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Vacant Possession (1994)

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clip ‘Don’t come back, Tessa’

Original classification rating: M. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Tessa (Pamela Rabe) is remembering the night, at age 16, that her life changed forever. She closes a window and, at the next moment, her sixteen-year-old self (Simone Pengelly) falls into the room, in the midst of a miscarriage. Later, unable to sleep, Tessa remembers her last conversation with her mother (Toni Scanlon), who gave her money and told her not to come back, for fear of what her father would do.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

The past is never the past in this film, because there are too many unresolved tensions. The script makes this idea literal by having the teenage Tessa fall into the arms of her older self, played by Pamela Rabe. The film strives for a very strong physical presence in the house, both in the present and in Tessa’s emotionally turbulent state. It becomes almost a haunted house story, but with a highly poetic visual style, characterised by the shots of open windows, breezes through curtains, dark bedrooms and lonely hallways. The film was shot by Dion Beebe, one of the best new cinematographers of the early 1990s in Australia.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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