After many years of experience as a documentary filmmaker, Graham joined the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) as Senior Curator of Documents and Artefacts in early 2006, and since late 2006 has been Senior Curator of the NFSA’s Moving Image Branch. He is co-author of the book, Australian Cinema: The First 80 Years, an account of Australian filmmaking from 1896 to 1975. In the presentation, The Outback on Screen: Physical Space / State of Mind, Graham will focus on how Australian film and TV program makers have interpreted the Australian outback over the last century. In an innovative documentary with live narration, he will present excerpts from a wide range of narrative films and documentaries. The presentation will trace themes such as Indigenous Australians’ relationship with the land and the instincts of early white settlers to conquer the wilderness. Graham will also look at: the disconnect between early European culture and the Australian landscape; the outback as an idealised place; the outback as a domain of fear, conflict and loss; and as a living and working environment.

There will be excerpts from silent films such as The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and A Girl of the Bush (1921), from early talkies like On Our Selection (1932) and The Squatter’s Daughter (1933), and from popular classics like Sons of Matthew (1949), The Back of Beyond (1954), Jedda (1955) and Smiley (1956). From the decade of the seventies, there will be segments from films such as Walkabout (1971), Wake in Fright (1971) and Sunday Too Far Away (1975). More recent films will include Gallipoli (1981), Crocodile Dundee (1986), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), and Beneath Clouds (2002).