A new 50-minute documentary film directed by Flinders University Screen Studies graduate Carly Turner traces the story of Adelaide's amateur film groups which flourished before the Second World War and still exist today.
This Splendid Hobby of Ours will have its premiere as part of the Adelaide Film Festival at 11.30am on Wednesday February 28 in the Palace Cinemas. Admission is free.
The documentary was made in collaboration with the State Library of South Australia, which holds substantial amounts of original footage shot by the South Australian Amateur Cine Society and the Adelaide Filmo Club.
Head of Screen Studies Dr Mike Walsh, who produced the documentary, said two earlier documentaries featuring historic film footage of South Australia had proved very popular at previous film festivals.
The story of the clubs is told through compilations of their productions. One of the early films featured is Lone Girl Flier, made by Jimmy Melrose, who was better known as a record-breaking aviator; other contributors include John Mack, one of South Australia's best-known photographers.
The documentary-makers secured the services of retired Adelaide TV personality Lionel Williams to provide the narration.
"Since Lionel actually stars in The Felt Hat, a short drama made by the Filmo Club, he's a very appropriate choice," Dr Walsh said.
He said that the amateur films provide an important links with the past.
"The State Library's collection does an important job: not only does it preserve the look of the city as it was in the early and mid-20th century, but it tells us something about the orientation of people towards the cinema."
Dr Walsh said that although no local feature films were made by South Australian directors for some 50 years before the 1970s revival, the amateur clubs showed that this gulf in production wasn't a complete void.
"They demonstrated that the medium was accessible and approachable - these people made their own films, exhibiting them in halls around Adelaide and they were very well received," he said.
Flinders University is a sponsor of the Film Festival, and is a major contributor both creatively and behind the scenes. Dr Walsh advised on programming and wrote the notes for the official program, while Screen Studies students have been extensively involved in the organisation of the event as volunteers.
Flinders graduates are involved in three short films screening in the festival: Spike Up, My Last 10 Hours With You and The 9.13, and also had major roles in the making of the documentary What the Future Sounded Like and the animation Sweet and Sour.
With Look Both Ways and Ten Canoes, two films funded by the Festival's investment fund, winning AFI Best Film Awards, Walsh said the reputation of the event is going from strength to strength.
"The Adelaide Film Festival has very quickly become one of Australia's major screen culture events, and Flinders University has been strongly involved with it from the start," he said.
