Monday 7 August, 2006

In denial

I went along the Melbourne Film Festival this afternoon and saw Women in the Sun: 25 Years Later. I loved the original series but wasn't sure what to expect of a follow up. However the interaction between the actor's lived lives, and the narrative arc of the series - in many ways a narrative of injustice - was extraordinary and very moving. I'm not sure when the film is getting general release but I would urge you to see it - and be patient with the slow opening of 15 minutes or so when it is unclear whether Bob Weis's attempt to retrace the steps of the film is going to result in much at all. Justine Saunders, Boori Pryor and Eva Johnson are particularly rivetting. I won't detail their stories here - you must hear them talk for yourselves.

And while we're on the subject of Bob - why did Helen Razer cut him off mid-sentence when she interviewed him on 774 earlier today? His version (told to me before the screening, then told to the larger audience) was that she pressed the button and said, 'you can't say that. I'll lose my job.' It seems he was about to draw comparisons with Holocaust deniers and those in the Howard Government that deny that there have been generations of Stolen Children - despite the eloquent testimony to that fact by so many aboriginal people (some of whose testimonies are in the film). He says he didn't really get to make his point, however contentious it may have been, because Razer panicked and canned the interview. Are things so grim at the ABC that someone being interviewed can't express an opinion anymore? Did Razer not consider challenging Bob, if she disagreed with him, and allowing a debate to take place? It's depressing her job feels so precarious to her and it left me wondering how often this happens around the ABC these days. Certainly it it seems they won't be rescreening the original series, which could easily stand up to being repeated - as much as one could judge from the extracts, the stories, and performances, have stood the test of time. Is fact it's better television than you'd find on any channels these days.

Update 8/8: Here are more details on the exchange between Bob Weis and Helen Razer on Sunday.

Larvatus Prodeo on the whole affair.

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