Draft:Volcano Man

Volcano Man is a 2022 Australian documentary film directed by James Crawley, written by James Crawley, Tim Russell and Steven Sander and produced by Tim Russell and Rhian Skirving. The film profiles James' father Richard Crawley, an eccentric photographer and documentarian who lives atop a dormant volcano and whose approach to life is utterly explosive.

The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on August 5, 2022, screening around Australia in 2022 through Palace Cinemas and released in Australia and New Zealand via Madman Films and DocPlay.

The film received acclaim from critics and audiences, finishing 3rd in the Melbourne International Film Festival Audience Award 2022 and winning the AWGIE for Best Writing in a Documentary Feature from the Australian Writers Guild 2023.

Synopsis
When a filmmaker son sets out to make a documentary about his filmmaker father, long-buried feelings and dormant memories bubble to the surface.

Richard Crawley’s passion for cinema was so ardent that he recorded his young family’s every moment and milestone on video. To pay the bills, he channelled this love for the lens into music photography, snapping such acts as the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and the Jackson Five. But then tragedy struck and snuffed out Richard’s creative and parental fire. Now, his adult son James attempts to understand Richard’s inner turmoil after discovering 30 hours of confessional footage, in the process making sense of the 70-year-old’s newfound zest for life.

Supported by the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund, this raw and revealing feature documentary combines archival footage and photographs, lively narration and talking heads, and a buoyant rock ’n’ roll score to recount a relationship marred by grief and failed dreams. But this is also a film about filmmaking – the cinema as preservation of self, whether in coping, catharsis or committing experiences to memory.

Volcano Man is a poignant portrait of a father in denial and a son kept at a distance, for whom an eruption of mutual honesty offers long-belated closure.

Release
Volcano Man had its World Premiere at the 70th Melbourne International Film Festival on August 5, 2022, selling out screenings and finishing 3rd in the Audience Award. The film screened around Australia in partnership with Movember and Palace Cinemas in November 2022 before being released in Australia and New Zealand exclusively on DocPlay. In October 2023, the film had its international premiere at the Heartland International Film Festival, competing for the Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature.

Reception
Volcano Man has received critical and audience acclaim for its writing, direction and editing since its release.

The film won the AWGIE for Best Writing in a Documentary Feature at the Australian Writers Guild 2023 and won Best Editing in a Feature Documentary from the Australian Screen Editors Guild 2023. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film by the Film Critics Circle of Australia 2023 and nominated for the Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the Heartland International Film Festival.

ABC Radio Melbourne said of the film, "In one of MIFF’s stand-out films, home-movie footage is shaped into a remarkable documentary of family, love, grief and determination,". The Guardian said the film is, "A celebration of life".