Ivan Gaal

Photographer After arriving in Australia as a Hungarian refugee in 1957, Ivan soon commenced a journey into the world of photography and film making, as a form of expression, which was complemented by periods of employment with ABC Radio and TV, and some teacher training. His photos for the Pram Factory opened the way for making two short films with Max Gillies and others, Applause Please and Soft Soap. He became actively involved in the Melbourne Filmmakers Co-Operative till its demise in the mid '70s. His short films such as Applause Please and Camberwell Junction became popular cult movies in the Melbourne and Sydney Film Co-Operatives. Soft Soap had general theatrical distribution in Australia and in US in the '70s. Ivan graduated from Swinburne Film School in 1978. During 20 years with the Victorian Department of Education’s Film Unit, besides making independent films, Ivan produced and directed many short films and documentaries shown at film festivals in Australia and overseas. These include Tandberg on Page One, which was nominated for an AFI Award. Jubilee and Beyond (also nominated, but had to be withdrawn), and Ibrahim, which received two ATOM awards plus other acknowledgments in overseas film festivals. He was also a judge twice at the Melbourne International Film Festival and at the now renowned St Kilda Film Festival. Ivan is also a judge at the Warburton Film Festival Short Film Competition (“Show Us Your Shorts”). He won the Visage 2014 Portrait Competition in Photography (Yarra Ranges). His portrait photos also made the finals in the National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2013 & 2015 in Canberra, and Duo Magazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 in Townsville. He also staged a solo photo exhibition at Art Centre, Warburton, Victoria, 2017. His films and videos are available from ACMI Lending Collection and NFSA in Canberra Fifteen of his films are on permanent display at the ACMI Mediatheque (Melbourne).. See also Comment, Think, Analyse, Experience and Learn: The Neglected Film Work of Ivan Gaal by Adrian Martin. And Gaal captures ‘soul’ moments by Jesse Graham. Ivan Gaal's photography book is also downloadable in PDF format here (57 Mb) - People, Stories & Dance.