Melbourne on Film

Book excerpt: A collection of bold new writing capturing Melbourne's identity in cinema Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is Australia's most revered celebration of cinema. It is one of the world's oldest and most storied film festivals, continuously running since 1952. To commemorate MIFF's 70th anniversary, Black Inc. has partnered with the festival to produce an exciting collection of essays on Melbourne-made cinema. Melbourne has a long, rich and diverse film history. It was the city where the first ever feature-length film was screened in 1906 - The Story of the Kelly Gang. It was also the birthplace of classics like Monkey Grip, Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead, The Castle and Mad Max, plus many fascinating shorts and experimental films. Melbourne on Film is both a celebration of filmmaking in Melbourne, and a tribute to the city's unique creative history. The first collection of its kind, it includes personal reflections on the legacy and influence of these key films by some of the city's favourite writers, including Christos Tsiolkas, Sarah Krasnostein, John Safran, Osman Faruqi, Tristen Harwood and Judith Lucy. Melbourne on Film will be treasured by cinephiles and readers of intelligent essays on arts and culture.