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Poles Apart: The Blue Poles Controversy

The year is 1973. A reforming Labor government swept into power determined to change the direction of the country. In an act of unpredendented daring the Whitlam government paid the highest price ever for an American painting for it's planned National Gallery. The painting was Jackson Pollock's "Blue Poles". 'Drunks did it' screamed the tabloid press. Journalists, politicians and cartoonists had a field day, while everybody, but everybody, across the nation had an opinion. Today painter Jackson Pollock's masterpiece is unquestionably the most famous painting in Australia. It has become a symbol of our independence, signaling the departure from our British roots and entry into a brave new world.

Poles Apart: The Blue Poles Controversy

NR 2001
Film-Work

During the height of the Cold War, the Waterside Workers' Federation Film Unit produced eleven (11) films for several trade unions on political and industrial issues. Independent film-makers worked with them to develop critical dialogue from one generation of concerned film-makers onto another. FILM-WORK looks at sequences from 4 of these films and interviews some of their makers, raising a diversity of issues pertinent to current debates in film, history and politics. The 4 films that are looked at are PENSIONS FOR VETERANS (1953, NSW Branch, WWF), THE HUNGRY MILES (1954, WWF), NOVEMBER VICTORY (1955, WWF), and HEWERS OF COAL (1953, Miners Federation). PENSIONS FOR VETERANS covers the issue of the need for pensions to be given to workers who have worked on the waterfront all their life. THE HUNGRY MILES shows the strength of the workers, the union and its democracy. HEWERS OF COAL is about the coal miners and their struggle to get better working conditions and pensions.

Film-Work

NR 1981
Faint Echoes

“A friend had given me some old footage shot in Germany pre-WWII...during the ‘30s. Among all the images of sport, and people dancing, were images of Hitler making his early speeches. So this film is about the terrible tension of that period...jitterbugging on top of the volcano, the frentic activity to have a good life in the face of the brewing horror of Nazism. I used all kinds of techniques...travelling mattes, optical printer, rotoscoping and hand colouring, and scratching the film. The physical mutilation of the film frame, of Hitler's image...scratching out his eyes, brought fantastic relief. But I'm still not finished with Hitler, because no-one is. History never will be.” (Paul Winkler)

Faint Echoes

NR 1988
Darwin: Doorway to Australia

Original archival synopsis: The Japanese bombed Darwin many times during World War II because it was strategically important target number one in their attack on the Australian mainland. Before the war, Darwin was little known except to the crews of pearling luggers and cattlemen. During the war it become an important air base which contributed much to the success of General MacArthur's island-hopping campaign against Japan. Today Darwin is an aerial port of call for all planes travelling either from Europe or the Far East to Australia. The Darwin touchdown is, in fact, for many travellers the first sight of the Australian continent. The film shows Darwin as it is today (1949), much ravaged by Japanese attack during World War II, but already showing signs of building activity and general recovery. The film indicates the general life of the town and also explains the plan which will make Darwin a model city of which Australia will be very proud.

Darwin: Doorway to Australia

NR 1946
Paying the Price

Toby Price knows that completing The Dakar Rally is a triumph in itself. The South American terrain knows no regard for man or machine, breaking both at will over the course of 14 days and some 9000km traveled. But to wipe the sand from the eyes and the blood from the boots to hold The Dakar trophy aloft, takes more than just strength. Victory demands sacrifice. And the Australian off-road racer has known more than his fair share of pain - including more than 27 broken bones and a broken neck that very nearly rendered him motionless for life. From first jumping on a bike as a two-year-old to dealing with his sister's death and then witnessing the death of his best friend in succession, Paying the Price follows Toby's emotional journey from country kid to becoming Australia's first ever winner of The Dakar Rally.

Paying the Price

NR 2016
Songs Of The Volcano

World renowned guitarist Bob Brozman travelled to Papua New Guinea - one of the last places on the planet to have guitars arrive from afar - to capture a sound largely untainted by outside influences a raw, unique sound developed in isolation. The energetic and distinctive blend of voice and instrument performed by the Rabaul community's local stringbands reflects their unfailing optimism in the face of adversity, be it war or the volcanic eruptions that have destroyed the town twice in one century.

