Australia: An Unofficial History on SBS and SBS on Demand S1E1 – Journey back in time with screen legend and two-time Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook, Animal Kingdom) to uncover a forgotten vault of 1970s films in compelling new SBS series Australia: An Unofficial History.
Jacki is joined by an all-star cast of commentators who react to each film through a contemporary lens, including filmmaker Phillip Noyce AO (Rabbit Proof Fence), cultural critics Benjamin Law and Jan Fran, comedian Zoë Coombs Marr, broadcaster Leila Gurruwiwi, actress Rachael Maza and pioneering Indigenous activist Dr. Gary Foley. The series also features many of the films’ original subjects, including Jacki herself.
Through archival footage, made available by the National Film and Sound Archive, the three-part documentary series gives viewers unprecedented access to never-been-seen productions by renegade filmmakers that tackled taboo topics, amplified marginalised voices, and lifted the lid on the emerging social issues of the ‘70s. From ground-breaking documentaries on post-natal depression and Australia’s hidden Valium addiction epidemic to interviews with pioneering LGBTI activists and gloriously daggy films made to sell a vision of Australia to the world – this is the ‘70s that history forgot.
Episode One:
In the early 1970s, the Government Film Unit promoted a white, beach-focused Australia – but as the country’s culture and population began to change, so did the stories the Unit started to tell.
Australia: An Unofficial History on SBS and SBS on Demand – SBS Original Series Premiere / Wednesday 5 March at 7.30pm (4 Parts)
TV Central SBS content HERE
Australia: An Unofficial History on SBS and SBS on Demand S1E1
