The Office Picnic is a 1972 Australian comedy film directed by Tom Cowan. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.
Plot summary A group of public servants go on an annual picnic. Two of them, Peter and Elly, disappear.
Cast John Wood as Clyde Kate Fitzpatrick as Mara Philip Deamer as Peter Gaye Steele as Elly Ben Gabriel as Mr Johnson Max Cullen as Jim O'Casey Anne Tait Francis Flannigan Bryon Kennedy Graham Richards Elaine Smith
Production Cowan got the idea to make the film while walking through the bush during shooting of a documentary in the Victorian countryside.David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p184-185 He says he was also influenced by the novels of Patrick White and the films of Antonioni.Interview with Tom Cowan, 12 November 1998 accessed 11 Oct 2012
The film was shot on 35mm using a budget in part funded by the Experimental Film and Television Fund. It started in January 1972 but the money ran out during filming and there was a hiatus until filming resumed in April. The shoot took fifteen days in all.
Release The film was successfully previewed at Toorak and for a time it looked as though it would be distributed by British Empire Films but in the end most commercial screenings were arranged by the director.
References
External links
The Office Picnic at Oz Movies