The cinema of Australia began with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers with international reputations started their careers in Australian films, and many of these have established lucrative careers in larger film-producing centres such as the United States.
The following is an overview of the events of 1896 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.
Fantagraphics is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
Surry Hills is an inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surrounded by the suburbs of Darlinghurst to the north, Chippendale and Haymarket to the west, Moore Park and Paddington to the east and Redfern to the south. It is often colloquially referred to as "Surry".
Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his break-out role in The Year My Voice Broke (1987). He gained international attention for his starring role in the crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010). He has since had roles in films such as The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Starred Up (2013), Lost River (2014), Mississippi Grind (2015), Rogue One (2016), Darkest Hour (2017) and Ready Player One (2018).
Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Manly has a long-standing reputation as a tourist destination, owing to its attractive setting on the Pacific Ocean and easy accessibility by ferry.
Robert William Paul was an English pioneer of film and scientific instrument maker.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national collection of film, television, sound, radio, video games, new media, and related documents and artefacts. The collection ranges from works created in the late nineteenth century when the recorded sound and film industries were in their infancy, to those made in the present day.
The Sydney Mail was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938.
Alfred Rolfe, real name Alfred Roker, was an Australian stage and film director and actor, best known for being the son-in-law of the celebrated actor-manager Alfred Dampier, with whom he appeared frequently on stage, and for his prolific output as a director during Australia's silent era, including Captain Midnight, the Bush King (1911), Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road (1911) and The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915). Only one of his films as director survives today.
PS Brighton was a ferry used on the Sydney to Manly run. The biggest Manly ferry at the time and the largest paddle steamer to operate on Sydney Harbour, she was well-appointed and popular with passengers.
Manly Wharf is a heritage-listed passenger terminal wharf and recreational area located at West Esplanade and serving Manly, a Sydney suburb in the Northern Beaches Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Since the 1850s, it has served as the Manly embarkation and disembarkation point for the Manly to Sydney ferry service.
Henry Walter Barnett, usually known as H. Walter Barnett, was an Australian photographer and filmmaker. Barnett was a prominent portrait photographer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing the successful Falk studios in Sydney. Later in his career he was based in London, England, with studios at Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge. Barnett became involved in filmmaking after meeting cinematographer Marius Sestier in 1896, and with Sestier made some of the first films shot in Australia.
Marius Ely Joseph Sestier was a French cinematographer. Sestier was best known for his work in Australia, where he shot some of the country's first films.
The 1896 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 3 November 1896.
The Melbourne Cup was a film about the two mile horse race won by Newhaven which took place on Tuesday, 3 November 1896.
New South Wales Horse Artillery in Action was a short documentary film.
Passengers Alighting from Ferry Brighton at Manly is an 1896 film by Marius Sestier of passengers alighting from the paddle steamer ferry Brighton at Manly Wharf in Sydney. It is the first film ever shot and screened in Australia. Sestier and Henry Walter Barnett made approximately 19 films in Sydney and Melbourne between October and November 1896, of which this was the earliest.
Newhaven was an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1896 Victoria Derby and the 1896 Melbourne Cup carrying a record weight for a 3 year old of 7st.13lb by 6 lengths.
