The Dream of Perfection
Dir. John Weiley
THE DREAM OF PERFECTION is as extraordinary as its provocative subject matter, the dramatic story of the building of the Sydney Opera House, culminating in Utzons departure from the project. Director John Weiley was commissioned in 1968 to make the documentary Autopsy on a Dream by then BBC2 controller David Attenborough, and following its only screening on the BBC, it was destroyed literally chopped to pieces on the chopping block. Miraculously, a mute print of Autopsy on a Dream was rediscovered in a BBC vault this year, and has now been restored with sound saved by John Weiley, and with a new prologue. The film features interviews with David Attenborough, Jan Utzon, Lin Utzon, and Richard Neville.
Spirit of Place
Dir. Catherine Hunter
Glenn Murcutt – Spirit of Place explores the life and work of Australia’s most famous living architect. Murcutt’s extraordinary international reputation rests on the beauty and integrity of his buildings. With a swag of international awards (including the prestigious Pritzker Prize) Murcutt has literally put Australian architecture on the world map. Murcutt’s focus has been the creation of energy-efficient masterpieces perfectly suited to their environment and his breakthrough designs have influenced architects around the world.
​
Yet he’s an enigma. By choice, he has never built outside his own country. He has no staff, no computer and no email. He insists good design comes from the hand, not the computer.
​
Murcutt has long eschewed publicity and has preferred to let his work speak for itself. But over the past few years he has allowed documentary filmmaker Catherine Hunter to follow him as he embarked on his most challenging project to date – a mosque for the Newport Islamic community in Melbourne.
​
ALSO RECOMMENDED:
​
Touch The Earth Lightly - Glenn Murcutt
directed by Peter Hyatt
