Into the Collection: Cine-Files

Join us at The Capitol for Into the Collection: Cine-Files, an evening dedicated to exploring the history of Melbourne's rich film culture, as pieced together by this year's AFI Research Collection Fellow, Digby Houghton. The evening will feature a screening of Flesh on Glass (1981), the 40-minute short student film by acclaimed director Ann Turner, followed by a panel discussion with Turner and renowned filmmaker, musician and writer Philip Brophy.  

Hosted by Houghton, the panel will explore the vibrant cultural landscape of Melbourne from the 1970s to the 1990s, examining the intersections of high and low art and the evolution of underground film production. Highlights include reflections on spaces such as the Clifton Hill Mechanics Institute, where Brophy hosted groundbreaking events, and the contributions of the Super-8 Filmmakers Group, led by Bill Mousoulis. 

The event will also see the announcement of the winner of the 2024/2025 AFI Research Collection Fellowship.  

About the speakers: 

Ann Turner is an Australian author, screenwriter and director, known for her atmospheric storytelling and historical themes. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, she gained recognition with her feature film Celia (1989), which was named one of the fifty greatest directorial debuts by Time Out. She is also the author of bestselling psychological thrillers The Lost Swimmer and Out of the Ice. 

Philip Brophy is an Australian filmmaker, writer, academic and musician. In the early 1980s, Brophy gained recognition with a series of Super 8 films made with the experimental collective Tsk-Tsk-Tsk, followed by his short feature Salt, Saliva, Sperm & Sweat (1988). He made his feature directorial debut with the cult classic Body Melt (1993). 

Digby Houghton is a film critic, filmmaker, programmer and screenwriter from Melbourne. He is interested in the intersection between history and film and completed his Honours thesis on late 1970s Australian cinema in 2022 at the University of Melbourne. He is the 2024 AFI Research Collection’s fellow where he is developing a screenplay based on Melbourne film culture from the 1970s and 1980s. 

Presented by RMIT Culture.