Family's ‘fake' art piece sells for more than $1.5 million
A sculpture by French artist Auguste Rodin — which had disappeared from public view for almost 120 years and was thought to be a copy — has sold for €860,000 ($A1,507,783.20) at auction.
Le Désespoir (Despair) — which shows a female figure sitting on a rock holding one foot, with her knee hugged to her chest — was rediscovered at the end of 2024 after last being sold in 1906, French auction house Rouillac said.
Rodin, who lived from 1840-1917, made several versions of Le Désespoir. This particular sculpture was modelled in 1890 and sculpted from marble in 1892-1893.
Measuring just 28.5cm by 15cm by 25cm, the sculpture was originally modelled to form part of Rodin's monumental work The Gates Of Hell which features more than 200 figures and groups.
The previous owners — a family from central France — had no idea of its value and had displayed the sculpture on top of a piano alongside family photos, auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac told CNN.
'They said 'it's a fake, it's a copy',' Rouillac said, adding he nevertheless decided to investigate further.
The details of this sculpture are striking, Rouillac told CNN.
'The back, the muscles, they are perfect,' he said. 'You can feel every vertebra in the spinal column.'
Following his own investigation, Rouillac took the sculpture for assessment by the Comité Rodin, which maintains a catalogue of the artist's work. The detail on one of the feet of the sculpture. Credit: Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty Images
Comité Rodin founder Jérôme Le Blay told CNN he was immediately struck by the 'exceptional' piece.
'I realised in a second that it was real,' he said. 'I had absolutely no doubt.'
This particular example is 'extremely well made,' Le Blay said, adding it dates back to a period when Rodin was dedicating a huge amount of time to making a small number of sculptures.
Rodin would have worked with assistants who would have carried out the initial work on a piece of marble, before he performed the final stages, he explained.
According to Le Blay, the sculpture dates to 'one of the best moments of Rodin's career' before his growing fame meant he started to produce more and more works after the turn of the century.
Upon his death, Rodin left his works to the Musée Rodin in Paris, as well as granting it permission to continue producing his bronze sculptures.
While many of these posthumous bronzes go under the hammer each year, marbles are much harder to find, Le Blay said.
Most of Rodin's marbles are owned by the Musée Rodin or by other large museums around the world.
'Marbles in private collections are rare,' he said, adding this piece has a 'kind of magic' due to the fact it has reappeared for sale after such a long time.
In a 'passionate' auction, the top bid was made by a young banker from the US West Coast, according to the auction house.
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The Advertiser
21 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Who doesn't love an Austen-tacious rom-com with a modern twist?
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on.
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
How SBS evolved from ‘clogs and cooking' into our most innovative broadcaster
For some Australians, it was the soccer that first prompted them to watch SBS. Others came for its flagship World News bulletin; current affairs programs such as Dateline, Insight and Living Black; or cult hits including South Park, Queer as Folk and Fat Pizza. And for many teenagers, its racy international films served as a reliable drawcard (and a gateway drug to the appreciation of arthouse cinema). But for Julia Zemiro, SBS was a lifeline to her home country. 'I was born in France and did all my primary education at a French school in Australia,' says the popular presenter, who has hosted several series and specials for the broadcaster including RocKwiz, Who Do You Think You Are?, Great Australian Walks and the Eurovision Song Contest. 'To have all those French films and TV shows was incredible. There was French radio but to see those images on TV made you feel even more connected.' This month, the Special Broadcasting Service – affectionately dubbed the 'Sex Between Soccer' network by viewers – marks its 50th anniversary. And there is much to celebrate: over the course of five decades, it has evolved from two experimental radio stations (2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne; EA standing for 'Ethnic Australia') into a radio network broadcasting in 68 languages, as well as six television channels. In 2014, its share of the TV audience was 5.2 per cent; last year, it was 9.3 per cent. And its SBS On Demand service has grown by 18 per cent over the past 12 months, with almost 2.25 million active accounts logging into the platform in April alone. 