Riot (2018 film)

Last updated
Riot
Screenplay byGreg Waters
Story byCarrie Anderson
Directed by Jeffrey Walker
Starring
Composer David Hirschfelder
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Joanna Werner
  • Alastair McKinnon
  • Brett Sleigh
Producers
  • Joanna Werner
  • Louise Smith
CinematographyMartin McGrath
EditorGeoff Lamb
Running time105 minutes
Production companyWerner Film Productions [1]
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseFebruary 25, 2018 (2018-02-25)

Riot is an Australian drama television film that aired on ABC and ABC iview on February 25, 2018. The film is directed by Jeffrey Walker from a screenplay by Greg Waters and a story by Carrie Anderson. It stars Damon Herriman, Kate Box, Xavier Samuel, Jessica De Gouw, and Josh Quong Tart. It takes a look at the 1970s LGBT rights movement in Australia through the eyes of dedicated activist Lance Gowland.

Contents

The film marked the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. [2] [3] [4] It was met with positive reviews, and won four AACTA Awards, including Best Telefeature or Miniseries, from eleven nominations. It was tied with Mystery Road as the most-nominated television program of that year's ceremony.

Synopsis

In 1978, when the push to decriminalise homosexuality has stalled, a group of activists decide they must make one final attempt to celebrate who they are. Led by former union boss Lance Gowland, they get a police permit and spread the word. On a freezing winter's night, they cloak themselves in fancy dress, join hands, and parade down Oxford Street. But they have no idea that angry police lie in wait, and the courage they find that night will finally mobilise the nation.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in and around Sydney, New South Wales. [5] The film was shot in twenty days. [6]

A great deal of discussion in pre-production regarding the visual style of Riot specifically focused on the huge nighttime scenes in Kings Cross, New South Wales. During production, the riot began at Kings Cross before seamlessly moving to mocked-up store fronts filmed at Fox Studios in Moore Park. [6]

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the performances of the cast, most notably those of Herriman and Box. Luke Buckmaster of the Daily Review gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote that "moments in Riot are refreshing, purely because they are oriented around voices rarely given narrative priority in mainstream entertainment." [7]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
2018 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Actor Damon Herriman Nominated [8]
Most Outstanding Actress Kate Box Nominated
ASSG Awards Best Sound for a Television Drama or Comedy Series – Over 30 MinutesChris Goodes, Luke Millar, Nick Emond, Diego Ruiz, Sue Kerr, Jack Rodrigues, Mario Vaccaro, Michael Grisold, Lee YeeWon [9]
AACTA Awards Best Telefeature or Mini Series Joanna Werner, Louise SmithWon [10] [11] [12]
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama Damon HerrimanWon
Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama Kate BoxWon
Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama Xavier Samuel Nominated
Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy Jeffrey Walker Nominated
Best Screenplay in Television Greg WatersNominated
Best Editing in TelevisionGeoff LambNominated
Best Original Music Score in Television David Hirschfelder Nominated
Best Production Design in TelevisionPete BaxterNominated
Best Costume Design in TelevisionXanthe HeubelNominated
Best CastingAllison MeadowsWon
Ellie Awards Best Editing in a DramaGeoff LambNominated [13]
2019 Equity Ensemble Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-series or TelemovieDamon Herriman, Kate Box, Xavier Samuel, Jessica De Gouw, Josh Quong Tart Won [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras</span> LGBT pride event

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the largest Pride event in Oceania. It includes a variety of events such as the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade and Party, Bondi Beach Drag Races, Harbour Party, the academic discussion panel Queer Thinking, Mardi Gras Film Festival, as well as Fair Day, which attracts 70,000 people to Victoria Park, Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Roxburgh</span> Australian actor

Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everlasting Night</span> 1999 single by Dannii Minogue

"Everlasting Night" is a song written by Australian singer Dannii Minogue, Mark Percy, Tim Lever, Ian Masterson and Terry Ronald for the compilation Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras of 1999 (1999). The song was produced by Ian Masterson. It was released as a single in January 1999 in Australia and reached number 42 on the singles chart, largely helped by the fact that the song was the official theme of the 1999 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Julie Elizabeth McCrossin is an Australian radio broadcaster, journalist, comedian, political commentator and activist for women's and gay rights. She is best known for her role as a team captain on the news-based comedy quiz show Good News Week between 1996 and 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damon Herriman</span> Australian actor (born 1970)

Damon Herriman is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series Justified (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries Flesh and Bone (2015). He is also known for having played Charles Manson twice, first on the second season of the Netflix psychological crime thriller series Mindhunter, and later in the comedy drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The Mardi Gras Film Festival is an Australian LGBTQ+ film festival held in Sydney, New South Wales annually as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrations. It is organised by Queer Screen Limited, a non-profit organization, and is one of the world's largest platforms for queer cinema.

<i>Redfern Now</i> 2012 Australian TV series or program

Redfern Now is an Australian drama television series featuring the lives of Aboriginal Australian families living in Redfern, Sydney, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. A second season followed in 2013, and the series concluded with a feature-length telemovie, Redfern Now: Promise Me, in April 2015. The series' release contributed to widespread public debate surrounding Indigenous representation in the Australian media, and both series as well as the film were nominated for and won many awards.

