As Picnic at Hanging Rock celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, director Peter Weir's atmospheric masterpiece remains one of the most haunting and enduring films in Australian cinema history. Set on Valentine's Day in 1900, the film follows a group of schoolgirls from the strict Appleyard College who take a summer excursion to the enigmatic Hanging Rock in central Victoria. By mid-afternoon, however, several girls and a teacher have mysteriously vanished without a trace after venturing into the rock formation.

This chilling mystery, based on Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel that many mistakenly believed was a true story, combines breathtaking, hypnotic visuals with an eerie, dreamlike tone. Renowned for its ethereal cinematography and an ending that still sparks intense debate to this day, Weir’s disquieting film masterfully crafts an unforgettable sense of place, as it embarks on an unsettling inquiry into class, innocence and sexual repression in Australian society.