Vacant Possession (film)
Vacant Possession | |
---|---|
Directed by | Margot Nash |
Produced by | John Winter |
Written by | Margot Nash |
Starring |
Pamella Rabe John Stanton |
Music by | Alistair Jones |
Cinematography | Dion Beebe |
Edited by | Veronika Jenet |
Distributed by | Wintertime Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Vacant Possession is a 1995 Australian drama film, directed and written by Margot Nash. The film was nominated for 5 awards at the 1995 Australian Film Institute Awards.
Plot
Following the death of her mother Tessa (Pamela Rabe), a young woman, returns after many years to the weather-beaten family home on the shores of Sydney's Botany Bay. But the old family home begins to bring old wounds more and more to life. The story unfolds through flashbacks yet as it progresses the flashbacks merge into the present as it becomes apparent that the situation Tessa has returned to is very much the result of that which passed before.
This is a film about memory - personal and collective. To quote the director: 'the story of a house, land and two families - one white, one Aboriginal - both living in the shadow of the past'. The deliberately ambiguous title could refer to the house itself, but also the history of White Australia (see Terra nullius).
Cast
Actor/Actress and Character
- Pamella Rabe...Tessa
- John Stanton...Frank
- Toni Scanlan...Joyce
- Linden Wilkinson...Kate
- Rita Bruce...Aunty Beryl
- Olivia Patten...Millie
- Simone Pengelly...Teenage Tessa
- Melissa Ippolito...Young Tessa
- Tommy Lewis...Billy
- Bill Young...Estate Agent
- Barbra Wyndon...Thea
- Tony Barry...Salvation Army Man
- Ian Spence...Volunteer
Awards
Nominations
- Australian Film Institute 1995:
- AFI Award - Best Editing: Veronika Jenet
- AFI Award - Best Director: Margot Nash
- AFI Award - Best Screenplay: Margot Nash
- AFI Award - Best Achievement in Sound: Tony Vaccher, John Dennison, Bronwyn Murphy & John Patterson