Australia Daze

A brand new digital restoration of Pat Fiske’s stunningly articulate snapshot of Australians, and how they chose to celebrate the bicentenary.

“It’s funny, moving, educational, but more importantly totally engrossing.” – Margaret Pomeranz, The Movie Show

On Australia Day in 1988, twenty-eight film crews were sent across Australia to capture and record how average Australians were celebrating the bicentenary – the national celebration marking two hundred years since the arrival of the First Fleet in Botany Bay. And as the celebrations gather momentum, one of the largest protests in Australian history begins.

Filmed by an army of directors scattered around the country, all under the supervision of documentarian Pat Fiske (Rocking the Foundations), Australia Daze pieces together days-in-the-lives of average Australians into a charming, humorous and, at times, shocking reflection of a diverse Australia.

Contributing DirectorsKarin Altmann, Mario Andreachio, Graham Chase, Sharon Connolly, Sue Cornwell, Ruth Cullen, Bernice Daly, Jack Davis, Jim Everett, Jen Feray, Pat Fiske, Martin Godard, Trevor Graham, John Hughes, Tony Jones, Jeni Kendell, Ned Lander, Dick Marks, Penny McDonald, Dennis O’Rourke, Christine Sammers, Carole Sklan, Tony Steinbrecker, Paul Tait, Gordon Taylor, Jeni Thornley, Nick Torrens and Madelon Wilkins.

Join us at the Fed Square big screen for this very special, free outdoor screening. Presented with the National Film and Sound Archive’s digital restoration program – NFSA Restores – reviving our cinema icons. In partnership with ACMI. 

Duration: 75 mins

Rating: PG

Admission: Free