Cinema & Television
Tasmania’s Film History
Tasmania has a rich film history!
The Tasmanian landscape in films
Tasmania is geographically isolated, and its weather is unpredictable. Despite this, filmmakers have always been attracted to its soft light and stunning scenery.
The Tasmanian landscape features in two early Australian films: Jewelled Nights (1925) and For the Term of His Natural Life (1927).
The Tale of Ruby Rose (1988), The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998), The Hunter (2011), and several other films have been shot in remote parts of Tasmania.
Willem Dafoe stars in The Hunter (2011).
Educational films
The Tasmanian government realised by 1937 that film could have a powerful influence over the state’s youth. It established the Visual Aid Scheme so that schools with projectors could borrow educational films and show them to students.
Film appreciation
The state government incorporated film appreciation into the secondary school curriculum during the 1950s.
Film societies
Film societies sprung up in Hobart, Launceston, and many small towns during the mid-twentieth century. Some disappeared after television was introduced to Tasmania in 1960. Seventeen still exist today. You can read about them here.
Tasmanian Film Corporation
In 1946, the state government created a film unit, which was absorbed by the Tasmanian Film Corporation in 1977.
The corporation produced documentaries, as well as family and children’s films.
It was privatised by the Gray government in 1983.
Formal Bodies
Screen Tasmania, a state government agency, was established in 1999 to support Tasmania’s film and television industries.
Wide Angle Tasmania is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that has delivered grassroots opportunities and resources to the Tasmanian screen since 2003.
The Higgins brothers
The Higgins brothers were born and raised in Hobart. They went on to make an important contribution to the local film industry as cinematographers.
- Ernest (1871–1945) operated a bioscope at a Hobart theatre for a time. He also filmed the famous Burns–Johnson fight!
- Arthur (1891–1963) worked on The Sentimental Bloke (1919), On Our Selection (1920), and many other films. He also made documentaries until 1959.
- Tasman (1899–1953) worked on Jewelled Nights (1925) and In the Wake of the Bounty (1933), which starred Errol Flynn.
Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn was a Tasmanian-born actor, arguably the most famous the island has ever produced.
Recently Tasmanian Times published a biography of him. You can find it here.
For the Term of His Natural Life (1927)
