

The project includes interviews with the filmmakers, who tell their stories about filmmaking in the outback. As director David Haythornthwaite says, the documentary allows you to ‘join in other people’s lives, become a part of their culture … and it gives you the license to taste what it would be like’. Writer/director Philip Robertson says that he likes the strange characters, the strange towns, and the strangely isolated settlements–as well as the landscape–and the whole Aboriginal mythology which permeates it all. Some of the nation’s most acclaimed documentaries are included in this extensive multimedia resource.

The Australian outback – real and imagined – is captured in a diverse and fascinating selection of films from the Film Australia archives. This innovative DVD includes some of the nation’s most acclaimed documentaries from the early 20th century until today, as well as an award-winning animation and a short Henry Lawson drama. In addition to the films themselves, a wealth of behind-the-scenes information has been included, from interviews with the filmmakers to a gallery of production stills. A website link, providing access to material such as storyboards and production notes, and a comprehensive study guide, makes this a powerful teaching tool as well as an entertaining introduction to life in Australia’s remote areas.