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==Background==
==Background==
Cox was born on 16 April 1940, in [[Venlo]], [[Limburg (Netherlands)|Limburg]], the [[Netherlands]],<ref name=globe>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/cinema-has-been-abused-horrifically/article25470629/ " Cinema has been 'abused horrifically'"]. Matthew Hays and Martin Siberok, ''The Globe and Mail'', 4 September 2000</ref> the second son, and with two sisters, of Else (née Kuminack), a native of [[Germany]], and Wim Cox, a documentary film producer and publisher of the Catholic newspaper ''Nieuwe Venlosche Courant'', who in 1933 launched the richly illustrated magazine ''Zuiderfilm'',<ref>Sef Derkx - ‘Zuiderfilm. Impressies uit een stad voor en na de tweede wereldoorlog’, in: Jan Coppens e.a. ed., Impressies ’45. Beelden uit het bevrijdingsjaar (Venlo 1990)</ref> and who in 1935 wanted to build a cinema at the newspaper's office,<ref>'Hoe Willem Petersk bioscoopkoning van Venlo werd' in Buun 2005. (2004). Venlo: Stichting Cultuur-Historische Publicaties voor het Stadsgewest Venlo</ref> was commissioned in 1938 by Van Meegeren, the chairman of the 'RK Bond voor Groote Families (Catholic Association for Large Families) founded in 1917 by Mathijs Janssen, to make the film ''Levensgang'' (The Journey of Life.)<ref>Aasman, S. (2007). "Gladly Breaking Bread": Religious Repertoires and Family Film. Film History, 19(4), 361-371. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/25165442</ref><ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Paul-Cox.html "Paul Cox Biography (1940-)"], Film Reference.</ref><ref>[http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/cactus/notes/ "Cactus (1986)"], Australian Screen.</ref>
Cox was born to Else (née Kuminack), a native of [[Germany]], and father, Wim Cox, on 16 April 1940, in [[Venlo]], [[Limburg (Netherlands)|Limburg]], the [[Netherlands]],<ref name=globe>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/cinema-has-been-abused-horrifically/article25470629/ " Cinema has been 'abused horrifically'"]. Matthew Hays and Martin Siberok, ''The Globe and Mail'', 4 September 2000</ref> after his brother Wim sister Elizabeth, and was the eldest of Jacoba, Angeline and Christa. A documentary film producer and publisher of the Catholic newspaper ''Nieuwe Venlosche Courant'', Cox senior in 1933 launched the richly illustrated magazine ''Zuiderfilm'',<ref>Sef Derkx - ‘Zuiderfilm. Impressies uit een stad voor en na de tweede wereldoorlog’, in: Jan Coppens e.a. ed., Impressies ’45. Beelden uit het bevrijdingsjaar (Venlo 1990)</ref><ref>Thunnis van Oort‘Het Nederlandse filmtijdschrift en de markt’ Tijdschrift voor mediageschiedenis, 13.2 (2010) 157-174</ref> and in 1935 wanted to build a cinema at the newspaper's office.<ref>'Hoe Willem Petersk bioscoopkoning van Venlo werd' in Buun 2005. (2004). Venlo: Stichting Cultuur-Historische Publicaties voor het Stadsgewest Venlo</ref> He was commissioned in 1938 by Van Meegeren, the chairman of the 'RK Bond voor Groote Families (Catholic Association for Large Families) founded in 1917 by Mathijs Janssen, to make the film ''Levensgang'' ('The Journey of Life'.)<ref>Aasman, S. (2007). "Gladly Breaking Bread": Religious Repertoires and Family Film. Film History, 19(4), 361-371. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/25165442</ref><ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Paul-Cox.html "Paul Cox Biography (1940-)"], Film Reference.</ref><ref>[http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/cactus/notes/ "Cactus (1986)"], Australian Screen.</ref>


