Michael Thornhill (29 March 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a film producer, screenwriter, and director.

Career

Thornhill had a background in freelance journalism and publishing including working as a film critic. He was a member of the WEA Film Study Group in the 1960s, where he met writers

Ken Quinnell Ken Quinnell (born 1939) is an Australia screenwriter and film director. Journalism Quinell has a background in publishing and freelancejournalism, including working for ''Screen International'' and ''Rolling Stone''. In the 1960s he was a m ...

and

Frank Moorhouse Frank Thomas Moorhouse (21 December 1938 – 26 June 2022) was an Australian writer. He won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing. His work has been published in the United Kingdom, ...

. He wrote film articles on film for the WEA Film Study Group film journal ''Film Digest'' from 1965. He and Quinnell published the film journal ''SCJ: The Sydney Cinema Journal'' from 1966 to 1968. He was the film critic for the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' (1969 to 1973). Thornhill had an extensive career in the

Australian film industry The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...

. He is best known for his films ''The F.J. Holden'' (1977) and ''

Between Wars ''Between Wars'' is an Australian 1974 drama/war film released on 15 November 1974. It was directed by Michael Thornhill and written by Frank Moorhouse. Plot Four episodes in the life of doctor Edward Trenbow: *In 1918 Trenbow is treating shell ...

'' (1974). He worked as a

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

and

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film ed ...

before turning to directing short films and documentaries in the late 1960s. Some of his first films were short documentaries made for the Commonwealth Film Unit (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 ...

) including ''The Esperance story'' (1968) and ''Cheryl and Kevin'' (1974). He has directed many films with screenplays written by

including ''The American Poet's Visit'' (1969), ''The Girl from the Family of Man'' (1970) and ''The Machine Gun'' (1971), ''Between Wars'' (1974), ''

The Everlasting Secret Family ''The Everlasting Secret Family'' is a 1988 Australian film directed by Michael Thornhill about a secret society of gay men. It was based on Frank Moorhouse's so-named collection of four short stories published in 1980. The movie was financed b ...

'' (1988) and the docudrama ''Who Killed Baby Azaria?'' (1983). His screenplays include ''The Esperance story'' (1968), ''Cheryl and Kevin'' (1974), and his feature film ''The Journalist'' (1979) . He has been the producer for many of his films including ''Between Wars'' (1974), ''The F.J. Holden'' (1977), ''The Ever-Lasting Secret Family'' (1988) and ''

Who Killed Baby Azaria? ''The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain'' is a 1983 Australian television docufilm about the Azaria Chamberlain case.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 45 Michael Thornhill later said that ...

'' (1983). In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was a director of the New South Wales Film Corporation, giving valuable support to films such as ''Hoodwink'' (1981). In the mid-1980s he produced several high-rating television programs such as ''The Great Gold Swindle'' (1984, executive producer) and ''Robbery'' (1985, director and producer).

Personal

Thornhill was born in Sydney on 29 March 1941. He died in St Basil's Aged Care, Annandale on 22 January 2022.

Awards

His film ''

'' (1974) was awarded 1976 Cinematographer of the Year by the Australian Cinematographers Society for the cinematographer

Russell Boyd Russell Stewart Boyd, , ACS, ASC, (born 21 April 1944) is an Australian cinematographer. He rose to prominence with his highly praised work on '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), the first of several collaborations with director Peter Weir. ...

IMDB

Select filmography

*''Stainless Glass Screens'' (1969) – documentary *''The Esperance Story'' (1969) – documentary *''The American Poet's Visit'' (1969) – short – made with a budget of $900 *''Girl from the Family of Man'' (1970) – short – made for a budget of $4,000 *''The Machine Gun'' (1971) – short – made for a budget of $5,000Stratton p86 *''Mister Fixit My Dad'' (1972) – documentary for Commonwealth Film Unit *''Kevin and Cheryl'' (1972) – documentary for Commonwealth Film Unit *''

'' (1974) – feature *'' Summer of Secrets'' (1976) – feature – producer only *'' The FJ Holden'' (1977) – feature *'' Harvest of Hate'' (1978) – TV movie *'' The Journalist'' (1979) – feature *''

The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain ''The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain'' is a 1983 Australian television docufilm about the Azaria Chamberlain case.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 45 Michael Thornhill later said tha ...

'' (1984) – TV movie *''

'' (1988) – feature

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

*
Bonza. Australian and New Zealand Film Research – Michael Thornhill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornhill, Michael 1941 births 2022 deaths Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian film critics People from Sydney