Starstruck: Australian Movie Portraits

Sons of Matthew tells the story of determined pioneer family, the O'Riordans, and their endeavour to tame the wild frontiers and dense rainforest of Queensland's Lamington Plateau.

The film's depiction of pioneering hardship parallels the making of the film, which was an epic of frustration, delay, rising costs and a fight against the unforgiving elements.

This image captures both the reality and fiction of the Sons of Matthew cast and crew battling the elements.

Here they are pictured filming in a windstorm manufactured using aeroplane propellers connected to electrical generators.

The Man from Snowy River was based on the iconic poem of the same name by Banjo Paterson, 1890.

The climax results in a dramatic chase as the stockmen pursue a herd of brumbies through the Australian Alps.

He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side,

Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough;

Where a horse's hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride,

The man that holds his own is good enough.

And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,

Where the river runs those giant hills between;

I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,

But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen.

This scene was full of action and daring on the part of our leading man, or so it seems...

What do you think the director and camera operator did to make the scene look more dangerous than it really was?

This 'downhill' shoot was made to look steeper than it was in reality.

The trees were tethered and the cameras tilted.

Photographer Lisa Tomasetti captures the first time Scott Hicks, director of Shine, saw Geoffrey Rush in character as David Helfgott.

Hicks reflected that, 'the joy of this moment was fabulous.'

Scott Hicks lines up a shot through his viewfinder on actor Geoffrey Rush for the movie Shine.

Rush visibly transitions into character as he begins to resemble Helfgott.

He then appears to go further inward to reach deeply into the character he is playing.

This is a proof sheet from Sunday Too Far Away.

A proof sheet is a contact print taken directly from the negative film.

Using a magnifying glass, the photographer can select the best quality image before printing and enlarging it. This reduces time and waste.

How might this photographic process differ from digital photography?

Look closely at the proof sheet.

Can you find evidence of any Australian icons here?

What makes them icons?

Ned Kelly and his gang are folklore in the European Australian identity.

The Story of the Kelly Gang opened in Melbourne on Boxing Day 1906.

Over an hour long, it is thought to be the world's first feature-length film.

Today only a quarter of this epic film survives. Some of the stills included on the daybill are from lost scenes.

Actors of the 1930s - 1950s such as Chips Raffety portrayed nostalgic and adventurous characters.

Chips Raffety was the quintessential Aussie Digger, giving people a fair go and helping his mates.

Iconic films such as Strictly Ballroom reflect the changing face of Australian culture.

What does the poster make you think this film is about?

Explain why, using the images and design of the poster as evidence.

This portrait was shot during the film's climax at the Pan Pacific Grand Prix dancing championships.

In the scene, Scott and Fran cast aside old dance rules and their personal fears to perform a stirring paso doble.

The tuxedo-and-glitter Cinderella story ends with the couple triumphant in dance and in love, embodying the film's most important message: 'A life lived in fear is a life half lived.'

How would you describe their expressions?

Compare their expressions with their poses.

Do you think this portrait embodies the message of this film?

If so, in what way?

A prequel to the film Red Dog, Red Dog: True Blue, chronicles the early days of the ‘Pilbara Wanderer’ and tells the coming-of-age tale of his best mate Mick.

What does coming-of-age or rite of passage mean?

Why would these themes make a good story?

Why would an animal be important in such stories?

'[I] live alone… and then the little boy came… You must be Storm Boy, you're running like the wind,' said Fingerbone Bill.

David Gulpilil remembers...

'They're both telling the story; from me how I loved the pelican because it was my Dreaming and the little boy loved it too.'

What is the significance of animals and Dreaming in Aboriginal culture?

Many movies have been adapted from fiction and non-fiction literature.

Tracks was based on the 1980 memoir by Robyn Davidson.

On the day that this photograph was taken Robyn Davidson and Rick Smolan, the National Geographic photographer who took the original photographs during her journey, were there.

How do you think both Davidson and Smolan were feeling about history being repeated?

Traditionally, homosexuals were portrayed as outcasts from society, often behaving outrageously, and usually in a subplot.

In Priscilla Queen of the Desert whilst the characters are outrageous and seen as outcasts, they are also multi-dimensional.

Each character has their own personal journey, which is revealed as the film unfolds.

Bruce Beresford’s Paradise Road tells the story of a group of women held captive in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War.

When they form a choir, the music they make redeems the brutal conditions, scarce food and cruel punishments they endure.

Beresford remembered feeling compelled to make a film about the women’s ‘heroism, resourcefulness, creating this choir with extraordinary music, creating beauty out of these surroundings.'

Set in Jindabyne, NSW, Somersault is a coming-of-age film that intimately explores fragility and innocence through the character of Heidi.

Matt Nettheim highlights director Cate Shortland's use of red in the film – with its connotations of blood, passion and gothic fairy tales – as a deliberate motif to contrast the film's warm interiors with the reduced palette of the bleak snowy landscape.