Wim Cox had made short films before, but this was his first major film. Using 16 mm film and a self-designed [[Sound film|sound system]], he recorded the daily life of a large, Catholic family in Venlo where his own and the Van Meegeren families lived. Film critic A. van Domburg called ''Levensgang'' the Netherlands best 16mm film to date. The ''Tegelse Courant'' wrote: '...this film projects a beam of light on the path of life'. The non-Catholic ''Algemeen Handelsblad'' was also positive: "[Cox] has managed to capture scenes of joy and sadness, moments of emotion and contemplation on film. All is edited into a fascinating and flowing whole, with strong cinematic rhythms that speak a clear language." Between its premiere October 12, 1938, until 1940 the film was seen by 25,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anderetijden.nl/programma/1/Andere-Tijden/aflevering/607/Grote-Gezinnen|title=Grote Gezinnen|last=NTR|website=Andere Tijden|language=nl|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref>
Wim Cox had made shorts before, but this was his first major film. Using [[16 mm film]] and a self-designed [[Sound film|sound system]], he recorded the daily life of a large Catholic family in Venlo. Film critic Janus van Domburg (1895–1983) praised ''Levensgang'' as the Netherlands best 16mm film to date. The ''Tegelse Courant'' wrote: '...this film projects a beam of light on the path of life'. The non-Catholic ''Algemeen Handelsblad'' agreed: "[Cox] has managed to capture scenes of joy and sadness, moments of emotion and contemplation on film. All is edited into a fascinating and flowing whole, with strong cinematic rhythms that speak a clear language." Between its premiere on October 12, 1938, until 1940 the film was seen by 25,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anderetijden.nl/programma/1/Andere-Tijden/aflevering/607/Grote-Gezinnen|title=Grote Gezinnen|last=NTR|website=Andere Tijden|language=nl|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref> Paul Cox discovered only much later that his father had been a filmmaker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/a-journey-with-paul-cox-1200450662/|title=A Journey with Paul Cox|last=Stratton|first=David|date=1997-08-24|website=Variety|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref>


Cox and his family were forced to flee their bordertown home during the [[Battle of the Netherlands|German invasion of Holland]].<ref name=":0" />
Just after his birth Cox and his family were forced to flee their border town home during the [[Battle of the Netherlands|German invasion of Holland]] in April and May 1940, experiencing traumatic events during the rest of the war which Cox felt was formative.<ref name=":0" /> His father


==Emigration==
==Emigration==

Revision as of 11:24, 7 December 2019

Paul Cox
Paul Cox photo
Cox with Shri Shankar Mohan in 2012
Born
Paulus Henrique Benedictus Cox

(1940-04-16)16 April 1940
Venlo, Netherlands
Died18 June 2016(2016-06-18) (aged 76)
Melbourne
Occupation(s)Film director
photographer
writer
Years active1964-2015

Paulus Henrique Benedictus Cox (16 April 1940 – 18 June 2016) as Paul Cox, was a Dutch-Australian filmmaker, who has been recognized as "Australia's most prolific film auteur".[1]

Background

Cox was born to Else (née Kuminack), a native of Germany, and father, Wim Cox, on 16 April 1940, in Venlo, Limburg, the Netherlands,[2] after his brother Wim sister Elizabeth, and was the eldest of Jacoba, Angeline and Christa. A documentary film producer and publisher of the Catholic newspaper Nieuwe Venlosche Courant, Cox senior in 1933 launched the richly illustrated magazine Zuiderfilm,[3][4] and in 1935 wanted to build a cinema at the newspaper's office.[5] He was commissioned in 1938 by Van Meegeren, the chairman of the 'RK Bond voor Groote Families (Catholic Association for Large Families) founded in 1917 by Mathijs Janssen, to make the film Levensgang ('The Journey of Life'.)[6][7][8]

