View source for David Stratton

{{Short description|English-Australian film critic (b. 1939)}}
{{other people}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}}
| name               = David Stratton
| image              = David Stratton.jpg
| caption            = Stratton in 2012
| birth_date         = {{birth year and age|1939}}
| birth_place        = [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England
| employer           = 
| occupation         = {{hlist|Film critic|journalist|interviewer|television presenter}}
| known_for          = {{unbulleted list|''[[The Movie Show]]''|''[[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|At the Movies]]''|''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' film reviews}}
| spouse             = Susie Craig
| children           = 2
}}

'''David James Stratton''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 1939) is an English-Australian [[film critic]] and [[history of film|historian]]. He has also worked as a [[journalist]], interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years, until his retirement in December 2023. 

Stratton's media career included presenting film review shows on television with [[Margaret Pomeranz]] for 28 years, writing film reviews for ''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' for 33 years, and lecturing in film history for 35 years.

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England, in 1939,<ref name=fellini/> David James Stratton<ref name=asio>{{cite book | last=Burgmann | first=M. | title=Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO files | publisher=NewSouth Publishing | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-74224-175-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8toAwAAQBAJ | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> was sent to [[Hampshire]] to see out the [[World War II|war]] years with his grandmother. An avid filmgoer, his grandmother regularly took Stratton to the local cinemas. When he was around six years old, his father returned from the war and the family moved back to Wiltshire.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Purcell |first=Charles |date=2019-06-01 |title=David Stratton on changing up the Sydney Film Festival's retrospective |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/david-stratton-on-changing-up-the-sydney-film-festival-s-retrospective-20190529-p51s9n.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> He attended [[Chafyn Grove School]] from 1948 to 1953 as a [[Boarding school|boarder]],<ref name=fellini>{{cite book | last=Stratton | first=D. | title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film | publisher=William Heinemann | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-74166-619-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPgXei32evoC | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> but never finished [[secondary school]].<ref name=hennessy2023/>

He saw his first [[World cinema|foreign film]] at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 1955, the [[Cinema of Italy|Italian]] romantic comedy ''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]''. That was soon followed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s Japanese adventure drama classic ''[[Seven Samurai]]'', found showing in [[Birmingham]].<ref name=abcprof/> At the age of 19, he founded the [[Melksham]] and District Film Society.<ref name="rhs">{{cite web|url = http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Stratton,%20David|title = David Stratton|access-date = 16 March 2008|publisher = Random House Australia}}</ref><ref name=hennessy2023/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/david-stratton| website= The Australian| title= David Stratton | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>
==Career==
Stratton arrived in Australia in 1963 under the "[[Ten Pound Poms|ten pound]]" migration scheme.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Maddox |first=Garry |date=2024-10-11 |title='I thought I'd go completely blind': Cruellest blow for a movie critic hits David Stratton |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/i-thought-i-d-go-completely-blind-cruellest-blow-for-a-movie-critic-hits-david-stratton-20240926-p5kdt6.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> He soon became involved with the local [[film society]] movement. He directed the [[Sydney Film Festival]] (a job he landed after fighting [[film censorship]]<ref name=hennessy2023/>) from 1966 until 1983. At the time, he was the subject of surveillance by the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (ASIO), due to the festival showing [[Cinema of the Soviet Union|Soviet films]], and his late-1960s visit to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]]. This information was not made public until January 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/david-stratton-oblivious-hes-been-cast-as-a-spy-asios-vault-shows-its-odd-choice-of-surveillance-targets-20140103-309hu.html|title=David Stratton oblivious he's been cast as a spy|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]| date=4 January 2014 | access-date=4 January 2014|last=Fenely|first=Rick}}</ref><ref name=asio/>

Stratton worked for [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] from 1980, acting as their film consultant and introducing the SBS Cinema Classics on Sunday evenings and Movie of the Week for 24 weeks a year.<ref name=evershed2014/> From 30 October 1986<ref name=nfsa2011>{{cite web| url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/and-silver-goes-margaret-and-david| website= [[National Film and Sound Archive]]| title=Celebrating 25 years in 2011| first= Jan |last=Thurling |date=2011  | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref> onwards Stratton co-hosted the long-running SBS TV program ''[[The Movie Show]]'' with [[Margaret Pomeranz]], who was also the show's original producer. Stratton and Pomeranz (often referred to as "Margaret and David"<ref name=evershed2014>{{cite web | last=Evershed | first=Nick | title=At the Movies: Margaret and David's most divisive films revealed | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=16 September 2014 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/sep/16/at-the-movies-margaret-and-davids-most-divisive-films-revealed | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url= https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>) left SBS in 2004.<ref name=hennessy2023/><ref name=abcprof>{{cite web| url=http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080304143210/http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|website= ABC Gold and Tweed Coasts| title= David Stratton| date= 7 April 2004| first= Jane| last= Cowan| archive-date= 4 March 2008}}</ref>

