The Adelaide International Film Festival began as part of
the Australian Film Festival back in 1959. Its director, Eric Williams, was a
long-time Labor Party supporter, one of three members of the first SA Film
Corporation Board, and also happened to be the director of the Workers’
Education Association of South Australia.
From its earliest years, the WEA - through the direction of
Eric Williams - supported the Adelaide Film Festival by sending out information
to members and then taking all bookings for films, assisting also with the
behind the scenes administration.
The WEA Board at the time supported the WEA’s involvement in
the Film Festival. Indeed, many of the WEA’s student body also supported the
Festival. At the time of the WEA’s involvement, particularly during the 1960s,
censorship of films in Australia was strict. Foreign films were not subject to the
same classification system, and Mr Williams himself spent a considerable amount
of time sourcing the films for the Festival.
In the early 1970s, support for the organisation’s
involvement in the running of the Film Festival declined, with involvement
coming to an end in 1974.
WEA kept up its support of world cinema for a time, as can
be seen from this brochure for Cinema ’76. Membership then was $14 “Only 45
cents per programme compared with normal commercial cinema prices of $3.00” and
membership was collated and funds collected by the WEA.
For anyone with an interest in the early years of the
Adelaide Film Festival, I found the following links of interest:
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| Cinema '76 flyer, WEA of SA archives |
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