Meet me at the Mango Tree

About the Director

Brian McKenzie is one of Australia’s esteemed documentary filmmakers known for his pure observational style and interest in the drama of ordinary life. Since the 1970s, his work has screened in cinemas, on ABC and SBS television. His portrait of alcoholics in “I’ll be home for Christmas” (1984) has been studied in schools across Australia. "On The Waves of the Adriatic" (1991), a portrait of a gang of misfits in suburban Coburg won the grand prix at Cinema du Reel in Paris. He has written and directed feature films (drama) and worked at the ABC overseeing breakthrough programs such as The Bush Mechanics series, Wedding in Ramallah and the evening classics slot, Stranger Than Fiction. In 2008 McKenzie won the Australian Directors Guild Award for Best Direction in Documentary for “Love’s Harvest”, a 4-part series about organic farmers that was hailed by The Age as “visceral and heartbreaking…great Australian stories”.

Filmography

Meet Me at the Mango Tree (2009)

Director
Feature documentary. Festivals: Sydney Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Chennai International Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

Love’s Harvest (2007)

Director
4-part documentary series for SBS television.
Best Director Documentary Series 2008 – Australian Director’s Guild

Mister Biscuit (1999)

Director/Producer
Feature documentary. Festivals: Cinema du Reel, Paris. Melbourne Film Festival. Nominated best documentary, Critics Circle.

Pat and Eddy’s Greyhound Racing Family (1994)

Director
Feature documentary and 1-hour program for ABC television. Nominated best documentary AFI Awards.

A Place to Belong (1992)

Director
1-hour documentary for ABC television.

Stan and George’s New Life (1991)

Co-writer/Director
Feature drama. Television: SBS, Australia. Channel 4, UK. Festivals: London, Jerusalem, Seattle, Calcutta, and Vancouver.

On the Waves of the Adriatic (1990)

Director/Producer
Feature documentary. Television: ABC, Australia. Festivals: Nyon Documentary Festival, Switzerland (awarded Oecumenical Jury Award); Cinema du Reel, Paris (awarded Grand Prix); Dei Popoli, Florence; Vancouver; Jerusalem; Hyderabad; Melbourne, Australia.

People Who Still Use Milk Bottles (1989)

Writer/Director
1-hour documentary for ABC Television.

Kelvin and his Friends (1988)

Director/Producer
Feature documentary. Festivals: First prize, St. Kilda Film Festival (awarded First Prize); Melbourne, Australia; Nyon, Switzerland.

With Love to the Person Next to Me (1987)

Director
Feature drama. Festivals: Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland (awarded Oecumenical Jury Award); Berlin; Edinburgh; New York; Montreal New Cinema; Chicago.
Cinema release: Kino Cinema, Melbourne.

The Last Day’s Work (1986)

Director/Producer
Feature documentary. Television: ABC Australia. Festivals: Berlin; Taipei; Nyon, Switzerland; Melbourne.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1984)

Director/Producer.
Feature documentary. Cinema release: Opera House Cinema, Sydney. Nominated Best Documentary, AFI Awards. Festivals: Nyon, Switzerland (awarded Notice of Commendation); Chicago; Dei Popoli, Florence; Bilbao, Spain.

Winter’s Harvest (1980)

Director/Co-producer
Documentary. Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Australian Short film, Dendy Awards, Sydney Film Festival. Nominated best documentary, AFI Awards.
Festivals: Filmex, Los Angeles; Oberhausen, Germany; Dei Popoli, Florence.

Manchild (1978)

Writer/Director
Short drama.

Mark’s Eyes (1976)

Writer/Director
Short drama.