Going Down - Film Screening

Friday, 22 May 2026 | 07:00 PM to 11:00 PM

One night. Four women. A city on the edge. And a film that almost never made it.

Going Down is one of the great lost gems of Australian cinema, and now, newly restored in stunning 4K, it's coming to Bellingen Memorial Hall for one special screening you absolutely cannot miss.

Set over a raucous 24 hours in the grungy inner-city streets of early 1980s Sydney, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Newtown, the film follows four young women living fast, broke and fully alive on the fringes of society. It's the eve of Karli's departure for New York, and what follows is a night of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, stolen money, drag queens, dodgy chemists and some of the most searingly honest female performances ever captured on an Australian screen.

The story behind the film is as extraordinary as the film itself. Production began in 1977, was plagued by funding battles and creative upheaval, and was nearly destroyed when lead actress Vera Plevnik — a blazing talent, was killed in a car crash just weeks before completion. The film was finished in her honour, and released in 1983 to audiences who recognised something rare: a film that told the truth.

Critics agreed. "No film has better captured the chaotic heartbeat of young Sydney." — Sydney Morning Herald

"One of the most outstanding and authentic films of its kind — a key work in Australian independent cinema." — Cinema Papers

"Gritty, grubby, and alarmingly credible. Compelling cinema." — The Canberra Times "Raw vitality. Crisp, honest and pungent." — The Weekend Australian

"Made with affection, verve and insight." — The Bulletin

Featuring a cast that includes Tracy Mann, the late Vera Plevnik, Julie Barry, Moira MacLaine-Cross, Esben Storm and David Argue — with cameos from Hugh Keays-Byrne and Gary Foley — Going Down is a film that belongs in the same breath as Dogs in Space and Monkey Grip, yet has remained frustratingly underseen for decades. Until now.

This 4K restoration brings every frame back to life, the neon, the grime, the music, the friendships, the chaos, exactly as Keenan intended. On the big screen, in a hall full of people, this is cinema at its most alive.

 

Doors: 6.30pm

Movie Starts: 7.00pm

TICKETS

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Location

Bellingen Memorial Hall