I made this film on Super 8 in 1981 as the major work for Year 12 art in the Higher School Certificate. I’d been involved with PACT Youth Theatre for a few years, and through that had found my way into the grungy inner city subcultures.

The Department of Main Roads had bought up huge swathes of real estate in inner Sydney to make way for the Eastern Distributor, which wasn’t built for another 10 or 20 years. The rows of empty houses were a magnet for artists and musicians, who moved in and created a huge community of squats, in various states of disrepair – some with barely any facilities, and others fixed up into quite livable abodes.

This was filmed at one of the squats in Palmer St Woolloomooloo, where the Eastern Distributor now stands. The party scene was at a rental house in Buckingham St, Surry Hills.There were a number of musicians living in two adjacent houses, and the party was held on a rooftop over their back courtyard. I don’t recall that rooftop ever being used other than that, but it provided a good vantage point for filming, as I was able to set up the camera on a rooftop area on the adjacent house.

Permission has been sought and received for all music on this film where I was able to contact the copyright holders, but some artists could not be tracked down. If you own music on this film and I haven’t contacted you, please get in touch.