Nigel Buesst

Nigel Buesst (30 April 1938 – 27 December 2024) was an Australian filmmaker from Melbourne.[1] After graduating B.Com in 1960 from Melbourne University he headed overseas to London and worked as an assistant editor at Shepparton Studios.[2]

On returning to Melbourne in 1962 he worked for some months at the ABC's Ripponlea newsroom,[1] and freelanced as a cameraman on various productions. He also started directing his own films, beginning with “Fun Radio” in 1963.

After the success of his film "Rise and Fall of Squizzy Taylor" [3] he began teaching at the Swinburne University of Technology (1970-1984) [2] while continuing to make films on a diverse range of subjects.

He was also a co-founder and the artistic director of the St Kilda Film Festival from 1986 to 1990.[4]

Buesst has been described as "a living legend of Melbourne's film scene" [5] and was a figure in the "Carlton wave" of Australian filmmaking.[6] He died in December 2024, at the age of 86.[7]

Select credits

Director on all titles, unless otherwise noted.

  • Fun Radio (1963)
  • Dancing Class (Dir: Tom Cowan 1964) – photography
  • The Twentieth (1966)
  • The Making of a Gallery, NGV (1967) – photography
  • The Rise and Fall of Squizzy Taylor (1969)
  • Nothing Like Experience (1970) – photography
  • Bonjour Balwyn (1970)
  • Dead Easy (1970)
  • Destruction of St Patrick's College (1971)
  • Come Out Fighting (1973)
  • Jacka VC (Dir: Ross Cooper 1977) – photography
  • Glenn's Story (Dir: Arnold Zable 1979) – photography
  • Jazz Scrapbook (1983) [8]
  • Compo (1989)
  • Benny Featherstone (Prince Good Fellows) (1996) [9]
  • Black Sheep Gather No Moss (1997)
  • The Loved One - Gerry Humphrys (2000)
  • Talking With Ade (2000) [10]
  • Carlton + Godard = Cinema (2003) [11]
  • Darwin Harbour (2010)
  • Ballarat Jazz Convention (2015)
  • Point Lonsdale Plaque Unveiling (2018) – editor

References

  1. ^ a b "Nigel Buesst". Melbourne Independent Filmmakers.
  2. ^ a b "Filmnews (Sydney NSW: 1975-1995)". Filmnews. Vol. 13, no. 7. New South Wales, Australia. 1 July 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Darkest Before the Dawn: Australian films of the 1960s". Ozflicks.
  4. ^ "The St. Kilda Film Festival: Looking Back". Senses of Cinema.
  5. ^ Martin, Adrian (May 2003). "Carlton + Godard = Cinema". Film Critic.
  6. ^ Bruce Hodson, 'The Carlton Ripple and the Australian Film Revival', Screening the Past Archived 18 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessed 17 September 2012
  7. ^ ‘A legendary figure’: Nigel Buesst, filmmaker and educator, dead at 86
  8. ^ "JAZZ Scrapbook". Filmnews. Vol. 13, no. 7. New South Wales, Australia. 1 July 1983. p. 9. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "BENNY FEATHERSTONE: PRINCE OF GOOD FELLOWS" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Talking with Ade".
  11. ^ Wilson, Jake. "Carlton + Godard = Cinema: An Interview with Nigel Buesst". Senses of Cinema.