Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

Fear of an unidentified livestock predator unites an Australian couple, an outcast, and an abandoned woman.

When Clara discovers her deceased mother’s revered ‘Book of Dark Whispers’, she can’t stop reading the strange stories within its mystical pages. Each weird tale reveals a new facet of the twisted human psyche… or the not-so-human, as the case may be. From the horror of grief to sharehouse living disaster, from existential dread to right-swiping vampires, there’s something for all tastes; as long as those tastes are twisted!

A US criminal profiler (of sorts) is sent over to Queensland to help catch a serial slayer, who leaves biblical scriptures behind at the scene of his crimes.

City Loop tells the story of six young people who work in a pizzeria, as they struggle to comes to terms with boredom, fear of responsibility and pizzas to go

After a war against an enemy from another world breaks out in the South Pacific, a group of freshly recruited U.S. Marines are sent to the front lines.

A man wakes up to discover every living thing in the world has disappeared. As he seeks to find answers, a dark element surrounds him and slowly tries to corrupt him.

With problems on the home front, 15-year-old Murra is on the verge of lashing out. That is, until her policeman uncle thwarts her self-destructive behaviour with a lifeline: a “photo-safari for at-risk kids”. Murra isn’t entirely convinced, but she soon joins cantankerous Kylie, uptight Sean, happy-go-lucky Elvis, and camp counsellors Fernando and Michelle on a transformative bus trip to the Pilbara. On the trail, the teens learn about fun, friendship and first crushes, as well as the forces of ‘reality’ that puncture the bubble of youth.

MK and his friends must embrace their ancestral powers if they have any hope to stop the new Jade Emperor before he tears the whole universe apart!

A private detective agrees to marry his best friend's mistress to keep her from being deported.

Troubled writer, Vincent, escapes to an isolated retreat, determined to complete his first novel. However, his solitude is short lived as a dark force suddenly encroaches and Vincent becomes immersed in a violent and cathartic awakening.

The advocate for a young Iranian refugee held in detention. Amir Ali claims to be an Iranian student persecuted by the government but the Department of Immigration dispute his identity. When Julia meets Amir, he is severely depressed and close to deportation. Julia throws herself obsessively into Amir's case, causing friction between Julia and her husband, Peter. Julia eventually frees Amir and the young Iranian man moves in with Peter and Julia. As Julia helps Amir adjust to ordinary life, she finds herself increasingly attracted to this handsome, damaged young man. But she also starts to see the subtle cracks in Amir's story. Is he really who he claims he is? Or does he have a darker, more dangerous history?

A mild-mannered English conscientious objector moves to what he feels will be the relative calm of Australia after World War I, but gets caught in the middle of violent battles between the rising trade unions and fascist groups.

After losing their badges and crashing their Police car into a McDonald's Restaurant, two constables are given the worst duty of all, they must man the Scumbus.

An animated special that presents highlights of the life of Daniel Boone, the famous American trailblazer -- from his early childhood years in North Carolina, his love affair with Rebecca Bryan, their courtship, marriage and family life, his work in settling the Kentucky region, and his exploits.

You die. But your identity keeps on living. Crystal and James fell in love in an online virtual world but have never met. When James dies mysteriously Crystal travels to see him for the first time - dead. But some residue of James is still alive online.

The escapades of Ginger Meggs, local larrikin. He's trying to win the heart of Minnie Peters, but the pressures of school, his rival Eddie Coogan and bully Tiger Kelly make life tough for him. Besides, there's fishing to be done.

Jack Kempson started out as an idealistic cop. Thirty years on, he remains relentless in tracking down villains, but has lost confidence in his moral barometer. He turns a blind eye to the dubious methods employed by some of his contemporaries — prepared to let dodgy means be justified by the noble end.

When an amusement park is built on the grounds of an old cemetery, the dead rise to take revenge.

Middle-class Karli, alcoholic Jane, unemployed Jackie, and square Ellen are four friends living together and barely scraping by in suburban Sydney. But when Karli’s father offers her a little money and a one-way ticket to New York, she finally sees a way out of her dead-end life—that is, until the money goes missing, kickstarting a final night out on the town that none of them will ever forget.

When dwindling membership and increasing overheads makes a local bowling club a prime candidate for a takeover, it's all hands on deck to save the club, in what turns into an epic battle where young meets old, greed meets good and people rise to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances.

