THE COCA COLA KID

Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Duration:	93 minutes
Distributor:	David Roe / Grand Bay Films / NFSA
Director:	Dusan Makavejev
Starring:	Eric Roberts / Greta Scacchi / Tony Barry / Bill Kerr / Chris Haywood
Classification:	M

One of the most anticipated projects of Australian cinema in 1980s was controversial Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev’s adaptation of Frank Moorhouses’ The Americans, Baby.

It promised to be a wicked comic allegory of American-Australian cultural (and sexual) relations, as an Atlanta cola executive (Eric Roberts) tries to sell the local Coke franchise to an old-time fizzy-drink manufacturer (Bill Kerr).

But despite a cast clearly having a lot of on-screen fun (including Greta Scacchi, Tony Barry, and Chris Haywood) the film had a troubled production and muted critical reception, with many expecting more satirical fireworks from the director of WR: Mysteries of the Organism.

Twenty-five years on, novelist and scriptwriter Frank Moorhouse joins producer David Roe to present the Australian premiere of a new print of the film, from the National Film and Sound Archive’s Atlab/Kodak Cinema Project. Moorhouse and Roe will take a fresh look at The Coca Cola Kid and revisit their tall-but-true memories of working with one of European cinema’s greats.

Q & As & PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 6th November

The Coca Cola Kid: 7.30pm Arc Cinema at the National Film and Sound Archive

Q & A by the screenwriter Frank Moorhouse and producer David Roe