Launched! Shining lights of the AFI gather to celebrate new book tracing the 50-year history of the Australian Film Institute

By Rochelle Siemienowicz
December 2009

 

Mark Poole and Lisa French at
L’Oreal Paris 2008 AFI Awards

Book launches are often a sad and sorry affair – a smattering of friends and family show up to support the authors; a few glasses of wine are drunk and a couple of copies of the book get sold and signed. It was a very different story at the crowded and energetic launch of Lisa French and Mark Poole’s book Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute, which took place at Melbourne’s ACMI on Monday 23 November.

The spirit was very much that of a joyful and affectionate reunion with more than 100 guests in attendance. After all, a who’s who of the AFI and its history is also a who’s who of the Australian film industry. Distinguished alumni included the AFI’s first Chair, Frank Nichols (whose title in 1958 was Chairman of the Governors), Richard Brennan (well known producer and formerly of Screen Australia); Philip Bird (formerly of Film Victoria), producer Peter Kaufman, Ken Berryman (NFSA); Jenny Sabine (formerly Dean of the VCA), Paul Harris (Director of St Kilda Film Festival) and a long list of others including Jane Susak, Georgia Graham, Claire Stone, Peter Kemp and James Sabine. SPAA President Antony I. Ginnane was in attendance alongside filmmakers like Mark Hartley, Michael Harvey (State Coroner), Rob George (Passion) and actor Gary Files (Stingers, Blue Heelers.) Other guests included academics, editors, critics  – and of course the greatly respected and well-liked authors themselves.

Current AFI staffers turned out in full force and AFI CEO Damian Trewhella gave a rousing and warm introduction to the book, noting that up until now, the fascinating and chequered history of the AFI has largely been an oral one. He praised the book as a “substantial undertaking…placing the progress and development of AFI programs within the broader ever-evolving industry landscape.” He congratulated the authors on their “terrific addition to the scholarship that supports our screen culture and industry.”

Lisa French then took to the podium. Against a backdrop of amazing projected archival images from the book, she thanked her partner – in life and authorship – Mark Poole for his passionate interest in research and for his unflagging positive attitude – “something that has no doubt sustained him as a practitioner since the early 1980s!” French described the book as an insider’s story, a celebration, and a way of giving a voice to the many stories that comprise the history of the organisation.

 

Mark Poole and Lisa French at
the launch of Shining a Light.

Mark Poole then explained that the book is really about screen culture, “the other side of the coin from production, which is always highlighted. The story of the AFI is the story of people who were much more interested in the audience.” Poole noted that some within the industry have been critical of the AFI in the past, but it is easy to point the finger and fail to recognise that it is organisations like the AFI that nurture the industry and help it flourish.

As the speeches closed and the books went on sale, there was an overwhelming sense of supportive celebration; that this history is just the first chapter, with much more to come.

To find out more about the book or to order a discounted copy, click here