Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

An intriguing visual essay on the value of having a good head.

Everybody loves autumn, right? But spare a thought for all those leaves who suffer for the cause of the changing season.

June 16, 2011 Chenrezig Institute hosted the inaugural visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso. Founded in 1974 by Lama Thubten Yeshe, the Institute in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland was one of the first centres for Tibetan Buddhism in the Western World and remains one of the largets

New to town, Joanne finds herself at the local Women's Club Meeting, but soon realises the helpful tips these women are swapping are for far more than just arts and crafts.

A hunter attempts to track down and kill a werewolf, with only a single silver bullet.

Independent film maker J.D Sebastian sets out to document the life of someone who influences culture at a grass roots level. And that someone is the misanthropic b-movie webmaster Buddha Wilson. To strike a balance Sebastian also talks with Buddha's polar opposite webmaster rival Leon Brown.

The biggest ships... The most dangerous cargoes... The narrowest sea passage through one of the world's mega-cites, Istanbul... A documentary film about the passionate men and women struggling to keep a lid on the explosive mix of shipping passing through the Bosphorus.

The film starts with voice over by Julie (Jill Delaney) which sets the minimalist plot running as she rides on her Ducati 750 into Melbourne.

The coast of Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory has been the home of Aboriginal people for many many centuries. Some still live a traditional lifestyle. This film is a record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land led by anthropologist Charles Mountford. It depicts the ancestral fishing, hunting, building and boatmaking techniques used by the communities of the region.

A team of scientific detectives from around the world attempt to crack one of science’s most enduring mysteries – what killed Australia’s megafauna?

When Lena's estranged mother dies she is forced to take care of Pippa, the daughter she has never known. As they travel to Blackwood together in the sweltering Australian summer Lena attempts to leave Pippa once again, but is confronted with motherly instincts she never knew existed.

Romance is like a chainsaw: a very dangerous beast indeed.

A cartoon adventure featuring Captain Goodvibes, the pig of steel, and his sidekick Astro.

Just One Drop takes a no-holds-barred look at the most controversial form of medicine ever invented. Homeopathy treats the entire person, not just the disease. It’s a specific form of medicine that uses minute doses of a highly diluted substance that stimulates the body to cure itself. It is these tiny doses that causes the most controversy. Researchers believe there is a release of energy in water that becomes mysteriously dynamic. Others think it’s purely psychological or worse, a form of deception or quackery. Yet millions claim homeopathy cures even though there is not yet a satisfying scientific explanation. It remains a mystery.

A gorilla falls in love with an alien.

Explore a world of twisted beauty, haven to a variety of weird inhabitants but hostile to others. This is a place that hides animals surviving from the first age of the dinosaurs, but where insects can drown in the very air itself. Enter a world full of weird animals and unusual rock formations, overseen by still-living, giant prehistoric spiders the size of dinner plates...

Carlton youngster Jack Silvagni embarks on a journey of exploration to learn more about his great-grandfather, Giacomo.

1967 David E. Perry short

Australia's own car, 60 years of Holden (2009): "Holden - it's as Australian as meat pies and kangaroos. Laugh along with them at the early advertising campaigns and celebrate great cars like Monaro, Commodore and Torana with rare never before-seen footage. Meet the people who design, test and build these great cars - people with real passion, dedication and ingenuity that has driven Holden to export success around the world. It's an engaging look at how Australia got its own car, how Holden came of age to be regarded as a world leader".

Armed with nothing but charm and a dictaphone, a young man changes the perspective of two people he meets at a bus stop.

After being assaulted by her mother's boyfriend, a teenage girl flees to the city streets.

After much satirical banter between the two girls and their university tutors and colleagues, the near to final dinner party scene explodes in an extended homage to Jean-Luc Godard via the daggiest dance number ever committed to film. Jack and the two girls (played by then campus objects of desire Jane Washington and Margaret Harrison) leap up from a series of dinner table pontifications – though we’ve already had a clue about the next event when Kate says, “My idol for this week is going to be that weedy little man in Godard’s film”. Then the music starts. All three eventually dance in an attempted replay of the number in Godard’s movie. Its shot front-on in the manner of Griffith, with the dancers moving towards and back from the stationary camera for almost all of the three minutes of the song, until near the end there is a cut to a medium close-up. Exhilarating. Funny. And remembered down the ages.

The pearling schooners of a trading firm are being robbed by a mysterious pirate. The son of the owner of the firm (James Alexander) goes to the South Pacific island of Avita to investigate and uncover the pirate's identity, vindicating a man who has been unjustly accused. He also has a romance.

“For many years I had wanted to visit the Rock, but I had never really had the means. A little funding from Germany finally got me there. I had read a lot about the history and mythology of the Rock and of the Aboriginal people, but I was only too aware that I, as a European, could never hope to get into or feel that mythology. So I decided to make a film about it from my perspective. I cut out all these mythological figures…lizards, emus, wallabies…some of them from drawings in caves on the Rock, and carefully employed them as mattes for footage I shot in real time. In those days hotels were very close to Ayers Rock [now known as Uluru], so I never had to go very far with my camera. I used filters and telephoto lenses to suggest a kind of unknowable aura…to show that there was truly something out there on that flat plain.” (Paul Winkler)

Filmed over more than three years, The Triangle Wars is a riveting exposition of sweeping social issues and contemporary Australian politics as seen through the prism of three men driven either by ego, passion and their desire to make a difference.

Rhythm And Poetry is a documentary film that follows the change in the Hip Hop scene in Australia for three years from underground shows to wider popularity.

One man’s journey to help alleviate homelessness in Cairns. A hair raising documentary uncovering what lies beneath this Paradise island.

