Elevator Operator – Courtney Barnett

Australia, 2016

© 2015 Milk! Records. (Barnett)

Film
Courtney Barnett dressed as an eleavtor operator in a purple jacket and hat with two men in suits arguing behind her.

The music video as a mini movie is an enduring concept within the genre, first achieving mainstream popularity with Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983). This idea was toyed with in Courtney Barnett’s Elevator Operator(2016), which leans hard into theatrical inspirations like the work of Wes Anderson and features familiar screen faces like Madgda Szubanski, Sleater-Kinney, Tim Rogers, Paul Kelly and Michael Leunig as they travel through the elevator in Melbourne’s Nicholas Building.

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Collection

Not in ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Sunny Leunig

Production places
Australia
Production dates
2016

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

Curatorial section

The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Australia → MA-04. Music Video

Object Types

Moving image file/Digital

Materials

music video

Collected

5894 times

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/118019--elevator-operator-courtney-barnett/ |title=Elevator Operator – Courtney Barnett |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=7 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}