A FILM showing Melbourne’s infamous 70K Crew graffiti gang hanging off trains and buildings has been pulled from a city film festival.

They’re brazen, forthright and absolutely convinced that scrawling their names on billboards and trains is going to change the world, experts say.

But the prolific 70K Crew are also criminals and the censors don’t want you to hear their story.

Melbourne Underground Film Festival pulled the documentary 70K on Sunday after the Federal Office of Film and Literature Classification warned the organisers that it was banned in Australia.

The film was shot by members of the gang, which includes the infamous duo Stan + Bonez and shows them hanging off trains and climbing buildings to paint their names.

In a report written last year the Classification Board, part of the OFLC, said the film glamorised and tried to legitimise vandalism:

“The combination of the filming, editing and addition of the soundtrack are such that the film is seen by the majority of the board to be a homage to the act of graffiti.'’

The board provided a copy of the report to the Leader but did not want to make any further comment.

But festival director Richard Wolstencroft said the ban was an attack on free speech.

“Snuff films and child pornography should be banned because they hurt people,'’ he said.

“(Graffiti) is a different kind of crime. No one is being murdered … it’s just a bit of paint on a wall.'’

Joel Birch, the spokesman for the film’s distributor, The Kingdom of Sad Machines, defended the film.

“It doesn’t glorify graffiti, it just documents it,'’ Mr Birch said.

Graffiti art curator and City Lights gallery founder Andy Mac said the 70K Crew would one day be seen as pioneering artists and the film as an important cultural history.

“On the surface, it looks like people writing their names but it’s actually a sustained act of civil disobedience,'’ Mr Mac said.

University of Melbourne culture expert Lachlan MacDowall said the ban was “authoritarian and paternalistic'’.

“I have seen the film and I don’t believe it warrants banning, although I think this is the case for almost all films in a democracy,'’ Mr MacDowall said.

- Lyndal Cairns

Yarra Council will this week file papers at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against the Peel Hotel in Collingwood, saying its music is too loud and patrons are causing trouble outside.

Yarra city development director Bruce Phillips said it would be a test case on whether publicans were responsible for customers before and after they drank at their venue.

“Under the liquor licence, it says the licensee should not cause or permit  damage to amenity,'’ Mr Phillips said.

The case could set a precedent for how far and how long that responsibility applies.

The council’s case includes several complaints from residents about people behaving badly out the front of the Peel Hotel and surrounding streets, and a music noise reading from Sunday, September 2, that was 5DB above what is allowed.

Mr Phillips would not reveal the number, origin or timeline of the complaints.

Peel Hotel manager Tom McFeely said straight residents were on a vendetta against the gay bar.

Complaints had increased since May, when the Peel won an exemption to equal opportunity laws to exclude groups of heterosexual people and lesbians.

“I’m beginning to question the motivation of residents,'’ he  told the Leader. “They can smell blood and are going for the Peel.'’

Mr McFeely said he had security footage that proved two complaints about bad   behaviour were false.

He said he spent $30,000 on sound-proofing.

He used to go outside to speak to former patrons in surrounding streets after resident complaints but stopped after police advice, he said.

Residents 3000 president Peter Matthews said he hoped the case would make all hotels serve drinks more responsibly.

“People leave places and want to fight one another, break windows, vomit and pee,'’ he  said.

“(Traders) go into their shops first thing on Monday morning and find their doorway knee-deep in vomit and urine.'’

Collingwood Police Sen-Sgt Peter Seiz said a zone would be hard to enforce in entertainment precincts but that something would have to be done.

“We’ve seen an escalation of violence and public disorder around bars and nightclubs,'’ he said.

Sen-Sgt Seiz said police were interested in the hearing but would not present evidence.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is expected to hear the case in the next two months.

 

EIGHT months after being stabbed twice in his left knee, 25-year-old accounts manager Amrish Jusrut is about to run the race of his life.

Jusrut, set upon by two young men on a train in February, has since undergone an operation and several painful months of rehabilitation. He will tackle all 21.1km of the half-marathon in next month’s Melbourne Marathon.

The attack on Mr Jusrut happened just after his return from seven months working in the Middle East.

Jumping on a train into the city at Coburg he was approached by two drunk men.

“They asked me for money and I had none on me,'’ Mr Jusrut said.

“When I refused to give him my phone, they pulled out a knife and they stabbed me twice in the left knee.

“At the time it went in I didn’t feel anything, I didn’t realise I had been stabbed until I saw the blood on the train floor.'’

It was during his regular drives to physiotherapy sessions at the Royal Melbourne Hospital that Mr Jusrut began dreaming of running a half-marathon.

“On my way there and on my way back I would always see people running,'’ he said.

“For once I wanted to do that and I couldn’t, but I felt really, really bad about that.'’

Initially Mr Jusrut, who used a wheelchair and then walking aids, struggled to even get upright.

“Standing up was difficult, every time I was putting my feet on the ground it would hurt,'’ he said.

Months later, after much persistence, Mr Jusrut has completed the marathon route several times already, albeit at a slower pace than he expects to race at.

“It’s going to be the longest thing I’ve ever done, the most ambitious thing,'’ he said.

Mr Jusrut hopes it will lead to running the full marathon next year.

This year’s marathon will be on Sunday, October 7, starting and finishing at the MCG. Up to 15,000 competitors are expected.

Details: www.melbournemarathon.com.au
<img height="82" src="http://www.al.com/gulfshores/images/clack.gif" width="77" /> Forget the Gold Coast, Melbourne is fast becoming Australia's film capital. Free permits from the city council and its proximity to diverse landscapes are creating boom conditions for film in this city. Speilberg will be in town in November to shoot <em>The Pacific</em> mini-series but when is the next major film coming? What can Melbourne do to lure big studios here? The full story is here: <a href="http://www.melbourneleader.com.au/article/2007/08/22/20650_mev_news.html">http://www.melbourneleader.com.au/article/2007/08/22/20650_mev_news.html</a>   ]]> http://melburnian.nook.com.au/2007/08/22/melbourne-film-capital/feed/ http://melburnian.nook.com.au/2007/08/15/has-the-rate-rise-piqued-your-interest/ http://melburnian.nook.com.au/2007/08/15/has-the-rate-rise-piqued-your-interest/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:11:46 +0000 melburnian Making News http://melburnian.nook.com.au/2007/08/15/has-the-rate-rise-piqued-your-interest/

Premier Steve Bracks quit politics this morning and has fueled suspicion that his deputy might follow him out.

In a snap press conference this morning, Mr Bracks said his family had sped up his decision to leave after eight years as Premier. He would not comment when asked directly whether his deputy John Thwaites would also quit. He later said Treasurer John Brumby would make a good leader if the party elected him on Monday.

So who is going to lead Victoria?

City councils want mobile billboards banned from parking more than 15 minutes on our congested roads. Port Phillip has already done it and Yarra Council is considering a ban.

Yarra Councillor Kay Meadows says they are unregulated, they hog parks and clog the already congested city streets.

Do you think they have any place on our roads?