In a year where a number of important Australian stories have made it to cinema and television screens, the OCIC Australia has chosen Nitram as its 2021 winner.
Nitram is based on the events leading up to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. It recounts how Martin (‘Nitram’ spelt backwards) increasingly became a troubled and isolated young man, and who gunned down and killed 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania.
The film is a dramatic adaptation of tragic events. It is not a particularly violent or sensational film, and the movie never refers to the killer’s full name. It is respectful of the dignity of the victims, and does not show the details of the massacre itself, but chooses instead to concentrate on the isolation, reclusiveness, and growing pathology of Martin as his anger and frustration explode to a tragic end. The film masterly builds tension as the tragedy of the impending massacre looms large. Appealing to Martin’s bullied and friendless history, it offers an insightful understanding of his odd behaviour, while not giving any endorsement of his criminal actions, and it reveals the gravity of his mental illness, without dwelling on horrific events.
OCIC Australia notes 2021 saw significant films with Indigenous Australian themes.
My Name is Gulpilil (Molly Reynolds) – honouring the 50-year career of actor and dancer David Gulpilil (1953-2021), clips from his wide range of films, but his taking an opportunity to reflect on his life and terminal cancer.
High Ground (director, Stephen Johnson). Set in the Northern Territory in the 1920s, it depicts clashes between police and the local Indigenous Australians; reflecting the dangers, confrontations and culture conflicts.
The Furnace (director, Roderick MacKay). A 1890s story of the Afghan camel drivers in Northern Australia, it looks at the place of the First Nations peoples, Chinese miners and white settlers.
Firestarter (directors, Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin). The story of Bangarra Dance Theatre through the eyes of their long-standing and charismatic artistic director, Stephen Page. It is a tale of pride, heartbreak, adversity and empowerment, with the strength of Indigenous dance at its centre.
The OCIC award for an Australian film was instituted in 1979. In choosing the winner, the OCIC looks for a film of high artistic quality that dramatises positive human values.
Other criteria includes: these values can be seen in the light of the message of the Gospel; the film challenges its audience to respond to its social and justice dimensions and can be used with groups to understand issues through story and symbols; the film reflects its culture, helping its audience to respect the language and the images of that culture; and the film has a universal impact and is not confined to its national or local context.
The awards are also a means for a film, not in the mainstream, finding distribution and a wider audience.
Nitram is currently streaming on Stan.
AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC HISTORY OF FILM REVIEWS
The Australian Church's commitment to the OCIC began in 1951 on the initiative of Fr Fred Chamberlin of Melbourne, who paid his own way to OCIC meetings. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) agreed to an Australian Catholic Film Officer attending as Australia's OCIC representative in 1971 and from 1976 set up the Australian Catholic Film Office. Fr Chamberlin was director to 1993, Fr Peter Malone MSC was director from 1993-1998 when he was elected International Head of OCIC (which then became part of SIGNIS), and Fr Richard Leonard SJ became director until the ACBC, citing financial reasons, closed the Catholic Film Office in 2020. The media liaison of the ACBC is now the Australian Church's representative for SIGNIS. Film reviews continued to be publicised through Jesuit Communications' Australian Catholics publication
For a list of previous winners, see Catholic Films of the Year. For more information on the Australian Catholic Film Office, see 'History of Australian Catholic film reviews'.