Australia's Open - Official Trailer

Every January, the Australian Open commands global attention, but when off-court drama steals the show, Australia itself becomes part of the spectacle.

As the world’s attention strays beyond the court, national insecurities and divisions are laid bare.

AUSTRALIA’S OPEN charts the #AustralianOpen’s trajectory from a suburban tennis club to the biggest annual sporting event in the southern hemisphere. After almost losing Grand Slam status in the 1980s, the tournament works hard to project a free and breezy image of Australia to the world in a process organisers dub ‘Australianisation’. Stock horses oncourt, ‘beachside’ bars and kangaroos aplenty dovetail with Paul Hogan’s legendary tourism campaigns as the tournament
attracts more international visitors and star players.

Eye-watering broadcast deals eventually follow, and the tournament becomes known as ‘The Happy Slam.’ By 2017, it hosts historic finals that well and truly grab the world’s attention. But while organisers, government and business celebrate the international spotlight, the world’s attention inevitably strays beyond the court. And what is revealed is a country far more complex than the Happy Slam image suggests.

AUSTRALIA’S OPEN counterpoints irresistible on-court drama with the nation’s off-court divisions as they are unintentionally revealed to the world. In recent years the Australian Open becomes a stage for the nation’s samesex marriage debate; confronting treatment of refugees; and a complex relationship to its colonial past.

The film’s heavy-hitting cast includes former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash whose story reveals the doubleedged sword of a nation’s hunger for victory and CEO Craig Tiley who relives the controversial deportation of Novak Djokovic in 2022. Other contributors include former Chair of the US Open Katrina Adams; New York Times correspondent Damien Cave; broadcasters Shelley Ware and Bruce McAvaney and veteran journalist Tracey Holmes. AUSTRALIA’S OPEN goes inside some of the tournament’s most memorable finals, including Serena and Venus Williams’ last Grand Slam final and unexpected comebacks from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Through compelling archive and lyrical tennis, AUSTRALIA’S OPEN captures the poetry of the tournament as well as its power...because at the Australian Open, there is always more than a game at stake.
#Tennis #AustraliasOpen

More from Madman Films: http://www.madmanfilms.com.au

Instagram:   / madmanfilms  
Twitter:   / madmanfilms  
Facebook:   / madmanfilms  
Tiktok:   / madmanfilms  

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/madmanfilms/
Join our mailing list: https://www.madmanfilms.com.au/subscr...