Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

A somber yet heartfelt drama centered around the relationship between a mother and daughter - a tragic event had caused a rift in their relationship, what will it take to bring them back together.

In Papua New Guinea, where over three quarters of the population cannot be reached by the regular advertising mediums of television, radio or print, 'the market' must be developed by other means. Small theater groups travel the remote highlands performing soap operas devised around advertising messages for a variety of products.

A young writer with depression and alcoholism vents to a documentary crew about her downfall after losing her lesbian lover.

This documentary tells the epic story of helicopter deer culling in the Southern Alps. Introduced deer had become destructive environmental pests; in the 60s entrepreneurs shifted culling from ‘man alone’ to machine-driven hunting, as deer were shot then later captured alive from helicopters. Deer Wars — Top Gun in choppers, over the beech forest — revisits the heady ‘gold rush’ days, when heli-cowboys calculated often fatal pay-offs between risk and reward. It features interviews with survivors and fearsome footage of men hanging from helicopters and leaping onto deer.

Gabby, a late teen freshly graduated from high school, embarks on a new chapter in her life by attending University, the beginning of which is an Orientation Week party. She is close with a girl named Leah who she has known since the end of high school. They are in that weird period where they keep questioning whether or not they are in a relationship; something all-too-familiar with queer relationships. Their building intimacy is delayed as Leah leaves the O-Week party to get a good night's sleep in preparation for her first classes, leaving Gabby alone. As Leah leaves, someone familiar quickly fills the seat next to Gabby. This is Jason, Gabby's high-school sweetheart. She is instantly taken back to that fourteen year old self. Jason and Gabby become acquainted with each other once again, old conversations and familiarities surface. Jason offers Gabby a drink and after a while she becomes intoxicated. All she remembers is Jason closing the bedroom door...

When the Silly Billies hear that their circus friends are in trouble, they decide to help. Fun and laughter follow as the Silly Billies create chaos under the big top. Don’t miss the crazy chase scene, when the scheming bank manager makes off with the takings. Will the big top be repossessed? Will the elephants be raffled? How much mayhem can a puppy cause on the high trapeze? And the big question is… who’ll save the circus from the Silly Billies? Featuring the circus performers from Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge.

A young woman, seemingly jinxed by her choices, has her world thrown into turmoil after a tragic loss. Stubborn, cynical yet refreshingly candid, Lindy Lou Trentino is in constant conflict with her family, the community at large and ultimately the corrupt patriarchy in rural Queensland.

On the eve of her 18th birthday, Natalie is held hostage and haunted by her teenage bedroom following the breakdown of a close friendship.

A boy and a girl go for a walk within the saddle of the Australian Alps mountain range.

Last King Standing is a short film project that was assessed as part of the Rosny College Media Production Film And Television course in 1998.

The end of talking. The age of doing. A stirring testament to 21st century conservationism and people power in action, Reefshot is more than just a call to arms to save the Great Barrier Reef. It is the story of some of the Reef’s most loyal citizens racing against time to turn the tide on the danger facing the world’s largest living organism. Led by Andy Ridley the creator of Earth Hour, a small group of scientists, volunteers and Indigenous rangers set out to help protect and conserve the Reef by uploading data to one of the largest natural census undertaken in human history. Cutting edge technology meets 60,000 years of first-peoples know-how as the flotilla trade skills and intelligence in this herculean effort for conservation. The clock is ticking. The world is watching. But rather than getting that sinking feeling about the Reef and its fate, seeing this armada in action will inspire and empower all of us to take part in their plight.

During the anticipation of an upcoming state election, a brooding Aussie senator tries to win the hearts of conservative voters.

A getaway driver is forced by a detective to catch incriminating conversation from the crew that raised him, in order to gain a lighter sentence for himself.

The story of how Pat O'Shane AM defied the odds to become one of Australia's most brilliant legal game changers, and a look at her ambitious federal election campaign. What does it take to make a difference? Four First Nations trailblazers – a senator, a magistrate, a media icon and a poet – put everything on the line for a brighter future. Senator Neville Bonner, a Jagera Elder, was the first Indigenous person elected to Parliament, serving 12 years across four federal governments. Former teacher and barrister Pat O’Shane, a Kuku Yalanji woman, became Australia’s first Aboriginal magistrate – a position she held from 1986 until 2013. Birri Gubba Gungalu radio host Tiga Bayles ruled the airwaves, presenting Sydney’s Radio Redfern and establishing the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association and the National Indigenous Radio Service. And Noonuccal poet, conservationist and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal was the first Aboriginal person to publish a book of verse.

