Shooting 'Demonstrator' - Behind The Scenes

Demonstrator premiered at Cinema Center on 5 April 1971. VIP guests included Noel Ferrier, Mike Walsh, Malcolm Fraser, Ian Sinclair, Ralph Hunt, the High Commissioner of Singapore and ambassadors from the Belgian and Japanese Embassies. A champagne supper on the roof of the new YWCA building in Alinga St, Civic followed the screening. In a fitting example of life imitating art, guests arriving at the premiere were greeted by demonstrators waving placards protesting against the low pay they’d received as extras.

A CTC 7 news cameraman captured rehearsals and location shooting of Demonstrator on 21 September 1970, most likely to be included in that evening’s bulletin. This footage is all that remains of the story.

In this clip, producer David Brice (wearing dark skivvy under a light jumper) chats with Eric Oldfield and a woman, the stand-ins for lead actors Gerard Maguire and Irene Inescort, while filming Demonstrator in Canberra, 21 September 1970.

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