Rhonda Small (5 November 1925 – 21 January 2014) was an Australian filmmaker who worked at the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit, first as an editor then later as a director, between 1958 and 1967.
Born in
Melbourne, Australia
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 metropol ...
, Small moved to the United Kingdom in 1967, where she continued to edit and direct films on a freelance basis for companies including Anvil Film and Recording Companies.
Career
Small was a fourth-generation Australian, descended from a ship's doctor on her father's side and a Presbyterian minister from Perthshire on her mother's.
[Molly Plowright]
"Film-maker from Down Under"
''The Glasgow Herald'', 31 August 1962.
Small trained as a physiotherapist in Sydney.
In 1955 she joined the family business
The Herbert Small Photographic Supply Stores which was a retail chain selling AGFA film and cameras with outlets across Australia.
After several years developing skills in still photography and production techniques, Small spent time at a small advertising firm in Melbourne owned by the Herbert Small Group, where she was taught to edit moving pictures by John Dixon. She was also sent to Germany to learn about the Agfa colour process.
In 1958 Small joined the
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 diffe ...
Australian Commonwealth Film Unit under producer-in-chief
Stanley Hawes
Stanley Gilbert Hawes (19 January 1905 – 19 April 1991) was a British-born documentary film producer and director who spent most of his career in Australia, though he commenced his career in England and Canada. He was born in London, England a ...
. There she progressed from editing to directing and directed 13 films for the Film Unit between 1958 and 1967.
[NFSA Films]
"Workout. Outlook Series."
/ref>
In 1962 Small had a major entry at the Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
with ''Portrait of an Australian''.Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...
with a showing of ''Australian Weekend'' in the 1960 festival programme,[Melbourne International Film Festival]
Festival Archive
/ref> ''Portrait of an Australian'' in 1962,[Melbourne International Film Festival]
Festival Archive
/ref> ''Workout'' in 1968, and both ''Suicide Trail'' and ''Dead on Their Feet'' in 1991, as part of the Retrospectives programme celebrating 40 years of the festival.
Small was known for being a highly stylistic film maker, bringing an interesting visual expression to her films even though they were made as government-produced information films.Gil Brealey
Gilbert John Brealey (9 April 1932 – 1 April 2018) was an Australian television and film director, producer and writer.
Brealey was born in Melbourne, and studied at the University of Melbourne, where he made his first amateur films around th ...
and Richard Mason in the mid 1960s."
Filmography
* ''Dead on Their Feet'' (1958)
* ''Canberra Today and Tomorrow'' (1959)
* ''Australian Weekend'' (1960)
* ''Suicide Trail'' (1960)
* ''Plant Quarantine at Work'' (1960)
* ''David and Jennifer Learn their Kurb Drill'' (1960)
* ''Cockpit Drill'' (1962)
* ''Portrait of an Australian'' (1962)
* ''Under Stress'' (1964)
* ''Life in Australia: Wagga Wagga'' (1965)
* ''Planning for Mental Health'' (1965)
* ''The Case for Books'' (1966)
* ''Into Your Hand'' (1966)
* ''Workout'' (1967)
* ''Sensibly to Sea'' (1968)
* ''Machine Age Medicare'' (1969)
* ''Engineering Rating (Work Study Rating Exercises)'' (1970)
* ''You, Your Pets and Neighbours'' (1972)
* ''Sweet Success'' (1973)
* ''Engineering Rating'' (Work Study Rating Exercises)] (1975)
* ''More Sweet Success'' (1977)
Editing
* ''Electric Revolution'' (Great Britain, 1984)
* ''Living with Cystic Fybrosis''[British Film Institute]
Rhonda Small
/ref> (Great Britain, 1984)
Later life
In 1967 Small moved to Wiltshire, England, to make a life with author and producer Stuart Legg
Stuart Legg (31 August 1910 in London, England – 23 July 1988 in Wiltshire, England) was a documentary filmmaker who was a leading figure in both the United Kingdom and Canada as a pioneering director, writer and producer. During his long filmma ...
. After his death in 1988 she remained in the United Kingdom.
References
External links
* Rhonda Small's entry in th
Internet Movie Database
* Overview of Rhonda Small's complete filmography by th
British Film Institute
* Memories of Rhonda Small Scrapbook a
TV Land Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Rhonda
1925 births
2014 deaths
Australian film directors
Australian women film directors