Portrait of John Flaus

John Flaus (b. 1934) is an Australian broadcaster, actor, script editor and lecturer, known for Mary and Max (2009), Trust Frank (2020) and Tracks (2013). He began writing film criticism in 1954 and has been writing film reviews intermittently ever since. He spent his life teaching film appreciation at the Council of Adult Education, script editing, mentoring young writers and directors and sharing his passion for film and television on radio and print.

Flaus became active in the film society movement in 1953 and in the following year he published in Voice: The Australian Independent Monthly, falling out with the editor on the question of the political message of Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954). Flaus first appeared on set in 1969 featuring on the short film The American Poet's Visit by Michael Thornhill. He later appeared in the 1974 film Yackety Yack, however his first 'real' role was Queensland (1976). Originally asked to help with the script, Flaus found himself playing one of the main characters. He continued to work steadily in film throughout the eighties, appearing in the Nick Carrafa comedy Hungry Heart (1987), Devil's Hill (1988) with Alexander Jacobs and the Colin Friels thriller Grievous Bodily Harm (1989). He also appeared in the Wendy Hughes drama Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1989). Other acting roles saw Flaus in Spotswood (1992) with Anthony Hopkins, the Ruth Cracknell dramatic adaptation Lilian's Story (1999) and the comedy The Castle (1999) with Michael Caton. Flaus also worked as a Psychologist's Assistant at Long Bay Penitentiary; and undertook a BA at Sydney University from 1955 until he eventually graduated in 1971.

In 1972, Flaus was teaching film history at La Trobe University where he contributed to the development of one of the university's first film studies course, and further at the Australian Film and Television School (1973). While Flaus held a primary career in acting and voice acting, his true interest was in academia and teaching. In the 1960s and early '70s, Flaus was closely involved with the scene remembered as the Sydney Push. The Push operated in a pub culture and included university students, academics, manual workers, musicians, lawyers, criminals, journalists and public servants, Flaus formed alliances with the anarchists in this space. He notes himself as a "philosophical anarchist", holding an intolerance for bureaucracy.

From the 1980s Flaus continued to work in the media while working as a full-time actor and wrote short weekly reviews for The Age. He undertook occasional script editing or voiceover work and worked in television. His contribution has been acknowledged by guilds and unions with prestigious awards, including the Australian Writer's Guild’s Dorothy Crawford Award (1994) and the Australian Directors Guild's Cecil Holmes Award (2003). In 2014 at the St Kilda Film Festival, a short documentary about Flaus, titled Life on Tape by Oscar Strangio (2014) was previewed on the opening night.

Gift of the artist 2022
© Alan Mitchell