Published 12 July 2017
Actress Deborra-lee Furness will join forces with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) to celebrate the digital restoration of the ground-breaking 1988 film Shame.
Furness will participate in a special Q&A session, following the premiere of the restoration at The Forum, as part of Melbourne International Film Festival. Director Steve Jodrell will also take part in the discussion.
Director Steve Jodrell said he was thrilled by the work done by NFSA to restore Shame: ‘It has an immaculate freshness and luminosity that reminds me of its initial screening almost 30 years ago. There’s a powerful message in the film – sadly, one that is even more relevant today than when it was first released’.
NFSA Senior Film Curator Gayle Lake said: ‘Shame is an empowering film with an unforgettable performance by Deborra-lee. It deals with women’s rights, gender roles and domestic violence; it is thought provoking material, and it will start many conversations in the audience.”
Shame was restored as part of NFSA Restores, an exciting program to digitise, restore and preserve, at the highest archival standards, classic and cult Australian films and documentaries so they can be seen in today’s digital cinemas.
Two more NFSA Restores films will screen at MIFF: Ann Turner’s Celia (1989, world premiere), and Gillian Armstrong’s Starstruck (1982, Melbourne premiere). Both will take part in Q&A sessions on 4 and 11 August, respectively.
Gayle Lake explained: ‘We hope audiences will enjoy seeing these classics back on the big screen. But we have thousands of films in the NFSA collection, waiting to be restored back to life, so we’re asking people to support NFSA Restores. Every donation makes a difference and will allow us to do much more.’
