Contemporary Australian & New Zealand Cinema

From the Australian Film Renaissance of the 1970s represented by such directors as Peter Weir, Fred Shepisi and Gillian Armstrong to the "Lord of the Rings trilogy" and "Rabbit Proof Fence", Australian and New Zealand have made a unique impact on international cinema. In this course, we will examine the ways in which selected films (features, shorts and independent film) from both countries engage with issues and themes involving national identity, race, history, myth, landscape and the ability of two small film cultures to survive the economic and cultural dominance of Hollywood. Our weekly film screenings will be supplemented by a discussion of short stories, poems and a novel in order to situate Australian and New Zealand cinema within a broader cultural and political framework.