PRESS RELEASE
A deeply moving documentary, Time is Not a Line, will have its highly anticipated premiere in Ballarat, as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, on Sunday 31 August 2025, offering an intimate portrait of renowned Australian artist Dr Stephen Hennessy (1956-2025).
As he faces a terminal cancer diagnosis, Hennessy races to complete his PhD and mount one final exhibition—revisiting five decades of creative practice while crafting a legacy for his daughter, Sian Tjia Hennessy, and overcoming intergenerational trauma.
Directed and filmed by award-winning Melbourne filmmaker Darcy Newton, and produced by Luca Catalano, Time is Not a Line captures a man confronting mortality not with fear, but with candour, vulnerability and creativity. At its heart, the film is a father’s final act of love—crafted through memory, art and intergenerational connection.
“Working alongside Stephen during his final months of life was an unforgettable experience,” said Newton. “His terminal diagnosis didn’t diminish his passion - it deepened it. Time is Not a Line honours his vision and captures a man who met death with open eyes and a full heart.”
The documentary centres on Hennessy’s final exhibition, Retroactive Documents, which marks the culmination of his PhD research at Deakin University. Instead of a conventional retrospective, Hennessy’s work rethinks the archive as a dynamic, living entity—disrupting linear ideas of artistic legacy by allowing past works to gain new meaning over time.
"Time doesn’t feel linear,” Hennessy reflected. “My studio is full of items that connect me with the people, projects and experiences that have shaped me.”
Through a blend of studio footage, personal archives, exhibition scenes, interviews, and the artist’s funeral, the film weaves together a poly-temporal narrative—one that challenges ideas of legacy and authorship while illuminating how art can bridge life and death, past and future. The film’s premiere in Ballarat will be followed by a Q&A session with Darcy Newton and Sian Tjia Hennessy.
More than an artist’s story, Time is Not a Line is a tender reflection on family and the enduring creativity of a father leaving behind a powerful and continuing message of love.
Book tickets at ballaratfoto.org/program/film-screening-time-is-not-a-line
For updates, follow the film on Instagram @timeisnotaline