Sleepwalking into History

Vox pops with high profile comedians, Wendy Harmer, Max Gillies, Will Anderson and The Chaser’s, Julian Morrow and Co, journalist, David Marr and film critic, Margaret Pomeranz, add their voices to the alarm felt in the arts community to the anti-terror laws particularly those dealing with sedition. Dynamically intercut with rehearsals of The Three Amigos by the Wharf Revue – Jonathan Biggins, Genevieve Lemon, Drew Forsythe, and Phil Scott - the documentary highlights the role of satire in a democratic society.

Full description

This film is from SEDITIOUS INTENT, a compilation of films inspired by Australia’s Anti-Terrorism Bill - some sad, some funny, some downright shocking.

Dissent is an essential part of democracy. But under the Anti-Terrorism legislation, the right to oppose or challenge the State is significantly compromised.

The Seditious Intent Short Film project was initiated in late October 2005. A call out was sent to filmmakers to produce a short work that was inspired by the anti-terror laws. The following 17 short films were selected from the submissions.

For details about the background of the project, and more info on the Sedition legislation, please visit: http://spinach7.com/si/background.html

The Anti-Terrorism bill, though passed in December 2005, is now under review by the Australian Law Reform Commission. You can make a public submission regarding this legislation through their website here: http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/current/sedition/comments.htm

There is a good article explaining what the laws mean here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_sedition_law

Copyright 2007, by the contributing author. Cite/attribute Resource. SeditiousIntent. (2006, April 17). Sleepwalking into History. Retrieved February 10, 2010, from EngageMedia Web site: http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/SeditiousIntent/videos/sleepwalking_into_history.mov. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.