From 1 July 2004,<ref name=nfsa2011/> they co-hosted the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] film show, [[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|''At the Movies with Margaret and David'']].<ref name="atmprof">{{cite web |date=2014 |title=David Stratton |url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706201441/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm |archive-date=6 July 2017 |website=At the Movies with Margaret and David |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> On 16 September 2014, Stratton and Pomeranz announced that they would be retiring at the end of the 2014 series. The ABC confirmed that the series would end, with the last episode broadcast on 9 December 2014.<ref name=atmend>{{cite news|title=Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton roll end credits on 28-year film review partnership; ''At The Movies'' will not return to ABC in 2015|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-16/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-roll-end-credits/5747214 |access-date=16 September 2014|work=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |date=16 September 2014}}</ref> 

Stratton wrote for US film industry magazine ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' from 1984,<ref name=hennessy2023/> and has also written for ''[[TV Week]]''. Stratton has presented a number of film reviews for [[Palace Nova]] cinemas, which are posted on their website.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 2024 |title=David Stratton Recommends |url=https://www.palacenova.com.au/david-stratton-recommends |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Palace Nova}}</ref>

He lectured in film history at the [[University of Sydney]]'s [[University of Sydney Centre for Continuing Education|Centre for Continuing Education]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cce.sydney.edu.au/course/AHWC |title=A History of World Cinema Course with David Stratton|access-date=10 August 2015}}</ref> from around 1988 until December 2023, during which he covered around 840 films and showed 7,506 film clips. Many of his students re-enrolled year after year.<ref name="hennessy2023">{{cite web | last=Hennessy | first=Kate | title=David Stratton's closing credits: 'I've done the best I could' | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=22 December 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/23/david-strattons-closing-credits-ive-done-the-best-i-could | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>   

In 2008 he released his autobiography called ''I Peed on Fellini'', a reference to a drunken attempt to shake director [[Federico Fellini]]'s hand while using a [[urinal]].<ref name="fellini" /> {{as of|2024}}, he had authored six books.<ref name="hennessy2023" /><ref name=":0" />

==Juries and other roles==
Stratton and Pomeranz have played an important role in challenging the often heavy-handed decisions of the [[Australian Classification Board]] throughout their career.<ref>[http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=7595&s=features "Lies and Damned Censorship"] by Andrew L. Urban, ''Urban Cinefile'' (3 July 2003)</ref><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179156219.html "Film board chief on the defensive over banned movie"] by Suzanne Carbone, ''[[The Age]]'' (5 July 2003)</ref> One of Stratton's legacies is the part he played in bringing about the [[R18+]] film classification.<ref name="atmprof" />

Stratton has been invited to sit on many international juries at film festivals.<ref name="hennessy2023" /> Regarded as an expert on international cinema, particularly [[Cinema of France|French cinema]], he was president of [[FIPRESCI]] (International Film Critics) Juries in [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] (twice) and [[Venice Film Festival|Venice]].<ref name="rhs" /> He was also a member of the jury at the [[32nd Berlin International Film Festival]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1982/04_jury_1982/04_Jury_1982.html|title=Berlinale 1982: Juries|access-date=2 September 2010|publisher=[[Berlinale]]}}</ref>

He has also acted as programming consultant to the [[London Film Festival|London]] and [[Los Angeles Film Festival]]s, and has contributed regularly to the ''International Film Guide'', compiled and published in [[London]].<ref name="abcprof" /> Stratton and Pomeranz are patrons of the [[Adelaide Film Festival]].<ref name="aff" />

On 14 March 2015 Stratton appeared in front of a sold-out crowd in a meeting with [[David Lynch]] on the opening weekend of the exhibition ''David Lynch: Between Two Worlds'', at the [[Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane|Gallery of Modern Art]] (GOMA) in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]].<ref>{{cite report| url= https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2015/5515T1154.pdf| title= Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees Annual Report 2014–15 |publisher= Queensland Art Gallery| date= 18 September 2015}}</ref> The one-hour conversation was Lynch's first and only public appearance in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | last=Caldwell | first=Thomas | title=Living Inside a Dream: The Art and Films of David Lynch | website=CINEMA AUTOPSY | date=26 April 2015 | url=https://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/2015/04/26/living-inside-a-dream-the-art-and-films-of-david-lynch/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>

