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Celia

Ann Turner  •   Australia  • ​  1988
104 mins  •  HD  •   PG coarse language

A dark childhood fable about a young girl who escapes into her fantasies.

“One of the best films about childhood since The 400 Blows” – Time Out 

DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: Ann Turner
PRODUCER: Gordon Glenn, Timothy White
PRODUCTION CO: Seon
PHOTOGRAPHY: Geoffrey Simpson
EDITOR: Ken Sallows
MUSIC: Chris Neal
WITH: Rebecca Smart (Celia Carmichael), Nicholas Eadie (Ray Carmichael), Victoria Longley (Alice Tanner), Mary-Anne Fahey (Pat Carmichael), Margaret Ricketts (Grandmother), Alexander Hutchinson (Steve Tanner), Adrian Mitchell (Karl Tanner), Callie Gray (Meryl Tanner), Martin Sharman (Evan Tanner), Clair Couttie (Heather Goldman), Alex Menglet (Mr Goldman), Amelia Frid (Stephanie Burke), William Zappa (Sergeant John Burke), Feon Keane (Soapy Burke), Louise Le Nay (Debbie Burke) 

​FESTIVALS: Berlin, Melbourne

REVIEW

“Set in mid-1950s Australia, with the fear of communism in the air, Ann Turner's refreshingly unsentimental debut feature depicts a long hot summer seen through the eyes and over-active imagination of nine-year-old Celia. Shaken by the death of her beloved grandmother, Celia finds herself adrift between the cruel games and rituals of childhood and the incomprehensible world of grown-ups. With monstrous creatures stalking her dreams by night, those imagined terrors blur by day with the banal brutality of the adult world and lead to tragic and shocking consequences. This dark fable of childhood's end ranks alongside Lord of the Flies, The 400 Blows, Stand By Me and Pan’s Labyrinth.”

— Second Run


“Several of the greatest films about childhood are directorial debuts, with young directors harvesting their own youthful experiences for inspiration. To Pather Panchali, Les Quatre Cents Coups,  L’Enfance-nue and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood (1962) must be added Celia, Ann Turner’s startling first feature from 1989… her debut continues to haunt those who track it down.”

​– Samuel Wigley, BFI


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

Hamilton   
Monday, 13 March, 6.30pm

Tauranga   

Tuesday, 21 March, 6.00pm

Auckland   

Monday, 03 April, 6.15pm 

Nelson   

Tuesday, 09 May, 6.00pm

Dunedin   

Wednesday, 17 May, 7.30pm​

Wellington   

Monday, 24 July, 6:15pm

Canterbury   

Monday, 31 July, 7.00pm​

​Whanganui   

Monday, 28 August, 7.00pm

​Palmerston North   
Wednesday, 08 November, 6.00pm


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Film Societies of Aotearoa New Zealand

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New Zealand Federation of Film Societies  |  PO Box 9544, Te Aro, Wellington, NZ  
Phone: +64 4 385 0162  |  Fax: +64 4 801 7304  |  Email: 
michael@nziff.co.nz
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • OAMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2023 SEASON
    • JAPANESE CLASSICS
    • AUSTRALIAN CINEMA
    • NEW YORK ON SCREEN
    • WORLD & DOCUMENTARY
    • CULT & CLASSICS
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CINEMA
    • AFRICAN CINEMA
    • GERMAN CINEMA