'SBS has been a constant companion of multiculturalism in Australia,' says the network's managing director, James Taylor. 'I'm reminded of the Noel Pearson Boyer Lecture from 2022, where he spoke about the story of Australia resting on three pillars: our First Nations heritage, the British institutional foundations and the multicultural gift of migration. I like to think that SBS sits at the intersection of these pillars by brokering understanding, belonging and mutual respect.' When SBS was launched by the Whitlam government in 1975, it had a narrow aim: to inform non-English speaking Australians of the Medibank public health system, now known as Medicare. Indeed, it was intended to operate for just three months, until its success prompted the government to acknowledge the value of a permanent multicultural broadcaster in a country with a booming migrant population. In 1980, SBS expanded into television, with the Fraser government appointing former ABC chair Bruce Gyngell as its first chief executive. 'I was horrified with the concept they had,' Gyngell later recalled. 'It sounded to me like a typical sort of ethnic station with dancing and clogs and exotic cooking and not much more than that. The sense of culture seemed to be totally absent.' What Gyngell wanted was a channel that would encourage migrants to feel embraced by their adopted country – and to foster a greater appreciation and understanding of their cultures among Australian-born citizens. Loading 'If SBS had never existed, we'd understand so much less about ourselves,' says Jenny Brockie, who hosted the acclaimed Insight program between 2001 and 2020. 'It encouraged us to celebrate our differences while recognising that we're all part of a community, which I think is its biggest contribution. And at a programming level, SBS has been a real innovator; it's a place where a lot of risks have been taken.' Insight is a good example: under Brockie, it evolved from a magazine format into a discussion forum. Each episode is devoted to a single topic, from domestic terrorism to the pain of betrayal, with a studio audience – as opposed to a panel of talking heads – sharing their views and experiences. This might seem like a recipe for Jerry Springer-style conflict but in reality, Insight is among the most thoughtful and illuminating programs on Australian television. 'Every single person in the room is nurtured by producers through extensive conversations over a long period of time,' says Insight's current host, Kumi Taguchi. 'We don't do gotcha moments; if somebody says they don't want to discuss a particular part of their experience, we never cross that line. We're transparent with our guests about who else will be in the room, and the fact there will be differing opinions, which helps build trust and understanding. About 80 per cent of the work is done behind the scenes before people even get into the studio.' 'We were allowed to be a bit more bold than we might have been on a commercial network.' Julia Zemiro Long before Taguchi joined SBS, she was an avid viewer of the network. 'It brought a new kind of quirkiness and irreverence to our screens,' she says. 'Everyone would talk about the late-night world movies, and it was the only station at the time to show South Park. I really like the way it pushed those boundaries.' Loading Zemiro agrees. 'We were allowed to be a bit more bold than we might have been on a commercial network,' she says. 'As a viewer, you'd see things that were a bit sexy or dangerous. SBS showed soccer before anyone gave a shit about soccer. We could say things like, 'Colonialism isn't great' or 'These animals are suffering and we need to do something about it'. And with [music quiz show] RocKwiz, they just let us go for it and be creative, which is pretty rare.' Of course, SBS – which receives about one third of its funding from commercial sponsors and the rest from taxpayers – is not immune to the difficulties facing free-to-air broadcasters in 2025. This is largely due to technological advances, which spawned direct rivals such as Netflix, Stan* and Disney+. (Meanwhile, Google and Meta now account for an estimated 70 per cent of digital advertising spend.) But technology has also been a boon for the network, allowing it to maintain its multilingual programming while reaching new audiences through SBS On Demand and additional channels such as Viceland, World Movies, Food, WorldWatch and NITV. Karla Grant, a Western Arrernte woman, joined SBS in 1995 as a producer and reporter on ICAM, the network's first Indigenous affairs program. In 2002, she created the acclaimed Living Black, which she hosts to this day, and she is one of the main presenters on the National Indigenous Television channel, which became part of SBS in 2012. Loading 'SBS has been a leader in terms of Indigenous programming and storytelling, giving First Nations people a platform and a voice they don't have anywhere else,' Grant says. 