From Kombis to Queens and everything inbetween

Australian Mediatheque

Last week in the Australian Mediatheque I came across a title that particularly impressed me: Harvey, a student short by Peter McDonald, featuring striking visual effects and a dark and disturbing story (definitely not for kids).

Made in 2001, you may have been lucky enough to catch a film like this fleetingly on the film festival circuit, and then usually only in the year of its making. Yet there it was, someone’s labour of love, making an impact on me nine years later.

It’s that sense of discovery that makes the Mediatheque such a unique space. Open since September 2009, it hosts an average of 100 visitors a day, ranging from English backpackers frightening themselves with Wolf Creek before heading off to the central desert, to elderly couples reliving the Queen’s 1954 visit to Australia.

With free access to the ACMI and NFSA collections, there are over a million moving image works available to view in one of eleven comfy ‘booths’. Just some of the works currently available to watch include:

• The early films of animator extraordinaire Adam Elliot (plus his debut feature Mary and Max).
• The early works of noted Australian filmmakers such as Gillian Armstrong, Jane Campion, Phil Noyce, Cate Shortland, PJ Hogan, Ivan Sen and Sarah Watt.
• Classic Australian ads, including ‘Hoges’ throwing a prawn on the barbie and a young Naomi Watts turning down dinner with Tom Cruise for her mum’s lamb roast.
• The video art of Peter Callas.
• Retrospective works of artist Len Lye, including his dynamic scratch films.

You can search the ACMI catalogue and NFSA catalogue online, book ahead, or just wander in and explore the on-demand titles, or wait while items from the collection are fetched (though some items are located off-site so will require a few day’s notice).

Some of the people who wander in have made some truly serendipitous discoveries, like the two men who were killing time while their wives were shopping and came across Kombi Karma, a documentary that spoke to their own history of Volkswagen enthusiasm. It turned out they even knew one of the people featured in the film and they brought their wives back to share their discovery.

Another man in his 70s walked in and stumbled across of footage of himself in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. After sharing his discovery with Mediatheque staff, they were able to locate the copyright holder and arrange for him to get a copy of the film.

Australian Mediatheque

The staff-mediated environment is the difference with the Mediatheque, says Nick Richardson, Collections and Access Manager. “There is a real engagement between the users of the collection and the staff, who can assist with research but also want to share the joys of discovery,” he says.

Fittingly, the Mediatheque sees a lot of regular visitors; some have even developed friendships through exchanging advice and sharing interests. One woman in particular is working her way through the entire Australian feature film catalogue in chronological order, watching 3 or 4 titles per week.

According to Nick, the easy access to a broad range of titles also encourages people to explore works that they may not have considered before. “People come in and start by watching something within their comfort zone and then use that as a springboard to explore totally random things.”

He cites one example of an elderly couple who began by viewing a 5 minute home movie of the Queen’s visit to Australia and ended up staying two hours, exploring experimental art and watching a filmed performance of the play Bran Nue Day.

So whether you’re into shorts, feature films, animation, classic TV shows or even the Queen, the Australian Mediatheque really does cater to all. And without it, I never would’ve discovered Harvey.