synopsis
Two provocative works from an Italian filmmaker in post-war Australia: THE SPAG and NINETY NINE PERCENT. Giorgio Mangiamele is one of the most under-estimated figures in Australian cinema history. Soon after his arrival in Australia in 1952 as a migrant from Italy, he began making films at a time when feature film production in Australia was almost non-existent. His films were seldom seen in Australia.Ninety Nine Per Cent
Length: 45 minutes
Year: 1963
Pino, an Italian immigrant widower, seeks an agency bride to keep house and be wife and mother to him and his son Peter.
The Spag
Length: 35 minutes
Year: 1962
Director Giorgio Mangiamele produced the first examples of multicultural cinema in this country. ‘The Spag’ was shot in the streets of Carlton and tells the story of a newspaper boy working to support his widowed mother; along the way his life is fraught with racism. The film is Neo-Realist in style and makes interesting use of incidental music and post-sync dubbed dialogue track; a dog’s bark is even mimicked by an actor’s voice. Stars the young Terry Donovan.
This screening is included in the Italio Australis Film Festival program.
