The Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative was a co-operative of independent filmmakers, set up to distribute and exhibit their films and the films of other independent filmmakers both Australian and overseas. The collection eventually included short films experimenting with film technique, low budget features, and documentaries with a particular emphasis on progressive social issues. Founding members were the experimental filmmakers of the 60s and early 70s, including
Aggy Read Aggy may be a diminutive form of the given names Agneta, Agnetha, Agamemnon, Agata (given name), Agata, Agatha (given name), Agatha, Agnes (name), Agnes or Aigerim. It may also be a diminutive form of a family name that begins with 'Ag-'. See also A ...
,
David Perry,
Albie Thoms,
Phillip Adams,
Phillip Noyce
Phillip Roger Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian film and television director. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama ('' Newsfront'', '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'', '' The Quiet Amer ...
, and later
Bruce Petty
Bruce Leslie Petty (23 November 1929 – 6 April 2023) was an Australian political satirist, sculptor and cartoonist. .
The Co-op grew out of the earlier, less formal, group
Ubu Films[Mudie, Peter ''Albie Thoms–David Perry: Selected filmwork (1964-1992); Dialogues (1994)'' Uniprint, Perth WA 1994. (Catalogue to Albie Thoms–David Perry screen exhibition, April 19–22, 1994)] and held its first official meeting in May 1970. One month earlier, the Experimental Film Fund had come into operation, and suddenly filmmakers had the beginnings of government support for independent or non-feature production in the 16mm format – in fact, independent production became largely government dependent. With the receipt of support for distribution and exhibition from the recently formed and federally funded
Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a product ...
(AFC), the Co-op opened its own 100-seat cinema in St Peters Lane
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...
in 1973, with the upstairs premises used for film distribution and production of the newspaper
Filmnews, begun in February 1975. The paper was initially little more than a supplement to the Co-op's Film Catalogue, but later developed into an independent journal which provided a critical look at issues affecting the production, distribution and exhibition of film and video in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
With the beginnings of the Co-op coinciding with the burgeoning of the Women's Liberation movement, and of the Aboriginal Land Rights movement, the Co-op distributed and exhibited some of the first Australian films by, for, and about women, and some of the first films about Aboriginal Australian history and politics. The
Sydney Women's Film Group, a collective of members from within the Co-op, was particularly active in distributing women's films for screening at various women's movement events, and Film Co-op women were responsible for programming and producing The International Women's Film Festival of 1975.
And as part of the newly reviving Australian film industry, several early Co-op members went on to key roles and careers in mainstream feature film and television production, including
Phillip Noyce
Phillip Roger Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian film and television director. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama ('' Newsfront'', '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'', '' The Quiet Amer ...
,
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born 21 August 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), '' Gallipoli'' (1981), '' The Y ...
and
Jan Chapman.
In 1981, the Co-op's cinema closed when the
AFC decided not to continue its funding subsidy; and the St Peters Lane premises were vacated in February 1985. The AFC supported the Co-op’s move to new premises in
Pyrmont, and encouraged more aggressive marketing and distribution policies, but these policies stretched the Co-op’s resources. The AFC decided that only one government-funded distribution body was to be supported and that was the
AFI; the Co-op had to close its doors in February 1986.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney Filmmakers Co-Op
Organisations based in Sydney
Australian artist groups and collectives
Film organisations in Australia
Filmmaker cooperatives
Cooperatives in Australia