February 16th, 2025Rewarding a movie passion for Alison
Alison Robb has such a passion for films that she would sometimes see three a day at the Melbourne International Film Festival, as well as belonging to four cinema clubs.
Imagine, then, her dismay when she moved to Daylesford only to find it was minus a cinema. That is one of the reasons she has plunged in to help the campaign to bring back The Rex. Another is just what a cinema means to a community.
“I thought that, instead of complaining about it, I’d be part of the team,” she simply says. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, she moved to Australia 20 years ago when posted by a big international company, working in human relations.
“I came for three weeks, and I stayed. I love it.”
Her life was upended last year, however, when she had no fewer than 48 strokes. Through her illness she was found to have endometrial cancer which meant having a hysterectomy.
She describes herself as being “lucky” because the cancer was caught, although initially her illness left her unable to eat.
“I had a cluster of strokes and had to learn to speak and walk. I had to give up my job.”
Coming to Daylesford for her 40th birthday, she found it a place of solace.
“I did feel the energy when I drove in just four months ago.”
A new avenue opened when, as a registered foster carer, she began helping mothers with their new-born babies. As for her love of films, she rejoiced in the 2003 American comedy-drama, The Station Agent, about a man, played by Peter Dinklage seeking solitude in an abandoned railway station.
A much-awarded actor, Dinklage, who has dwarfism, is 1.35m tall. He also starred in something else she enjoyed, Game of Thrones.
Another favourite is Turtles Can Fly, a 2004 Kurdish war drama about three refugee children near the Iraqi-Turkish border waiting for the Americans to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Her wide range of movie loves is shown by her keenness for Departure, a Japanese film about a failed cellist who returns home to find the only job he can get is as a ritual mortician.
“It’s powerful and moving,” she says. “I love to escape in the cinema…when I was recovering I would watch documentaries 30 minutes at a time. And there is a feeling of comfort in going on your own to a movie.”
As a dedicated “foodie” Alison devoured the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil, which spotlights the cuisine of featured cities and the charities and non-profit organisation in their region.
Small wonder that it appeals to her; she has been to almost 60 countries and is soon off to Japan.
Through Alison’s great-great aunt, the amazing Lorna Moon, Alison is connected to Cecil B. DeMille, a founder of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history.
His astonishing output covered 70 films, silent and sound, with many dominating the box office three or four at a time. His adopted son, Richard, was raised among the glamour and luxury of early Hollywood.
From the age of eight he wondered about his birth parents. His curiosity increased because of odd hints dropped by friends and family members, and by his remarkable resemblance to Cecil’s father.
After 60 years of hunting for his secret mother, Richard found that she was Lorna Moon, a Scottish-born journalist turned screenwriter, and best-selling novelist, who became pregnant during a love affair.
The result was Richard, who was adopted by Cecil and his wife Constance. With such an exotic connection, it comes as no surprise to learn that in Daylesford Alison is keen to see a cinema that would help young people learn about other countries.
“Children in a country town need to be exposed to the world as only the cinema can do, and it’s a wonderful way to bring the community together.”
This is the second in a contributed series on the people behind the drive to bring back Daylesford’s cinema.
Images: Kyle Barnes