Wim Cox had made shorts before, but this was his first major film. Using 16 mm film and a self-designed sound system, he recorded the daily life of a large Catholic family in Venlo. Film critic Janus van Domburg (1895–1983) praised Levensgang as the Netherlands best 16mm film to date. The Tegelse Courant wrote: '...this film projects a beam of light on the path of life'. The non-Catholic Algemeen Handelsblad agreed: "[Cox] has managed to capture scenes of joy and sadness, moments of emotion and contemplation on film. All is edited into a fascinating and flowing whole, with strong cinematic rhythms that speak a clear language." Between its premiere on October 12, 1938, until 1940 the film was seen by 25,000.[9] Paul Cox discovered only much later that his father had been a filmmaker.[10]

Just after his birth Cox and his family were forced to flee their border town home during the German invasion of Holland in April and May 1940, experiencing traumatic events during the rest of the war which Cox felt was formative.[11] His father

Emigration

Cox emigrated to Australia as a tertiary-level exchange student in 1963 or 1964, by which time he had already established a reputation as a photographer.[12] There he enrolled at Melbourne University, taking part-time jobs as a camera retailer and events photographer, but in eighteen months left after a love affair interrupted his studies. He traveled back to Holland on a French cargo ship via the Pacific islands and back home held two exhibitions of the resultant photographs.[11]

He determined to return to Australia and in 1965 set up a photography studio in a rented shop and dwelling at 344 Punt Road, South Yarra, in the 'Sharp's Buildings' terrace. There, with friend Bernie Eddy he made short Super 8 movies, held further exhibitions and was commissioned by The Australian Ballet as stills photographer on Robert Helpmann's and Rudoph Nureyev's Don Quixote, through which he met Hungarian actor and filmmaker Tibor Markus who was to produce Cox's first feature Illuminations.[11]

In the late 1960s Cox travelled to Papua New Guinea with Ulli Beier whose interest was indigenous poetry, drama and creative writing. In the resulting book[13] of Cox's photographs of village life were set to poems written by Beier's students.[14] Beier and Cox later published a book on Mirka Mora[15]

Lecturer in film

He was appointed as a teacher of photography at Prahran College of Advanced Education in 1969, and with little experience in the medium, went on to become the lecturer in cinematography, an experience he recalls in his autobiography as formative:

Apart from the few Super-8 movies I had made and some more serious attempts on 16mm, I knew nothing about filmmaking. I was forced to stay one step ahead of the students. That's how I became a filmmaker.[11]

The film course received some $15,000 (value: $180,000 in 2019)[16] funding in August 1970 with which Head of the Art School Ted Worsley purchased cine cameras, a Steenbeck editing suite, film processor and Nagra tape deck.[17] Always working with small budgets, Cox used the equipment in making The Journey (1972) and Illuminations (1975), with Prahran drama lecturer Alan Money on the cast, and in 1994 featured 43 paintings by colleague Eleanor Hart in Touch Me.[17][11] Students were recruited, both as practical education for them and as a saving for the budding director, to serve as the film crews on Cox's Mirka (1970), and documentaries All Set Backstage (1974) and We Are All Alone My Dear (1975).

Cox turned his unneeded photography studio over to The Photographers' Gallery and Workshop which he founded with Ingeborg Tyssen, John F. Williams[18] and Rod McNicoll[19] in 1973. He remained at Prahran College until 1980 and with Athol Shmith and John Cato[20] influenced a number of photographers and filmmakers, including Carol Jerrems, one of whose earliest exhibitions he showed in the Gallery.[21]

Filmmaker

Cox collaborated with a series of screenwriters including John Clarke and Bob Ellis. His film-essay The Remarkable Mr. Kaye (2005) is a portrait of his ill friend, the actor Norman Kaye, who appeared in numerous Cox films, such as Lonely Hearts (1982) and Man of Flowers (1983).[2] In 2006 he became the Patron of the Byron Bay Film Festival.[22]

On 26 December 2009 Cox received a liver transplant. David Bradbury's 2012 documentary, On Borrowed Time, tells this story against the backdrop of his life and work, through interviews with Cox and his friends and colleagues.[23] Cox has also written a memoir, Tales from the Cancer Ward.[24] Rosie Igusti, a fellow transplant recipient he met there, later became his partner.[25]