In the small town of Speedway, Indiana in 1978, four young employees of a Burger Chef restaurant went missing at the end of a Friday night shift. The police initially suspected a petty theft by the work crew. By the time their bodies were found on Sunday and the investigation elevated to multiple murders, the crime scene had been cleaned and re-opened for business.

Silver-tongued Jimmy Skinford is on the run with the only person he can trust, Zo-phia, a woman hunted by every underworld crook in town for her coveted curse of immortality. To stop the relentless onslaught of violence and get their lives back they must search through Zophia’s past to fnd a cure. But what future can you have when your survival depends on losing the one thing keeping you alive?

When Max, trans queen Aria’s found brother and the love of artist Jay’s life, is ruthlessly slaughtered by a shadowy cult in a ritual to summon a cadre of demons, Aria and Jay will follow a mysterious note promising answers and hit the road. Together they will slay the demons that oppose them, perform at drag gigs, make uncertain allies, and uncover a conspiracy of prejudice and self-hatred that leads closer to home than they’d ever imagined.

In the lead up to the 1956 Olympic games, a group of missionaries are tasked with helping the fledgling Australian basketball team compete in their first ever Olympics, and in doing so, unite a nation still coming to grips after the war.

Anthea is 25, single, hates her job – and all her friends are leaving Brisbane. Should she follow the herd to Sydney or London? Is there anything worth staying for now that her best friend Michael finally has a girlfriend? This film tells a universal story about finding your place and yourself...

This is the story of a charismatic family of endangered animals and one man’s extraordinary devotion. It unfolds in a distant wilderness, in a land forgotten by time. But change is coming. In less than a year, this magical place, along with those who live here, may be lost forever. Welcome to Quoll Farm.

A paranormal investigator links a bizarre string of seemingly unrelated events to the disappearance of her mother.

A father has less than a day to pay back a debt to a violent loan shark, while looking after his young son.

After years of having her letters to her estranged father come back as undeliverable, a young woman takes a job at a Dead Letter Office. She hopes to figure out how to locate her father. Unexpectedly, she finds a potential romance and begins to learn more about herself.

In Queensland's outback, a single mother from Brisbane, who's tired of her old life as a singer, bonds with a handsome truck driver, who can also sing but would rather be a cattle breeder, over their love for country music.

Mike and Johnny are two mates who are mining sapphires in Emerald. Another bloke is trying to move in on their claim and things get ugly

His first girlfriend was hit by a car. His second girlfriend fell off a cliff. His wife has come prepared.

In the final decades of the 20th century, the Philippines was a country where low-budget exploitation-film producers were free to make nearly any kind of movie they wanted, any way they pleased. It was a country with extremely lax labor regulations and a very permissive attitude towards cultural expression. As a result, it became a hotbed for the production of cheapie movies. Their history and the genre itself are detailed in this breezy, nostalgic documentary.

Seventeen year old LOLA FRANKLIN runs away from home but allows the world to believe she has been kidnapped. Intent on making her way across country, she meets a boy (MARLO) her age in a New Mexico diner. They fall instantly in love. But when Marlo learns of the reward for Lola's safe return, he must confront his own past and decide whether to take Lola back home to collect the reward or help her continue her mysterious journey.

An improbable love affair flares up between Karima, a modern Muslim girl, and Claudio, a local musician, in Melbourne's most notorious housing estate, where ruthless gangs rule, drug abuse spreads and racial tension grows.

A group of college students book a bargain dream holiday to a remote tropical island, little knowing that they have been lured there by the island's evil owner to fulfill an ancient voodoo prophecy. Soon, what appears to be paradise is transformed as friends and siblings are pitched against each other in a desperate fight for survival. Doubt, suspicion and panic splinter the group as each member begins to fall victim to the terrifying reality of their own worst nightmares. Can those who are left find the strength to confront and overcome the fear that will otherwise be their end, or will the voodoo curse win out?

Flyways follows endangered migratory shorebirds as they travel their ancient migration routes around the planet. Using nanotechnology and global tracking from the International Space Station, the project will uncover the paths of the world’s greatest, feathered endurance athletes and shine a light on the scientists and international lawyers who are collaborating to save them.

