A visual journey into the life and legacy of one of Australia's most celebrated artists, Brett Whiteley.
This film examines how, since white settlement, Australians have structured, and restructured, their time. Despite some basic inequalities, Australia was a new nation trying to throw off the conditions of the Old World. Even two world wars and severe economic depression could not deter Australians from pursuit of “the fair go”. By the 1950s most middle class Australians lived in an ordered, protected, prosperous world of school, employment, Saturday afternoon sport and the Sunday roast. Yet today Australia is following the global trend towards a population divided between the overworked and the underemployed. The old 9 to 5 certainties are no longer in place. People work from home via computer; shop in non-stop trading supermarkets seven days a week; and online 24 hours a day. Overtime has increased and penalty rates are disappearing.
Something in the Water explores the rock phenomenon that is music in WA. How can the most isolated city in the world have exploded with so many successful bands over the years? Across decades and genres, Something in the Water asks "what is responsible for the sparkling talent pool?"
A short film / documentary that depicts the daily grind of first-generation immigrants in Australia.
Paul "Gator Boy" Bedard and croc hunter "Crocodile Mick Pittman" journey through the Northern Territory to explore the invasion of crocodiles.
The Europeans want to be forgiven for the tragic colonial period. The aborigines try to preserve their ancient roots from the present and the future. In the North Territory.
RODEO ROAD explores the unique cowboy culture of Australia's remote north west in the pursuit of the rodeo dream - eight seconds of bull riding glory. Each year cowboys from across the Kimberley load up their saddles, chaps and wranglers and go rough-riding. Some are born and bred in the saddle, while others are young ringers from over east who come to muster through the dry season. Come rodeo time they are chasing the dream, gripped by the rodeo fever of the wild north west.
Down Under, just a few nights after the November full moon - when water temperature and tides are just right - one of nature's most extraordinary events explodes into life. Thousands of coral join in an elaborate mating ritual, a synchronized dance of naturally occurring phenomena that help increase the coral's odds of survival. Journey through more than 1,200 miles of Australia's treasured Great Barrier Reef to discover the secrets of the unique marine life that inhabit this dazzling spectacle, considered to be the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Originally broadcast on ABC's True Stories in 1993, Feed Them to the Cannibals tells the story of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It was the first time cameras were allowed at Sleaze Ball and the Mardi Gras Party.
The creator, Seth Ho, takes his audience on a journey to Malaysia to explore and review the unique menu items offered at a local McDonald's. Blending food commentary with a personal travel experience, the documentary highlights the physical effects of globalization, migration and its role in modern culture.
‘Bring Out a Briton’ was a short appeal for Australians to help the Immigration Department in its plan to form and assist a ‘Bring Out a Briton’ Committee in each district. It featured popular Australian actor Chips Rafferty as the spokesman for the campaign. Aimed at the Australian public rather than the prospective immigrants it was designed to allay a perceived anxiety amongst the public about non-British European migration.
A group of elders spends their weekdays in a retirement home in Sandim, in the north of Portugal, where they talk, do arts and crafts, practice yoga and pray. We follow them between October 2012 and March 2013, when an economic crisis overshadowed Portuguese society and unemployment rates reached record levels. Meanwhile, arrangements are made for the Carnival ball. Will they bring the first place home this time?
Packed with drama, high emotions and cliff-hanger moments, Australia Says Yes is the intimate and personal history of struggle and perseverance that propelled Australia to say Yes to marriage equality. The film shows how a group of determined individuals fought tirelessly against unjust laws that treated LGBTIQ people as second-class citizens, creating a movement that saw them go from criminals to legally equal over the course of five decades.
A short documentary following the story of a local pub in Adelaide facing threats of demolition.
A year in the life of troubled Australian graffiti artist Justin Hughes.
The Ripple Effect is a powerful documentary primarily centred around St Kilda legend and proud Noongar Nicky Winmar's generation-defining stand against racism at Victoria Park in 1993.
A docu-drama shot in 1970, but not completed until 1973, the film sought to encapsulate in an experimental form issues that were under discussion within the Women’s Liberation Movement at this time and to thus contribute to action for change. In its numerous community screenings, active debate was encouraged as part of the viewing experience.
Sacred Ground tells the true story of Aboriginal people fighting to save the last remnants of their ancient heritage and culture.
Documentary that chronicles the career of the legendary Australian punk band Radio Birdman.
System (2025) is a short documentary film exploring intergenerational connections to land and country. Interviews with Aunty Denise Morgan Bulled, a Yorta Yorta Elder; John Toll and his family, fourth-generation farmers in Gunbower wetlands; and two Local 10 year olds, Harry and his friend Mac. The film reflects on how the river system shapes their daily lives, impacts their quality of life, and influences their passion for country.