==In film and other TV==
The documentary film ''David Stratton: A Cinematic Life'', written and directed by [[Sally Aitken (director)|Sally Aitken]], was released in 2017, and re-edited for television, featuring interviews with Stratton about his life and with actors, directors, producers representing Australian cinema since the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/film-critic-david-stratton-gets-his-own-movie-at-last-20170216-gueeja.html|title=Film critic David Stratton gets his own movie at last |last=Cerabona |first=Ron |date=February 18, 2017|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|6554406|David Stratton: A Cinematic Life|(2017)}}</ref> A preliminary version of the film was first released at the 2016 [[Adelaide Film Festival]] as ''David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema'', a "work in progress screening{{nbsp}}... a celebration of 110 years of Australian Cinema history and its creators".<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Adelaide Film Festival]] |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/titles/105933/?festivalid=2|title=David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema|date = 2 October 2018|access-date=22 May 2019}}</ref> The title was later screened as a three-part series on ABC Television.<ref>{{cite web | title=David Stratton's Stories Of Australian Cinema | website=[[ABC iview]]  | url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/david-stratton-s-stories-of-australian-cinema | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref> The series was produced by Jo-anne McGowan of production company [[Stranger Than Fiction (company)|Stranger Than Fiction]].<ref >{{cite web | title=David Stratton: A Cinematic Life  | website=Stranger Than Fiction | url=https://www.strangerthanfictionfilms.com.au/film/david-stratton-a-cinematic-life/ | access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref>

In 1993 Stratton made an uncredited [[cameo appearance]] in [[Paul Cox (director)|Paul Cox]]'s ''Touch Me'', one of the [[short film]]s featured in the series ''Erotic Tales''.<ref>{{cite web | last=Foundas | first=Scott | title=Australia's Siskel & Ebert Sign Off After 28 Years of Savvy Sparring | website=Yahoo News | date=10 December 2014 | url=https://news.yahoo.com/australia-siskel-ebert-sign-off-28-years-savvy-221153733.html | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{imdb title|0108367|Touch Me}}</ref>

He has appeared in several [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] programs, including ''[[The Chaser's War on Everything]]'', ''[[Review with Myles Barlow]]'', ''[[Good Game (TV program)|Good Game]]'', ''[[Adam Hills Tonight|Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight]]'', ''[[Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure]]'', ''[[Dance Academy]]'', and ''[[The Bazura Project]]'', often parodying himself.

==Recognition and honours==
* 1 January 2001: [[Centenary Medal]] for "Service to Australian society and Australian film production"<ref>{{cite web|url = https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1127614|title =David James Stratton – Centenary Medal|access-date = 2 November 2021|publisher = Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet}}</ref>
* 22 March 2001: Croix de Commandeur of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] (Order of Arts and Literature), the highest rank for this award, for his services to cinema, in particular French cinema<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399  |title=French Embassy media release 04/2001 |access-date=16 March 2008 |date=22 March 2001 |publisher=Embassy of France in Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029162532/http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399  |archive-date=29 October 2007  |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>
* 2001: [[Australian Film Institute]]'s [[Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award|Longford Life Achievement Award]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 9 June 2006: Honorary [[Doctor of Letters]] from the [[University of Sydney]] in recognition of his career and his contribution to intellectual life at the university<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089|title = David Stratton to receive honorary doctorate|access-date = 16 March 2008|date = 7 June 2006|publisher = [[University of Sydney|The University of Sydney]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201124184608/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089| archive-date=24 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="bmg2015">{{cite web |last=Curtin |first=Jennie |date=26 January 2015 |title=David Stratton's 50-year service to film honoured |url=https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/2842933/david-strattons-50-year-service-to-film-honoured/ |url-access=registration |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Blue Mountains Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The great honorary doctorates list | website=The Mayne Report | date=28 April 2010 | url=https://www.maynereport.com/articles/2010/04/28-1159-6605.html | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
* 2007: 60th Anniversary Medal by the Festival du Film de Cannes and The [[Chauvel  Award]] by the [[Brisbane International Film Festival]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 2015: [[Member of the Order of Australia]] in the [[Australia Day]] honours<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1150917 David James Stratton – Member of the Order of Australia], Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 26 January 2015</ref>
* 2015: Along with Pomeranz, appointed patron of the French Film Festival in Australia<ref name=bmg2015/>
* 13 April 2016: Honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) at [[Macquarie University]], for his contribution to the film industry<ref>{{cite web | last=Deare | first=Steven | title=Five stars! Highest honour for movie critics | website=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)]] | date=13 April 2016 | url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-of-the-movie-show-honoured-at-macquarie-university/news-story/038c841e545b5704f25865163c17a12f?nk=da64b648a9ae798938c375bde214ab51-1704076516 | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Autumn graduation season commences: Honorary Doctorates for alumna Margaret Pomeranz AM and more | website=The Lighthouse| publisher= [[Macquarie University]] | date=10 June 2022 | url=https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/media-releases/autumn-graduation-season-commences-honorary-doctorates-for-alumna-margaret-pomeranz-am-and-more | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
*2018: Co-recipient (with Pomeranz) of the [[Don Dunstan Award]]<ref name=aff>{{Cite web |title=Patrons and Board |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/patrons-board/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en-AU}}</ref>
*2024: National Cinema Pioneer of the Year<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Brendan |date=2024-09-04 |title=David Stratton AM named 2024 National Cinema Pioneer of the Year |url=https://if.com.au/david-stratton-am-named-2024-national-cinema-pioneer-of-the-year/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=IF Magazine |language=en-AU}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Stratton is married to Susie Craig.<ref name="bmg2015" /> He has a son and a daughter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Lucinda |date=2008-03-05 |title=Profile: David Stratton |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/profile-david-stratton-20080305-gds3lz.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

