Queensland

The allure of pleasant weather, a carefree lifestyle and better job prospects in Queensland appeal to Doug, a downtrodden factory worker from Melbourne.

The film was chosen as one of the first 50 graduate films to be digitised as part of the VCA film school’s 50th birthday celebrations because it captures the zeitgeist of Melbourne in the 1970s – and what its director, John Ruane, refers to as a ‘vanishing breed of Australians’. The film’s strong visual style captures the bleakness of a Melbourne winter, starkly contrasted by Doug’s imaginings of sunny Queensland. The film includes fascinating ‘old footage’ of Melbourne suburbs that have since become gentrified, notably Northcote and Fitzroy.

‘Queensland’ was inspired by Ruane’s reaction to a news report – about a man who slaughtered his wife and then proceeded to drink for the two days following the murder. It is also influenced by other contemporary works, such as ‘Summer of the Seventeenth Doll’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’.

Despite being ‘over length’ for a short film, the film was enormously successful, winning the AFI Award in 1976 for Best Short Fiction Film and later being screened by the ABC. As a director, Ruane went on to make significant Australian films such as ＇Death in Brunswick＇ (1980), Tim Winton’s, ＇That Eye the Sky＇ (1994) and another AFI award winning short film, ＇Feathers＇ (1987).

‘Queensland’ is also a significant film because it is another great example of the strength of relationships formed at film school, notably here, between the director John Ruane and co-writer/cinematographer, (VCA alumnus) Ellery Ryan. As a matter of trivia, Melbourne’s 103rd Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, is credited as the Key Grip in ‘Queensland’.