Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

A young couple in Sydney return home from a “very special” night out.

A forbidden attraction divides a family.

Roo remains mute as he fends for survival with his sister collecting recycle bottles, working in a run down paper factory and living in a squat. A social worker arrives and tries Reiki therapy to heal what she feels is a deeper pain inside him, which begins to uncover the sinister past and events of this brother sister relationship, leading to a final twist.

An outback town is prone to mysterious alien abductions, kept secret by the local law. Conspiracy theorist Miles and alcoholic taxi driver Bruce become unlikely protectors of teenager Maisey, when she is return by her alien abductors.

Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn Reborn

A radio station puts four people inside a brand new Mini Cooper parked centre stage of a shopping centre, offering the car as a prize to the person who can sit there the longest. However, when the final two contestants, a young man and woman, decide to stay in the car indefinitely, events begin to spiral out of control.

On July 4th 1975, Juanita Nielsen - style icon, journalist and activist - went to what she thought was a business meeting at The Carousel Club, Kings Cross and vanished, never to be seen again. Juanita was an unforgettable Sydney character with her large beehive hairdo, long false eyelashes and fashionable clothes. Glamorous and well-connected, Juanita built a powerful alliance between construction workers and residents that stopped Sydney's developers in their tracks. With millions of dollars at stake, Juanita's disappearance remained unsolved. Filmmaker and artist Zanny Begg explores this mystery through the eyes of those living in Sydney today. Bringing together a cast of actors, performers, activists, stripers, sex workers and beekeepers, Juanita Nielsen NOW probes what it means to live in a city that killed one of its own.

Martha, an Indigenous woman, works tirelessly in a laundromat, until the monotonous routine is interrupted by a mysterious visitor who reminds her of the life she left behind.

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.

A rousing World Premiere about family, friendship and the power of krumping. A heartwarming Sydney production made with an inclusive cast and crew from Bus Stop Films. Twenty-three-year-old Sonja (Olivia Hargroder) lives with Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and must fight for her independence following the tragic loss of her mother. Distant grandmother, Doris (Penny Downie, The Crown), becomes the guardian to Sonja and her younger sister, Emma (Julia Savage, Blaze, SFF 2023). But when Doris tries to sell the family home and uproot their lives, Sonja defends her right to her home, lifestyle, friends and boyfriend, Michael (Chris Bunton, Nude Tuesday, SFF 2022). Inspired by her new friend Hakim (Elijah Williams), Sonja stands up to Doris by expressing herself through krumping, an energetic dance style that releases frustration. A stirring debut about individuality and independence.

Toby goes to a gay spa for the first time. Amidst the crowd of strangers in the hunt, he meets JD. Quickly, they form a bond.

Far from home, a young Burmese man struggles to escape the weight of a brutal and unforgiving military coup, threatening both his nation’s freedom and its very survival. Now, in Australia and unable to return home, he’s doing everything he can to stay connected to his people.

A short documentary on the recovery of Sydney Swans AFL player Errol Gulden after sustaining an ankle injury in the Opening Round of the 2025 AFL season.

WEEDLING is a 18minute magic realist drama about Alix, a gender non-conforming teenager who steals their father's car to save their spirit plant and themselves from an unsafe home, at the risk of leaving their mother who can't protect them

Lonely schoolgirl Desma is determined to win the school science competition and beat her arch-rival, Celestine. When Desma discovers an incredible creature, an insect-boy endowed with a pair of moth-wings, she thinks victory is hers. But can Desma ignore her attacks of conscience and condemn the vulnerable moth-boy to win a competition? Or will she forfeit her dreams of glory and suffer another humiliating loss to Celestine? An enchanting short film about human connection, ruthless ambition and entomology.

Following the recent release of Rude Bastard, the King Of R Rated Comedy is set to release his new DVD Get Rude On. Featuring hilarious routines that the fans will love, Get Rude On is an R 18+ rated DVD release!

A man isolated from society appears to have nothing to show for his life, yet in his solitude, he has quietly taught himself to see and hear the world with a depth and beauty that most people are too distracted to ever find.

A drowning survivor must confront the dangerous fixation she has on the accident and the woman who saved her.

Daniel Crane is an American civilian engineer working to rebuild war torn Iraq who is kidnapped on his last day in Fallujah. Beaten and alone he is hostage caught up in the drama of war.

Moses, a Hebrew baby, is found amongst the bulrushes by the Pharaoh's daughter. Aaron, Moses stepbrother, resents Moses who grows up the more sensible and likeable of the two and who was always the favourite of their grandfather, the Pharaoh. When Moses is given the task of leading his people to the promised land by his God, he creates havoc and brings plagues on the Pharaoh and the Egyptians who try to thwart his progress.

