My Country (1986 film)
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| My Country | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Angus Caffrey |
| Written by | Angus Caffrey, Ali Kayn |
| Starring | John Flaus Susanna Lobez |
Production company | Warhead Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 mins |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $336,000[1] |
My Country is a 1986 Australian film about the discovery of Australia.[1] It makes no attempt to be historically accurate and is more correctly a fantasy than a historical drama.
The film was partly shot at Monash University.[2]
Plot
[edit]The true story of the discovery of Australia. Sort Of.
The film begins on the Santa Maria at sea in 1492. A sailor from Christopher Columbus' expedition, Danby, is set adrift and improbably washes up on the southern shore of what would later be named Australia. Intuiting from the strange creature that literally drops on his head (a koala) that he was in a new land, he claims it for himself, records his claim, and dies. In contemporary (1980s) times Danby's descendant asserts his claim in court hoping for a cash settlement.
The story is deliberately unrealistic, ignoring native title issues and first nations inhabitants that Danby does not meet, ascribing to the various characters simple motivations. Thus the barristers (lawyers), solicitors, researcher and Danby himself are solely interested in creating as much noise and nuisance as possible in the hope that the Australian government would pay them all to go away. None of them reckoned on an eccentric judge with nothing to lose.
Cast
[edit]The cast is led by film critic and lecturer John Flaus with local Australian actors and features award-winning Australia speculative and science fiction writer Lee Harding as The Surgeon. Members of the Australian science fiction fan community made uncredited appearances in the film.
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]The film was written and produced in the 1980s when Australia actors and film-makers were achieving a resurgence of international recognition. The Australian government was providing generous tax concessions to encourage small and large films to be made in Australia.
Writing
[edit]Director Angus Caffrey wrote the original screenplay and scripter Ali Kayn was brought on board to rewrite the script and work behind the scenes. The film relies on visual puns and references as much as word play, in jokes, and iconic Australian attitudes in the situations and dialogue.
The film was written in the years following the 1975 International Women's Year (IWY) which had been redefined by the United Nations as International Women's Decade. Caffrey wrote his first draft then put all the characters' names into a hat. He alternately assigned each male or female as the names were drawn, accidentally making the opposing barristers both female. He made no attempt to differentiate the sexes in the script except by their pronouns.
Filming
[edit]Principal photography began in January 1985, in Melbourne, Victoria. Filming took place on a variety of locations around the city. With the exception of Kayn, the director and crew were either recent film school graduates or men who had previously only worked on fan and short films. Minor thefts and other teething problems of such a low budget film resulted in cinematographer Ray Boseley directing the last weeks of filming.
Post-Production
[edit]The film was completed but any distribution details cannot be discovered.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p109
- ^ Contemporary article from Monash University accessed 14 July 2013
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