Cox's last film Force of Destiny, with David Wenham and Indian actress Shahana Goswami, was released in July 2015. Wenham plays a sculptor and transplant patient who falls in love with a patient he meets in the hospital ward.[1] Cox attended the American premier of Force of Destiny at the Ebertfest Film Festival in Chicago, having travelled with Rosie via stops in Bangkok, Dubai, and Frankfurt in order to avert the effects of travel on their delicate health. He had been invited to speak after the screening, and did so.[26][27]

Cox published Reflections: An Autobiographical Journey in 1998,[11] and was named in Phillip Adams' List of 100 National Treasures in April 2015.[28] On 18 June 2016, he died at the age of 76.[29]

Critical response

Actor on several Cox films David Wenham considers that; "There is no one like Cox. He is unique, and we need him, and people like him. I watched Molokai a little while ago: it's unmistakably a Paul Cox film. He is completely an auteur, because everything you sec on the screen, and hear, has got Paul's fingerprints all over it. Ninety per cent of his take on the world, I would agree with."[1]

Photography

Photography books

  • Cox, Paul (1970). Human Still Lives from Nepal. s.n. (Mentone, Vic.: Alexander Bros.)
  • Cox, Paul, & Ulli Beier (1971). Home of Man: The People of New Guinea. Melbourne: Thomas Nelson (Australia)
  • Beier, Ulli, & Paul Cox (1980). Mirka. South Melbourne, Victoria: Macmillan.

Selected exhibitions

  • 1977 Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney: Photography by Athol Shmith and Paul Cox
  • 2009 Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne: Paul Cox, 6 – 29 August
  • 2011 Mars Gallery, Melbourne: Paul Cox[30]
  • 2011 Monash Gallery of Art: Age of Aquarius: Photography of Paul Cox, 7 April – 19 June

Filmography

Features

Shorts

  • Matuta: An Early Morning Fantasy (1965) – 23 min colour film
  • Time Past (1966) – 10 min b/w film
  • The Prince Henry's Medical Team in Vietnam (1966) – 14 min colour film
  • The Prince Henry's Story (1968) – 17 min b/w film
  • Skindeep (1968) – 40 min drama colour 16 mm film
  • Marcel (1969) – 7 min b/w 16 mm film
  • Symphony (1969) – 12 mins film
  • Mirka (1970) – 20 mins film
  • Phyllis (1971) – 35 mins colour 16 mm film
  • The Journey (1972) – 60 mins drama film
  • The Island (1975) – 10 min colour 16 mm film
  • Ways of Seeing (1977) – 24 min film
  • Ritual (1978) – 10 min film

Documentaries

  • Calcutta (1971) – 30 mins
  • All Set Backstage (1974) – 22 mins
  • We Are All Alone My Dear (1975) – 22 mins
  • For a Child Called Michael (1979) – 30 mins
  • The Kingdom of Nek Chand (1980) – 22 mins
  • Underdog (1980) – 53 mins
  • Death and Destiny (1984)
  • Vincent (1987)
  • The Hidden Dimension (1997) – 43 mins IMAX film
  • The Remarkable Mr. Kaye (2005)
  • Kaluapapa Heavan (2007)
  • The Dinner Party (2012)]]

TV

  • Paper Boy (1985) (TV)
  • Handle With Care (1985)
  • The Secret Life of Trees (1986) – 25 min TV film
  • The Gift (1988)
  • Touch Me (1993) – 30 min TV episode

