Wake in Fright

Wake in Fright is a classic from the early days of the 1970s Australian film renaissance. First released in 1971, the film was restored by the NFSA and re-released in 2009.

It had been thought lost for decades until the film's editor, Anthony Buckley, located the original negatives in Pittsburgh, USA where they were marked 'for destruction'.

Wake in Fright starred British actors Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence and Sylvia Kay but was notable for being both the first film for Jack Thompson and the last for Chips Rafferty.

It is also one of only two films to ever be selected for the Cannes Film Festival twice – in 1971, for the Official Competition, and then in 2009 when the restoration screened as part of Cannes Classics.

Based on the novel by Kenneth Cook and directed by Canadian-born Ted Kotcheff, it is about a young schoolteacher who finds himself stranded in an outback mining town. Over the course of a few days, he loses his money, inhibitions, self-respect – and almost his life.

This collection features materials relating to the film's original release in 1971 and its restoration nearly 40 years later, including memories from director Ted Kotcheff and others who worked on it; clips from the film; trailers; international film posters and the story behind an unusual prop.