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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Based on the book by Miles Franklin, this feature film tells the story of an Australian country girl who, at the end of the nineteenth century, wants to make her own way in the outside world.
Rejecting an offer of marriage from a wealthy suitor (who is also her childhood friend), she instead finds herself obligated to work off her father's debt to a neighbouring family, for whom she works as governess and housekeeper. Returning home, she again rejects her suitor's proposal, this time in favour of writing a novel based on her experiences.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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A Cinema of Resistance : My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979)
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , April no. 94 2020;'When looking back at the filmography of Australia’s national cinema, it’s almost impossible to overstate the significance of My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979). Released at the height of the Australian New Wave, the film has been rightfully labelled the country’s first feminist feature film. Fittingly, then, it is also notable for launching the career of director Gillian Armstrong, who became the first Australian woman to helm a feature in a staggering 46 years. My Brilliant Career is emblematic of a cultural and institutional shift in the 1970s that saw the creation of the Australian Film Development Corporation (AFDC). Along with the development of a production fund and distribution network, the AFDC established the Australian Film and Television School. Armstrong was a member of the school’s inaugural graduating class along with fellow director Phillip Noyce; subsequent alumni would include key proponents of the New Australian Cinema like Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford. As feminism became a part of the Australian public consciousness, organisations like the Sydney Women’s Film Group (SWFG) agitated for female representation and content. Armstrong acknowledged that “the SWFG had a powerful effect that really did pay off.” Crucially for Armstrong, this climate opened up a space where the idea of a female Australian auteur could be imagined for the first time.' (Introduction)
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Pioneering Australian Women Filmmakers : Introduction
2017
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essay
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , June no. 83 2017; -
Straight to the Pool Room : Top 10 Films about the Australian Dream
2016
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— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 25 April 2016; 'The housing market may not sound like the most stimulating territory for a story, but it has been the basis of some of Australia’s greatest films' -
10 Best Australian Films Made by First-time Directors
2016
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— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 March 2016; -
Great Australian Directorial Debuts
2016
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column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 14 March 2016;
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Untitled
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 22 1993; (p. 138-140)
— Review of My Brilliant Career 1979 single work film/TV ; Proof 1991 single work film/TV -
My Brilliant Career : Rewatching Classic Australian Films
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 28 February 2014;
— Review of My Brilliant Career 1979 single work film/TV -
Fade to Black and Blue
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14 May 2007; (p. 13) Discusses the feud between the producer and director over My Brilliant Career and admits that this is not the first bad blood in the Australian Film Industry. -
Armstrong's Peers Acknowledge Her Brilliant Career
2006
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— Appears in: The Australian , 11 May 2006; (p. 3) -
Book Versus Film : My Brilliant Career
2010
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— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 4 July 2010; (p. 20) -
Tripping on the Light Fantastic : A Bit of a Look at Australian Film
1997
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sydney Studies in English , vol. 23 no. 1997; 'In the beginning is the word: there has to be a script. But even before a word is said there's light, and camera, and action. Films are before all else about light, and about what can be realised through light. That pre-eminence of light was acknowledged in the old-time movie theatres, in the custom, now regrettably lapsed, of having the projection illuminating the screen before the curtains were drawn open, so that the promised world of light could be glimpsed before revelation, symbolically seen through a veil which then parted — and behold, a new heaven and a new earth. Those who arrived late, after the houselights had gone down, followed their own little subdued pool of light, the usherette's torch, down the carpeted aisles.' (Author's abstract)
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Cinematographer in the Frame for Highest Honour
2011
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— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23 November 2011; (p. 11)
Awards
- 1980 Sammy Award — Best Writer Feature Film
- 1979 winner Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Source
- 1979 nominated Festival de Cannes — Palme d'Or
- Monaro, Cooma area, Cooma - Snowy - Bombala area, Southeastern NSW, New South Wales,
- 1890s