Gus Berger is a Melbourne based filmmaker, and owner/operator of the independent cinema Thornbury Picture House. Gus has directed and produced a number of short films, and while living in the UK he made Duke Vin and the Birth of Ska, a film celebrating the unsung hero of reggae in London. Upon returning home to Melbourne, Gus made a further two short films, Junked (2014), an ode to the lost art of 35mm film projection, and The Eagle (2015), which told the story of a young Aboriginal man whose connection with an eagle (his totem) changes his life. The Eagle won the Best Director prize at the St Kilda Film Festival in 2015.
Beginning as a lockdown project, The Lost City of Melbourne went on to premiere at the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival. That year, it was the highest-grossing Australian documentary in Australian cinemas, and won the AFCA Prize (Australian Film Critics Association) for Best Australian Documentary.
Buena Vista Social Club
I just love this film. Not only did it capture a unique moment in time, but it brought the Cuban sounds to the world through the album that Ry Cooder and Nick Gold produced of the same name. The success of that album gave incredible unsung musicians, such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez and Compay Segundo, a chance to show off their talents at a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC. Coupled with the direction of Wim Wenders, this is a knock-out of a documentary.
Bastardy
Melbourne-based filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson follows his friend and actor Uncle Jack Charles around the streets of Fitzroy while telling Uncle Jack’s remarkable life journey. I don’t think this film could have been so successful had it not been for the trust and respect the protagonist and the filmmaker show for each other. This beautifully made and brutally honest observational documentary revealed Courtin-Wilson as an emerging talent in Australian filmmaking and reignited Uncle Jack’s career as an actor and First Nations activist.
Dig!
A rollickingly fun ride with two bands hell-bent on making great music, and having an even better time whilst doing it. When success comes knocking, the lead singers of the two bands, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, have very different ways of dealing with it. The documentary looks at the fine line between commercial success and artistic authenticity, and questions whether you can have both and if so, at what cost? And thank god for that wonderful Super 8 archive capturing the indelible moments in all their shaky (and debauched) glory!
Gurrumul
I couldn’t leave out recommending the singer with one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Seeing Gurrumul perform live has been one of the most profound musical experiences I’ve ever had and with the words translated on screen, I was drawn into the depth and magic of the songs of his ancestors.
Filmmakers Paul Williams and Shannon Swan (who also played an important role in the making of my film) tell this story with a great deal of skill and love for the artist: we follow Gurrumul as he is about to embark on a tour that would have catapulted his career on the world stage.
Man on Wire
An incredible documentary that depicts the ‘artistic crime of the century’ in which French tightrope walker Philippe Petit performed a brave and illegal high-wire walk between the World Trade Centre’s twin towers in New York City in 1974. Using archive footage (including Sydney Harbour bridge in the 70s) and reconstructions, the film offers a totally unique and fascinating insight into a truly unique character. What motivated Petit to do such a thing and then to literally dance on the high-wire, taunting the police ready to arrest him? He had such a strong connection to the towers that he could never talk about their destruction. It’s a beautiful film.
Searching for Sugar Man
By now you might have guessed that I love music documentaries! In this Academy Award-winning doc, Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul uncovers a remarkable story as he follows two super-fans to discover what happened to their hero, Sixto Rodriguez. Not only to do they find Sugarman but they uncover something much greater. They find a true artist, one who never cared much for the trappings of success, which is probably why so much was taken from him at the hands of unscrupulous record companies. Although a few artistic liberties were taken in the telling of this story, it doesn’t diminish from a beautiful film on an unsung hero who wrote some brilliant songs.