'But NITV and Living Black also play a huge part in informing and educating our nation about First Nations issues, history and culture, which is something we want to share with the rest of the country and the world. It's an important role and I think we do it well.' Among the reporting Grant is most proud of is an investigation called Taken, which examined the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being removed from their homes by authorities. 'Everyone talks about the stolen generations as though they're a thing of the past,' she says. 'In fact, it's still happening today. We did a story about kids in detention, and how one boy had to drink from the toilet in his cell because the guard wouldn't let him have fresh water. A lot of people wrote to me saying, 'We had no idea this type of thing still happens, but it's an appalling breach of human rights'.' Over the past three decades, Grant has also told countless positive stories. Loading 'We shine a light on all the great things that are happening in our communities and the people who are making huge contributions to our country' she says. 'It's entertaining but it's also educating people at the same time.' The same could be said of many SBS dramas. East West 101, which was set in a major crime squad, explored issues of race and justice; Deep Water was based on unsolved gay hate murders in the 1980s; and New Gold Mountain captured the racial tensions of Victoria's goldfields in the 1850s. There have been warm-hearted comedies such as The Family Law, based on Benjamin Law's memoir of the same name; the groundbreaking documentary series Struggle Street, which detailed the reality of living in poverty in Australia; and the hit reality show Alone Australia, in which survivalists attempt to live by themselves for as long as possible in the wilderness. Among the network's best-known former presenters are newsreaders Lee Lin Chin and George Donikian; Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, who hosted The Movie Show between 1986 and 2004; and sports broadcasters Damien Lovelock and Les Murray. Craig Foster, who spent 18 years as SBS's chief football analyst, believes the network's purpose was best described by Murray, who died in 2019. 'Way back in the '80s, it was Les who rightly said that SBS is [an affirmation] of the value of pluralism and multiple ancestries,' Foster says. 'It didn't matter whether you spoke Turkish, Greek or Italian – that should be celebrated.' Foster recalls the semi-final between South Korea and Germany at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with a particular fondness. 'There were hundreds of thousands of people watching that game with immense passion,' he says. 'And it was SBS that not only understood that fact, it celebrated it. In effect, what SBS was saying is, 'We are all connected through this game and we respect you as equal Australians. Your parents might have been looked down upon, but we want you to know that we love it when you speak different languages and we love it when you wear your ceremonial dress. In other words, we get you'.' Anton Enus, who hosts the World News bulletins on Fridays and Saturdays, echoes this sentiment. 'I came here from South Africa in 1999 and SBS really helped me embrace this nation that was new to me,' he says. 'As a migrant, you also want to feel connected [to your home country], so you're always looking for someone who sounds like you or speaks your language. But another great thing about SBS is that it teaches you about other cultures you might not have any direct connection to. You might start watching an Italian movie and before you know it, you're completely sucked in because it's something totally different to what you'd get from Hollywood or the BBC.' For managing director Taylor, this is the raison d'etre for the network. 'I regard SBS as a national broadcaster that tells the stories of all Australians,' he says. 'The Australia you see when you tune into any one of our channels or platforms is the same Australia you see when you walk out your front door.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How SBS evolved from ‘clogs and cooking' into our most innovative broadcaster
For some Australians, it was the soccer that first prompted them to watch SBS. Others came for its flagship World News bulletin; current affairs programs such as Dateline, Insight and Living Black; or cult hits including South Park, Queer as Folk and Fat Pizza. And for many teenagers, its racy international films served as a reliable drawcard (and a gateway drug to the appreciation of arthouse cinema). But for Julia Zemiro, SBS was a lifeline to her home country. 'I was born in France and did all my primary education at a French school in Australia,' says the popular presenter, who has hosted several series and specials for the broadcaster including RocKwiz, Who Do You Think You Are?, Great Australian Walks and the Eurovision Song Contest. 