Gilbert John Brealey (9 April 1932 – 1 April 2018) was an Australian television and film director, producer and writer. Brealey was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and studied at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, where he made his first amateur films around the age of 20. He was a member of the Melbourne University film society and was a speaker at the Eisenstein Weekend organised by the WEA Film Study Group in October 1963. He began his directing career in television in the 1960s with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (later the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

), where he worked for approximately eight years. His notable credits there include Australia's first science fiction TV series '' The Stranger'' (1964–65) and the 1965 TV miniseries adaptation of the George Johnston novel '' My Brother Jack''. He wrote and directed a satire ''Say Bow Wow''. He directed three films for the Intertel series on Japan, Israel, and Malta. He had a brief exchange visit with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

in 1968, and in 1969 head of production Richard Mason approached him to join the Commonwealth Film Unit (later

Film Australia Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia in 1973. Its predecessors were the Cinema and Photographic Branch (1913–38), the Australian National Film Board (1939–1955, under diff ...

, now

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

) as a documentary film producer. His credits include the

AFI Award The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

-winning documentary short ''

Bullocky A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. History Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 wh ...

'' and the three-part 'omnibus' film ''

Three To Go ''3 to Go'' is an Australian portmanteau film consisting of three stories (''Judy, Michael'', and ''Toula''), each presenting a young Australian at a moment of decision about their future. The film was first shown on commercial television in Marc ...

'' (1971), which includes segments by emerging directors

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

and Brian Hannett. In 1972 he was appointed founding director/chairman of the South Australian Film Corporation, a role he held until 1976. In this time Brealey co-produced the acclaimed '' Sunday Too Far Away'' (1975), the film that launched the career of actor

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

. In 1976 Brealey was appointed Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his services to the Australian Film Industry. In 1977, he completed a report on film production by the Tasmanian government, and was appointed founding chair of the

Tasmanian Film Corporation The Tasmanian Film Corporation was a Tasmanian statutory corporation founded 1977 to replace the Tasmanian Government Department of Film Production. Films By far its biggest success was Manganinnie, an AFI Award and AWGIE Award The AWGIE Award ...

. In this role he co-produced the film ''

Manganinnie ''Manganinnie'' is an AFI Award-winning 1980 film which follows the journey of Manganinnie, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman who searches for her tribe with the company of a lost white girl named Joanna. Based on Beth Roberts' novel of the same nam ...

''. In 1984, Brealey directed '' Annie's Coming Out'' (released in America as ''Test of Love'') for

. The movie won the 1984 Australian Film Institute awards for best film, best female actor, and best adapted screenplay.AFI award winners
In a career of 42 years in the Australian film industry he wrote, produced or directed one hundred productions and won the top prize at the AFI awards five times. Brealey died on 1 April 2018, aged 85.

Select Credits

*'' Flashpoint'' (1972)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brealey, Gil 1932 births 2018 deaths Australian film directors Australian film producers Officers of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne alumni Film directors from Melbourne