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Puberty Blues became an iconic rites-of-passage teen drama in 1981 thanks to the honesty of Kathy Lette’s novel and deft hand of director Bruce Beresford.
But in February 1980, filmmakers Joan Long and Margaret Kelly were still working on the screenplay, applying to the Australian Film Commission (AFC) for another $10,000 to cover development costs.
The AFC director was less than enthused. Puberty Blues‘ tale of two teenage surfer girls in Sydney was a frank depiction of teenage life in the ...