Day 1: Wednesday 22 Feb
11am The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) Screening and Lecture,
Old Melbourne Gaol
Shot in and around Melbourne and first screened in 1906, The Story of the Kelly Gang is considered the first feature length film anywhere in the world. As part of the three-day Screening Melbourne conference, Swinburne University of Technology will host a special screening of the film and lecture at the site where the infamous bushranger met his fate, the Old Melbourne Gaol. While much of the original film has been lost the remaining footage will be screened with a special introduction from National Film and Sound Archive of Australia curator Sally Jackson, detailing the painstaking process of restoration. Following the screening Dr Stephen Gaunson (RMIT University), author of The Ned Kelly Films, will discuss more recent film versions of this iconic figure in Australian history. Chaired by Liam Burke (Swinburne University of Technology).
Sally Jackson is a curator in the Film branch at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). Prior to joining the NFSA in 1991, she completed a degree in Cinema Studies at La Trobe University, worked for the Melbourne International Film Festival and Australian Film Institute, and as a freelance researcher in film, television and publishing. At the NFSA, Sally has worked in exhibitions, screening programs and film restoration, including work on The Story of the Kelly Gang and the NFSA’s Corrick Collection. She is currently writing a new history of the early days of cinema in Australia.
Stephen Gaunson is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Cinema Studies in the School of Media and Communication. His research explores the topics of adaptation, genre, national cinema, and film history. Stephen has published widely on the Australian cinema and global fields of film history. His writing has appeared in a range of books and journals. He is the author of The Ned Kelly Films: A Cultural History of Kelly History (Intellect, 2013).
7.15 Self-Guided Bluestone Laneways Walk
The self-guided walk passes through several of Melbourne’s famous bluestone laneways from the Reception Venue at RMIT (Chapel Courtyard) to the Treasury Theatre screening. In preparation for the screening of Daniel Crook’s Embroidery of Voids, with improvised musical performance by Ricochet, it will draw attention to some familiar and less familiar bluestone landmarks en route. A map and itinerary will be available on the day or through the ‘Screening Melbourne Laneway Walk’ on the free PocketSights app for the (available for iPhone download only – requires registration).
8pm Special Screening and Live Performance,
Treasury Theatre, 1 Macarthur Street
Walker-delegates will be greeted at the Treasury Theatre by a complimentary glass of champagne before a one-off screening of An Embroidery of Voids (2013) by contemporary video artist Daniel Crooks presenting a mesmerising journey through Melbourne laneways, accompanied by a live, improvised performance by Melbourne-based sound art group Ricochet and introduced by Stephanie Trigg. Sponsored by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.
Daniel Crooks is a Melbourne-based artist working across digital video, photography and installation. His work probes our understanding of time and visual perception through manipulated images that compel us to re-examine our experience of reality. Crooks’ work is in private and public collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Crooks has held numerous solo exhibitions at galleries including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (2016), Gallery of Modern Arts, Brisbane (2015), Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia (2013), Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne (2013), Art Gallery of Ballarat, Australia (2011), and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu, New Zealand (2010); and has participated in exhibitions at Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth (2014), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2013), Royal Academy of Arts, London (2013) and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2012).
Ricochet are a sound art group, developed out of the Melbourne free improvisation movement. The music is constructed as a long form improvisation, most often directed and moulded by communal restrictions or concepts. The group aims to present cohesive group improvisation with an emphasis on collective structure. Ricochet has performed at festivals and venues around Australia, curated a month long series of cross-disciplinary performance nights, and released two full length albums – each recorded in a single night. In 2016, the group hosted an ongoing silent film/improvised soundtrack series of monthly performances in collaboration LongPlay Cinema in North Fitzroy. The group consists of Joshua Kelly, Joel Trigg, Oscar Neyland and Ziggy Zeitgeist.
Stephanie Trigg is Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of English. She holds an Honours Degree and a PhD in English from the Department of English at the University of Melbourne and a B.Litt. degree in Philosophy and Social Theory from Melbourne. She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2006, and from 2008-2011 she was a Trustee of the New Chaucer Society. In 2008 she received the Patricia Grimshaw Award for Excellence in Mentoring, and an Award for Teaching Excellence in Arts and Humanities from the Australian Teaching and Learning Council. Stephanie is currently one of ten Chief Investigators and one of four Program Leaders in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (UWA). She leads the Melbourne node of the Centre.
SCREENING MELBOURNE 