Dennis O'Rourke (14 August 1945 – 15 June 2013) was an Australian
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
and documentary filmmaker.
Early life and education
Dennis O'Rourke was born on 14 August 1945 in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. For most of his childhood, Dennis O'Rourke lived in a small country town, where his parents ran a failing business, until he was sent to a Catholic boarding school for his secondary education.
In the late 1960s, after two years of fruitless university studies, he went travelling in outback Australia, the Pacific Islands and South East Asia. During this period he worked as a farm hand, salesman, cowboy, a roughneck on oil rigs, and as a maritime seaman. He also taught himself photography and dreamt of becoming a photojournalist. Wanting to make documentary films, he moved to
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, where the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
employed him as an assistant gardener. He later became a cinematographer for that organisation.
Career
From 1974 until 1979 he lived in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, which was in the process of decolonisation. He worked for the newly independent government, teaching documentary filmmaking skills to Papua New Guineans. His first film, ''
Yumi Yet - Independence for Papua New Guinea
is the Japanese language, Japanese term for a bow (weapon), bow. As used in English language, English, refers more specifically to traditional Japanese asymmetrical bows, and includes the longer and the shorter used in the practice of and ...
'', was completed in 1976.
O'Rourke's film ''
Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age'' was screened at a
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...
cinema in London in 1986.
Controversy sometimes surrounded O'Rourke's interactions with, and depiction of, the individuals who were subjects of his documentaries, such as ''
The Good Woman of Bangkok
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'' (released in 1991), which concerned a sex worker in Thailand and ''
Cunnamulla
Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...
'' (2000), which was made up mostly of monologues by residents of the
Queensland town of the same name, discussing everyday life.
In 2007, O'Rourke was awarded damages by the
Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court for defamation. The action followed the reporting of comments accusing O'Rourke of unscrupulous conduct during the filming of ''
Cunnamulla
Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...
''. The awards were made against an Aboriginal rights activist and Nationwide News Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of
News Corporation
The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
), as the parent company of the Sydney ''
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'' and
''The Australian''.
Later life and death
O'Rourke died of cancer on 15 June 2013. Immediately before his death, he had been producing and directing an uncompleted and unreleased feature-length documentary titled ''I Love a Sunburnt Country...'' – on the subject of Australian identity, as seen through the "poetic imagination" of "ordinary people".
[CameraWork web site: About Dennis O'Rourke](_blank)
/ref>
He was the father of five children.
Recognition
O'Rourke was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or gov ...
"for services to Australian society and Australian film production".
In 2005, he received the Don Dunstan Award at the Adelaide Film Festival
The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...
, for his contribution to the Australian film industry.
Other awards and honours included:
* Eastman Kodak Award for Cinematography
*Australian Film Institute
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 Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...
's Byron Kennedy Award
The Byron Kennedy Award is an annual film and television award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) to Australian filmmakers.
History
The award was named after Byron Kennedy (18 August 1949 – 17 July 1983 ...
*Director's Prize for Extraordinary Achievement, Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
*Grand Prix at the Visions du réel
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
film festival in Nyon, Switzerland
Nyon (; historically German: or and Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Genev ...
*Jury Prize for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
*Grand Premio at the Festival dei Popoli in Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...
*Film Critics Circle of Australia Award
The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...
for Best Documentary
*Australian Film Institute Best Director Award (now AACTA
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...
), for ''Cunnamulla''
Retrospectives of O'Rourke's work have been held at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, the Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...
, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the Pacific Film Archive
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and film archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
; and in many other cities.
Filmography
Films made by O'Rourke's production company include:
*''Yumi Yet – Independence for Papua New Guinea'' (1976)
*''Ileksen – Politics in Papua New Guinea'' (1978)
*''Yap ... How Did you Know We’d Like TV'' (1980)
*''The Shark Callers of Kontu'' (1982)
*''Couldn't Be Fairer
''Couldn't Be Fairer'' is a 1984 Australian documentary film directed by Dennis O'Rourke and narrated by Aboriginal activist Mick Miller (Aboriginal statesman), Mick Miller, which paints a disturbing portrait of Indigenous Australians, Indigenou ...
'' (1984)
*'' Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age'' (1985)
*''Cannibal Tours
''Cannibal Tours'' is a 1988 documentary film by Australian director and cinematographer Dennis O'Rourke. While it borrows heavily from ethnographic modes of representation, the film is a biting commentary on the nature of modernity. The film ...
'' (1988)
*''The Good Woman of Bangkok
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'' (1991)
*''Cunnamulla
Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...
'' (2000)
*''Land Mines -- A Love Story'' (2004)
References
Further reading
Australian Screen: Australia’s audiovisual heritage online
*Dawson, Jonathan "Australia" Essay in Ian Aitken (ed) "Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film", NY Routledge, 2006, pp 56– 61
External links
*
CameraWork -- web site of Dennis O'Rourke's production company
extensive filmography and biography at the International Artist Database
interview with Andrew L. Urban about Cunnamulla
* ttp://www.nla.gov.au/events/doclife/orourke.html National Library of Australia, Documenting a Life Seminar, 1996: Dennis O' Rourke on The Good Woman of Bangkokbr>2008 Australian Film Institute interview
Jumping Off the Cliff: A Conversation with Dennis O'Rourke in New Challenges for Documentary, pp.128-149
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Dennis
Australian documentary filmmakers
1945 births
2013 deaths
Deaths from cancer in Queensland