A woman, Zsuzsi Weinstock, survived the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp as a child. The film documents her story while providing a collage of images, most not directly linked to the story.

The Crusades had finished and Robin Hood and his band of merry men had disbanded. That is until the Sheriff of Nottingham escapes with the much valued Crown Jewels of the King.

Perth musician Robert Hunter was a pioneer of a musical genre, young father, digital communicator, ex drug and alcohol abuser, general hell-raiser and ultimately a terminal cancer patient. When Hunter's time on this earth was in danger of being cruelly cut short at 35, he co-opted the digital tools at his disposal and began to share his physical, emotional and musical journey in a very raw and honest way. For Hunter, the cancer became a lens through which life suddenly came sharply into focus

"Black Magic" is the 1st ever DVD release from King Billy Cokebottle. As expected this compilation is packed full of King Billy's latest jokes that are sure to cause offence to countless people and also provide a laugh or two! Recorded in July 2003 @ The Dalrymple Hotel in Townsville and based around the comedy of the album of the same name, "Black Magic" offers almost an hour of laughs on this classic comedy DVD

Max is a young and very successful property developer who leads a perfect life but after meeting a property investor named Ernesto, certain events occur that make Max question who he is actually working for.

A man becomes transfixed by a hypnotic mobile phone commercial, leading him to uncover a hidden message.

A woman is so caught up reading stories of love, she is oblivious to a man who has fallen in love with her - but his dog figures out how to orchestrate “a touch of romance.”

In the low budget real life story of IRC addicts some girls get caught in the net. Watch out, it’s hot in there!

After their lives take them in directions they never expected, and having slowly drifted apart over the years, Jessica and Todd meet for dinner to try and get back to where they once were.

Hugh Jass has become Mayor of the glowing city of Globetopia, giving him the chance to bring his evil plans to life. Follow Cody as he attempts to stop Hugh Jass and save Globetopia from impending doom.

Teenager Freya works at the kitchen supply store in her regional town. On her first solo shift, things take an unexpected turn when a local lesbian couple come in looking to buy a turkey baster.

Jim J. Jimson has just moved into a new Frankston flat amid feelings of happiness and freedom comes the sneaking feeling of dread, he’lol have to overcome paranormal forces to survive.

A diary film. A university student reflects on his time at uni, longing for the days when he was "pretty naive".

A high school student, heartbroken, considers suicide.

Bela's life is turned upside down when her best friend is subject to a masked stalker with a drive of jealousy. The events unfold in Bela's non-linear point of view as she uncovers who the stalker is before it's too late!

Modern interviews coupled with archival footage, South Australians tell the story of their protests and persecutions surrounding the Vietnam War.

An anti-war film in the tradition of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica as well as John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’, the candid and powerful Ukraine Guernica – Artist War takes us behind the battle lines and into the lives of the artists confronting Russia’s march on Ukraine and Afghanistan following the withdrawal of foreign forces. From the ashes of unspeakable tragedy and destruction, new creative works are born, including projects completed at the former House of Culture in Irpin, Ukraine, and at the Yellow House Art School in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

A bored tollbooth operator does the night shift in the middle of nowhere.

After a night out, a young woman is unknowingly followed into her home by her "ride-share" Driver - resulting in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that explores the lengths people will go to connect in the modern world.

Let's face it, it's sometimes hard to find the upside, but luckily for you, Kirsty Webeck's an expert on seeing the silver linings. See Kirsty bring her infectious humour to the Malthouse stage, spinning silver linings into comedy gold!

Amidst his dull and tiring life, high school student Noah finds an escape when his dreams begin to cross with a mysterious girl, forming a bond that transcends space and time.

after a messy breakup, a 15-year-old Devonte leaves his home to find something to fill the void

On piloting ships into Sydney harbour.

Happy is a sexually inexperienced, bisexual, in her late twenties, and about to embark on another dreaded birthday.

There is no denying that the rise to prominence for Isaac Butterfield is unmatched and unrivalled. After selling out over 50 shows across Australia in 2018, and gaining over 100 million views online; Butterfield wields his sharp wit and shocking brand of humour to declare war on everything. From Vegans to Religion and everything in between, Butterfield's 'No Holds Bar' approach unleashes on everyone. Nobody is safe in his debut comedy special 'The Butterfield Effect'.

A non-narrative tale about the possible hectic co-existence of amorphous pulsating creatures and the transformed everyday

"Liberty in Restraint" is a look at freedom of expression and the daring to follow one's visions, this documentary follows fetish photographer, Noel Graydon, in his quest for authenticity, showing his work in progress, a passion for his art and its themes, and the transgressive activities of the community he moves within. The film also investigates the nature of sexual transgression, the prejudices of society and how an artist can break boundaries. Further themes arise out of the nature of Noel's work in fetish photography, exploring what the BDSM community is all about, details of the fetish items such as leather, latex, rope, chains, etc and how this is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world of advertising, music and fashion.

After finding out that her crew is still alive, Krystal goes to talk to them. (The last ten minutes from Ballad of the Trumpet)

Goori Goori Dreaming is a glimpse into the culture, traditions and spirit of Australia. Woven through the film are the contemporary paintings of Gunaminy Vanessa Fisher, as she teaches her family about the earth and their heritage.

A female AI dating chatbot interacts with someone named Chris, leading to a tragic outcome.

Eminem goes to jai for his crimes. But the king of the streets never gives up.

Short film produced to promote Queensland to the world.

In 1964 Carol Raye became the first female television executive in Australia when she created The Mavis Bramston Show which boldly tackled subjects such as sexuality, politics, religion, women's rights and racism.