Based on Richard Frankland's experiences as a Field Officer during the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

A man who decides to make his own clothes

Haunted by a past abusive relationship, Ella tries to psych herself up for her third date with Harry.

This moving documentary, directed by Diana Páez, tells the story of a group of Spanish-speaking migrants who arrived in Victoria between the 1960s and 1980s, showcasing their contribution to the social and cultural fabric of Australia.

Born To Fly, directed and produced by Ali Khajeian, tells the story of dedication and perseverance through the eyes of Hong Kong born, Indian national, Melbourne-based Ultra Runner, Rahul Sharma, from running his first marathon to setting a world record all in the same year. Between 24th – 30th December 2025, Rahul became the first person ever to run the length of Sri Lanka, setting a new world record for the fastest time to cover the 566km journey (completing the run in 6 days, 13hours and 22 minutes). The intricacies and procedures of this great feat, planned by the team of students that surround him are captured in this documentary and Born To Fly follows the story of Rahul and his team in making this dream a reality.

Englishman Martin South (Eric Bransby Williams) is leading an expedition into the Dutch New Guinea hinterland to search for gold, being joined by George Mardyke (Jameson Thomas), who he thinks is his friend. The expedition is attacked by headhunters and Mardyke leaves Martin for dead so he can pursue the latter's fiancee, Eleanor (Lillian Douglas), the daughter of a plantation manager. Meanwhile, Martin is nursed back to health by native girl, Hurana (Grace Savieri), who falls in love with him and helps him escape from some angry natives. Hurana is bitten by a snake and dies, and Martin arrives back to civilisation in time to rescue Eleanor from Mardyke. Was partially filmed back to back on Thursday Island with 'The Hounds of The Deep'

The story of Nathan "Nate" Vaughan, an ex-SAS commando fighter married to Nicole, a police officer with the Gulf Coast drug squad. Shortly after their wedding and in the midst of their plans to open a private security firm, Nicole is tragically killed in a seemingly senseless shooting by a drug craze kid in a convenience store hold up. Nate falls to pieces. His only friend is Nicole's ex-police partner and they decide to pursue their own form of justice on the streets low life. The death of a rapist/murderer leads to Nate being pursued by both the criminal boss and the police, which leads to twists and turns and the discovery of his wife's assassination... and bringing the killers to justice.

A series of games and quiz rounds explore the people and history of Australia, exactly the way people weren't taught in school.

A young dancer on the Sydney club circuit finds her life falling apart after she witnesses the drowning of a young man at Bondi. His presence continues to haunt her.

A criminal fixer who experiences auditory hallucinations must confront old demons when a new contract drags him into a surreal maelstrom of mind-altering drugs, delusional vigilantes and a sadistic hypnotist who seems more monster than man.

You won't believe your eyes! For the first time ever, Dorothy will have her own plane to travel around the world in search of the perfect rose!

After a traumatic life change, a girl strives to get her shit together whilst indulging in bad habits, and with a mindset centred on her past.

The Ninnies embark on their first ever recorded adventure, trekking to deep Gippsland and into the unknown, testing their wits, constitution and their friendship.

A satirical short film that aims to break the veneer of marketability in TV. Everyday people are forced to act out humiliating and sitcom-equse storylines for the entertainment of a benevolent leader, Susan

Hot, young Bambi blows her dough buying the car of her dreams. When she can't afford to run it, she cooks up a hare-brained scheme to bring her car to life. Using ancient voodoo incantations, the blood of dead drunkards, and an ox heart, we discover that a girl can love her car too much...

Australia’s 2019 Gold Logie winner. Chief celebrity interrogator. Host of the highest-rating quiz show on TV. There’s not much Tom Gleeson hasn’t been up to lately. Gleeson is one of the sharpest minds in Australian comedy. His shows are relentlessly hilarious and masterful. Now the world can watch the great man live on stage, in his natural habitat and in the form of his life. Experience the JOY.

Sugar plums and snowflakes, dreams and spells –The Nutcracker is one of the world’s best-loved ballets, and this production by Peter Wright is one of the most enchanting stagings ever created. The Australian Ballet shines in this charming classic. Sumptuously staged and set to Tchaikovsky’s celebrated score, this ballet is a truly magical experience for the whole family.

George enlists in the police force and is assigned to Harmony Row, a haunt of criminals such as Slogger Lee.

