Despite its title and the fact it’s packed with glorious archival images and footage, The Lost City of Melbourne is as much about the city today as it is the vaguely mythical “marvellous Melbourne” of old. | karlkwin
The Lost City of MelbourneThe documentary, made by cinema entrepreneur Gus Berger, began almost as an act of desperation, but stands as something proud, celebratory and hopeful. It is, in a sense, a perfect relic of the age of COVID and all it forced upon us, and its debut at the grand Capitol Theatre as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival is a moment of triumph – for Berger, for the festival, and for Melbourne as a whole.
His journey into the collections of the State Library of Victoria and the National Film and Sound Archive started as an investigation of the old picture palaces, magnificent temples to the golden age of the talkies, built in the late 1920s and 30s. The city retains some fine examples – the Regent on Collins Street, the Astor in St Kilda, the Westgarth in Northcote – but so many more were demolished as the city attempted to shake off its slumber in the 1950s and reinvent itself.
Images such as this one, of a Bourke Street crowd in the early 20th century, had a special poignancy for Berger in the depths of Melbourne’s long COVID lockdowns.What happened is that many of them submitted to the ball of Whelan the Wrecker, a demolition firm that operated throughout the 20th century.
“It’s exciting and pretty daunting at the same time, to be honest. It’s kind of scary, but it’s amazing to be part of the festival, especially in its 70th year. It’s such an integral part of Melbourne.”
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Australian tourist in serious condition after falling into thermal sinkhole in New ZealandThe 2m-wide hole opened up suddenly on a footpath at Whakarewarewa tourist village in Rotorua, in central North Island
Read more »
New Zealand climbers survive avalanche and blizzard, thanks to snow cave and muesli barsThe two men were at the end of a three-day trip in The Remarkables above Queenstown when they triggered an avalanche
Read more »
Evacuations ordered in northern California after new wildfire breaks outMcKinney fire has grown to 18,000 acres in less than 12 hours and has zero containment amid searing heat, drought and lightning
Read more »
New changes to national curriculum making it ‘impossible to teach’
Read more »
PolyNovo soars after snaring J&J veteran as new CEOShares in burns treatment specialist PolyNovo bounced nearly 8 per cent on Friday afternoon after the announcement of a new CEO.
Read more »
Sisters' African braided hairstyle furore could set new precedent says anti-racism ambassadorAn anti-racism campaign ambassador says the burden is on schools to do better, not on students to assimilate to 'white standards', in the wake of two students' refusal to tie their hair back.
Read more »