- Richard Wolstencroft
Infobox Artist
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name = Richard Wolstencroft
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birthdate = birth date and age|1969|4|23
location =Melbourne, Victoria ,Australia
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nationality = Australian
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works = "Pearls Before Swine"
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awards =Richard Wolstencroft (born
23 April 1969, aka Richard Masters) is an Australian filmmaker.Wolstencroft began making
short film s in the 1980s. He co-directed his first feature "Bloodlust" with Jon Hewitt in 1990. In 1992 he founded theHellfire Club , aBDSM -themed nightclub which operated in Melbourne,Sydney andBrisbane . In 1996 he began work on his second feature film "Pearls Before Swine", a project which would take him three years to complete starringBoyd Rice . In 2000, the film was submitted to theMelbourne International Film Festival , but was not selected. In response, Wolstencroft founded theMelbourne Underground Film Festival , which, as of2008 , has remained an annual event.Wolstencroft has acted in several films. He appears as actor and producer in
Mark Savage 's "Marauders " and acts in Savage's Defenceless.Wolstencroft's writings have appeared in a variety of publications, including "
Filmnet ", "Misanthrope magazine " (issue 2), "Fangoria Magazine " (issue 162), "Large magazine " (various issues), "Beat Magazine " (editor 1989-1990).He is currently in post production on his fourth feature "The Beautiful and Damned" based on the classic novel by F.Scott Fitzgerald. The film is a modern adaptation, the first ever attempted of Fitzgerald's work and stars Ross Ditcham, Kristen Condon, Paul Moder, Zen Ledden, Norman Yemm, John Brumpton, Tanya Wenczel, Peter Lesley, Alex Spalck, Colin Savage and Frank Howson amongst others. The Film will preview at the 9th Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Due for release in 2009.
Controversy
Wolstencroft decided to screen "
The Search For Truth In History ", a 1993 videotaped lecture byDavid Irving , as part of the 2003MUFF festival. Members of theJewish community (including theJewish Community Council of Victoria which went to court to seek a ban the film [cite news |first=Michelle |last=Fonseca |authorlink=Michelle Fonseca |author= |coauthors= |title=Film festival to screen Irving film |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s898618.htm |work=The 7.30 Report |publisher= |date=2003-07-09 |accessdate=2006-11-24 ] ) widely condemned Wolstencroft for this. The screening was ultimately cancelled when the cinema'slandlord locked the MUFF organisers out. [cite news |first=Michelle |last=Griffin |authorlink=Michelle Griffin |author= |coauthors= |title=Bad reputation |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/23/1087844998701.html?from=storyrhs&oneclick=true |work=The Age |publisher= |date=2004-06-26 |accessdate=2006-11-24 ]On the issue Wolstencroft said: cquote|Sure, I thought we'd get a little half-page story about Irving — 'Ooh, this is a bit controversial.' I didn't expect it would be news every day for about a week. It was just a guy full of
shit talk ing. To me, David Irving is interesting even though he is full of shit — why is he saying this stuff? Wolstencroft has often declared a fascination withfascism . He wrote hishonours thesis inphilosophy on the topic. He stresses that he is interested in "a new conception of fascism", an idealized "transcendental " form of non-racist ,internationalist fascism that has not yet existed. "Fascism doesn't have to be the way it's been in the past, just ascommunism doesn't have to be aboutStalin ." His concept is of a fascism that takes into account "the inherentparadoxes of its nature and dialogue" and which has the capacity to "interact with otherpolitical philosophies worthy of integration likeanarchism ,socialism and conceptions ofjustice , equality,liberty andautonomy ". [cite news |first=Gerard |last=Henderson |authorlink=Gerard Henderson |author= |coauthors= |title=The truth is not in that movie |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060819033148re_/www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/080703.htm |work=The Sydney Institute Quarterly |publisher=Sydney Institute |date=2003-07-08 |accessdate=2006-11-24 ]References
External links
* [http://www.innersense.com.au/mif/wolstencroft.html Richard Wolstencroft] at the Melbourne independent filmmakers website.
*imdb name|id=0938732|name=Richard Wolstencroft
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/23/1087844998701.html?from=storyrhs&oneclick=true Bad reputation] , 26 June 2004 article in "The Age " on Wolstencroft and the MUFF.
* [http://www.muff.com.au/manifesto.htm The 1st MUFF Manifesto] written by Wolstencroft in May/June 2005
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