THE Autumn Silents season at the NFSA’s Arc Cinema, is focused on early polar cinema heritage in celebration of the centenary of Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition and the “Heroic” Age of Antarctic exploration.

Autumn Silents’ “Shadows on White Ice” program features rare films of the early 20th century polar expeditions of Ernest Shackleton, Douglas Mawson and others that are less familiar – expeditions that 100 years ago also visited the Antarctic from France, Japan and Scotland.

It also includes the Australian premiere of “The Great White Silence”, the British Film Institute’s restoration of Herbert Ponting’s 1924 film of Capt Robert Scott’s tragic 1910 dash to the Pole.

Also featured are the Norwegian National Library’s new restorations of the polar films of Roald Amundsen.

Included is the Australian premiere of the rarely seen film of his triumphant 1910-12 conquest of the South Pole; plus a the world premiere of “The Flight of the Norge over the North Pole” – the newly restored film of his 1925 first airship flight over the North Pole.

The program also includes rare film records of Sir Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic exploration work.

As well as recently rediscovered sound footage of Mawson talking in public from the late 1920s, there will be a re-construction of Mawson’s 1914-15 lecture screenings (based on his own original lecture notes) of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition footage.

Most films in “Autumn Silents” screen on original 35mm film and feature live accompaniment by Mauro Colombis and Joshua McHugh. All sessions are unclassifed 15+.

Bookings to  6248 2000 or in person at the NFSA Box Office, all films unclassified 15+ (except as noted), details at nfsa.gov.au

Photo shows the first famous Antarctic filmmaker, Herbert Ponting. Image courtesy of the NFSA.