Think of Australian films and there are certain images which automatically spring to mind. Comparing what is and isn't a knife for example, or P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney. But whether it's Australia's own or a good humoured stereotype (or both), what you see of films made down under is only the tip of the iceberg. Not only does Australia have its very own feature film industry, it had the very first feature film film industry, ever. On December 26th 1906, when pioneers in Europe and America were creating short pieces as gimmicks to impress and show off the new medium of film, Australian Charles Tait's 70 minute epic The Story Of The Kelly Gang, was busy having its premiere at Melbourne's Athenaeum Hall. (The only reason this film isn't on the list itself is that only 20 minutes of footage are known to have survived) These days though it is an industry which, Baz Luhrman aside, Hollywood seems more content to pilfer and plunder than work alongside. America sends its productions across the international dateline because tax incentives make it cheaper to do so, and actors have been crossing back across the pacific for decades. For all the talk of the latest Spider-Man and Superman being Brits, Bruce Banner, the Joker, Thor, and even Wolverine himself have all hailed from the land Down Under. But while actors may have been making the journey, for far too long there have been those Australian gems that have stayed below the equator as much as the radar. So what better time than Australia Day to put another shrimp on the barbie, flame a gallah, and go for a walkabout of cinematic discovery? As the land that gave the world cork hats, Vegemite, and the Crocodile Hunter celebrates all things Australian, why not celebrate alongside them with one of these little beauties?
