Robin Anderson (1950 – 2002) was an Australian award-winning documentary filmmaker. She is known for her 1996 film ''

Rats in the Ranks ''Rats in the Ranks'' is an Australian documentary film released in 1996. The film detailed the last weeks of the 1994 Leichhardt Municipality, Leichhardt Council mayoral elections. The filmmakers, Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson (filmmaker), ...

''.

Early life and education

Robin Anderson was in born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, in 1950. After graduating from high school in 1967 she spent a year in Europe, including six months in Paris. Back in Australia she studied economics at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and graduated three years later with honours. She then worked in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

for the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

for several years, until she won a government scholarship to study for master's degree in sociology at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. There she studied under

Herbert J. Gans Herbert Julius Gans (May 7, 1927 – April 21, 2025) was a German-born American sociologist who taught at Columbia University from 1971 to 2007. One of the most prolific and influential sociologists of his generation, Gans came to America in 19 ...

, and during her time in New York she developed a greater interest in cinema and ultimately decided to become a filmmaker.Robin Hughes
''Robin Anderson – A Tribute''
''

Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...

'', May 2002Richard Philipps
''Leading Australian documentary filmmaker dies''
at wsws.org on 18 March 2002

Career

Anderson returned to Australia after the graduating from Columbia and started to work for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

(ABC). Through her work at ABC she met the documentary filmmaker

Bob Connolly Bob Connolly is an Australian film director, cinematographer and author. He is best known for his documentaries produced over the past 30 years, including ''First Contact (1983 film), The Highlands Trilogy'' and ''Rats in the Ranks'', most of t ...

, whom she married. Together with her husband she produced five extensively researched documentaries set in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and Australia, which were positively received and garnered several awards. Ian Aitken:
Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film
'. Routledge, 2013, , pp.60-61 Their first documentary '' First Contact'', about the Australian Leahy brothers and their relation to natives of the remote highlands of

, was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in the category Best Documentary Feature in 1984. ''

'' (1996), was "an often hilarious close-up look at small-town political infighting", according to American film critic

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

Accolades

In 1992 Anderson and Connolly won the Byron Kennedy Award, a lifetime achievement award presented as part of the

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

(later AACTAs). The judges stated that their "films are not only fine documentaries - they are great human dramas. They will allow no obstacle to divert their single-minded pursuit of excellence".

Personal life

Anderson married director Bob Connolly and they had two daughters.

Death

Anderson died aged 51 of a rare form of cancer on 8 March 2002, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The following day her work appeared at the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

Filmography

*1982: '' First Contact'' *1989: '' Joe Leahy's Neighbours'' *1992: '' Black Harvest'' *1996: ''

'' *2001: '' Facing the Music''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Robin Australian film directors Australian women film directors 1950 births 2002 deaths