At the Q&A, Mr. Kotcheff said that the film was based on a book by Kenneth Cook, and that he was interested in the story, a "lost weekend in the outback" story. It had appealing claustrophobic, imprisoning qualities, good for a movie.
The film was restored by Deluxe Labs in Sydney, and it took two years, frame by frame. It was premiered at Cannes on May 15th of this year, for the second time since 1971, 38 years later.
It's set at Christmastime, and i still can't stop thinking about it, a sure way of knowing you saw a great movie.

Mr. Kotcheff's "Duddy Kravitz" won the Golden Bear at Venice at the time of it's release, a Canadian first!
Kotcheff had a degree in English Literature when he worked for the CBC in the sixties. A station head said that he had all of the qualities to be a director, that he should direct a program instead of writing them. But it was an all or nothing deal: direct and fail, get fired. If you choose not to direct, then you stay in your post forever. He took the dare and the rest is history.
He told us a story of the making of Wake in Fright.
He said the first time he went into the big pub you see at the beginning of the film, an Aussie shouted at him that he was Stalin, looking the way he did with his moustache, which looked exactly like Stalin's. Kotcheff replied: "How can I be Stalin? I'm DEAD... The Aussie looked at him for a while and then got the joke, saying I like a bloke with a sense of humour! 'Ave a beer mate! The line was put in the movie as a result...

There is more that goes on in the film than I've written. I always wonder how much is too much to say without spoiling it.
I hope others get to see it and comment.