Brazen Hussies

For other uses, see Brazen Hussies (disambiguation).

Brazen Hussies
Film poster
Directed byCatherine Dwyer
Written byCatherine Dwyer
Produced byPhilippa Campey, Andrea Foxworthy
CinematographyAnna Howard, Erika Addis, Sky Davis
Edited byRosie Jones
Music byAmanda Brown
Animation byJuliet Miranda Rowe
Production
companies
Film Camp Pty Ltd
Brazen Hussies Film Pty Ltd
Distributed byFilm Art Media
Release dates
  • 3 October 2020 (2020-10-03) (Brisbane)
  • 7 November 2020 (2020-11-07)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryAustralia

Brazen Hussies is a 2020 Australian documentary feature recording the history of the Women's Liberation Movement in Australia from 1965 to 1975.

Synopsis

The film covers the evolution of second-wave feminism in Australia.[1] It includes footage taken by ASIO, as well as actor Sigrid Thornton, then aged 12, waving a women's liberation flag with her mum, Merle, who started the movement in Brisbane when she chained herself to a pub counter in which women were not allowed to drink. The movement coincided with the anti-Vietnam war movement, the anti-apartheid movement.[2]

Production

It is Catherine Dwyer's first film as director[3] and Sue Maslin was executive producer.[4] Maslin later said that the filmmakers had great difficulty in getting it financed.[1]

The film was so named because the women's movement had reclaimed the formerly pejorative term, wearing it as a "badge of honour".[2]

Release

Following screenings at both the Brisbane International Film Festival[5] and the Adelaide Film Festival,[3]

Brazen Hussies was released in cinemas on 7 November 2020,[2] on 56 screens across Australia, lasting for three months on the big screen.[1]

Reception and accolades

In a review in The Guardian, Kath Kenny wrote: "Dwyer has uncovered terrific archival footage and photos to complement contemporary interviews".[6]

Sally Breen, a senior lecturer at Griffith University, writing for The Conversation, wrote that the film is: "A celebration of how far we’ve come and a warning of just how easily everything these women fought for could be lost."[7]

Brazen Hussies was nominated for the best documentary award at the 10th AACTA Awards.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Maslin, Sue (13 October 2021). "Sue Maslin: Championing a Positive Future for the Australian Screen Industry". Australian Film Television and Radio School (Interview). Interviewed by Kirkwood, Christine. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "How Brazen Hussies documentary tells story of women's liberation movement in Australia". ABC News. 6 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Brazen Hussies". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. ^ "BRAZEN HUSSIES". Documentary Australia Foundation. 12 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Brazen Hussies". Brisbane International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  6. ^ Kenny, Kath (4 November 2020). "Brazen Hussies review – reclaiming the history of Australia's women's liberation movement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  7. ^ Breen, Sally (6 October 2020). "Brazen Hussies: a new film captures the heady, turbulent power of Australia's women's liberation movement". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  8. ^ "First slate of nominees announced for 2020 AACTA Awards". Mumbrella. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.