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THESE HEATHEN DREAMS: Journey of a Cultural Bolshevik - Christopher Barnett

Year: 2014

Classification: Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG

Runtime: 53 min

Produced In: Australia

Directed By: Anne Tsoulis

Produced By: Anne Tsoulis, Estelle Robin You, Georgia Wallace-Crabbe

Language: Engish

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Vimeo on demand

What became of the rabble-rousing, heavy-drinking, radical poet some called Australia's greatest living writer?

Once described by the press as "one of the most controversial figures on the Australian art scene", avant-garde poet and playwright Christopher Barnett achieved a level of notoriety in the Melbourne underground theatre scene during the 70s and 80s, before self-exiling to France. He remains there today, running an experimental theatre lab working with the marginalised and underprivileged, applauded by the establishment (including former French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault) and faithful to his belief that art can change the world.

These Heathen Dreams is an intimate portrait of Barnett¹s life and revolutionary philosophy. Combining archival footage dating back to the 60s with contemporary observational documentation and text from Barnett¹s writings, it is a poignant and inspiring study of the power of both art and political activism.


DVD EXTRAS: IMPROVISATIONS - poetry recital by Christopher Barnett, Nantes, France, 2012 (approx 28 mins)


  • Official Selection - Adelaide International Film Festival
  • Official Selection - WOW Film Festival
  • Official Selection - Antipodean Film Festival

VIEW TRAILER HERE: vimeo.com/652755884