In the early hours of March 24th 2002, Wendy Chandler awoke to a stranger taking off his clothes. He held her down, raped her and fled. Despite her ordeal Wendy came to realise she was one of the lucky ones.

2022 Interview with director Koji Shiraishi.

On the 10th anniversary of his passing, the cricket world remembers the extraordinary achievements and winning personality of Australian cricketer Phil Hughes.

A man returns to the Midwestern farm of his childhood on a desperate mission to unearth the horrifying truth of what landed there in the summer of 1960.

Marc Fennell investigates the successful, but scandal-plagued megachurch Hillsong, stepping back into the world of Pentecostalism that he left behind and asking what happens as the Hillsong kingdom crumbles.

A view of Sydney Harbour. Australia's feathered icon laughs the bridge into animation. The bridge dances to a rhythm created by the hype which sails beneath it. A parody of a view which people pay millions to be near.

When Jade’s oldest and dearest friend begins to prioritise the needs of someone new at their weekly social netball game, her deepest fear of losing the friendship begins to consume her. While the teams wait for the harsh winter rain to ease so they can resume their game, Jade aggressively attempts to win back her status during a seemingly friendly, low-stakes card game.

An acting couple play reptilians by day as their relationship falls apart at night.

The story of the bushranger Ben Hall, including his duel with Melville, last stand and death.

From the ashes of Australia’s devastating bushfires, wildlife survivors begin their long journeys to recovery. Australia’s fauna have evolved to coexist with bushfire, but these Black Summer fires are unprecedented in their scale, speed and intensity. Many native animals are unable to escape, or endure, without human help. We follow iconic species like koalas, kangaroos, wombats, and an endangered parrot through their rescue, rehabilitation and eventual release. Remarkable tales of compassion and dedication are revealed along the way – from an orphan wombat growing too attached to her carer, to audacious helicopter airdrops to feed remote rock wallabies. When the fires finally burn out, Australia looks to the science, innovation and Indigenous knowledge that will be needed to safeguard fragile wildlife in an even hotter future.

When met by a stranger, sometimes the unexpected make for an unlikely friend. Animated entirely in Quill, VR animator Nick Mansur captures suspense and heart within a minimalist world.

'I want to make a film about women' is a speculative documentary love letter to Russian constructivist women. The new Soviet Union of the 1920s championed equality for women and great innovation in the creative arts. Until it didn't. Looking back at that time, history remembers the men who were celebrated and then shut down. But women were there, too, and they were influential, powerful and brilliant. 'I want to make a film about women' gazes in to a creative communal kitchen and watches these women transform it into a workshop, then a stage set, then a film, all the while juggling noisy men and the wolves of history. It imagines what the revolutionary women artists of the 1920s said, what they did, and what they might have created had it not been for Stalin's suppression.

Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this light hearted tale of political and amorous intrigue amidst the gaiety of Parisian high society.. First performed in Vienna in 1905 and here performed in the English version by Christopher Hassal.

Cinema's prodigal daughter Jennifer Lynch braves the unmapped territory of Bollywood-Hollywood movie making, where chaos is the process and filmmaking doubles as a crash course in acceptance and self-realization.

A first date: he shows up at her flat, several stories up in her building. She's finishing getting ready, so she introduces him to her dog, which loves to fetch a small red rubber ball with blue stars. He tosses the ball to the dog a few times, somewhat distractedly, looks through a book ("Do I have to be me?") on her coffee table, opens the French doors to her balcony, sits down and continues to toss the ball. It takes a deadly carom, but when she emerges from her bedroom ready to go, he stays mum. Outside the building, a crowd has gathered. Will he tell her what happened, or leave it for her to put together? Is there any way out for him?

Probably the first ever cricket film: Indian cricketing royalty prepares for the first test between England and Australia at Sydney.

Four different women, each with a well-hidden secret they are coaxed, tricked or forced into revealing... sometimes it's better to omit the truth.

An Australian woman fights to save her orphanage in Cambodia against the country's ever-changing political backdrop.

Recorded on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on February 8th, 2014 with the assistance of Sydney Opera House Trust

Two Aussie hicks drive a masked man out into the middle of the desert and to kill him, but things don’t quite go to plan.

This is the story of the National Aeronautic Space Administration from the first Gemini mission to the space shuttle - a race for space which became the pinnacle of human achievement in the 20th century. From the incredible rescue of Apollo 13 to routine satellite launches from the space shuttle, come with us on a journey through history to distant galaxies, black holes and the origin of the universe itself.

A twin seeks to get answers about the death of his dead brother, only to discover a repressed memory has come back to haunt him.