'To have all those French films and TV shows was incredible. There was French radio but to see those images on TV made you feel even more connected.' This month, the Special Broadcasting Service – affectionately dubbed the 'Sex Between Soccer' network by viewers – marks its 50th anniversary. And there is much to celebrate: over the course of five decades, it has evolved from two experimental radio stations (2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne; EA standing for 'Ethnic Australia') into a radio network broadcasting in 68 languages, as well as six television channels. In 2014, its share of the TV audience was 5.2 per cent; last year, it was 9.3 per cent. And its SBS On Demand service has grown by 18 per cent over the past 12 months, with almost 2.25 million active accounts logging into the platform in April alone. 'SBS has been a constant companion of multiculturalism in Australia,' says the network's managing director, James Taylor. 'I'm reminded of the Noel Pearson Boyer Lecture from 2022, where he spoke about the story of Australia resting on three pillars: our First Nations heritage, the British institutional foundations and the multicultural gift of migration. I like to think that SBS sits at the intersection of these pillars by brokering understanding, belonging and mutual respect.' When SBS was launched by the Whitlam government in 1975, it had a narrow aim: to inform non-English speaking Australians of the Medibank public health system, now known as Medicare. Indeed, it was intended to operate for just three months, until its success prompted the government to acknowledge the value of a permanent multicultural broadcaster in a country with a booming migrant population. In 1980, SBS expanded into television, with the Fraser government appointing former ABC chair Bruce Gyngell as its first chief executive. 'I was horrified with the concept they had,' Gyngell later recalled. 'It sounded to me like a typical sort of ethnic station with dancing and clogs and exotic cooking and not much more than that. The sense of culture seemed to be totally absent.' What Gyngell wanted was a channel that would encourage migrants to feel embraced by their adopted country – and to foster a greater appreciation and understanding of their cultures among Australian-born citizens. Loading 'If SBS had never existed, we'd understand so much less about ourselves,' says Jenny Brockie, who hosted the acclaimed Insight program between 2001 and 2020. 'It encouraged us to celebrate our differences while recognising that we're all part of a community, which I think is its biggest contribution. And at a programming level, SBS has been a real innovator; it's a place where a lot of risks have been taken.' Insight is a good example: under Brockie, it evolved from a magazine format into a discussion forum. Each episode is devoted to a single topic, from domestic terrorism to the pain of betrayal, with a studio audience – as opposed to a panel of talking heads – sharing their views and experiences. This might seem like a recipe for Jerry Springer-style conflict but in reality, Insight is among the most thoughtful and illuminating programs on Australian television. 'Every single person in the room is nurtured by producers through extensive conversations over a long period of time,' says Insight's current host, Kumi Taguchi. 'We don't do gotcha moments; if somebody says they don't want to discuss a particular part of their experience, we never cross that line. We're transparent with our guests about who else will be in the room, and the fact there will be differing opinions, which helps build trust and understanding. About 80 per cent of the work is done behind the scenes before people even get into the studio.' 'We were allowed to be a bit more bold than we might have been on a commercial network.' Julia Zemiro Long before Taguchi joined SBS, she was an avid viewer of the network. 'It brought a new kind of quirkiness and irreverence to our screens,' she says. 'Everyone would talk about the late-night world movies, and it was the only station at the time to show South Park. I really like the way it pushed those boundaries.' Loading Zemiro agrees. 'We were allowed to be a bit more bold than we might have been on a commercial network,' she says. 