Paul Cronin Quote
Even back in 1968, the first time I was at the Berlin Film Festival with one of my films, I found it ossified and suffocating. I felt the festival should be opened up to everyone and screen work in other cinemas around the city, so I took the initiative, got hold of some prints by young filmmakers and rented a cinema for a few days in Neukölln, a working-class suburb of Berlin, which at the time was populated largely by immigrants and students. The free screenings at this parallel venue were a big success and generated intense discussions between audiences and filmmakers, which were exciting to witness. The whole thing was my rebellious moment against the Establishment, which I saw as being unnecessarily exclusive. I told the festival organisers they needed to have more free screenings and open the festival up to the wider public, which shortly afterwards they did.
Even back in 1968, the first time I was at the Berlin Film Festival with one of my films, I found it ossified and suffocating. I felt the festival should be opened up to everyone and screen work in other cinemas around the city, so I took the initiative, got hold of some prints by young filmmakers and rented a cinema for a few days in Neukölln, a working-class suburb of Berlin, which at the time was populated largely by immigrants and students. The free screenings at this parallel venue were a big success and generated intense discussions between audiences and filmmakers, which were exciting to witness. The whole thing was my rebellious moment against the Establishment, which I saw as being unnecessarily exclusive. I told the festival organisers they needed to have more free screenings and open the festival up to the wider public, which shortly afterwards they did.
Related Quotes
About Paul Cronin
As a young man Cronin moved to Melbourne where he worked in a variety of jobs. After actively seeking an acting career, he performed in various Crawford Productions including Division 4 and Homicide. Cronin appeared as motorcycle policeman Gary Hogan in the Crawford Productions drama Matlock Police (1971–1976), followed by its spin-off Solo One (1976). He played the central character of Dave Sullivan in the popular soap opera The Sullivans from 1976 to 1983.
In 1986 Cronin led a consortium with Christopher Skase which was awarded the inaugural licence for the Brisbane Bears in the then-Victorian Football League. He was president of the club from 1987-1989.