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Born 1951, Nederlands. Rolf de Heer's first six films are available in a 6-DVD box-set for about $70. At March 2013, they were on sale from Umbrella Entertainment for $40. Update: they were later listed as out of stock, and back to $70.
Another set of the next six films is also available as a different 7-DVD box-set for about $50 from the distributor, Madman. The films are the last six releases (at the time of writing) from Dance to Dr Plonk.
Tail of a Tiger (Rolf de Heer, 1985) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Richard Michalak, original music Graham Tardif; children's film about a boy who wants to fly - and does fly, in a Tiger Moth
Incident at Raven's Gate (Rolf de Heer, 1989) aka Encounter at Raven's Gate; wr. Rolf de Heer, Marc Rosenberg, James Michael Vernon, Steven Vidler, dp Richard Michalak, original music Roman Kronen, Graham Tardif; Celine Griffin, Ritchie Singer, Vincent Gil, Saturday Rosenberg, Terry Camilleri, Max Cullen; suspenseful science fiction comedy
Featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Dingo (Rolf de Heer, 1991) wr. Marc Rosenberg; dp Denis Lenoir, original music Miles Davis, Michel Legrand; Colin Friels (as a trumpeter), Miles Davis, Helen Buday, Bernadette Lafont; review by Raymond Younis in Murray 1995: 337; filmed around Bungle Bungles, WA, and in Paris
Featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Bad Boy Bubby (Rolf de Heer, 1994) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Ian Jones, original music Graham Tardif; Nicholas Hope, Claire Bonito, Ralph Cotterill, Carmel Johnson, Syd Brisbane, Nikki Price; 111 min.
This is a European 'idea' film - similar to Werner Herzog's Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle; many people will find the first fifteen minutes tough going. Featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Quiet Room, The (Rolf de Heer, 1996) wr. Rolf de Heer, prod. Rolf de Heer, Domenico Procacci, Sharon Jackson, Fiona Paterson, dp Tony Clark, original music Graham Tardif; Paul Blackwell, Celine O'Leary, Chloe Ferguson, Phoebe Ferguson; little girl withdraws into silence as a reaction to her parents threatening to separate; 93 min.
Featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Epsilon (Rolf de Heer, 1997) aka Almost Alien, Alien Visitor; wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Tony Clark, original music Graham Tardif; Ulli Birve (She), Syd Brisbane (The Man), Alethea McGrath, Chloe Ferguson, Phoebe Ferguson; drama, thriller, sci-fi; shot in Flinders Ranges
Featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Dance Me to My Song (Rolf de Heer, 1998) wr. Rolf de Heer, Heather Rose, Frederick Stahl, dp Tony Clark, original music Graham Tardif; Heather Rose, John Brumpton; Cannes; the co-writer, who is also the main character, is disabled with cerebral palsy; Heather Rose Slattery died 2002, aged 36; she had made a brief appearance in Bad Boy Bubby, presumably when RdeH met her
Old Man Who Read Love Stories, The (Rolf de Heer, 2000) wr Luis Sepulveda (novel) Rolf de Heer, Claude Cohen (French dialog), Duncan Thompson, dp Denis Lenoir, original music Fernando Sancho, Graham Tardif; Richard Dreyfuss, Timothy Spall, Hugo Weaving; shot in French Guiana, South America; Australian release March 2004 Melbourne; Ali Sharp, "The old man and the jungle: an interview with Rolf de Heer", Metro, 140, 2004: 32-35; brief review of DVD release: Matthew Goodwin, Empire, 43, October 2004: 102
The Tracker (Rolf de Heer, 2002) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Ian Jones, original music Rolf de Heer, Graham Tardif; David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet, Damon Gameau, Grant Page; national release 8 August. David Gulpilil won Best Actor AFI Awards 7 November 2002; songs performed by Archie Roach; 98 min.
Alexandra's Project (Rolf de Heer, 2003) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Ian Jones, music Graham Tardif; Helen Buday, Gary Sweet; wife hatches an unconventional form of revenge against her husband; Dave Hoskin, 'Entering thriller country', Metro, 136: 20-25
Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr, 2006) wr. Rolf de Heer, prod. Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan, dp Ian Jones; was to be co-directed by Rolf de Heer and David Gulpilil, but the latter pulled out; performed entirely in the Ganalbingu language of Gulpilil's Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, according to the FFC it is "one of the few Australian feature films to rely on English subtitles"; surreal tragi-comedy
Dr Plonk (Rolf de Heer, 2007) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Judd Overton, music Graham Tardif; FFC greenlit 2006; starting filming 1 May 2006; Nigel Lunghi, Paul Blackwell, Mgad Szubanski; Adelaide Festival February 2007, Toronto October 2007
Twelve Canoes (Rolf de Heer, 2009) more on the mythology of the people of Ramingining
The King is Dead (Rolf de Heer, 2012) wr. Rolf de Heer, dp Judd Overton, music Graham Tardif; Dan Wyllie, Bojana Novakovic, Gary Waddell; "nice little comedy about neighbours, amphetamines and Mauris [sic]"
Charlie's Country (Rolf de Heer, 2013) wr. Rolf de Heer, prod. Nils Erik Nielsen, dp Ian Jones; David Gulpilil, Luke Ford, Ritchie Singer, Peter Djigirr; 'tragi-comic portrait of one man's struggle to define himself as an Aboriginal in modern Australia'; premiere Adelaide FF October 2013; 107 min.
Girls Like Us (planning) "I'm writing a screenplay based on a book called Girls Like Us, which is about Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon and their music and their lives, and how that affected women in the 60s and 70s in the States"
Survival of Kindness, The (Rolf de Heer, 2022) aka The Mountain; prod. Julie Byrne, dp Maxx Corkindale; Mwajemi Hussein, Darsan Sharma, Deepthi Sharma; 100 min.
Garry Gillard | New: 25 November, 2011 | Now: 20 December, 2023