Songs Of The Volcano

NR 2005
Wildness

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis were perhaps Australia's greatest wilderness photographers. Their work became synonymous with campaigns to protect Tasmania's natural heritage. They shared many things, including a bond that was more like that of father and son. Both came from Baltic Europe and migrated to Tasmania, where their passion for nature became a crusade to save an environment under threat. Both died in the wilderness, doing what they loved, and left a legacy in extraordinary images. Their philosophy was simple and remarkably effective - if people could see the beauty of Australia's wild places then they might be moved to save them.

Wildness

7.0 2003
In Grave Danger of Falling Food

In this introductory video to permaculture, Bill Mollison, the movement’s co-founder, takes the viewer through the history and developments of the movement. With startlingly laconic humor and insight he deconstructs the modern agribusiness and the “modern plague” : manicured ornamental lawns. In this video he offers an antidote, which is an antidote to both our currently unsustainable practices and our unsustainable culture. Both of these have to change and adapt. Permanently.

In Grave Danger of Falling Food

NR 1992
Spaghetti Ramen

Originally completed in 2018, the film was largely self-funded, Mr Yen Ooi worked on the script, refining the vision of the film for over a decade, with multiple iterations of the story under names such as 'Beetle Ramen', in which the completed draft of this screenplay was finalised in 2005, this would become the basis of inspiration and 13 years later the final production "Spaghetti Ramen" would be completed. It was then distributed to different indie and international film festivals. Unfortunately due to the passing of the director in the same year, the final processes were incomplete and the film did not get screened anywhere due to not getting the rights clearance. In 2023 however, the film was cleared to screen at WORM, Camera Japan in Rotterdam. This allowed for the first and only screening of the film in the world.

Spaghetti Ramen

10.0 2023
Vampires in Australia

For generations, vampires in cinema have fascinated us. Our intrigue never seems to die, and whether they enter our dreams, inspire our sense of style, or even fuel our fantasies and desires, make no mistake - vampires never go out of fashion. In this documentary, we speak to various women from the entertainment industry in Australia. We discuss their obsession with vampires and explore the world's beloved vampire genre. So grab your garlic, a crucifix, and have some holy water on standby as we embark on a journey to talk to the vampires down under!

Vampires in Australia

NR 2020
King’s Seal

In the circle of life - birth, survival and death, Aboriginal people have a network of sites and tracks, embedded in the land, that connect them to all things and enable them to practice their laws, traditions and beliefs. Colonisation in Australia, denied Aboriginal people access to their land - breaking the life cycle for Aboriginal people. The Free-Settler Colony of South Australia was going to be different. King William IV recognised the continued rights to land for Aboriginal people in South Australia's founding document, the Letters Patent, in Feb 1836. The first ever Aboriginal rights granted in Australia's colonial history. Rights to the land, to occupy and enjoy their land for always, enshrined in law by the King's seal. What actually occurred in South Australia after colonisation in 1836 was treason. The King's Letters Patent was disobeyed and Aboriginal rights that were granted, to occupy and enjoy their land, were denied.

King’s Seal

NR 2014
Winners: Just Friends

Just Friends - A classic Australian children's telemovie about growing up, peer pressure, friendship and family. When Susan Foster moves to a new suburb she has difficulty fitting in. Susan's home life is uncomfortable with an unemployed father, a distant mother and an unexpectedly pregnant big sister. Susan seeks refuge at the local Roller Skate rink where she meets Buzz, the brash young gang leader and the best skater in town. Susan becomes part of Buzz's gang but is soon confronted with his selfish behaviour and cruel treatment of his friends. Susan must decide which is more important to her - fitting in or being fair. Just Friends is part of the Winners series of television programs created by the Australian Children's Television Foundation.

Winners: Just Friends

5.5 1985