Established by Albie Thoms , David Perry , Aggy Read and John Clark in 1965 with the aim of making Experimental Films , Ubu became a distribution centre for Australian and foreign independent films , organising exhibitions of them in Australian capital cities , producing expanded cinema in the form of lighshows with rock bands and slide and film projections , and publishing the Underground newspaper , '' Ubunews . '' Ubu 's first production was the spy-spoof , '' Blunderball '' ( 1966 ) , a burlesque of all the James Bond films to date , written and directed by Thoms , and intended to raise money for experimental films . It was screened as part of the program '' Blunderball and Other Recent Australian Films '' , including works by Bruce Beresford , Richard Brennan and Garry Shead , who became one of the mainstays of the group . The program attracted turn-away crowds , with the profits split among the contributing filmmakers . Ubu used the funds to make '' Man and His World '' ( 1966 ) , written and directed by Thoms for a competition for 50-second film on the title theme , using an ultra high speed camera and split-screen optical printing . The competition was held in conjunction with Expo 67 in Montreal , where it was selected for the finals and screened at the Montreal Film Festival . Thoms then made '' Rita & Dundi '' for Ubu , This experimental documentary about two young Paddington dress-makers was banned for nudity , but was screened widely in Australia without complaint . This was followed by an improvised Happening orchestrated by Garry Shead , with the Ubu filmmakers , along with Michael Pearce , David Stiven and Roger Whitaker . It was included in Ubu 's second exhibition program , '' Underground and Experimental Films , '' which included previous work and news films , including Thoms handmade film , '' Bluto '' , made by scraping emulsion from black leader and hand-colouring the results . It led to Thoms ’ penning a Handmade Film Manifesto that was published in Sydney and San Francisco , and led to a Sydney School of Handmade Films , many of which were used in Ubu 's lightshows . Thoms next film for Ubu , '' Bolero '' ( 1967 ) came about as a result of an invitation from the Royal Belgian Film Archive to submit an idea for a film for the 4th International Experimental Film Festival in Knokke-Le Zoute . Thoms ’ idea involved a camera tracking down a street into the eye of a girl , done to the music of Maurice Ravel . It was awarded an Agfa-Gaevert Prize and was exhibited in the final of the competition . Thoms next made '' David Perry '' ( 1968 ) , consisting of scraps found in David Perry 's editing bin , which were scratched on , coloured , and synchronised to the soundtrack of David Perry talking about his films . It was selected for screening at the 2nd Directors ’ Fortnight at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival . After that Thoms commenced work on his experimental feature '' Marinetti ''
1970 Cannes Film Festival
1970 Cannes Film Festival
Albie Thoms