Christopher Kennedy (1 December 1948 – 27 August 2013) was an Australian AFI Award-winning film director, writer, producer, and novelist. He was known for writing the screenplay of '' Doing Time for Patsy Cline''.

Early life and education

Christopher Kennedy was born on 1 December 1948. He initially trained and qualified as a dentist and later studied atInterview with Chris Kennedy, 12 November 1998
accessed 19 October 2012 the

Swinburne Film and Television School Swinburne Film and Television School was a film school that was part of Swinburne Technical College from 1966 until 1991. The college offered the first tertiary course in filmmaking in Australia, and was founded and led for many years by filmma ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. There, he was dubbed one of a "

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

", along with Paul Goldman,

John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 14 August 1961) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. His early work includes the 1988 prison film '' Ghosts... of the Civil Dead'', as well as music videos for bands such as Siouxsie and t ...

, and Evan English, owning to their pranks. They once set fire to a lecturer's office, and they were responsible for the "kidnapping a frozen chicken" from lecturer

Peter Tammer Peter Julian Tammer is an Australian film director, and a former lecturer on film at Swinburne Film and Television School and later at its successor at the Victorian College of the Arts. Career Peter Julian Tammer began working in the film ind ...

Career

Film

Kennedy made his first film ''Glass'', a low budget thriller, in 1989 and followed it up with ''

This Won't Hurt a Bit ''This Won't Hurt a Bit'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film. It was directed by Chris Kennedy (filmmaker), Chris Kennedy. According to Ozmovies, Those searching for the source of inspiration for writer/director and co-producer Chris Kennedy need ...

'', in 1993. During the 1990s, he made '' Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' and the following decade, '' A Man's Gotta Do''.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p270 He wrote the novel '' Made in Australia'' in 2011. Kennedy owned two companies, Oilrag Productions and Oillamp Books.

Death

Kennedy died from a heart attack on 27 August 2013.

Awards

Kennedy was a three-time

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 ...

nominee and a Australian Writer's Guild Award winner.The website of Chris Kennedy – 3 time AFI award nominee
. Retrieved 25 January 2008. * 1998: Australian Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay, for '' Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' * 1998:

Australian Film Critics Association The Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA), formerly Melbourne Film Critics' Forum, is an Australian professional association for film critics, film review, reviewers and journalists who work in the media, based in Melbourne. It is a member ...

Award for Best Cinematography, for ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' * 1998:

San Diego International Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival is an independent film festival held in San Diego, California, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in autumn at venues in the Gaslamp Q ...

Award for Best Original Script, for ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' * 2008: Montreal Film Festival's Golden Zenith for Best Film from Oceania, for '' A Man's Gotta Do''

Selected filmography

* ''

Glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' (1997) * '' A Man's Gotta Do'' (2003)

References

External links

*
Oil Rag Productions and Oil Lamp Books
* 1948 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian male novelists Australian screenwriters Australian male screenwriters 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian male writers 20th-century Australian dentists {{Australia-film-director-stub