Bill Mousoulis (1963–) has been one of the key figures in independent Australian screen culture over the last 40 years. As instigator of the Melbourne Super 8 Film Group, founding editor of Senses of Cinema, creator of the Pure Shit website, and co-curator of the screening series Unknown Pleasures, Mousoulis has demonstrated a tireless commitment to alternative screen culture both in Australia and overseas. He has created an essential environment for the screening, appreciation and historical assessment of a vast swathe of Australian screen practice poorly served by mainstream film culture and its funding mechanisms. Alongside this extraordinary contribution he has also emerged, as John Conomos has claimed, as “one of the country’s most dedicated, visionary and prolific independent film-makers”.
This program celebrates Mousoulis’ contribution as a filmmaker, profiling his large body of work over the last 40 years. During this time he has produced over 100 short and feature-length films, moving across various styles and formats including Super 8, 16mm and assorted iterations of digital video. Although his work demonstrates the influence of beloved directors like Chantal Akerman, Frank Borzage, Robert Bresson and Roberto Rossellini, Mousoulis’ varied output is highly distinctive and provides a unique reflection on his Greek-Australian heritage as well as his Melbourne upbringing. This program includes highlights from Mousoulis’ early work in Super 8, his move into feature production in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the fascinating, politically committed group of films he made during his sojourn in Greece between 2009 and 2017.
Program
“The Stuff of Cinema”: The Prolific Independence of Bill Mousoulis
Lovesick in Melbourne – Wed 24 May, 7pm
Cultural Shock: Into the Underground – Wed 24 May, 9pm
Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.