Discover Movies

11,358 Matches Found

The Human Face of the Pacific. A Place of Power in French Polynesia

A Tahiti is a rugged, forest-clad South Pacific island, surrounded by coral reefs. Its traditional Polynesian way of life has been swamped over the years by foreign influences, particularly that of France. However, the long-awaited re-emergence of traditional culture is the focus of this documentary. We look at some of the people responsible for the cultural revival and their arts including the building of a double hulled canoe, the art of full body tattooing and the fierce dance competitions at the high point of celebration of Polynesian culture, the Tiurai Festival.

The Human Face of the Pacific. A Place of Power in French Polynesia

NR 1983
Cars

“I don’t drive, but I know people who’ll drive 100 metres to go to the shops. Our society is obsessed with the car, with coming and going, getting somewhere. I used very intricate matting, some shaped like knives. I wanted the cars to slice each other in two, creating a kind of hurdy gurdy atmosphere…an abstract rushing to and fro, going nowhere. The first half of the film is silent. The second half, a grainy dupe of the same images, has sound and is far more urgent and aggressive.” (Paul Winkler)

Cars

5.0 1979
A Walbiri Fire Ceremony: Ngatjakula

Originally filmed as an archival record of a Warlpiri (Walbiri) ceremony in 1967 by Roger Sandall, the film footage was re-worked 10 years later by anthropologist Nicolas Peterson and filmmaker, Kim McKenzie, to make this short version for public viewing. Involving large numbers of both men and women, Ngatjakula is one of the most spectacular ceremonies of central Australia, employing fire, and several days of singing and dance, to resolve conflicts and re-affirm social order among the Warlpiri (Walbiri) people. One of Sandall’s many films about ceremonial life, including several of Warlpiri rituals, the film was part of the program of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies to record traditional aspects of Aboriginal life and culture. McKenzie’s collaboration with Peterson (who had been present at the time of the original filming) to edit this public version, is a meticulous representation of the fire ceremony, much of which took place at night.

A Walbiri Fire Ceremony: Ngatjakula

10.0 1977
Luku Ngarra

Luku Ngarra is an unflinching, Indigenous-funded documentary on the history and culture of Arnhem Land leading up to the present day, seen through the eyes of one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous elders and traditional lawmen, Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM. Set mainly in the remote community of Elcho Island, the film is a timely challenge to the dominant mainstream paradigm that has failed to recognise the true value and importance of traditional Aboriginal law and culture for the wellbeing of remote communities.

Luku Ngarra

NR 2022
Stained Glass

Stained Glass is a retelling of the Stations of the Cross motivated by the manipulation and expression of light. The Stations are as follows: 1. Jesus is condemned to death 2. Jesus takes up his Cross 3. Jesus falls the first time 4. Jesus meets his mother 5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 7. Jesus falls for the second time 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem 9. Jesus falls for the third time 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments 11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross 12. Jesus dies on the Cross 13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

Stained Glass

NR 2026
Sweat It Out!

SWEAT IT OUT! charts the rise and fall of the iconic Australian music scene, affectionately dubbed ‘Oz Rock’. It’s the story of ambition, power and passion. Of the bands that succeeded, and those that didn’t. It’s a tale of oversized, colourful characters who risked it all – and the legion of fans who joined them on their journey, sweating it out in the tiny inner urban pubs, massive outer suburban beer barns and jampacked provincial hotels. It’s the story of a country forging its identity through music and an ethos of bands that toured longer, drove further and played harder to be heard. When bands would play live seven nights a week, sometimes playing three gigs in one day – sometimes even playing three gigs, in three different states, in the one day!

Sweat It Out!

NR 2025
Bohemia

When Melbourne’s cultural hub is left devastated post-pandemic, the creative industry, like many others, is ravaged. Set amongst the ashes of the cities arts scene, BOHEMIA is a hybrid of documentary, music video, and next generation concert film that powerfully recounts the story of this fallen angel of Australian culture and asks the looming question: “what now?”. Shadowy underground musician VANTA and debutant director Madeline Royce team up with a decorated collective of young creatives to contend that art in the pandemic need not be a compromise, but an evolution.

Bohemia

10.0 N/A
Neurosis

“I now knew that I'd found a style to interpret an emotional event filmicly. The unabating atrocities of the Vietnam War, the growing protest movement in Australia, and the ghastly images we witnessed each day in newspapers and on TV formed my material. I wanted to get into the minds of the protesters, into their (my) anger. Protest rallies and the horror of the press were captured with a frantic camera and very fast zooming. The power of sound and image was heightened with often-rapid (sometimes single-frame) montage.” (Paul Winkler)

Neurosis

NR 1970
After the Apology

Suellyn thought the Department of Community Services (DOCS) would only remove children in extreme cases, until her own grandchildren were taken in the middle of the night. Hazel decided to take on the DOCS system after her fourth grandchild was taken into state care. Jen Swan expected to continue to care for her grandchildren but DOCS deemed her unsuitable, a shock not just to her but to her sister, Deb, who was, at the time, a DOCS worker. The rate of Indigenous child removal has actually increased since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the apology to the ‘stolen generations’ in 2008. These four grandmothers find each other and start a national movement to place extended families as a key solution to the rising number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. They are not only taking on the system; they are changing it…

After the Apology

NR 2017