The Lost City of Melbourne documents demolished ‘ghost cinemas’: achieving the impossible with Gus Berger

The Lost City of Melbourne presents a picture of the city as it once was, and what it could have been – including places that were nail factories by day; cinemas by night – before 'Whelan the Wrecker' changed it all.

Gus Berger is a Melbourne based filmmaker and owner of two cinema companies; the pop-up Blow Up Cinema, and Thornbury Picture House, a lively independent art-house venue.

When both of these businesses were forced to close as part of the Victorian lockdowns, Berger started to formulate a film on his city that was in a whole world of pain. Empty streets and shuttered shops. Closed schools & full hospitals.

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Silvi Vann-Wall is a journalist, podcaster, and filmmaker. They joined ScreenHub as Film Content Lead in 2022. Twitter: @SilviReports