Twin Peeks

Twin Peeks, edited by Deb Verhoeven. The book consists of two sections. The first part features 15 essays by recognised authorities on Australian and New Zealand films of approximately 5000 words each. The essays are intended to reflect recent scholarly work on Australian and New Zealand cinema rather than a simple coverage of lengthy historical periods. Authors have written on these cinemas as both 'national' and somehow 'notional'. How for instance has the idea of Australian or New Zealand cinema been articulated by films and institutions respectively? In what ways can the Australian cinema for example be characterised as a negotiated or implicit space formed through interactions with other national film industries?

Some of the authors and essay topics are:
- Post-Colonialism and Early Australian Cinema (Bill Routt, LaTrobe University and University of Melbourne)
- National Disabilities (Deb Verhoeven, University of Melbourne)
- Australian approaches to South East Asia in film (David Hanan, Monash University)
- International Distribution and Exhibition and the Australian cinema (Mike Walsh, Flinders University)
- The 'New Zealandness' of New Zealand cinema (Roger Horrocks, University of Auckland)
- Film and Australian Cultural Politics (Professor Franz Kuna, Universitat Klagenfurt, Austria)
- A Distanced Look at New Zealand (Laurence Simmonds, University of Auckland)
- The US Studios in Australia (Tom O' Regan, Murdoch University)

A critical anthology of writings on Australian cinema is long overdue. Not since the Australian Screen (O'Regan, 1989) has such a major academic publication been attempted. By placing Australian cinema in a regional context - alongside New Zealand cinema - this publication rethinks the ways in which we might speak about Australian films as a matter of interconnected proximities and shared distances. The expansion of Australian Cinema Studies courses at Universities coupled with the ongoing success of the local industry has precipitated a growth in critical research on the cinema much of which remains unpublished and unaccounted for. This publication will set a standard for debate around Australian film historiography in a manner open to scholars, students and industry practitioners alike. The second part of the book is a comprehensive listing of every Australian and New Zealand feature film from the 1980s to today. Each feature film listed includes the following information: Director Producer Year Running Time Country Cast Crew Detailed synopsis Awards Print and video availability (for rental, hire, borrowing and purchase)

It is the information concerning print and video availability – where teachers, lecturers, students and the general public can obtain copies of movies either for study or pleasure – that makes this book so unique. If you buy one book this year: this is it!