RICHARD LOWENSTEIN

Richard Lowenstein was born on 1 March 1959 in Melbourne, Australia. His mother was the author, oral historian, and activist, Wendy Lowenstein (née Katherin Wendy Robertson, 1927). His father is Werner Lowenstein, also an activist, who had fled Nazi Germany to United Kingdom and was relocated to Australia in 1940 as one of the Dunera boys. The couple married in July 1947; and had three children, Peter, Martie and Richard. Lowenstein attended Brinsley Road Community School from 1973 to 1974; and graduated from Swinburne Institute of Technology, Film and Television Department in 1979.
His short film, Evictions (1979), which won the Erwin Rado Prize – for Best Short Film – at the Melbourne International Film Festival the following year, described Melbourne during the Great Depression. It was based on his mother's book, Weevils in the Flour (1978). The film detailed police evicting unemployed unionists. In 1980 Lowenstein directed a music video, "Leap for Lunch", for the debut single by art punk band, The Ears – he shared a house with their lead singer, Sam Sejavka. In 1982 he directed one for "Talking to a Stranger", a single by rock band, Hunters & Collectors. He followed with "Lumps of Lead" for the same group and "Fraction Too Much Friction" for Tim Finn as his first solo single in 1983. At the Countdown Music and Video Awards for 1983, he won Best Promotional Video for "Fraction Too Much Friction".
In 1984 he directed his first feature film, Strikebound, a dramatisation of a 1930s coal miners strike, which he wrote based on his mother's book, Dead Men Don't Dig Coal (unpublished), and his own research into unionism in the industry. In June that year he directed his first music videos for INXS with "Burn for You", and followed by "All the Voices" and "Dancing on the Jetty" (both in October). At the Countdown Music and Video Awards for 1984 he won Best Promotional Video for "Burn for You". He established a long term relationship with INXS and produced, edited or directed more of their music videos over subsequent years, including The Swing & Other Stories: Collection of Contemporary Classics from INXS (1985), a VHS-format video compilation with additional interviews and documentary. At the Countdown Music and Video Awards for 1985 he shared the award for Best Video for "What You Need" by INXS with Lyn-Marie Milbourn.
In 1985 he directed White City: The Music Movie, a 60-minute video, for former The Who guitarist, Pete Townshend.
In 1986 he wrote and directed a feature film, Dogs in Space, which highlighted late-1970s Melbourne's little band scene with the lead character Sam (portrayed by INXS' lead singer, Michael Hutchence) based on Lowenstein's experiences with The Ear's Sejavka. At the time, Sejavka was a member of new wave band, Beargarden, and objected to Lowenstein and Hutchence's "noxious caricature" of his earlier personality.