WHEN THE CAMERA STOPPED ROLLING

Eight years in the making, Jane Castle's poignant documentary about her filmmaker mother Lilias Fraser is an intimate mother-daughter story and eye-opening chronicle of women's roles in the film industry.
Friday 27 March | Picture House | Doors 11:00 AM | Session 11:30 AM | End 1:20 PM
UK Premiere
Director: Jane Castle | 2021 | Australia | 75 mins | 12
​Documentary + Q&A with Jane Castle (director)
Lilias Fraser was a pioneer of Australian cinema who overcame huge challenges to make over 40 films in her lifetime. Her youngest daughter, cinematographer Jane Castle, tells her mother's story and that of their relationship. Tenacious, enthusiastic and ambitious, Fraser overcame huge systemic and personal obstacles. Trapped in a destructive marriage and then struggling with alcohol and single motherhood, her determination finally met its limits. When the Camera Stopped Rolling documents both this trailblazing mother-daughter filmmaking team and the intergenerational trauma that was its shadow. Balancing meticulous archival research with searing honesty, Castle interweaves their struggles and triumphs with clarity and compassion.

FILMMAKER: JANE CASTLE

'The film is a dual-journey narrative that tells the story of my trailblazing filmmaker mother and of my own journey as a cinematographer and daughter across six decades of photography and filmmaking. It’s also the story of intergenerational trauma and how it disrupted our relationship.

As a recovering cinematographer I was determined to prioritise story over visual beauty and in the process I found a way of fusing driving narrative and poetic metaphor. This form has allowed me to obliquely explore universal issues such as motherhood, trauma, grief and healing. One of the greatest challenges was to keep seeking an ever deeper truth. This meant being radically honest about the role I played in my relationship with my mother. Although it’s unnerving to expose myself in this way, I hope it will allow audiences to enter more deeply and honestly into their own personal stories.'

PRAISE FOR WHEN THE CAMERA STOPPED ROLLING

"The intertwining careers of mother and daughter, which conclude in a bizarre tragedy, make for a compelling, intimate and insightful documentary"  — The Australian

“Moving and complex, it’s an outstanding film with a very special mystique" — FilmInk

“This is that rare creature: a documentary which informs, entertains, and is ultimately as moving as a feature drama" — Glam Adelaide
UK Premiere
Finalist, Best Australian Documentary, Sydney Film Festival
Nominee AACTA Award for Best Documentary