Director of Photography: Calum Stewart.
Reviewed by James Cunningham at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Here is the remarkable yet forgotten story behind the video clip for Let’s Dance, David Bowie’s biggest hit record. Directed by Rubika Shah, a UK-born director, is a true blue Aussie affair. The fantastic, measured and caring cinematography is by Calum Stewart. Based in Sydney, Stewart is a skilled DOP and Camera Operator with a wealth of industry experience.
The filmmakers paid a visit to the remote New South Wales town of Carinda, where thirty years previously Bowie famously shot his music video. The town and the pub which featured in the clip is now in a state of disrepair. The documentary catches up with local resident Bernie Eccles who sat in the pub the day that Bowie showed up, out of the blue, with a large film crew. Amazingly, the 82-year-old Eccles had never seen the finished clip.
James Cunningham is the Editor of Australian Cinematographer Magazine.