Haydn Keenan

Going Down (1983) Re Released in 4k print

May 14, 2026

Dave Graney talks with Haydn Keenan, director and producer of the 1983 Australian Film Going Down which was recently rediscovered by a NYC film distributor and has been re released in a 4k - 5.1 restored print.

GOING DOWN (1982) is an entertaining odyssey through the pulsating streets of Sydney in the 1980s as four young women spend their last night together. The film stars Tracy Mann (Sleeping Beauty) Vera Plevnik (Monkey Grip), David Argue (Gallipoli) and Esben Storm (Round The Twist), and is directed by Haydn Keenan.

“It’s a re-release after 40 years following the film being found in a dvd remainder bin by a distributor in New York. She licensed it and ran it in cinemas across 17 cities to fantastic audience response. That made us think should try to get the movie out here again as it’s just been restored to a beautiful punk, silk screen high colour 4K and 5.1 track

It had almost no release in Melbourne as I put it into a cinema in the city which I didn’t know had been running sex movies until the day before we opened! And we’ve got a film called GOING DOWN. The raincoat brigade wanted their money back en mass. In was a total stuff up so its almost a new release.

Great music, great cast, great inner city slice of life when there was a band in every pub and the place was exploding.”

I got a text from Haydn out of the blue on Monday night. He had been given my number by a mutual friend. He texted a lot of information, quickly. I kept asking him to chuck me a few bones about the film and its origins. Right up until an hour before the interview the next day I was trying to say “ so when is it on?” When he said this week I said “ ok better come on air then at 1pm” he said “ what day?” I said “ yeah in hours time…”

We talked for about 20 minutes.

Trailer for the re-released film.

I googled Haydn and found he had made this amazing series of films about Australias main security organization, ASIO. Using a lot of ASIOs own surveillence footage of persons of interest.
I had seen Aboriginal activist Gary Foley give a talk around the same time, using a lot of the same material. He said that ASIOs footage and files on him were better than any diary he could have kept.

The current leader of ASIO is often appearing in the media. He loves the limelight. In the series , ASIO agents are often volunteers… creeps!