Frustrated by the dormant state of the Australian film industry, Gil Brealy and Richard Mason—producers with the government-backed, documentary-producing Commonwealth Film Unit—decided to commission a three-episode feature film to show off the talents of several emerging young directors, including future six-time Oscar nominee Peter Weir. Made under the working title Youth, the project was intended to depict the lives of young Australians of the era, with Weir’s intensely stylized contribution, “Michael,” focusing on a man from a conservative family background who finds himself being drawn to the burgeoning hippie culture. In director Oliver Howes’ “Toula,” a Greek-Australian woman finds herself torn between family tradition and her desire to live a modern life. And in “Judy,” director Brian Hannant (who would go on to co-author the screenplay for The Road Warrior) follows a girl (future film star Judy Morris) who leaves her small country town to try on life in the big city.

Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.