Vacant Possession (film)

Vacant Possession
Directed by	Margot Nash
Written by	Margot Nash
Produced by	John Winter
Starring	Pamella Rabe John Stanton
Cinematography	Dion Beebe
Edited by	Veronika Jenet
Music by	Alistair Jones
Distributed by	Wintertime Films
Release date	23 May 1995 (1995-05-23) (Australia)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Vacant Possession is a 1995 Australian drama film, directed and written by Margot Nash. The film was nominated for 5 awards at the 1995 Australian Film Institute Awards.

Plot

Following the death of her mother Tessa (Pamela Rabe), a young woman, returns after many years to the weather-beaten family home on the shores of Sydney's Botany Bay. But the old family home begins to bring old wounds more and more to life. The story unfolds through flashbacks yet as it progresses the flashbacks merge into the present as it becomes apparent that the situation Tessa has returned to is very much the result of that which passed before.

This is a film about memory - personal and collective. To quote the director: 'the story of a house, land and two families - one white, one Aboriginal - both living in the shadow of the past'. The deliberately ambiguous title could refer to the house itself, but also the history of White Australia (see Terra nullius).

Cast

Actor/Actress and Character

• Pamela Rabe...Tessa
• John Stanton...Frank
• Toni Scanlan...Joyce
• Linden Wilkinson...Kate
• Rita Bruce...Aunty Beryl
• Olivia Patten...Millie
• Simone Pengelly...Teenage Tessa
• Melissa Ippolito...Young Tessa
• Tommy Lewis...Billy
• Bill Young...Estate Agent
• Barbra Wyndon...Thea
• Tony Barry...Salvation Army Man
• Ian Spence...Volunteer

Awards

Nominations

• Australian Film Institute 1995:
  • AFI Award - Best Editing: Veronika Jenet
  • AFI Award - Best Director: Margot Nash
  • AFI Award - Best Screenplay: Margot Nash
  • AFI Award - Best Achievement in Sound: Tony Vaccher, John Dennison, Bronwyn Murphy & John Patterson

External links

• Vacant Possession at IMDb