He is a giant of the film industry, both literally and figuratively: more than 1.90 metres of height and talent with 19 films as director, about twenty as producer, launching several major international careers such as Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke and numerous prestigious collaborations: Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie, Michael Caine, Denzel Washington, Sharon Stone, Val Kilmer, David Gulpilil, Kenneth Branagh, Naomi Watts… For these reasons (and many others), the Cinematheque francaise, as part of the Australia now France program, chose to honour him by hosting a full career retrospective from 27 October to 7 November 2021, in their prestigious Franck Gehry complex in Paris.

Rabbit Proof Fence (2003), one of Phillip Noyce’s most powerful films, launched the retrospective. This important film had an impact beyond the screen, raising awareness of the stolen generations of Australia’s first peoples. The opening night was unique, emotionally charged and memorable. Phillip Noyce was present for the occasion, with Her Excellency Gillian Bird, Australian Ambassador to France, Jean-François Rauger, director of programmes for the Cinematheque, and Jason Clarke, friend of Noyce and Rabbit-Proof Fence actor. On top of the warm speeches given that night, Phillip Noyce expressed his sincere attachment to all the actors, producers, technicians and other members of the industry with whom he has collaborated over his long career and made the evening even more special by inviting the audience to pay tribute to the immense Australian Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil who featured in Rabbit Proof Fence and in so many great Australian films, from Walkabout to Crocodile Dundee.

Over the following ten days, the French public discovered the full extent of Phillip Noyce’s remarkable talent through the programme developed by the Cinémathèque française in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). It was the occasion to (re)discover films such as Newsfront (1978), Bone Collector (1998), The Quiet American (2001) or Dead Calm (1987). Some of his short films, collected and restored by the NFSA, were also presented to the French public for the first time. Mr Noyce introduced several of them during his visit to Paris and gave a masterclass with Jean-Francois Rauger, much to the delight of the public.

It was ten days of cinema with 16 feature films, 12 exclusive short films, a lesson in cinema on Phillip Noyce by Phillip Noyce and an exceptional opportunity to discover the work of this great chameleon of the seventh art.

Photo credit : © Thierry Stefanopoulos – Cinémathèque française