| Backlash | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bill Bennett |
| Written by | Bill Bennett |
| Produced by | Bill Bennett |
| Starring | David Argue Gia Carides |
| Cinematography | Tony Wilson |
| Edited by | Denise Hunter |
| Music by | Michael Atkinson Michael Spicer |
| Distributed by | Dendy Films |
Release date | 1986 |
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | AU $225,000 [1] |
Backlash is a 1986 Australian film directed by Bill Bennett.
Police officers Trevor Darling (David Argue) and Nikki Iceton (Gia Carides) escort a young Aboriginal woman Kath (Lydia Miller) to the New South Wales outback to stand trial. After getting stranded in the desert a bond grows between them. By the time they are rescued, both Nikki and Trevor believe Kath is innocent.
Bill Bennett had raised $175,000 from the BBC and ABC to make a documentary about black tracker Jimmy James but was reluctant to proceed. He came up with the idea for the film and wondered if he could use the money to make a feature. Bennett got approval from the tax department and most investors to do this, with J C Williamson Ltd stepping in for the BBC and ABC. The final $50,000 of the budget came from Bennett himself. [1]
Bennett wanted to add some levity in the material and so cast David Argue, who had impressed him on stage. He was impressed by Gia Carides' improvisational skills in theatresports and cast her to act alongside him. Nurse Lydia Miller rounded out the main cast. [1]
During filming out near Broken Hill Bennett often clashed with David Argue, who quit a week before shooting ended. However he came back and completed the film. [1]
Much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors on location. [2]
Bennett won 2 awards at the 1987 Cognac Festival du Film Policier for the film. [3] The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. [4]
Bennett later claimed it was one of the most profitable films he had made. [5]
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Friar Carl in Van Helsing, Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, Al Parker in Top of the Lake, Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Hank Snow in Elvis. He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange and Price Galese in Les Norton.
Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his "Red Curtain Trilogy" of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1996's Romeo + Juliet and 2001's Moulin Rouge!
Anthony LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama Without a Trace (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004.
Mark Christopher Wingett is an English actor.
Zoe Carides is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in Death in Brunswick as Sophie, G. P. as Dr. Sonia Kapek and Grass Roots as Liz Murray.
Stephen Henry Wallace A.M. is an Australian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, published author and acting coach. He has directed eight feature films, nine telemovies, numerous short films, worked on multiple television series and has a small theatre company.
A Poke in the Eye is the title of the first show in what later became the Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows for human rights organization Amnesty International, although it pre-dated by three years the first show to bear that name. The film of the show was titled Pleasure at Her Majesty's which is sometimes mistakenly thought to be the title of the actual benefit show.
Letters from a Killer is a 1998 British-American crime drama mystery film starring Patrick Swayze as a man who is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife. During his time in jail, he finds comfort from four women with whom he corresponds. After his second court appearance, he is finally freed from prison only to be framed for yet two more murders which he did not commit.
The Girl Who Came Late aka Daydream Believer is a 1991 Australian romantic comedy film starring Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp and Gia Carides; and directed by Kathy Mueller. Otto was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for "Best Actress in a Lead Role".
Brian Gregory Syron was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations feature film director. After studying in New York City under Stella Adler, he returned to Australia and was a co-founder of the Australian National Playwrights Conference, the Eora Centre, the National Black Playwrights Conference, and the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust. He worked on several television productions and was appointed head of the ABC's new Aboriginal unit in 1988.
Kiss or Kill is a 1997 Australian thriller about two lovers and fugitives from the law who are pursued across the Australian Outback. The film was written and directed by Bill Bennett, and stars Frances O'Connor and Matt Day.
The Fringe Dwellers is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel The Fringe Dwellers by Western Australian author Nene Gare. The film is about a young Aboriginal girl who dreams of life beyond the family camp that sits on the fringe of white society.
Gerald William Connolly is an Australian comedian, actor, impressionist and pianist. He is best known for his satirical caricatures of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Neville Wran, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Bill Collins and Dame Joan Sutherland, amongst many others.
Bill Bennett is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter.
Matthew Lessner is an artist and independent filmmaker.
The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave is a 2000 comedy film starring the comedian Bob Einstein as Super Dave Osborne.
Midnite Spares is a 1983 Australian action film starring Gia Carides, James Laurie, Max Cullen, Graeme Blundell, Bruce Spence, David Argue and Jonathan Coleman.
Robyn Kershaw is an Australian independent film and television producer, best known for her work on feature drama, Looking for Alibrandi (2000), musical-comedy, Bran Nue Dae (2009), the hit TV series Kath & Kim and working with the YouTube sensation Mychonny on Sucker (2015), Mychonny Moves In (2015) and The China Boy Show (2017).
Charlie's Country is a 2013 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer. It was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where David Gulpilil won the award for Best Actor. It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and awarded the Best Fiction Prize and the Youth Jury Prize at the 2015 International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) in Geneva.
 | This article related to an Australian film of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |