A Film for Discussion

The Sydney Women’s Film Group was formed in 1971 by a small group of feminists who were troubled by the lack of options for women filmmakers in Australia, and appalled by the depiction of women in the media. The group produced and distributed films, held screenings and discussions, ran production workshops for women, and lobbied for women’s access to film funding and education. “Our aim was to further the spread of our revolutionary ideas through the visual media” (Jeni Thornley). Many of Australia’s women filmmakers owe their inspiration or start to this seminal group’s activities.

‘A Film for Discussion’ is the group’s first production, and is possibly the first feminist film made in Australia. The juxtaposition of experimental and realist sequences in the depiction of a ‘day in the life’ of an ordinary young woman, parallels the ‘personal is political’ ethos of 1970s feminism.