Seniors on Screen, presented by the Media Resource Centre, returns in 2010 with another innovative program of films, stimulating forums and the best hands-on workshops in Adelaide – all uniquely tailored to those over-50. Running every Friday from 23 July – 19 November at the Mercury Cinema, the program is essential viewing for any senior film buff. Seniors on Screen was the proud recipient of a Ruby Award in 2009 for ‘best community impact’.
With films ranging in theme from English royalty to barren Russian landscapes, this year’s program has been curated by the inter-generational team of twenty-one year old Flinders University film student and aspiring film curator, Tom Glaister, and retiree Patti Greethead. The season will get off to a bang when Adelaide personality Peter Goers launches the 2010 season on Friday 23 July at 11am, with the Adelaide premiere of Second Hand Wedding. This rollercoaster ride of a movie was a big hit in its home country of New Zealand and an audience choice winner at Australian festivals.
Curators Tom and Patti have collaborated to bring together a collection of films that capture the best of recent Australian and international cinema including Noodle, the story of a young Chinese orphan abandoned in Israel, and the Adelaide premiere of Separation City, mixed with a touch of nostalgia with great works of the past, such as Errol Flynn classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood.
“Patti and Tom have worked together to create a program that presents a unique combination of films that seniors will know and love, as well as introducing them to new-release films that will be sure to inspire,” says Gail Kovatseff, director of the Media Resource Centre. “What really sets this innovative program apart is that it allows seniors to be a creative force by making films for the big screen.”
Special film forums will include Be Your Own Critic on 24 September, where renowned movie writer Noel Purdon will help you gain the insights to fuel your ambitions to write and talk like a film critic, and Everything You Wanted to Know About French Cinema (But Were Too Afraid to Ask) with Dr Benjamin McCann on 12 November, followed by French New Wave classic A Bout de Souffle (Breathless). Shalom Almond, who has been a regular seniors’ workshop leader, will also screen her award-winning documentary Love Market at a session on Friday 1 October. Screening at the same session will be the hit Bollywood short, Priya, by recent Flinders University graduate, Chris Kellet. Priya has been picked up by Zee TV, India’s largest satellite television company, and broadcast to 160 countries.
Film screenings and forums are $5 for seniors ($12/$10 for general) and include free coffee and biscuits. All sessions are held on Fridays at 1pm, except for the opening session (11am), at the Mercury Cinema, 13 Morphett Street, Adelaide.
In 2010, Seniors on Screen will again include the most sought-after and best value workshops in Adelaide for the seniors’ community. In 2008 and 2009, all places in these workshops sold out.
Running from 9 – 13 August is the Seniors’ Filmmaker Bootcamp, an intensive five-day hands-on introduction to filmmaking including scriptwriting, shooting, sound recording and editing. Participants will learn the basics of filmmaking before producing their own film. The final films will be launched at the Mercury and each film will screen as a short before a Seniors on Screen feature film. Cost: $100.
From 20 – 23 September, seniors can also attend the four-day Digital Storytelling Workshop, where participants will produce their own short, personal, multimedia tale, told from the heart about the events, people and places in their lives. Cost: $75.
“The best thing about all of these activities is you don’t need any previous filmmaking experience – not even computer skills, to take part. Just loads of enthusiasm,” says Ms Kovatseff.
Seniors on Screen is generously funded by the South Australian Government through Arts SA and the Office for The Ageing, Department for Families and Communities under Improving With Age: Our Ageing Plan for South Australia. The Media Resource Centre is funded by the South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia.
For bookings or more information about the Seniors on Screen program at the Media Resource Centre of South Australia, visit http://www.mrc.org.au or call 8410 0979. The Media Resource Centre is located at 13 Morphett Street, Adelaide (between Hindley Street and North Terrace – next to the Lion Arts Centre). The Media Resource Centre and Mercury Cinema are easily accessible by public transport – simply catch the free city tram and get off at the City West stop.
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