Don't Talk Back

ACMI's Australian Perspectives screenings are a terrific way to catch up on the history of Australian cinema. Screening most Saturdays at 4pm, they afford a rare opportunity to see films both well-known and obscure. Often they are accompanied by Q&A sessions.

In recent months, ACMI has partnered with the Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA, of which I am a member) to present selected films of local significance. The next AFCA/ACMI screening is Yakkety Yak by Dave Jones, screening at 4pm on Sat 12 July 2008. From ACMI's website:

Inspired by films such as Fellini's 8 1/2 and Truffaut's Day for Night, Dave Jones' Yakkety Yak (1974) follows a filmmaker and university lecturer (played by the director himself) as he attempts to make a film in the basement of a building. It's literally a classic underground comedy in which a group of people fight over the logistics of making a truly collective, revolutionary and existential movie. When original intentions get sidetracked, all attempts to set things straight result in a different - but strangely similar - script. Also starring John Flaus.

Followed by a panel discussion hosted by AFCA.

In the words of the director, the film was "produced on a $4000-and-change budget, shot in a week, directed by someone who wasn't sure what he was doing, and starring a pudgy guy who'd never acted before (or since)." See the director's notes on the film.