Peter Tully (1947-1992), was a jeweller, designer and artistic director, notable for his influence on jewellery design in Australia through the utilisation of found and non-precious materials, as well as his artistic direction of the Sydney Mardi Gras (1982-1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Alsop</span> Australian DJ and remixer

Mark Alsop is an Australian DJ and remixer. Alsop is one of the longest-continuous working DJs in Australia. He predominantly plays house music and tends to play at gay dance parties, bars and clubs. Specific genres played include electro house, progressive house, deep house, and vocal house as well as retro and soulful house tunes.

Peter "Bon" Bonsall-Boone was an Australian LGBT rights activist. He was a foundation member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and participated in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Dayenu is an LGBTQ+ organisation based in Sydney, Australia. The word Dayenu means "enough" in Hebrew, and the group uses it to mean that they have had "enough" of homophobia.

C. Moore Hardy , is an Australian photographer, nurse and community worker, known for her extensive photographic documentation of the Sydney queer community since the late 1970s. Hardy's work has encompassed both freelance and commercial photography, featuring candid portraiture of community events, most notably the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and in particular minority groups within the LGBTI community. She successfully ran Starfish Studio Photography Studio/Gallery in Clovelly, NSW for 15 years. Hardy held a major exhibition of over three decades of her documentation of Sydney's LGBTQ+ scene at the National Art School in Sydney.

The Hunting is an Australian drama series starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, screening on SBS TV and SBS on Demand on 1 August 2019. The four-part miniseries was created by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack at Closer Productions, and co-directed by Ana Kokkinos.

The 78ers are a group of LGBT activists who marched in the original Sydney Mardi Gras on 24 June 1978 and participated in the subsequent protests against police violence and the arrests of participants in the Mardi Gras. In 1997 a small group of people who were part of the 1978 events contributed to planning the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 1998. This group became known as the 78ers and has led each year's Mardi Gras parade since 1998.

Ron Austin was an Australian LGBT rights activist, who was known for being one of the founders of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978.

Lance Gowland (1935–2008) was an Australian LGBT rights activist, unionist, peace activist and Communist Party member. He was a member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and as one of the organisers drove the truck in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Box</span> Australian actress

Kate Box is an Australian stage, film, and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in Rake, Lou Kelly in Wentworth, and as Dulcie Collins in Deadloch.

<i>Teenage Kicks</i> (film) 2016 Australian film

Teenage Kicks is an Australian drama film, directed by Craig Boreham and released in 2016. It is a queer coming-of-age love sotry.

<i>Ellie & Abbie (& Ellies Dead Aunt)</i> 2020 Australian LGBT romance comedy film written and directed by Monica Zanetti

Ellie & Abbie is a 2020 AACTA award winning LGBT romance comedy film written and directed by Monica Zanetti, in her feature directorial debut. It is based on her own 2016 stage play. The film stars Sophie Hawkshaw, Zoe Terakes, Marta Dusseldorp, Rachel House, Julia Billington and Bridie Connell. The movie had its world premiere at the Mardi Gras Film Festival on 13 February 2020, becoming the first Australian film to do so in the festival's 27-year history. It also won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the festival. The film went on to screenings at several other film festivals, and had a limited theatrical release on 19 November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in Sydney</span>

The LGBT community of Sydney, in New South Wales, is the largest in Australia and has a firm place as one of the iconic gay cities of the contemporary world. In a 2013 Pew Research poll, 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth most supportive country in the survey behind Spain (88%), Germany (87%), Canada and the Czech Republic. With a long history of LGBT rights activism and the annual three-week-long Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Sydney is one of the most gay-friendly cities in Australia and in the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Riot". Werner Film Productions. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Cameras roll on ABC's LGBTQI history telemovie 'Riot'". Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras . August 15, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Travis (August 16, 2017). "Production Starts on ABC Gay Rights Telemovie, Riot". FilmInk . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Idato, Michael (August 17, 2017). "ABC plans a Riot to mark the 40th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Cameras roll on telemovie Riot". Screen Australia . August 15, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Cunningham, James (June 1, 2018). "Behind the camera on ABC miniseries 'Riot' with Cinematographer Martin McGrath ACS". Australian Cinematographer Magazine. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  7. ↑ Buckmaster, Luke (February 23, 2018). "The Riot review: ABC TV's Gay Mardi Gras drama". Daily Review . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Logies awards 2018: Here's the full list of winners and nominees". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . July 2, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  9. ↑ "2018 ASSG Awards – November 24th". Australian Screen Sound Guild . November 25, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  10. ↑ "2018 AACTA Awards". AACTA . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Big win for Riot at the AACTA Awards". Werner Film Productions. December 5, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  12. ↑ Convery, Stephanie (December 5, 2018). "Aactas 2018: Warwick Thornton hits out at offshore detention as Sweet Country wins big". The Guardian . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Awards 2018". Australian Screen Editors . 25 May 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Equity Ensemble Awards". Equity Ensemble Awards . Retrieved May 6, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.