Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

After one of its members witnesses a political assassination, an outlaw motorbike gang becomes the target of a string of murders, prompting a cop to join their ranks to determine who is responsible.

Following the dealings of Melbourne-based hitman Ray as seen through the eyes of his ex-neighbour and friend Max, an Italian film student. Max and his camera witness Ray's work life as it unfolds from day to day, giving an insight into a world we rarely see, and at the same time developing an unusual friendship with his subject.

Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

Seventeen year old, Emma joins a high school cheerleading team when she moves to Australia with her dad who is a former Air Force Officer.

A mother must protect her family on Christmas Day from a demented stranger who is hell bent on tearing them apart.

Josh and Ling were expecting a boring vacation visiting each of their parents at an archaeological dig in China. But the new friends soon discover they're right in the middle of an adventure when they find a Chinese Golden Dragon.

Prostitute. Hooker. Sex Worker. Whore. Candid and seductive, Angie is determined to set the record straight about sex. As she reveals herself, layer-by-layer, she also exposes the man who is interviewing her. Sometimes provocative and confronting, sometimes tender, poignant and sexy, Black & White & Sex takes you behind the scenes and into Angies very special world. There's a question here for every man and an answer for every woman. Anyone who pays is welcome - but leave your expectations at the door sex is never black and white. Written by Angie Winter

Steve Irwin, AKA The Crocodile Hunter, has avoided the death-roll and saved a croc from poachers. But what he doesn't know is that the crocodile has swallowed a top secret U.S. satellite beacon, and the poachers are actually American special agents sent to retrieve it.

Olivia, struggling with writer's block after a break up, takes a tropical holiday in hope of some inspiration and meets Prince Alexander, who needs some distance from his duty to marry royalty.

In Sydney, the newly married Midori is honeymooning with her husband, Yukio. She does not love him and fakes her own kidnapping to escape the marriage. Her lover is supposed to meet her, but fails to appear. She goes to a bank to get some cash, only to become a hostage in an unfolding robbery, until the getaway driver, Colin, saves her from his fellow robbers. They hit the road together, with the cops, her husband and the robbers in pursuit.

Patrick, a strange and lonely resident, lives in a mobile home at the back of an isolated caravan park. After a violent thunderstorm erupts, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while Patrick begins to question his own grip on reality...

16-year-old Kelly quits an elite gymnastics program and moves to Australia. To help out a new friend and show up an old rival she re-enters competitive gymnastics, she'll have to find a way to move forward while making amends with her past.

A second generation cameraman in Australia finds evidence that his father had filmed a nuclear test that allowed aboriginal people to be exposed to and killed by radiation. He begins a search for a secret that if true, his government has already killed people to keep quiet.

Patrick lays comatose in a small private hospital, his only action being his involuntary spitting. When a pretty young nurse, just separated from her husband, begins work at the hospital, she senses that Patrick is communicating with her, and he seems to be using his psychic powers to manipulate events in her life.

The O'Neills lived happily in their house in the Australian countryside. That was until one day fate struck blindly, taking the life of Peter, the father, leaving his grief-stricken wife Dawn alone with their four children. Among them, eight-year-old Simone denies this reality. She is persuaded that her father still lives in the giant fig tree growing near their house and speaks to her through its leaves. But the tree becomes more and more invasive and threatens the house. It must be felled. Of course, Simone won't allow it.

In suburban Melbourne, an awkward and inexperienced teenage boy and a mature woman come to discover the full force of their sexuality.

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts everything - the letters in her name, the poppy seeds on her orange cake. She counts because numbers hold the world together. But when a chance encounter with Seamus turns her world upside down, Grace's meticulously ordered life starts to unravel.

When a down-on-her luck video editor takes on a mysterious, well-paying job cutting snuff films, she is haunted by visions of the people in her videos.

Written by comedian Peter Helliar, I LOVE YOU TOO stars Brendan Cowell as Jim, a 30-something emotionally stunted man whose inability to declare his love to his girlfriend, Alice, threatens to cost him the best thing he ever had but leads him to befriend a talented dwarf who helps him find the words to get her back.

A pair of teenagers in Western Australia looking to escape the monotony of life in a small town take up surfing lessons from a guy named Sando.

Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.

A sheep-rancher's son aspires to win a music conservatory scholarship, but to apply he needs musicians who can play his music. Circumstances lead him to form a band out of prison inmates.

