A new songline for 21st century Australia - a fresh look at the Cook legend from a First Nations' perspective - the songline tells of connection to country, resistance and survival and features the cheeky, acerbic and heartfelt showman - Steven Oliver and a host of outstanding, political Indigenous singer/songwriters.
During the time of the Stolen Generations, thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal girls were taken from their families and pressed into domestic servitude by the Australian Government. They were supposedly employed as servants, but with total control over their movements, wages and living conditions, their lives all too frequently became an inescapable cycle of abuse, rape and enslavement, with consequences that echo powerfully to this day. Recounting the stories of five of these women – Rita, Violet and the three Wenberg sisters – Servant or Slave is a commanding piece of first-person testimony to a dark and unacknowledged corner of Australian history. Shot with admirable craft and humanity by documentarian Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, MIFF 2012), Servant or Slave is a work of great sadness and urgency, bringing to forceful life the human tragedy of Australia's Indigenous history in the unadorned words of those who lived it.
While flying to the first stop on their latest tour, the four members of the Australian music group The Seekers recall in flashback the origins of the group and their rise to success.
Anne Hamilton-Byrne was beautiful, charismatic and delusional. She was also incredibly dangerous. Convinced she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Hamilton-Byrne headed an apocalyptic sect called The Family, which was prominent in Melbourne from the 1960s through to the 1990s. With her husband Bill, she acquired numerous children – some through adoption scams, some born to cult members – and raised them as her own. Isolated from the outside world, the children were dressed in matching outfits, had identical dyed blonde hair, and were allegedly beaten, starved and injected with LSD. Taught that Hamilton-Byrne was both their mother and the messiah, the children were eventually rescued during a police raid in 1987, but their trauma had only just begun.
Director Anna Broinowski explores how Pauline Hanson's speech in 1996 and the decades of debate that followed has influenced Australia today; the impact of her political career on modern multicultural Australia, and the people who have helped her transition from local fish shop owner to Member for Oxley. Featuring many of Hanson's critics, opponents, advisors and commentators, from former Prime Minister John Howard, to current members of the media, including Margo Kingston and Alan Jones; and leading Indigenous commentator, Professor Marcia Langton.
Many twentieth century European artists, such as Paul Gauguin or Pablo Picasso, were influenced by art brought to Europe from African and Asian colonies. How to frame these Modernist works today when the idea of the primitive in art is problematic?
Filmmakers Sam and Amy journey into rural Australia to explore how the legacy of an American legend has transmitted and warped itself over time, and across the globe, resulting in the 30th annual Parkes Elvis Festival.
What is it about Speedos? Well here Australian director Tim Hunter is on a mission to find the answer to the question of why so many gay men can't seem to get enough of hunks in tight fitting trunks? Although somehow I think the answer can be found in the question! Anyway in a bid to discover the truth, Hunter has carried out a series of interviews with men who have more than a passing interest in this briefest of garment, including that of Speedo designer Peter Travis, who here relates his part in the history of 'the male equivalent of the Wonder Bra.'
Follows the true story of a Canadian woman, Dorothy Izatt, a contactee for alien visitors who has accumulated over 30,000 feet of film footage backing her claim.
The Queensland country town of Warwick was shocked when a flock of sheep was brutally massacred on a local property. They were even more shocked when they discovered the killings were, in fact, a sacrificial offering to Satan. For the first time, John Burdoe, the teenager who started this satanic cult, tells how he planned and executed the bloody ceremony. He also tells how he came close to stabbing one of his followers, a young man who later died in mysterious circumstances.
Documentary by John Pilger looks at the awful truth behind white Australia's dysfunctional relationship with Indigenous Australians
Part 1 of the History of Australian Cinema series. Australian cinema from the very beginning, from the newsreels, ethnographic and actuality films, to the controversy of "The Story of the Kelly Gang" and the success of "The Sentimental Bloke".
A year in the life of troubled Australian graffiti artist Justin Hughes.
Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s.
The PhanDom Menace presents the definitive look at the most devoted fans on the planet. Follow the lives of Australia's most passionate Star Wars fans as the moment they've waited 16 years for is suddenly upon them. See the amazing costumes, trivia soaked brains, vast collections and unconditional dedication that make these fans a breed apart. Be stunned by the shockwaves that echo through the Star Wars fan community at the dawn of its new prequel era.
Reveals a revolutionary chapter in Australian history, the Women’s Liberation Movement (1965 -1975). Interweaves fresh archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia, and personal accounts from activists all around Australia to show how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, demand equality, and create profound social change. These women defined one of the greatest social movements of the 20th century, sometimes at great personal cost.
Australian-made film with Steven Spielberg, Stan Deyo, Stanton Friedman, Dr. Alan Hynek, Jacques Vallee, Ken Arnold, Betty Hill and Ray Palmer (publisher of the Shaver Mystery). This rare TV documentary gave birth to The Cosmic Conspiracy and contains clips of the first episode of Star Wars and Jaws.
Imagine a world of incredible color and beauty. Of crabs wearing jellyfish for hats. Of fish disguised as frogs, stones and shag carpets. Of a kaleidoscope of life dancing and weaving, floating and darting in an underwater wonderland. Now, go explore it! Howard Hall and his filmmaking team, who brought you Deep Sea and Into the Deep, take you into tropical waters alive with adventure: the Great Barrier Reef and other South Pacific realms. Narrated by Jim Carrey and featuring astonishing camerawork, this amazing film brings you face to fin with Nature's marvels, from the terrible grandeur (and terrible teeth) of a Great White to the comic antics of a lovestruck cuttlefish. Excitement and fun run deep Under the Sea!
In the early ‘70s, founding member of Australian surf magazine Tracks, Albert Falzon, began filming off the North Coast of New South Wales, Hawaii, and Indonesia. He set out to make a film “that was a reflection of the spirit of surfing at the time” and the end result, Morning of the Earth, proved its worth as a vital document of surf culture and a powerful nature film.
The stranger-than-fiction true story of George Lazenby, a poor Australian car mechanic who, through an unbelievable set of circumstances, landed the role of James Bond despite having never acted a day in his life.