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Tom Keneally launches Stratton book in Sydney

By Simon de Bruyn

The autobiography from film critic David Stratton was officially launched at the Chauvel Cinema in Sydney last night by Australian novelist and playwright Tom Keneally.

The book, titled I Peed on Fellini, is Stratton’s own account of his life as a movie critic, from his humble beginnings reading movie reviews to his chums at boarding school to his long career as a film festival director and later film critic on television.

Keneally, a long standing friend of Stratton’s, launched the book with much aplomb – and even gave his own short critique of the book’s narrative strengths.

‘This absolutely charming account works because it has overarching connecting devices. The first one is childhood, the device so central to literature, and talks about the flicks that intervened and made him a convert of the cinema,’ he said.

‘The second connective strand is the Sydney Film Festival and David’s long battle with censorship. And the third is the emergence of David as a beloved TV figure and the move to the ABC with the remarkable Pomeranz.’

Later, during the question and answer session, Stratton’s long term movie show partner Margaret Pomeranz said she gave the book ‘four and a half stars’.