Lorin Clarke’s debut feature, But Also John Clarke, will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on August 15, drawing on recorded conversations between the filmmaker and her late father to revisit his life and methods. Festival materials describe an intimate framework built from their dialogues, with screenings scheduled across Melbourne and regional Victoria during the event’s run.
John Clarke, who died in 2017, became a household name in New Zealand as Fred Dagg before relocating to Australia, where he refined a deadpan style through satirical interviews and scripted television. His work with long-time on-air partner Bryan Dawe and his stewardship of the mock-doc series The Games helped define a strain of political and media lampooning that influenced generations of performers on both sides of the Tasman.
The documentary assembles family archives, extensive television footage and material from hundreds of boxes of papers and letters, aiming to let Clarke’s voice guide the story while placing it alongside perspectives from collaborators. It is backed by the festival’s premiere fund machinery on the local circuit and is already set to continue its rollout beyond MIFF, with commercial engagements programmed from early September at independent cinemas.
Early demand suggests a strong home-audience appetite for the portrait: the film is flagged as selling fast on the festival site, and additional sessions are booked in regional venues as MIFF expands statewide access. Together with the premiere date and city screenings, those bookings position the film to reach viewers who knew Clarke through nightly satire as well as younger audiences encountering his work for the first time.
