SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL TO NAME AWARD IN HONOUR OF ARCHIVIST ADAM LEE

The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival will introduce an honorary award named after the late Adam Lee, it was announced today.

The ADAM LEE MEMORIAL AWARD will honour a figure in the science fiction/fantasy community who has exhibited a dedication to their life’s work and served the genre and its fanbase with the enthusiasm and passion that Adam brought to all he did.

A Melbourne-based film archivist and avid collector, Adam had an encyclopaedic knowledge of Australia’s home video industry. In 2019, he self-published The Australian Video Guide, an exhaustively-researched limited edition volume of historic home entertainment data. He also created and was co-administrator of the Australian Vintage Video Facebook page and was adored as a vibrant central figure of Melbourne’s film culture.

He passed away suddenly in July this year, survived by his partner Sarah and leaving behind family and friends who remain stunned by his absence.  

Festival Director Simon Foster was a friend who met Adam through their shared love of home video ephemera. “Adam was a man whose giddy enthusiasm for life in general and film in particular was infectious,” says Foster, “and being in his presence as his eyes widened and his mind engaged with you was always a joy.” 

The inaugural honouree will be named during the Opening Night ceremony of the 2021 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, to be held Thursday November 11.