The true story of explorer, journalist and writer Isabelle Eberhardt, originally from Switzerland. She moved to Annaba in Algeria in 1897 with her mother, who preferred to live in the Algerian neighborhoods rather than the European neighborhoods that she hated, and converted to Islam. Her lifestyle shocked the French colonialists: she dressed like a man, frequented cafes and smoke shops. Fascinated by the desert, she traveled the Sahara under the identity of Si Mahmoud, she published articles and books on the world she discovered in southern Algeria, strongly criticizing the colonial authorities. Arriving in El Oued, the soldiers prevent him from continuing his journey. She disobeys and overhears officers shooting Arab prisoners. Arrested, she was accused of espionage and was expelled from Algeria. She married Slimane, a Muslim non-commissioned officer in 1901. Having become French through this marriage, she could now reside in Algeria.

In the anarchic town of Seaside, nowhere near the sea, puppeteers Judy and Punch are trying to resurrect their marionette show. The show is a hit due to Judy's superior puppeteering but Punch's driving ambition and penchant for whisky lead to an inevitable tragedy that Judy must avenge.

When a down-and-out indie filmmaker learns he needs an A-List actor for his impending studio pitch, he coerces his estranged father into an outback road trip to find an elusive movie star.

In 1893, heavily pregnant Molly Johnson and her children struggle in isolation to survive the harsh Australian landscape after her husband left to go droving sheep in the high country. One day, she finds a shackled Aboriginal fugitive named Yakada wounded on her property. As an unlikely bond begins to form between them he reveals secrets about her true identity. Realizing Molly’s husband is actually missing, new town lawman Nate Clintoff starts being suspicious and sends his constable to investigate.

A widowed father has to deal with two complex issues: while he is searching for "Miss Right," his son, who is in his 20s and gay, is searching for "Mr. Right."

In the Australian town of Upson Downs, ten-year-old Annie and Runt, her stray dog, attempt to win the Agility Course Championship at the Krumpets Dog Show in London in order to save their family's farm from drought and misery.

Like many teens, Kim, a non binary fifteen year old, is overwhelmed by digital noise, constantly called back to bouts of scrolling by the pings of their phone – until a claw rips through their bedroom and drags them off to a kaleidoscopic otherworld. There, a sardonic alien dog called Jeff sets Kim on a cryptic quest for freedom: to travel to five islands over the course of 24 hours. Guided by Aboriginal Elders and crossing surreal, symbolic realms – a sentient library, a battlefield of ideologies and an ocean of memories – Kim confronts their fears and addictions. From rune-wielding Viking chefs to fascist pirates and a cyborg shaman, each encounter unveils deeper truths about nature, time and spirit.

Keeping the position of number one son requires a certain amount of ingenuity. Twelve year old Greg has inherited his father's competitive streak. On a family holiday to Fiji they have different ideas about where Greg should focus his talents. When his creative pursuits fail to amuse his father Greg goes to bizarre lengths to win him back.

In the Sahara desert, a sandstorm batters a deserted drilling station. A security patrolman battles through the high winds to investigate why all contact with the station has been lost. Originally built for gas exploration, and then abandoned, the site had recently been taken over by a multi-national research team intent on drilling deeper into the earth’s crust than ever before.

Various ghosts celebrate being freed from their confines after 95 years. However, not all of them are happy. One of them in particular harbors hatred towards a particularly famous ghost.

An evil lysergic witch is summoned after Ricky "The Acid King" sacrifices his friend to Satan.

Viktor Kahdem is a man who has almost given up on life, sentenced to a low-security prison farm, a completely non-threatening environment where it is still felt that some individuals can be reformed. At Won Wron, Case Worker Matt Perry has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men through giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured raptors - beautiful, fearsome proud eagles, falcons and owls. Against all odds, Matt takes on Viktor as his number one test case, introducing him to Yasmine, the majestic wedge tailed eagle with a 2 metre wingspan. If these two can tame each other, anything is possible.

In the early 1920s, a Kansas woman finds her life forever changed when she accompanies a young dancer on her fame-seeking journey to New York City.

Billy is a boy who is trying to save a baby kangaroo called Joey when it is caught and taken to Sydney. Linda, the young daughter of the U.S. Ambassador is helping Billy in his task.

Pellegrini's Espresso Bar is a testament to the enduring power of community, tradition, and love. This documentary explores the cafe's rich history, its cultural impact, and the profound legacy of its beloved figure, Sisto Malaspina.

