LOADING
Directed by George & Charis Schwarz | 101 minutes | 18+ | Victorian Premiere |
8:00pm Saturday, 28 June | static vision HQ
Buy Tickets ($17.50/$15) | Buy Day Pass ($65/$55)
A SYDNEY ONCE NEARLY LOST, NOW ON THE BIG SCREEN
George Schwarz (1935-2021) and his wife Charis produced Australia's first theatrical hardcore sex films. Beginning in 1970 with an 8mm short called The Dream, George and Charis made erotic short films which were originally screened at the Sydney Filmmakers Co-op and at select international film festivals. Their 1974 film Sex Aids and How to Use Them pushed the boundaries of community standards and became the first hardcore sex film produced in Australia to be passed by the censors. Sex Aids screened nationwide, shocking and titillating audiences, whilst their follow-up, Well, My Dear! (1975) was refused classification and never screened until recently.
The Victorian premiere of unique and rarely seen erotic documents of Australian bohemian culture, restored by EX FILM!
THE DREAM (1970, Dir. George & Charis Schwarz, 3.5mins)
The earliest explicit sex film produced in Australia for theatrical presentation. This exceptionally rare silent 8mm short was often confiscated by vice squad detectives.
SEX AIDS AND HOW TO USE THEM (1974, Dir. George & Charis Schwarz, 29mins)
The first explicit sex film passed by the Australian censors, produced and exhibited in Australia. The highest grossing Australian short film of its time. This screening marks the 50th anniversary of the film's premiere in Sydney in 1974.
WELL, MY DEAR! (1975, Dir. George & Charis Schwarz, 46mins)
The follow-up to SEX AIDS, WELL, MY DEAR was refused classification and never publicly screened. This 'lost' Australian sexploitation film is a time capsule of Kings Cross, shot inside the Barrel Theatre on Bayswater Road and depicting androgyny, bisexuality and the vibrant bohemian flamboyance of Sydney's '70s queer scene.
STAGE (1972, Dir. George Schwarz, 23mins)
Shot inside Sandra Nelson's A.O. Club in King's Cross and featuring a young Mark Lewis (Cane Toads), legendary Kings Cross doorman, Peter 'Half Mo' Crofts and several notorious Kings Cross strippers; STAGE is a common story of abandonment. A rarely seen time capsule of Kings Cross.
WARNING: These films feature unsimulated sexual activity.
"A rare look at the Cross at the height of its grimy glory." - Travis Johnson, Time Out
Country: Australia
Year: 1975
Language: English