Australian Screen

Australia’s audiovisual heritage online

All titles in the ‘Biography’ genre

164 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next

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The 1930s Golden Era of Australian Movies: A Tribute to Ken G Hall AO OBE documentary – 1988

Two of Ken G Hall’s basic rules were that films had to have a memorable title and a strong story climax.

A

Ada short film – 2001

Set in a domestic dining room in Sydney in the mid-1950s, the main focus of this autobiographical short film is the relationship between Ada and her granddaughter.

An Airman Remembers television program – 1964

This early ABC documentary is about Sir Gordon Taylor, a fighter ace in the First World War and one of the pioneers of aviation in Australia.

Al Daff documentary – 1975

This straightforward interview with a powerful Hollywood executive contains wisdom about filmmaking that is timeless.

Alicia documentary – 1996

Alicia and her parents believe the family’s collective faith aided her recovery from a brain injury sustained in a car accident.

All About Olive documentary – 2004

Filmmaker Mike Rubbo takes 105 year-old Olive Riley back to her childhood home in Broken Hill, western NSW, to talk about her life.

Always a Visitor documentary – 2000

The Turkish-Australian Muslim Kuranda Seyit remembers what it was like to be a migrant at school, caught between two cultures.

Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God documentary – 1974

Gaudi’s belief that his artistic work was a form of spirituality has led some Spaniards to ask that he be canonized.

Arthur Boyd: Figures in the Landscape documentary – 1985

Arthur Boyd shows how he uses his fingers and the palm of his hand to paint, allowing him to 'feel his way through the painting’.

Arthur Boyd: Testament of a Painter documentary – 1994

Boyd’s habit of making people and objects float in his landscapes has earned him the title of an 'antipodean Marc Chagall’.

Astonish Me, Graeme Murphy Choreographer documentary – 1989

Dancer Graeme Murphy remembers the anxiety he felt about partnering, particularly in a pas de deux, because of his small stature.

Australia Today – Antarctic Pioneers documentary – 1963

Photographer Frank Hurley discusses his Antarctic exploits in his last appearance on film.

Australian Story – With This Ring television program – 2005

Australian Story revisits remarkable couple the Shanns, two years after Gayle became entangled in a drilling machine on their property.

B

Bastards from the Bush, A Journey with Bob Ellis and Les Murray documentary – 1998

The ridicule poet Les Murray experienced at school, contributed to a nervous breakdown 30 years later, he says.

Beautiful Lies: A Film About Peter Carey documentary – 1986

This documentary explores the relationship between Australian novelist Peter Carey and his country.

Beneath Hill 60 feature film – 2010

During the First World War, a Queensland miner learns the true cost of war when he leads Australians in a project to tunnel beneath enemy lines to plant explosives.

Betelnut Bisnis documentary – 2004

Betelnut is the fourth most consumed legal substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine.

Betty Pounder documentary – 1988

Being successful in theatre, says dancer Betty Pounder, requires passion, and that may have to come at the expense of family.

Billal documentary – 1996

Skilled documentarian, Tom Zubrycki, set out to make a film about young Lebanese-Australians in Sydney but had to change tack.

Billy and Percy television program – 1974

Based on the diaries of Percy Deane, private secretary of Prime Minister WM Hughes during the conscription debates of the First World War.

The Black Swan: Meryl Tankard Choreographer documentary – 1995

Meryl Tankard was on a high at the Australian Dance Theatre in this 1995 documentary; the controversial dispute was later.

Bodyline television program – 1984

This mini-series recreates the 1932-33 cricket test series that threatened ties between Australia and England and changed cricket forever.

Bra Boys documentary – 2007

This first-hand look at localism and tribalism, identity and belonging, is set deep within Maroubra’s surf culture.

The Bradman Era documentary – 1982

The documentary intercuts archival footage with former test cricketer Bill O’Reilly’s recollections of Don Bradman and notable 1930s test matches.

Bran Nue Dae documentary – 1991

There’s nothing I would rather be than to be an Aborigine’ is probably the most famous line from the successful stage musical.

The Breaker documentary – 1973

The Breaker reveals the details of Henry 'Breaker’ Morant’s life before he went to the Boer War and was executed for murder.

A Breath documentary – 1998

Calligrapher Huang Miaozi and painter Yu Feng opposed the Japanese occupation of China through their art.

Brother short film – 1999

The biography of a brother, his cigarette butts, asthma and head lice.

Brothers and Sisters documentary – 1997

Actor Rachael Maza and her sister are among the people featured in this look at sibling behaviour.

C

Case 442 documentary – 2005

Case 442 is a personal testimonial to the effects of Aboriginal child removal policies, and the lifelong consequences it has had upon people who have endured being separated from their families and communities.

Celebrity: Dominick Dunne documentary – 2008

An Australian-made documentary about celebrated crime reporter, novelist and Hollywood movie producer Dominick Dunne.

Children of the Silk Road feature film – 2007

A love story set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of China prior to the Second World War.

Chinese Take Away documentary – 2002

An adaptation of a physical theatre show by performer Anna Yen, which explores stories about her family.

Clifton Pugh documentary – 1988

This landscape painter says painting an amalgam of his surroundings is more authentic than taking a 'myopic view’.

Conrad Martens documentary – 1978

Conrad Martens, whose watercolours are a valuable record of colonial Sydney, is reputed to be its first successful artist.

Cousin short film – 1998

The biography of a cousin, his special arm, pet rocks and shopping trolley.

Crystal Voyager documentary – 1973

George Greenough, who helped revolutionise surfboard design in the 1960s, is inspired by the shape of marlin and other fish.

Curtin television program – 2007

The Curtin telemovie is like a skilfully painted miniature: small in size and scope but, on closer examination, high on well-researched detail.

D

Dad’s Clock short film – 2001

This stop-motion animation short film celebrates the life of the animator’s late father.

Dance of Nature: The Music of Ross Edwards documentary – 1995

Interesting points on the effect nature has on creativity are raised in this documentary about composer Ross Edwards.

The Daylight Moon: A Portrait of the Poet Les Murray documentary – 1991

World-renowned Australian poet Les Murray reflects on his life and work.

Deadly Yarns 2 – Frankie’s Story short film – 2006

A young boy excluded from a school trip to the fire station brings the fire trucks to him.

Deadly Yarns – Don’t Say Sorry short film – 2004

In this short documentary Christine Jacobs describes how she overcame the pain of being a child of the stolen generations.

Demons at Drivetime documentary – 1995

A day-in-the-life-of shock jocks Howard Sattler, Bob Francis, Alan Jones, Ron Casey, Brian Wiltshire and Stan Zemanek.

Desert Walker: Gulf to Gulf documentary – 1985

The Flying Doctor base helped Denis Bartell when he became the first white man to walk across Australia from north to south.

Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky documentary – 2001

Vaslav Nijinsky, from Russia, was widely considered the most talented male dancer of the 20th century.

Difficult Pleasure: A Portrait of Brett Whiteley documentary – 1989

Artist Brett Whiteley says many 'gifted people shipwreck’ ; he died from a drug overdose three years later.

Dig A Million, Make A Million television program – 1968

Lang Hancock, nicknamed ‘the flying prospector’ for aerial prospecting with his naked eye, and Peter Wright find Australia’s richest iron ore deposit.

Don Bradman in England newsreel – 1930

Don Bradman is interviewed in 1930. This informal interview also gives him the chance to effectively demonstrate his batting technique.

Dreamtime, Machinetime documentary – 1987

There are strict rules about who can and can’t tell certain stories in indigenous culture, these distinguished artists reveal.

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