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AFTRS 50th Anniversary

AFTRS is a Revolutionary Force

In 1973, Barry Jones’ opening remarks as the founding Chairman of AFTRS Council declared, ‘The School must act as a revolutionary force”. He went on to say “There can be no half-measures. We must create one of the world’s great schools or we must abandon the project at once. We cannot be a hothouse for mediocrity.”

To mark AFTRS’ 50th anniversary, we embraced this revolutionary spirit and embarked on a year-long celebration of incredible education, research and training. We have five decades of brilliant students, alumni and collaborative creativity to showcase. Discover more below.

In commemoration of the past and forging the future, AFTRS hosted a reception bringing together five decades of transformative screen and audio community, reunited in celebration and anchored in dedication to craft and storytelling.

 

Highlights

 

Happy Birthday AFTRS!

The Australian Film Television and Radio School’s 50th birthday celebrations culminated last Saturday in a grand reunion of alumni, students, staff...

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AFTRS is 50: celebrating and building the future of screen and audio

In 2023, AFTRS marked its 50th anniversary with a year full of celebrations and connections. Throughout the year, we celebrated the screen and audio ...

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AFTRS 50th - Alumni Short Films Screening at NFSA

The Australian Film Television and Radio School is marking its 50th anniversary at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia on October 23.

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AFTRS Library Presents: 50th Anniversary Screenings

Catch 35mm screenings of iconic features by AFTRS alumni as part of this program presented with NFSA.

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AFTRS’ 50th Anniversary launch

We brought together industry, alumni and incoming students to launch our year of 50th anniversary celebrations.

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AFTRS Alumni and Industry Scholarship Fund

Help us support the next generation of Australian storytellers

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AFTRS 50th Anniversary Program at SFF

AFTRS presents a collection of restored alumni films at Sydney Film Festival 2023.

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Media

AFTRS kicks off 50th anniversary celebrations, launches new scholarship

“The school must act as a revolutionary force… There can be no half-measures. We must create one of the world’s great schools or we must abandon the project at once. We cannot be a hothouse for mediocrity.”

That was Barry Jones’ vision for what would go on to become the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

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History of AFTRS and Australian Cinema

The Australian Film Television and Radio school is celebrating its 50th anniversary!

Luminaries that the school has produced include  Jane Campion, Phillip Noyce, Cate Shortland, Warwick Thornton, as well as Gillian Armstrong and Robert Connolly – who discussed their time there and its influence on their subsequent movie-making with Philip Clark.

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Past, Present, Future: AFTRS’ at 50

The Australian film landscape looks very different now than it did 50 years ago.

In fact, in 1973 it would have been difficult to define exactly what the Australian film industry was. Founding chair of AFTRS, Barry Jones, among others, committed to find a solution to this problem, at the time saying ‘The School must act as a revolutionary force. There can be no half measures. We must create one of the world’s great film schools, or we must abandon the project at once.”

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Who put the R in AFTRS?

It started out as AFTS back in 1973. The R wasn’t shoehorned in between the T and the S until 1986.

Success has many fathers but no artistic endeavour as audacious as a world class film and television school from a then considered “culturally cringing” country like Australia would come to fruition without political will and funding.

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AFTRS Announce Film Program

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, AFTRS will screen a series of acclaimed feature films directed by AFTRS alumni, beginning with Dead Calm, by director Phillip Noyce, on March 28 at 6.30pm.

The screening will also feature a special video introduction from Phillip Noyce.

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AFTRS celebrates 50 years

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) has launched a year of celebrations to mark 50 years since its establishment in 1973.

The celebration began with a special presentation that brought together the inaugural class of 1973 and the incoming students of 2023 to launch a year of celebrations and creativity.

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Why is Baz Luhrmann getting snubbed at big awards? Gillian Armstrong answers

Famous Aussie filmmaker Gillian Armstrong has weighed in on why she thinks Baz Luhrmann always gets snubbed at the big awards.

Chatting to Deb about AFTRS and its 50-year anniversary, Ms Armstrong said it is one the best training grounds for aspiring filmmakers and broadcasters, not only in Australia but the world.

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50 years of Australia's Film Television and Radio School

In 1973, the Australian Film and Television School (later, the Australian Film Television and Radio School) accepted its first intake of students, with a vision to create a new generation of skilled Australian storytellers.

50 years on, the school boasts a long list of Oscar, BAFTA and AACTA award-winning graduates. In 2023, AFTRS continues to adapt to a rapidly changing Arts and media landscape.

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AFTRS launches 50th Anniversary 35mm free film screening program

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, AFTRS will screen a series of acclaimed feature films directed by AFTRS alumni, beginning with Dead Calm, by director Phillip Noyce, on March 28 at 6.30pm. The screening will also feature a special video introduction from Phillip Noyce.

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50 years of AFTRS

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) is marking its 50th anniversary in style, with screen and broadcast leaders gathering in Sydney to acknowledge the school’s achievements over five decades.

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AFTRS celebrates 50 years

The Class of ’73 met the incoming students of 2023 at an event to kick off 50 years for the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

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AFTRS 50th Anniversary 35mm Film Screening Program

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, AFTRS will screen a series of acclaimed feature films directed by AFTRS alumni, beginning with Phillip Noyce’s Dead Calm at 6.30pm on March 28. The screening will also feature a special video introduction from Noyce.

READ MORE