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Media Release: NFSA adds 61,000 items in 2023

Media Release
Published Thursday 22 February 2024


The National Film and Sound Archive acquired 61,000 new items in 2023, including digital and social media, games, film, sound, TV, sport and objects.  

 

The bitingly funny TikTok series Krystal Klairvoyant, in which Krystal (Nancy Dennis) discovers she’s a witch when she accidentally casts spells on her clients, was recognised for its humorous approach to agoraphobia while encapsulating the dynamic user experience of TikTok.  

Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue, and Chance to Lose Control by Dan Sultan were both acquired under the terms of the NFSA’s agreement with Australia’s largest independent music company, Mushroom Records.  

Dros, a slimy steampunk adventure game inspired by dark 1980s fantasy films, was created by emergeworlds with funding from the Screen Australia Games: Expansion Pack program.  

The nail-biting, history-making Women’s World Cup soccer match between Australia and France, when The Matildas won Australia’s first ever place in the semi-finals, also takes its place in the national collection, as does an AFL and First Nations milestone: Yolngu woman Sylvia Nulpinditj became the first woman to commentate an entire AFL game in a First Nations language when Hawthorn met the Gold Coast for the Sir Doug Nicholls round in Darwin in 2022. 

‘The incredible breadth of contemporary works added to the national audiovisual collection over the last year reflects the creativity and dynamism of today's creators as well as the adventurous tastes of Australian audiences,’ said Patrick McIntyre, the NFSA’s CEO. ‘Together with the historical artefacts that were also acquired, these items help us understand the nation we have become, and also help us to explain to future Australians the nation we are today.’ 

Other highlights of the NFSA’s acquisitions last year include:  

Music and Audio 

  • An audio documentary about The Vamps, Australia’s first all-female rock band, by musician and broadcaster Holly Alexander 
  • A representative collection from 3ZZZ Melbourne, widely regarded as Australia’s largest community station and the first community network to be added to the NFSA’s off-air radio capture program  
  • From the Embers, the podcast from the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) revisiting the towns impacted by the Black Summer bushfires 

Television 

  • Colin from Accounts, the awkward and highly relatable comedy from husband-and-wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer 
  • Larapinta, the powerful documentary about the world’s oldest river, guided by Arrernte / Luritja woman Talia Liddle. Larapinta bears witness to the experiences of First Nations people in accessing their homelands and in advocating for the river’s care 

Film 

  • The silent Gaumont Graphic newsreel from 1920, containing what is thought to be footage of famous dancer and flapper Irene Castle with her pet monkey, and a clip about cocoa processing in Trinidad, unique for its inclusion of both stencil-colouring and tint 
  • Shayda, a semi-autobiographical feature from writer / director Noor Niasari and executive-produced by Cate Blanchett, tells the story of an Iranian immigrant finding refuge from domestic violence in a Melbourne women’s shelter 
  • Travelogue of Eastern States, (circa 1929) a fascinating glimpse at late 1920s Australia 

Gaming 

The NFSA's video game collection continues to expand rapidly as the institution evolves in response to trends in multimedia, interactive and new media production and consumption in the 21st century. 2023 acquisitions include: 

  • Gubbins, the puzzle game from indie developer Studio Folly, described as ‘Solitaire meets Scrabble’ 
  • The Lightmap podcast from SIFTER, which explores what goes into making a video game 
  • Horace Goes Skiing, the second instalment of the famous Horace series created by William Tang 
  • Unique software demo disks for the Amiga computer featuring Steve Vizard and Derryn Hinch in a very unofficial capacity 
  • Original gaming artwork by graphic artist Russell Comte 

Social and Digital Media 

  • The multi-sensory VR installation Gondwana, created by Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts, which condenses 100 years of climate data into a single day 
  • Me and Her(pes) – a web series created by Gemma Bird Matheson and Kasia Vickery, combining queer sexual health education with a romcom storyline 

Objects 

  • The visual archive of the Reverend Percy Edwards: an extensive collection of magic lantern (considered a forerunner to the film projector) glass slides, equipment and manuscripts dating from 1898 
  • An extremely rare poster of champion swimmer, entrepreneur, movie star and early feminist Annette Kellerman, the Diving Venus 

Oral Histories 

  • Animator Antoinette Starkiewicz (1949-2023) discusses her 1979 film Pussy Pumps Up, which deals with gender and identity fluidity 
  • Filmmaker, director and producer Jessica Douglas-Henry talks about her documentary Anna’s Adventure (2009) in which Dr Anna Donald shared her experiences of living with terminal illness 

Audience CTAs  

Media enquiries and interview requests:  
Louise Alley | Communications Manager | 0422 348 652 | louise.alley@nfsa.gov.au