AMONGST EQUALS

DOCUMENTARY 1989

A feature documentary about the history of the trade union movement in Australia released in controversial circumstances by the filmmaker. The film takes an oral history approach and includes interviews with unionists and historians.

The AMONGST EQUALS story
Tom Zubrycki, 1990

What value do government bodies and commissioning organisations place on a filmmakers intellectual property and professional creative contribution? When a sponsoring organisation wants to distort history for particular ends, where does the filmmaker stand? Who wins and who loses? When is the filmmaker’s integrity on the line? Does the filmmaker fight back or does he/she walk away? All these questions and more bear on a discussion of “Amongst Equals”

Moral and intellectual rights run the risk of being severely compromised when independent filmmakers take on commissioned projects. The story of what happened to this film is makes an intriguing, and in retrospect (one year on) - a rather bizarre if not ‘Kafka-esque’ story…

resources

Amongst Equals SYNOPSIS

Amongst Equals REVIEWS

ARTICLES

Tom Zubrycki’s AMONGST EQUALS: A perennial work in progress
Senses of Cinema 2018

Zubrycki’s point: Amongst Equals, utilitarian film in the Australian labour movement
Studies in Documentary Film, Volume 13, 2019 - Issue 2