With so many talented Australians having found success in Hollywood — both in front of and behind the camera — it’s only fitting that their achievements be celebrated in a major exhibition at one of Australia’s premier cultural institutions.
Australians & Hollywood: A Tale of Craft, Talent, and Ambition will open at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in Canberra on 21 January 2021 in a world premiere that spotlights Australia’s film making success and the extraordinary creatives behind the scenes who have taken us to new heights on the world film stage in recent decades.
The exhibit features never-before publicly seen objects, costumes, original documents and footage from the NFSA’s vast collection, as well as exclusive loans from the private collections of some of Australia’s most celebrated actors, cinematographers, and filmmakers such as David Michôd, Greig Fraser, George Miller, Mia
Wasikowska, Norma Moriceau, Eric Bana and Paul Hogan.
From directors such as Baz Luhrmann, George Miller and Rachel Perkins, to superstars such as Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Margot Robbie, Australians & Hollywood celebrates the pivotal moments in Aussie cinema – on shoots, on-screen and on the red carpet — the men, women and stories that made their mark at home, in Hollywood, and beyond.
The show is also an interactive exhibition, filled with the memorable, shared experiences of our extraordinary homegrown creative talents.
From the striking, customised steering wheels of Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) and the spectacular costumes from Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) and The Sapphires (Wayne Blair, 2012), to Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin’s art concept books for Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) and the clapperboard from the 2021 sci-fi epic, Dune (Denis Villeneuve 2021), audiences can see up close the creativity and craft that goes into making a classic.
‘Films can help us make sense of the world, inspire social change, and reflect who we are,” said NFSA Curator, Tara Marynowsky. “We hope audiences walk away from this exhibition with a greater understanding of the art form and how Australians have redefined big-screen spectacle and found success on their own terms.
“‘Australians & Hollywood is a celebration of iconic moments in contemporary Australian film, but also of the shared communal experience we enjoy when we go to the movies or visit an exhibition together.”
Added NFSA Chief Executive Officer, Patrick McIntyre “The exhibition is filled with memorable, shared experiences of our homegrown storytellers. We want Australians to be inspired and invigorated by our contemporary cinematic stories.”
Australians & Hollywood: A Tale of Craft, Talent, and Ambition will run from 21 January 2022, through to 17 July 2022, exclusive to Canberra, at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Open daily 10am – 4pm throughout the exhibition. Tickets can be booked, here.
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