Buddies is a 1983 Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n comedy/drama film directed by Arch Nicholson and written by John Dingwall. Dingwall won the Best Original Screenplay AFI Award for the script. The film was not a great success in 1983, as no Australian distributor wanted to release it, but Dingwall took it around the country cinemas himself, where it was well received.

Plot

Young miners Mike and Johnny (Colin Friels

Colin Friels

-Background and training:Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland. His mother was a mill worker and his father a joiner. He lived in Kilbirnie until 1963, when his family moved to Australia, arriving in Darwin, Northern Territory before settling in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows...

 and Harold Hopkins) work in the gem fields of central Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 around Emerald

Emerald, Queensland

Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....

. Conflict arises when their pick-and-shovel operation is threatened by a large scale bulldozer operator.

Awards and nominations

At the 1983 AFI awards Buddies was nominated in the Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Simon Chilvers), Best Actress in a Lead Role (Kris McQuade

Kris McQuade

Kris McQuade is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles.Her film credits include: The Love Letters from Teralba Road, Kostas, Fighting Back, Lonely Hearts, Goodbye Paradise, The Coca-Cola Kid, Strictly Ballroom, Billy's Holiday and December Boys.Television credits...

) and Best Original Music Score (Chris Neal) categories. John Dingwall won the Best Original Screenplay AFI Award for the script.

Principal cast

• Colin Friels as Mike
• Kris McQuade
  Kris McQuade
  Kris McQuade is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles.Her film credits include: The Love Letters from Teralba Road, Kostas, Fighting Back, Lonely Hearts, Goodbye Paradise, The Coca-Cola Kid, Strictly Ballroom, Billy's Holiday and December Boys.Television credits...
  
   as Stella
• Harold Hopkins as Johnny
• Simon Chilvers as Alfred
• Norman Kaye
  Norman Kaye
  Norman James Kaye was an Australian actor and musician. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox.Kaye was born in Melbourne and educated at Geelong Grammar School...
  
   as George
• Lisa Peers as Jennifer
• Bruce Spence
  Bruce Spence
  Bruce Spence, born September 17, 1945 is an actor, having spent most of his career performing in Australia. Bruce attended Henderson High School in West Auckland....
  
   as Ted
• Andrew Sharp
  Andrew Sharp
  Andrew Sharp is a Philippines-born ice hockey player. He is currently playing for the Guildford Flames in the English Premier Ice Hockey League ....
  
   as Peter
• Dinah Shearing as Merle

Box Office

Buddies grossed $81,777 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $215,891
in 2009 dollars.

External links

• Buddies at the Australian screen