Incident at Raven's Gate | |
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Directed by | Rolf de Heer |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | an original screenplay by James Michael Vernon |
Produced by |
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Starring | Steven Vidler |
Cinematography | Richard Michalak |
Edited by | Suresh Ayyar |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Filmpac Holdings |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | AU$2.5 million [1] |
Incident at Raven's Gate (also released as Encounter at Raven's Gate) is a 1988 science fiction arthouse feature film directed by prominent Australian director Rolf de Heer.
The cast of Incident at Raven's Gate includes long-term Australian stage and screen actor Max Cullen as a policeman and Terry Camilleri as an astrophysicist attached to Special Branch, investigating unexplained radar signals in a remote South Australian country town.
At Raven's Gate, a farming property, enthusiastic hydroponicist Richard Cleary (Ritchie Singer) is trying innovative farming practices. He is also trying to accommodate his brother Eddie (Steven Vidler), newly out of jail and more interested in Richard's wife Rachel (Celine Griffin) [lower-alpha 1] than in working on the property.
Strange events on the property and a minor crime in the town attract policeman Taylor (Max Cullen) and Special Branch investigator Cummings (Terry Camilleri). Eddie has the misfortune to cross local cop Skinner (Vincent Gil), for dating the target of his affections, barmaid Annie (Saturday Rosenberg).
Tensions in personal relationships and mysterious events (bird kills, disappearing water supplies) build. Raven's Gate is assaulted by an alien force, and a number of deaths occur amongst the protagonists. [2] [3] The film closes with the stunned survivors Eddie and Rachel standing outside Raven's Gate homestead, newly restored by Special Branch, and the soundtrack playing the Easybeats song Friday on My Mind .
Incident at Raven's Gate is a genre-crossing film: part thriller, part science fiction, and part psychological drama. [2] It was shot on location [1] and made in South Australia, with South Australian Film Corporation support, for a budget of A$2.5 million. [2] The filmmakers say only $1.1 million was spent on the actual film, and the rest were fees for executive producers, writers and producers. [1]
It was co-produced by de Heer and Marc Rosenberg, who wrote the script from a screenplay by James Michael Vernon. [2] It was filmed in South Australia's Riverland and Murraylands, and Carrington, New South Wales.
The movie achieved only limited release and did not receive the critical acclaim of many other de Heer films. [2] It nevertheless managed three nominations at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards. [4]
The Secret Policeman's Ball is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.
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Marc Rosenberg is an American screenwriter and producer, with professional roots in Australia. Rosenberg currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Sydney, having taught screenwriting and film production in the U.S., India, Norway, China and Australia. Rosenberg has contributed to Film International Magazine and written a screenwriting guide, The Screenplay Tree: Story Structure Made Easy.
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Dance Me to My Song is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer. It was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. The film grossed $175,138 at the box office in Australia. Heather Rose described her intention to make the screenplay "not just another soppy disability film". Roger Ebert described the film as one where "the human will and spirit overwhelm you". David Stratton describes the film as "a warm, positive, affirmation of life". An article in Australian Feminist Studies discusses the film in the genre of women's films.
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The Survival of Kindness is a 2022 Australian drama film written, produced and directed by Rolf de Heer. An allegory for racism, the film follows BlackWoman, who is abandoned in a cage on a trailer in the middle of the desert. Her escape leads to a city, recapture and tragedy. It had its world premiere at Adelaide Film Festival on 23 October 2022, and had its international premiere in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on 17 February 2023, where it competed for Golden Bear and won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film.