Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (57 min. 5 sec.) ; 346759777 bytes |
Summary |
For forty years in one city a word appears written on the street. It could have been any word in any city of the world, but this word was "Eternity". Always the same, written in chalk in elegant copperplate script, appearing overnight like frost in Sydney, from Surry Hills to Parramatta. Sometimes it would last a few days, weeks, even months depending on the weather. Eventually it was washed away by the rain or blown away in the wind, but its memory lingered in the minds of many. For those who saw it, it became an icon as famous as the New York Skyline, the Eiffel Tower or Sydney's Harbour Bridge. It tied the city together in common experience. But who wrote it and what did it mean? In 1956 the writer was discovered and became known to many as "Mr Eternity". A reformed alcoholic saved from near death, he became a celebrity for his most unusual pastime - the chalking of Eternity across the face of Sydney for nearly forty years. Some have said he was a great writer! The Original Graffiti Artist! Others have denounced him as an eccentric. He would continue to write this word until his death in 1967. Lawrence Johnston's award winning film recreates Stace's strange, lonely existence through beautiful black and white cinematography, establishing a strong dramatic sense of Sydney's magnificent architecture. The film also features interviews with those who knew Stace personally and those who have found great resonance in his work - writer Dorothy Hewitt, artists Martin Sharp and George Gittoes and Sydney entrepreneur Remo Giuffre. Kino Award for Creative Excellence in Australian Short Filmmaking - 1994. The Australian Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Documentary - 1994. "Crystal Heart" Award, Indianapolis Film Festival, U.S.A. 1994. Winner, Best Cinematography (Dion Beebe) AFI Awards, 1994 |
Event |
Broadcast 2014-07-30 at 21:00:00 |
Notes |
Classification: G |
Subject |
Eccentrics and eccentricities.
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Eternity.
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Graffiti -- Psychological aspects.
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Graffiti artists.
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God (Christianity) -- Eternity.
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New South Wales -- Sydney.
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Form |
Streaming video
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Author |
Johnston, Lawrence, director
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Balfour, Mark, contributor
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Beaver, Rex, contributor
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Dallen, Trevor, contributor
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Farrel, Tom, contributor
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Gittoes, George, contributor
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Hewett, Dorothy, contributor
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Judd, Bernard, contributor
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Livingstone, Helen, contributor
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Newnham, Paddy, contributor
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Rees, Reverend George, contributor
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Thompson, May, contributor
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Wood, Shirley, contributor
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