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Melbourne, 1891
A grieving father starts projecting images onto a wall in Ballarat and accidentally invents the Australian film industry.
His wife has just died. He has three children to raise. Joseph Perry sets up a magic lantern in a prison halfway house to raise funds for the Salvation Army, and something unexpected happens - people can't look away.
The Limelight documentary follows what came next:
A small team of believers, misfits and visionaries built one of the world's first film studios in Melbourne, nineteen years before anyone called it an industry.
An extraordinary true story honouring Australia's rich cinematic history.
In nineteen years, they:
Made around 400 films.
Borrowed a lion from a travelling circus and turned a girls' home tennis court into the Colosseum to film scenes of ancient Rome.
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Hand-painted two hundred glass slides, synchronised them to live music and narration, and premiered the result at Melbourne Town Hall to a crowd of four thousand people*.
*Some of whom were said to have fainted in the aisles at the spectacle.
Captured the birth of a nation on five cameras, racing between positions on a fire carriage.
Filmed a royal visit, a fleet of warships, the faces of a country finding itself.
The studio was forced to close in 1910, but its legacy endures.
Through restored footage and original sound design, Limelight revives this visionary chapter of history.
"Australia had that film industry for ten years before Hollywood. And it was a vibrant film industry."
- Michael Wollenberg, great-grandson of Joseph Perry
This story was made to be shared.
Choose how you want to experience it.
Host a screening your way
A flat-rate 72-hour licence.
Host as many screenings as you like in the period.
No ticket costs, you can invite your community for free.
Comes with free marketing assets to promote your event.
Starting from
$149
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Salvation and the silver screen.
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