Australian Council of Film Societies

Australian Council of Film Societies ACOFS is the national body for film societies in Australia. The inaugural meeting was held in Sydney in November 1949 and the constitution was adopted at a second meeting which is the official start of ACOFS, in 1950. Only two Federations existed at this time, from Victoria and NSW, but individual societies were represented from Queensland, ACT and Tasmania. The early issues which motivated ACOFS members were censorship, UNESCO ideals, sales tax on 16mm films and acquisition of suitable titles. ACOFS has seen many fluctuations in its membership and activities since then and in 2005 celebrated fifty four years of operation. There has been a lively and active film society culture in Australia for over sixty years.

The membership of Australia’s film societies varies between 15 and over 1000. In country areas probably 20 to 30 is the norm. Many films have only been seen in Australia by members of the general public when programmed by a film society. Most of the films screened by film societies in Australia are selected from the more than 6,000 titles held in the Non-Theatrical Lending Collection, owned and managed by the National Film and Sound Archive. This is a world-renowned collection of 16 mm feature films and short films and more recently DVDs which are available to film societies for a service charge. There is another lending facility within the Archive of mainly Australian films which on different terms are also available for screening. Protecting these invaluable resources has been one of ACOFS' main activities over the past few years.

The inaugural meeting of ACOFS was chaired by John Heyer the notable documentary film maker. The first President in 1950 was Professor AK Stout and during the first decade such notable figures as Frank Nicholls (Vic), WH (Bill) Perkins (Tas), Erwin Rado (Vic) David Donaldson (NSW) and Ray Fisher (Vic) all had spells in the Presidential seat.

Barrie King was instrumental in reviving ACOFS in 1974 after several years of inactivity, and alternated between President and Secretary as the needs arose for the next twenty five years. A leading figure in the International Film Theatre in Perth, the Western Australian Federation of Film Societies and the State Archive of Western Australia, Barrie was totally involved in the film culture until an untimely stroke compelled him to relinquish all positions in 1999. Barrie had been a campaigner for foundation of the National Film and Sound Archive and was a member of its first Advisory Committee from 1984.

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