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c Dow, Steve (25 April 2015). "Paul Cox: Force Of Life". The Weekly Review.
  2. ^ a b c " Cinema has been 'abused horrifically'". Matthew Hays and Martin Siberok, The Globe and Mail, 4 September 2000
  3. ^ Sef Derkx - ‘Zuiderfilm. Impressies uit een stad voor en na de tweede wereldoorlog’, in: Jan Coppens e.a. ed., Impressies ’45. Beelden uit het bevrijdingsjaar (Venlo 1990)
  4. ^ Thunnis van Oort‘Het Nederlandse filmtijdschrift en de markt’ Tijdschrift voor mediageschiedenis, 13.2 (2010) 157-174
  5. ^ 'Hoe Willem Petersk bioscoopkoning van Venlo werd' in Buun 2005. (2004). Venlo: Stichting Cultuur-Historische Publicaties voor het Stadsgewest Venlo
  6. ^ Aasman, S. (2007). "Gladly Breaking Bread": Religious Repertoires and Family Film. Film History, 19(4), 361-371. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/25165442
  7. ^ "Paul Cox Biography (1940-)", Film Reference.
  8. ^ "Cactus (1986)", Australian Screen.
  9. ^ NTR. "Grote Gezinnen". Andere Tijden (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  10. ^ Stratton, David (24 August 1997). "A Journey with Paul Cox". Variety. Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b c d e f Cox, Paul; Cox, Paul, 1941 (1998), Reflections: An autobiographical journey, Currency Press, ISBN 978-0-86819-549-0{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Tom Ryan, "Making Silence Speak: Interview with Paul Cox", Cinema Papers, July 1977 pp. 16–19, 94.
  13. ^ Cox, Paul, & Ulli Beier (1971). Home of Man: the people of New Guinea. Thomas Nelson (Australia), Melbourne
  14. ^ Stephen Zagala (2012), "Photographing the Pacific" in S. Dupont (2012), Raskols (Postcards from the Rim), Goulburn Gallery, Goulburn Regional Gallery, 20 September - 20 October.
  15. ^ Beier, Ulli, & Paul Cox (1980). Mirka. South Melbourne, Victoria: Macmillan.
  16. ^ "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of Australian Amounts, 1828 to the Present". Measuring Worth.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ a b Buckrich, Judith Raphael; Buckrich, J; Prahran Mechanics' Institute (2007), Design for living : a history of 'Prahran Tech', Prahran Mechanics' Institute Press, ISBN 978-0-9756000-8-5
  18. ^ Williams, J. F. (John F.); McFarlane, Robert, (author.); Newton, Gael, (author.) (2004), Line zero, photo-reportage 1958-2003, University of New South Wales Press, ISBN 978-0-86840-487-5 {{citation}}: |last2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ McNicol, Roderick; Monash Gallery of Art (2014), The existential portrait, Monash Gallery of Art, ISBN 978-1-876764-45-6
  20. ^ About whom Cox later co-edited a biography Cox, Paul (ed.); Gracey, Bryan (ed.) (2013), John Cato: Retrospective, Melbourne: Victoria Wilkinson Publishing, ISBN 978-1-922178-09-1 {{citation}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ King, Natalie, 1966- & Heide Museum of Modern Art (2010). Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang. Heide Museum of Modern Art: Schwartz Media, Melbourne.
  22. ^ "About Byron Bay Film Festival".
  23. ^ Margaret Burin and Joanne Shoebridge, "On borrowed time: David Bradbury shares intimate portrait of friend and filmmaker", ABC, 13 June 2013.
  24. ^ Cox, Paul (2011), Tales from the Cancer Ward, Transit Lounge, ISBN 978-0-9808462-3-2
  25. ^ Philippa Hawker, "Comebacks", The Age, 16 April 2011, Life&Style, p. 12.
  26. ^ Tinkering: Paul Cox, John Clarke (satirist), 25/06/2016, accessed 2017-04-11
  27. ^ Comedian John Clarke on his friend film-maker Paul Cox, John Clarke (satirist), 25/06/2016, accessed 2017-04-11
  28. ^ Adams, Phillip. "National Living Treasures-I've Got Another List". The Australian. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  29. ^ "Paul Cox, Australian film maker and frequent collaborator with David Wenham, dies age 76", The Guardian, 19 June 2016.
  30. ^ http://marsgallery.com.au/paul-cox-exhibition/
  31. ^ "Archive. Winners – Seminci". Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  32. ^ "1991 Human Rights Medal and Awards". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  33. ^ "Berlinale: 1994 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
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