Felicity Bannister is a young woman living in the shadow of her overpowering mother. Her oppression is her worst enemy until the day she is attacked by an intruder who breaks into her bedroom and forces Felicity into action. The tables are suddenly turned and Felicity transforms from the helpless victim into a ruthless renegade in search of trouble, driven by the anarchic thrill of malevolence.

A man haunted by his past is led on a surreal, dark journey through the night, only to be confronted by his sins in the presence of the stars he once loved...

When her beloved family dog Nugget falls sick over Christmas, a city dermatologist must return home to confront both her dysfunctional family, and the mortality of the one family member that brings them all together.

Lou Wells has hit rock bottom after a promising start to her Hollywood career. Now broke and aimless, she reluctantly accepts a plane ticket from her estranged father, Rory to return home to South Australia’s ruggedly beautiful Kangaroo Island. As years of unresolved tension start to resurface, the reunion turns even more complicated when Lou and her sister Freya learn about Rory’s secret.

Meredith is a 35 year-old unmarried woman who arrives at a remote lighthouse island 1928 with her uncle the new head keeper.

Mia has locked herself inside her recently deceased mother's rundown, crumbling house. Armed with a litany of books detailing ancient cultures and rituals, she tries desperately to reach out to the other side and speak to her mother. But when she succeeds, she gets more than she bargained for. Waiting alongside her mother is something monstrous, something that Mia recognises instantly. As she tries to survive the night and escape the ritual alive, Mia is forced to confront a variety of evils - ones from both without, and from within.

When Sarah becomes a remote carer to escape her violent city past, she discovers your demons can follow, turning tranquility into a terrifying nightmare.

Stranded in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, a man sets in motion an unlikely plan to protect the precious cargo he carries: his infant daughter.

Set in the 1940s, the story of a post office clerk and part-time pianist (Jacki Weaver) who inadvertently becomes the star of a national radio serial. Featuring 12 Australian songs from that period.

When Sarah meets Mike everything she thought she knew about the world is turned upside down.

A black comedy set during the aftermath of the Cronulla riots, it is the story of two carloads of hotheads from both sides of the fight destined to collide.

From the biggest festival to the smallest church social, Kenny Smyth delivers porta-loos to them all. Kenny tackles every septic challenge that comes his way, culminating in a visit to the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville Tennessee - or as Kenny affectionately calls it, "Poo HQ".

Scenic settings in Australia enhance this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, a simple yet engaging tale about a teenage girl's adjustment to a new family.

A reporter looking into the death of a research scientist finds more deaths connected to the man, including some dubious "suicides". He discovers that the scientist may have been killed to cover up a secret government plot concerning mind-control drugs that have been tested on unknowing civilians, and he becomes involved with the scientist's daughter, who is trying to clear her father's name.

An eccentric elderly man tries to enjoy the three things in life that he considers real beauty: collecting art, collecting flowers, and watching pretty women undress.

An account of events in Queensland from 1959 to 1988 as disclosed by the Fitzgerald inquiry. Queensland had become as close to a police state as anything since the convict era. Based on real events.

An adult's memoir of a childhood spent with his mother and two sisters in Australia in the closing year of WWII. While his father off fighting the Japanese, two Italian prisoners of war are assigned to help out on the family's estate. Later they are joined by two German refugee women. Problems of country life and personal tensions come to a head.

The story of the forgotten godfather of modern Formula 1—Jack Brabham—and a son's quest to defy the odds in the competitive world of international motor-sport once more.

A happy, unsuspecting couple, Max (Dan Wyllie) and Therese (Bojana Novakovic), buy a house in what appears to be a quiet, friendly neighbourhood. Settling in well, they make friends with a nice family on one side and soon meet a more interesting family on the other side. But interesting soon becomes loud and loud soon becomes intolerable. When the intolerable becomes violent and the police are powerless, Max and Therese attempt to take matters into their own hands.

'Sacrifice' follows the love story between James Hunter and Blake Robinson as they begin a new phase in their life together. Forces out of their control tear them apart but to what extent and consequence? How much will they sacrifice? A traditional military love story from a perspective which has not yet been seen before.

Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.

In the Australian outback, a small boy determines to see that a nasty, curmudgeonly miser gets the Christmas spirit.

An elderly nun witnesses a young construction worker's fatal accident, compelling her to question the ethical principles of the institution she has devoted her life to.