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Clip description
Wattie and Agnes Doig recall life on the Gippsland coalfields in the 1930s.
Curator’s notes
Strikebound opens with Wattie and Agnes Doig discussing the hardships of life on the Victorian coalfields. A strong emotional impact is made by showing us the real people who are about to be portrayed by actors. This technique was also used to powerful effect in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), which showed the real characters at the film’s conclusion. The historical footage in this clip is from Coaldust (1948) by Eddie Allison, an active member of the Communist Party of Australia who later distributed Eastern Bloc features and documentaries via his company, Quality Films.
