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Shaun (Kane McNay) is a fifteen year old living in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. His mother (Nell Feeney) refuses to grow up, his father is in prison, and Shaun himself is in and out of foster care. For Shaun, going through the emotional and physical effects of adolescence, his only escape is hanging out at the local mall. Though “Mallboy” doesn’t shy away from a gritty examination of working class and unemployed lives in contemporary urban Australia, it also manages to find great humour and compassion in Shaun’s relationships with friends and family. This realist Australian film, the debut feature by Melbourne musician Giarrusso (who is a member of the Underground Lovers), is influenced by both Italian neo-realism and the socialist humanism of English filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Kane McNay won a special youth award at the 2001 AFI Awards. The sound design is by Philip Brophy.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
317317
Language
English
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Suburban life
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisoners' families
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Adolescence
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social work with youth
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Suburban life
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Working class in motion pictures
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Youth
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Adolescence
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Mothers and sons
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Suburban life
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenage boys
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Youth
Feature films → Feature films - Australia
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Suburban life
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenage boys
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Youth
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)