Koala Rescue

This Traveltalk series short visits Australia.

The Australians call the endless deserts in the interior of the continent the "dead heart". Here lies the town of Birdsville, 23 houses and a bar with a liquor license. The long-awaited telephone connection arrived in 1979, 90 years after it had been applied for. For one weekend, this place at the end of the world turns into a cauldron when 5,000 Australians, tired of civilization, invade for the annual horse race, the "Birdsville Cup". They come in buses, off-road vehicles, motorcycles and sports planes and have become a veritable plague. Because here, everyone can do what they've always wanted to do: for example, get drunk until they drop and never get up again. The collective mass drinking reaches its peak on Saturday night. By Monday morning, the fun is over. What remains is a village with 23 houses, a bar and a street littered with 80,000 empty beer cans.

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.

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.

A visual journey into the life and legacy of one of Australia's most celebrated artists, Brett Whiteley.

Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.

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.

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!

Like an antipodean version of Romeo and Juliet, it emerges that Warri and Yatungka became the last nomads because they had married outside their tribal laws and eloped to the most inaccessible of regions. In 1977 the land was stricken by a severe drought and their tribal elders mounted a search for them with the help of a party of white men led by Dr Bill Peasley and one of their own number, a childhood friend named Mudjon. The film takes Dr Peasley back into the desert to relive his momentous journey with Mudjon and culminates with poignant archival footage of the elderly couple found naked and starving.

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.

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.

All hands to the pump! This demonstration of a 125 year old fire engine shows it can still be useful when the need arises.

Paul "Gator Boy" Bedard and croc hunter "Crocodile Mick Pittman" journey through the Northern Territory to explore the invasion of crocodiles.

Rod O'Hara bought Bellingen Video Connection in 2018 when video stores were already considered to be on the way out – if not already dead. Now, years later, against all the odds, and after facing many personal setbacks, Rod and the local community have kept this iconic local business and bastion for lovers of television, film and screen culture alive - but for how long?

God's Girls describes life in a Sisters of Mercy convent in country New South Wales from the 1940's to present day. This courageous and clever film investigates the subtle complexities of change within a society that has been surrounded by mystery for hundreds of years. The stories from the women in the film reflect the often intricate paths of social, political and religious history, not only in Australia but also in the rest of the world.

The last horse-drawn fire engines in Copenhagen

Impressions of a turbulent period in youth.

Pata Marsilla was at the former nightclub when the tragedy of Cromañón (2004) happened in Argentina. Although he was only seventeen years old, he remembers every step he took that night. His words come alive through a recreation of how a concert turns into horror.

A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.

New Zealand hip-hop artist Che Fu and his father Tigi Ness travel to their island homeland Niue for the first time to unravel the shared histories. There they also wow the locals with a performance at the Niue Arts and Cultural Festival.