Tag: documentary

A Hard Day’s Night (BFI Film Classics)

Published by the British Film Institute, this book shows how a “film meant to capture a pop phenomenon became an enduring cinematic classic.” The black and white film, A Hard Day’s Night, was released in 1964. It changed the way the band saw themselves and their relationship with the screen. The documentary style that the movie achieved came at a time when Britain was undergoing great change regarding celebrities and pop culture. The media attention was focussed and persistent.

The information in the book A Hard Day’s Night, comes from Samira Ahmed discovering the film as a child and then, later, beginning work in the television industry. She is a journalist and has many awards to her name. The author examines the movie and explains in detail the craft and the appeal it has. She also looks at the social scene of the times in Britain, and after many interviews and discussions with the band, she talks about the sexual politics in the movie. She also examines the role of women in the film.

In the introduction, Samira explains many technicalities of making the film. The film makers consisted of men from North America who put a youthful “version of British manhood on the screen.” It consisted of a black and white film with the slapstick humour of the silent movies”. From here, we are told of the film content, the silent excerpts, the humorous parts and follow the storyline along. The film was shot in chronological order, with the band members realizing that they couldn’t be out at night partying and on the set at 6am.

The detailed examination of the film and its plots is fascinating reading. For any Beatles fans or film buffs Samira has provided a wealth of information and insider knowledge to keep them reading for many hours.

July 11, 2026
Laila’s Story

Moving from overseas to settle in Australia is becoming more difficult, particularly for refugees from war torn countries, who often have great difficulty in acquiring the required paperwork.

Accomplished playwright, poet, and author of both fiction and non-fiction Mij Tanith in her latest book ‘Laila’s Story’ has given the reader insight into the difficult journey of one family of refugees, as they navigate the process of resettlement.

In January 2023 the author was approached by an Afghan man, who was a long-term refugee living in Australia, to help an Afghan woman to obtain a visa. She had fled the Taliban and was living in precarious conditions in Iran with her five daughters.

Mij Tanith and her friend Sue, as part of Circle of Friends, had volunteered tirelessly to support and advocate for refugees. Initially cautious, the author and her partner Sue became interested in helping this family. Thus began their journey through the complexities of the Australian immigration system.

The reader soon realizes that helping Laila and her daughters resettle in Australia required a team of skilled individuals, fundraisers, migration agent, publicist etc. Not only does this book comprehensively trace the complex process of obtaining the appropriate paperwork for the family but it also highlights the unexpected growing relationship between the author, Laila and her daughters.

Written in a touching blend of narrative and verse, the reader obtains a greater understanding of the plight of refugees and their desire for a better life.

For those who believe that anything is possible with a ‘can do attitude’, community action, determination and tenacity, this moving story is for you.

March 9, 2026
ROCKSPLOITATION

celebrating 69 hits, flops and cult favourite rock n’ roll movies

Rock and Roll movies are a thing of days gone bye but what an amazing event they were when they emerged from Hollywood back in the 1950’s as they full of vibrancy, colour, music and the latest dance crazy and by doing so created a musical phenomenon.

Rocksploitation celebrates and documents only some of the many Rock and Roll movies that made, the first of which was Blackboard Jungle in 1955, featuring Bill Haley and the Comets, a movie that was all about teenagers, rebellion, and violence. It is not in the book!

This paved the way for the many Elvis Presley movies, Cliff Richard, The Beatles and many more to spread their music on a global basis rather than just by touring, which was limited, very expensive and slow in the early days of Rock and Roll, or by record or radio.

Fans of what could be considered a cultural revolution, led by music, could get to see what their beloved Pop Singer looked like. They became real to their global audience. There are thousands upon thousands of teenage girls who simply swooned, to use an old-fashioned word, over Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard!

Rocksploitation tells the story of, in this instance 69 hits, flops, yes there were more than a few, and others that became cult favourites selected with a very strict criteria by Shane Pinnegar, a man who has been involved with the music industry for several decades, so therefore is a good man to tell the many tales of the good, the bad and the downright disastrous musical movies that were once considered awesome, but with the passage of time have become cringeworthy, fascinating and in many cases cult classics.

He has provided a list of places to investigate if you want to watch the movie that is one of the listed and critiqued chapters, which begins with the Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night made in 1964, which just made the cut into the book and gives a clear insight into why they, at the height of their fame, decided to go into movies.

Moving through the years the final movie is Young Einstein made in 1988 which was an amalgamation of alternative tales that became a small sensation in Australia but failed on the overseas market, which was nothing unusual for those days.

A wonderful interview with Allan Arkush, a man who directed many classic Rock and Roll movies draws a fascinating, entertaining and informative look at what is a time in Music History that created hero’s, legends and changed the face of the industry forever.

There is an excellent References section at the end of the book for each of the featured Movies that will keep you investigating for a very long time and wait for it, a list of the up-and-coming titles for Rocksploitation Volume II due out very soon.

November 6, 2025
The Portal How meditation can save the world

Tom Cronin has a mission to bring meditation to the world; he envisages one billion people meditating daily, worldwide, producing a better life, promoting peace and stillness as a universal effort.

The Portal is both a book and a documentary. Jacquie Fifer is a film maker, with The Portal being the first movie she has directed. Jacquie’s mantra is ‘we create what we are’ and believes awareness is the first step.

A successful broker, Cronin was addicted to success, money, and the adrenalin highs that go with this high-powered profession. He crashed in the form of a breakdown. His search for something better than drugs and quick fixes led him to meditation. In finding peace and clarity in Eastern Meditation practices, Cronin also discovered an ancient roadmap that has helped guide people along the more peaceful pathways of mediation and healing for centuries.

Prior to the book being written Cronin interviewed three hundred people. As a result of the research he chose six remarkable people, all having in many cases dysfunctional childhoods, the push to succeed, with the success, for many reasons, leading to the ultimate breakdown. Their journeys to eventually finding meditation, often as a last resort, resulting in a positive outlook and a new way to deal with the pressures of life, are truly inspiring. Also included are extraordinary insights from three of the world’s foremost futuristic and imaginative thinkers.

If you are stressed or anxious, sick and finding the world a tumultuous place, open The Portal, step through to find peace, stillness and healing on all levels and help create Toms dream of a far, far better, more peaceful universe.

The Portal does not tell you how to meditate, it very persuasively tells you why you should.

October 23, 2019