'As a viewer, you'd see things that were a bit sexy or dangerous. SBS showed soccer before anyone gave a shit about soccer. We could say things like, 'Colonialism isn't great' or 'These animals are suffering and we need to do something about it'. And with [music quiz show] RocKwiz, they just let us go for it and be creative, which is pretty rare.' Of course, SBS – which receives about one third of its funding from commercial sponsors and the rest from taxpayers – is not immune to the difficulties facing free-to-air broadcasters in 2025. This is largely due to technological advances, which spawned direct rivals such as Netflix, Stan* and Disney+. (Meanwhile, Google and Meta now account for an estimated 70 per cent of digital advertising spend.) But technology has also been a boon for the network, allowing it to maintain its multilingual programming while reaching new audiences through SBS On Demand and additional channels such as Viceland, World Movies, Food, WorldWatch and NITV. Karla Grant, a Western Arrernte woman, joined SBS in 1995 as a producer and reporter on ICAM, the network's first Indigenous affairs program. In 2002, she created the acclaimed Living Black, which she hosts to this day, and she is one of the main presenters on the National Indigenous Television channel, which became part of SBS in 2012. Loading 'SBS has been a leader in terms of Indigenous programming and storytelling, giving First Nations people a platform and a voice they don't have anywhere else,' Grant says. 'But NITV and Living Black also play a huge part in informing and educating our nation about First Nations issues, history and culture, which is something we want to share with the rest of the country and the world. It's an important role and I think we do it well.' Among the reporting Grant is most proud of is an investigation called Taken, which examined the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being removed from their homes by authorities. 'Everyone talks about the stolen generations as though they're a thing of the past,' she says. 'In fact, it's still happening today. We did a story about kids in detention, and how one boy had to drink from the toilet in his cell because the guard wouldn't let him have fresh water. A lot of people wrote to me saying, 'We had no idea this type of thing still happens, but it's an appalling breach of human rights'.' Over the past three decades, Grant has also told countless positive stories. Loading 'We shine a light on all the great things that are happening in our communities and the people who are making huge contributions to our country' she says. 'It's entertaining but it's also educating people at the same time.' The same could be said of many SBS dramas. East West 101, which was set in a major crime squad, explored issues of race and justice; Deep Water was based on unsolved gay hate murders in the 1980s; and New Gold Mountain captured the racial tensions of Victoria's goldfields in the 1850s. There have been warm-hearted comedies such as The Family Law, based on Benjamin Law's memoir of the same name; the groundbreaking documentary series Struggle Street, which detailed the reality of living in poverty in Australia; and the hit reality show Alone Australia, in which survivalists attempt to live by themselves for as long as possible in the wilderness. Among the network's best-known former presenters are newsreaders Lee Lin Chin and George Donikian; Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, who hosted The Movie Show between 1986 and 2004; and sports broadcasters Damien Lovelock and Les Murray. Craig Foster, who spent 18 years as SBS's chief football analyst, believes the network's purpose was best described by Murray, who died in 2019. 'Way back in the '80s, it was Les who rightly said that SBS is [an affirmation] of the value of pluralism and multiple ancestries,' Foster says. 'It didn't matter whether you spoke Turkish, Greek or Italian – that should be celebrated.' Foster recalls the semi-final between South Korea and Germany at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with a particular fondness. 'There were hundreds of thousands of people watching that game with immense passion,' he says. 'And it was SBS that not only understood that fact, it celebrated it. In effect, what SBS was saying is, 'We are all connected through this game and we respect you as equal Australians. Your parents might have been looked down upon, but we want you to know that we love it when you speak different languages and we love it when you wear your ceremonial dress. In other words, we get you'.' Anton Enus, who hosts the World News bulletins on Fridays and Saturdays, echoes this sentiment. 'I came here from South Africa in 1999 and SBS really helped me embrace this nation that was new to me,' he says. 'As a migrant, you also want to feel connected [to your home country], so you're always looking for someone who sounds like you or speaks your language. But another great thing about SBS is that it teaches you about other cultures you might not have any direct connection to. You might start watching an Italian movie and before you know it, you're completely sucked in because it's something totally different to what you'd get from Hollywood or the BBC.' For managing director Taylor, this is the raison d'etre for the network. 'I regard SBS as a national broadcaster that tells the stories of all Australians,' he says. 'The Australia you see when you tune into any one of our channels or platforms is the same Australia you see when you walk out your front door.'
