‘Kiss of the Beast’ marks the beginning of a major new direction in programming for the Queensland Art Gallery. An integrated exhibition and film program, ‘Kiss of the Beast’ is the launch program of the Gallery’s Australian Cinémathèque.

The Australian Cinémathèque will be located within the Gallery’s second site, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (QGMA), which will open in November 2006. QGMA will be the first Australian art museum to have purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image. These facilities will include two cinemas and an exhibition gallery.

The moving image has been celebrated as an art form around the world since the 1930s — the British Film Institute was formed in 1933, the Museum of Modern Art in New York created a film library in 1935, and the first cinémathèque opened in Paris in 1936. Like a museum, a cinémathèque is an institution dedicated to the collection, conservation and presentation of key works from the history of cinema.

The Australian Cinémathèque will present and interpret film as an integral part of contemporary visual culture. Its programming will include retrospective and thematic film programs and exhibitions, showing the work of influential film-makers and artists.

A special Kiss of the Beast book is available, click here for more details.

18–27 November 2005Queensland Art Gallery & South Bank CinemasVenue Information

The ‘Kiss of the Beast’ film program explores the origins of the 1933 film King Kong at a time when the latest re-make of this classic movie (by Oscar-winning director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson) is about to hit the big screens.
 
It offers some rarely-seen gems of cinema, including early shorts and animations, groundbreaking documentaries from ‘exotic’ locations, iconic ‘monster’ movies from the 1930s to 1950s, and remakes of Kong from Japan and Hong Kong.
 
Rare prints to be shown in their original format include recent restorations of The Lost World (1925), and Jean Renoir’s Sur un air de Charleston (1927).