A daughter mourns the loss of her father, a passionate collector of space memorabilia, as she falls under the sway of the 'flown' space objects in her inheritance.

Three Government Men search for the illusive Instructions. Their efficiency is essential.

Elephants at work in Burma.

Unaware of the strings of suffering that manipulate her world, a young girl seeks to understand why her mother is the way she is.

David's mourning of the death of a previous partner is interrupted by a girl named Nadia. Much to his surprise, she's here to do the same thing.

Lighting a Candle provides a personal insight into the life, work and vision of Dr Catherine Hamlin AC who, with her late husband Reg, founded the internationally renowned Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and its pioneering work to improve women's health in Ethiopia.

Artists and rangers collaborate on Country to to share knowledge, stories and artwork about waru (fire).

Kate is persuaded by her niece, Lily, to take her to the Science Space in Wollongong. Lily is playing matchmaker...but is Leo perfect for Kate, or is something missing?

Over a dozen Australian Mammals are shown in the video in their natural habitats.

Swamps, marshes, billabongs, lakes, salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, coral reefs, all are wetlands, with thousands of species depending on them for their survival, a natural network for life.

The Greatest Places south of the Orinoco, the Delta, bizarre or extravagant unique, birds, the Guiana Shield, aged over 1.5 billion years has created outstanding tabletop mountains, thousands of rivers and cascades, among which is ANGEL FALLS.

Singer- songwriter daine performs their new mixtape Shapeless for the first time, backed up by enchanting visuals, the eight song mixtape is unveiled through this captivating performance on the first day of its release.

Chasing Lemons follows the lives of an unconventional family and their perception of freedom, as they struggle with family obligations and their place in the world.

A tale of a middle-aged woman drawn into a blood vendetta largely set in Sydney’s industrial suburbs.

Surviving extract of lost 88 minute original film.

A series of visual experiments made in collaboration with the performers in the film.

A romantic Sci-Fi drama about Jacob, a young man who lacks romance in his life, who instead seeks it in his dreams through a device which allows him to choose what type of dream he'll have. He is warned about overusing the Dream Catcher device but continues to do so as loneliness pervades his entire life. He dreams of the same woman day after day, but has no idea who she is. Until one day he runs into her. They hit it off and surprisingly they share a lot in common. But things are not exactly as they seem.

One bullet can do a lot of damage.

A family driving along a quiet country road is about to have a close encounter of the third kind. The parents try to calm their daughter who's crying in the back seat, but maybe her cries are a warning of the danger ahead...

Monica's Seaside Adventure

After his freezer breaks, a grieving man attempts to preserve his mother's thawing Lasagna by seeking help from his bizarre neighbours.

When an actress leaves set with one of Manny's microphones he must retrieve it or face dire consequences. Hearing only the sound from Manny's boom microphone, and the runaway actress' radio mic, we follow Manny on a treacherous journey through Music Videos, Timetravellers, the dreaded Sound Council and more. Paco is a film about filmmaking, the importance of sound, and the lifestyle of a freelance film creative.

Three men present their very different experiences as men who sleep with other men.

When eight-year-old Tess learned that her mother was pregnant, she was not excited at the prospect of a sibling. But with the birth of little Liv, who had the same fiery red hair as her older sister, an unbreakable bond was formed that, sadly, was torn apart too soon. Grammy Award-winning director Alan Hicks has shot an equally touching and important documentary about pain transformed into hope.

A boy believes he is being stalked whilst on a walk at the park.

The stories in The Habits of New Norcia are told by former Western Australian Aboriginal child 'inmates' of the New Norcia Benedictine Mission who were separated from their families in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and confined in this "orphanage without orphans". In recent decades the New Norcia Monastery has been packaged as one of the State's leading cultural tourist attractions. "A unique blend of Spanish architecture, European art treasures and pioneer history," "Monks, Music & Mystery," "New Norcia, Australia's only monastic town," the brochures announce. Aboriginal testimony in the film challenges this revised and sanitised history. The documentary provides damming evidence of the continuing violence of the Mission against its victims by deliberate omission of their experience in the New Norcia museum, guided tours, art gallery and promotions — an omission that represents a cruel and wounding cover-up.

A daring, exciting and poignant film about desire and sexuality. Daniel Monks strips for the camera.

