David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England) is an Australian film critic and television personality.
Born in Wiltshire in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly and saw a diverse range of movies. He saw his first foreign film at Bath in 1955 – the Italian Bread, Love and Dreams. That was soon followe...
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David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England) is an Australian film critic and television personality.
Born in Wiltshire in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly and saw a diverse range of movies. He saw his first foreign film at Bath in 1955 – the Italian Bread, Love and Dreams. That was soon followed by Akira Kurosawa's Japanese classic Seven Samurai tracked down in Birmingham. At the age of 19, he founded the Melksham and District Film Society. David arrived in Australia in 1962, and soon became involved with the local film society movement. He directed the Sydney Film Festival from 1966 until 1983.
A highly regarded expert on international cinema, particularly French cinema, Stratton was President of FIPRESCI (International Film Critics) Juries in Cannes (twice) and Venice. He was also a member of the jury at the Berlin International...
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