== Best films ==
Stratton has said that his favourite movie is the 1952 American musical ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'': "I grew up on musicals and this is the best musical ever made".<ref name=hennessy2023/>

Stratton participated in the [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll]], where he listed his ten favourite films as follows: ''[[Charulata]]'', ''[[Citizen Kane]]'', ''[[The Conversation (film)|The Conversation]]'', ''[[Distant (film)|Distant]]'', ''[[Distant Voices, Still Lives]]'', ''[[Kings of the Road]]'', ''[[Lola (1961 film)|Lola]]'', ''[[The Searchers]]'', ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'', and ''[[The Travelling Players]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818153824/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 August 2016|title=David Stratton|publisher=[[BFI]]}}</ref>

Two articles which analysed their reviews at SBS and ABC showed that Stratton was generally a slightly harsher critic than Pomeranz.<ref name=ozflicks2016>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url=https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref name=evershed2014/> At SBS, they only both gave five stars to five films: ''[[Evil Angels (film)|Evil Angels]]'' (1988), ''[[Return Home]]'' (1990), ''[[The Piano]]'' (1993), The Thin Red Line (1999)  and ''[[Lantana (film)|Lantana]]'' (2001).<ref name=ozflicks2016/> At the ABC,  they only both gave five stars to six films: ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005), ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'' (2005), ''[[No Country for Old Men|No Country For Old Men]]'' (2007), ''[[Samson and Delilah (2009 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (2009), ''[[A Separation]]'' (2011), and ''[[Amour (2012 film)|Amour]]'' (2012).<ref name=evershed2014/> They disagreed particularly on ''[[Romper Stomper]]'' (David refusing to rate it because of the racist violence in the film), ''[[The Castle (1997 Australian film)|The Castle]]'' (1997), ''[[Last Train to Freo]]'' (2006), ''[[Human Touch (film)|Human Touch]]'' (2004), and ''[[Kenny (2006 film)|Kenny]]'' (2006), with Stratton awarding fewer stars than Pomeranz on all but ''Human Touch''.<ref name=ozflicks2016/>

==Publications==
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1980|title=The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival |publisher=Angus & Robertson|isbn=9780207141461|ref=none| author-mask=1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1990|title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=9780732902506|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2008|title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film |publisher=William Heinemann / Random House|location=Australia|isbn=978-1-74166-619-9|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2018|title=101 Marvellous Movies You May Have Missed |publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=9781760870096|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2021|title=My Favourite Movies|publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=9781761063268 |ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2024|title=Australia at the Movies|publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=9781761472091 |ref=none|author-mask=1}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0833636}}
*[https://www.nfsa.gov.au/tags/david-stratton David Stratton] at the [[National Film and Sound Archive|NFSA]]

{{Raymond Longford Award}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, David}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century English memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Australian film critics]]
[[Category:Film festival directors]]
[[Category:Australian media personalities]]
[[Category:Australian memoirists]]
[[Category:The Australian journalists]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:People educated at Chafyn Grove School]]
[[Category:Journalists from Sydney]]
[[Category:People from Trowbridge]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:Variety (magazine) people]]