A queer parody of classic soap operas such as Dynasty and The Bold and the Beautiful , The Vicious and the Delicious explores the shocking scandals of the powerful Cassamento family and their lovers. Silvo lies in a deep coma and will surely die without an esophagus transplant. Vivian loves Silvo desperately, and will stop at nothing to save him. Electra is engaged to Scarlet, but Scarlet is having a baby with Electra’s mother, Charmaine. Behind their glamorous facades, there are no innocent parties, and the question remains; will Silvo ever get that life-saving esophagus? And if so, whose esophagus will it be? Nail-scratching catfights, countless illicit affairs, double identities, mistrustful motives, dubious dealings, fabulous fashion statements, and bizarre story twists—all this and more in The Vicious and the Delicious .

Five hundred Australians were killed in combat in Vietnam. Four hundred and seventy Australian veterans have committed suicide since returning. Based on actual events, this drama tells the story of Paula Voltz whose husband, a Vietnam veteran, hanged himself at Christmas 1980.

In this ten-minute Art House film, we meet Nik, a young person living in Canberra, who is struggling with their gender identity. We follow the personal struggles they have with their own body, their relationship with their mother and being the subject of cruel bullying.

Reclaiming wise sayings from movies and TV shows like Drunken Master (1978) and Avatar the Last Airbender (2005–08), Analects of Kung Phu presents a moving image philosophy for surviving contemporary life. Taught by action stars but inspired by classic Chinese texts like Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing, the work questions whether these life lessons are genuinely useful. The film explores how wisdom can be oversimplified and misused, how film subtitles miss the mark or even present a completely different narrative, and how we are guided in our day-to-day life by the movies we watch.

A short documentary produced by the National Film and Sound Archive to promote 'Operation Newsreel', a project to collect and preserve Australian newsreel films, done in the style of a vintage newsreel.

Kaylee Desmond is losing her identity. She refuses to acknowledge her family history of trauma. Her current partner is never happy with who she is. And then there’s her job. Kaylee is a frontline therapist who performs a unique form of treatment- she dresses as the lost loved one of her clients, so that they can say goodbye

A group of young, passionate theatre makers have just been presented with an opportunity that could change their lives forever. A huge company in the UK have invited them to pitch a large-scale work that would see them go from making theatre for audiences of 100 people, to making a show that plays to more than 1,000 people a night. This group of aspirational artists have always been driven by hopes and dreams, but their dreams have never been this big.

A self obsessed social media celebrity couple camp out in the Adelaide Hills on Christmas Eve only to stumble onto a community hiding a secret tradition to protect the 25th of December.

Our hero begins her journey through an unsettling and painterly world. She drives down a highway, arrives at an abandoned house, travels through a seemingly endless corridor of broken-hearted lovers, praises love out of a window, and finds furtive romance in a garden. Familiar domestic spaces are rendered uncanny as she muses on love and its power to intoxicate the world around us. This moody vision is torn apart and laid bare. A frenzied film set is deconstructed and our characters play and revel in the cynical absurdity of this mad human endeavour that simultaneously thrills and depresses us.

A diverse crew of cold-blooded criminals camp out in the woods and attempt a night of rest leading up to a long-awaited bank heist. However, the ever-present croaking of an elusive amphibian raises the heat as paranoia, betrayal and long-overdue bloodshed takes hold.

The newly inducted student leaders of Knox Grammar School set their sights on improving the school’s waning culture and spirit. They aim to establish a supporters’ group known as the ‘Tartan Army’, but 2020 brings its own set of adversities.

In the wake of World War Two Ukrainian Olesya, living in a migrant camp in the Australian bush with her husband, struggles to come to terms with her pregnancy as she relives the trauma of losing her first child.

Hacker, Jon Mitchell steals government documents and is hunted down by hired assassin and hacker, Anonymous who would stop at nothing to fulfill the contract.

Anoka feels deep emptiness in the world around her, until one day her heart starts glowing. She finds filling her heart can mean breaking it, when the one you love is possessed by something else.

A dark comedy about friendship, loyalty and a dead body in the boot of a broken down car.

Presented by Vodka O, darling of aussie indie-pop Amy Shark performs stripped-back versions of acclaimed hits like 'Adore' as well as some brand new tracks from her album 'Monster Love'.

LGBTIQ+ individuals from across Melbourne engage in intimate conversation and share their lockdown experiences – despite having never met before.