60 minutes
Screen icon Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone, Silver Linings Playbook, Animal Kingdom) cracks open a forgotten vault of government films and unearths a kaleidoscopic vision of the nation in the 1970s. The ‘official’ films produced during this decade are unlike anything that came before. Stylised, quirky, often hilarious, and at times deeply confronting, they capture a country reimagining itself in real time.
Featuring an all-star cast of commentators (including director Phillip Noyce; Salt, The Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence) and behind-the-scenes insights from the people who made and featured in these revealing films, this energetic, entertaining series is a fun, insightful, and nostalgic exploration of a decade of political and social change - when the modern nation we know today came kicking and screaming into existence.
The 1970s were marked by explosive social change. In the space of a single decade, the picture of what it means to be Australian was transformed from a predominately white, male, and straight ideal to something far more colourful and complex. A diverse chorus of voices called out to be heard - female, multicultural, Indigenous, queer - finally able to speak truth to power and reshape the nation.
A new generation of young and socially conscious government filmmakers turned their cameras on subjects that had previously been ignored or considered off-limits. What they saw was a rising counterculture movement - Anti-Vietnam War rallies, Women’s Liberation marches, and Gay Pride parades - and their cameras captured a messier and more complex vision of the nation.
The picture didn’t change overnight. But it wasn’t long before the carefully managed image of Australia, with a single voice, began to change rapidly. But was Australia ready for all this change?
