Established in 1993, in honour of two of Australia’s most significant filmmakers, Charles and Elsa Chauvel, the Chauvel Award acknowledges significant contribution to the Australian Screen Industry. In recognition of the incredible Charles and Elsa Chauvel, the Gold Coast Film Festival proudly honours those Australian screen industry legends, who shape Australian cinema in their own special way, with The Chauvel Award.
This year, Australian filmmaker Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, Balibo, The Dry) is the honoured recipient, and ahead of his celebration, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the director about what the award means to him, his reflection on the Australian screen industry, and if a successful film changes the way he views his work.
Nick: Couldn’t help but notice when looking at the history of the Chauvel Award, but in 2001 when your film The Bank came out, Bob Connolly was the Chauvel recipient. I’m curious to know what his work has meant to you?
Robert Connolly: His work is inspiring. All the films he made up in New Guinea, the Joe Leahy trilogy that he and Robin Anderson made The Highlands Trilogy, they’re just amazing. I encourage anyone who wants to know more about PNG and our relationship with that country to view them. As a young filmmaker, even at film school, I remember talking to him about it, and people would come up to me and say “I love your films,” and I couldn’t tell whether I should take credit for his work. He would have people say to him that they loved The Bank [laughs].
When you look at the pioneering work of Charles Chauvel, do you see any parallels between your work and his?
Robert Connolly: Oh, there’s no doubt. The innovation was huge, and the innovation about making things and taking them to audiences and travelling to America. I like this idea that you can make something and hope someone will come along. It’s almost like you have to be a bit of a showman. As a filmmaker, you’ve got to make your film. You’ve got to go and talk about your film. You’ve got to go on the road. I think, more than ever, there’s an old adage that any industry without innovation will wither on the vine, and I think every conservative organisation innovates, but cinema can sometimes be held back a bit. It’s really critical that we take a bit of inspiration from that.
The Gold Coast Film Festival seems to go from strength to strength each year. And this year seems like it’s fostering an environment for up-and-coming talent and filmmakers. Curious to know what role film festivals have played, not just in your career as a filmmaker, but as an audience member as well?
Robert Connolly: I love festivals. Festivals, initially, played as a practical result. In my third year at film school, I won a short film festival in Brisbane, and it came with money and a camera rental. I had no money, and I used that to make my next short film, which helped launch work. Back in the day, festivals had a practical value. Remember Tropfest? I won something there. Festivals are now very important to celebrate cinema at a time when people can watch so much stuff at home. People go through their 50 million apps and they still don’t know what to watch. Whereas festivals are curated. I always tell people not to pick a film in the festival that sounds like they want to see it. I tell them pick an afternoon and just go and see whatever’s on. 9 times out of 10, you’ll come away thinking how you never would have seen it, but you love it.
Festivals should be an opportunity for people to broaden their understanding of cinema. And because I love cinema, and because the small screen is dominated so much, I think festivals have more relevance than ever.
Your films really celebrate Australia. Has that been a conscious effort on your part when telling stories?
Robert Connolly: Yeah, I love Australia. It’s so funny being here on the Gold Coast. I filmed some of the episodes of the TV show The Slap here. Down on the beach and up in the bush. But I’ve never filmed in the studio before. I’ve been making films for 28 years and I’ve never been able to afford to film in a big studio, but I’ve developed a real love. I loved going out into the Wimmera Mallee region to film The Dry. I loved going to East Timor to film Balibo. Out to Bremer Bay for Blueback. For me, cinema can transport you. It’ll drag you somewhere you’ve never been and relocate you.
And we’re also 10 years on from Paper Planes…
Robert Connolly: I think it’s probably my most successful film. Every year I get a cheque. It’s such a shock for me when my kids, who are 23 and 21, and I made Paper Planes for them when they were little, because I felt like I should make a film for my children. My children thought that was Balibo, but people were always asking for a film for the whole family. And a film for the whole family from the director of Balibo didn’t have the right kind of ring [laughs].
The hardest moment for me was when my oldest daughter was in year seven at school, and it was a parent/teacher meeting and this young teacher told me how they studied The Bank at school. I feel like Paper Plans arrived at a time when there were no Australian children’s films. I gave a generation of Australian kids their heroes. And the fact that 10 years on, the film still plays. I’m really proud of it.
When you look at certain films of yours that have proven to be as successful, does it in any way change the way you work as a filmmaker?
Robert Connolly: It’s a tricky dilemma how you decide what to do. I have learned one thing, because I do different genres, that if I ever second guess myself, it doesn’t quite work. There’s an old adage in the film industry how everyone wants to be the first person to do something second. I gravitate to things that haven’t been done. When The Dry played, there hadn’t been an Australian detective mystery. Yes, on TV, but not in cinema. People told it was what the Americans do. It was a challenge, but as I get further into my career, I need to be bolder in my choices, but, in some ways, you feel like you should rinse and repeat a bit.
It’s a great question. I think it’s the fundamental question of, “How do you choose what you’re going to do?” So, watch this space. I have a film coming out called The Surfer, a Nicolas Cage film that I produced. And he was fantastic to work with.
Did you get the full Cage experience?
Robert Connolly: Oh, I loved it. I was on set one day and he just improvised for seven minutes, and the whole crew were just watching this genius. So disciplined. So professional. We have that, and then Memoir of a Snail. My company is trying to do weird shit. We’re not trying to do the same (thing).
I’ve spoken about how it’s better for a director to take a massive swing and miss rather than not take a swing at all. We want originality.
Robert Connolly: I think of something like Megalopolis. Francis Ford Coppola is one of our greatest filmmakers. He’s made films in the canon of world cinema. He’s at a point in his career where he wants to shake the tree. He’s got a passion project here. At the end of the day, it’s Francis Ford Coppola. It’s like people getting stuck into The Godfather Part III. He won an Oscar for Godfather 1 and 2, like, come on? We’re a tough industry, but I wish that toughness didn’t inhibit emerging filmmakers from taking big swings.
Thank you to Robert for his time, and to Gold Coast Film Festival and PJ Marketing and Media for organising the interview.