Carlos has failed in show-biz and currently works as a waiter in a Mexican restaurant. There he meets Alex and dumb footballer Bruce celebrating their engagement with her parents. Alex' father is less than thrilled of her fiancée and says he'd rather accept anybody else. Eventually Alex hires Carlos to present him as her new fiancée.

A couple move to Sydney from Melbourne, and soon become lured by the bright lights of the big city. Colin, the scriptwriter husband, is corrupted by his editor and then falls for the girlfriend of his writing partner, while Colin's wife Kate begins to lose sight of her ideals in a new world of hustlers and cynics.

A story based on true events about two explorers on a doomed journey trying to cross Australia on foot in the 19 century.

After surviving a car accident, a young man finds himself trapped in the isolated town of Paris, where the local economy depends on deliberately causing crashes and salvaging the wreckage. As he becomes entangled in the town’s routines, tensions between its residents and a rebellious group of youths begin to surface.

When Jarah loses her husband, her child, her land and her innocence she embarks on a brutal journey of of retribution and revenge that transforms into redemption and reconciliation.

A man (Richard Roxburgh) the Australian government blames for 1990s political woes blames his mother (Judy Davis), a communist Stalin seduced in 1951.

Alice Springs is the scene of an enchanting date with destiny. Great planetary forces are at work, drawing people to a total eclipse of the sun - An unorthodox hero seeking the love of his life, a central Australian tour gone wrong, a young romantic lost in the desert, a rogue road train and a young woman having fantasies about killing her drop-kick of a husband...

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.

Disgrace is the story of a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his good looks, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his cherished daughter. After having an affair with a student, he moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.

David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.

When the promise of living in a perfect digital world traps the citizens of Sanctuary City online, Combat Wombat and Sweetie must return to save the day and kick some wom-butt!

A lawyer becomes a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property, his boat, is struck by lightning and destroyed he is denied insurance money because it was “an act of God”. He re-registers as a lawyer and sues the insurance company and, as God’s representative, The Church.

The Bank, a world ripe with avarice and corruption, where O'Reilly and his ilk can thrive and honest Aussie battlers lose everything. Enter Jim Doyle a maverick mathematician who has devised a formula to predict the fluctuations of the stock market. When he joins O'Reilly's fold, he must first prove his loyalty to the "greed is good" ethos. Which way will he go? What does he have to hide?

Placid Lake has always been different. As an odd fish in a sea of mediocrity, his brilliant ideas are bound to get him into more trouble than success. So when he finds himself flying off the school roof and breaking every bone in his body on graduation night, Placid decides to make a bid for the elusive normal life. To his parents' horror, he gets a normal job.

When Jessie's estranged friend from Sydney spontaneously arrives in Melbourne, they spend a weekend together to distract themselves from their many problems and their existential dread. FWENDS is a celebration of the power of friendship and an ode to the splendiferous messiness of growing up and, maybe, growing apart.

A Serbian ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend's older brother.

An illicit affair with a politician's daughter leads a young man on a city wide search for the perfect condom.

Albert Einstein is the son of a Tasmanian apple farmer, who discovers the secret of splitting the beer atom to put the bubbles back into beer. When Albert travels to Sydney to patent his invention he meets beatuiful French scientist Marie Curie, as well as several unscrupulous types who try to take advantage of the naive genius and his invention.

This is the story of teenage girl Steph, who is brought up by her fiery aunt Jude after her pregnant mother Jass and Vietnamese father are killed in a car crash. The arrival of her late mother's diary reveals the colorful, sexy secrets of Jude and the foreman Alan that allow Steph to reinvent her vision of the world.

Produced and directed by Walt Missingham who, in 1983, became the first non-Chinese to practice Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple, this authoritative and informative programme uses rarely seen archive footage to trace both the history of martial arts and the phenomenal impact Bruce Lee had on this culture. Narrated by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler.

When an unbearably adorable, eternally optimistic Quokka named Daisy wants to achieve the impossible – to win the annual ‘World’s Scariest Animal’ championship, she enlists the guidance of a washed-up, former champion, a grouchy Saltwater Crocodile, to help her achieve her dreams and prove that champions can come in all sizes.

Power, invincibility and immortality are just some of the things desired by those who wish to "rule the world". Allowing this to corrupt, is what leads to one taking the path of darkness, from which there is no return... such is the story of TANTRICA

Living in London, at the peak of her career, a mother of three is diagnosed with MS. Following the sudden death of her husband and the loss of her job, she moves back home to Australia; where a chance encounter with her high school sweetheart gives her renewed hope in love as she battles the disease.