All titles in the ‘Biography’ genre
113 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 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
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.
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.
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 – c1973
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.
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.
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.
Crystal Voyager documentary – 1973
George Greenough, who helped revolutionise surfboard design in the 1960s, is inspired by the shape of marlin and other fish.
D
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.
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.
Dynasties – The Murdochs television program – 2001
A portrait of a very close-knit family. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is the last of the world’s great media empires controlled by a family dynasty.
Dynasties – The Rose Family television program – 2003
Leading Collingwood AFL player Bob Rose combined the will to win with a great humility, qualities rarely found today in our top sportspeople.
E
Eternity documentary – 1994
Cinematographer Dion Beebe has beautifully recreated 1930s Sydney here — and about 10 years later won an Oscar.
F
Feeling Sexy short feature – 1998
A young woman struggles to maintain her creativity within the confines of her new marriage and motherhood.
Forbidden Lie$ documentary – 2007
Do you want the truth or what I said?’- a real-life thriller about author Norma Khouri’s defence against claims that Forbidden Love is a fraud.
Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History documentary – 2004
An excellent look at the man who produced some of Australia’s first documentaries, and some of our most iconic images.
Frontline documentary – 1979
Combat cameraman and correspondent, Neil Davis worked at the extreme front-line, capturing memorable images of the Vietnam war, taken under fire.
Funny by George: The George Wallace Story documentary – 1999
An untrained actor with a talent for stand up comedy, George Wallace’s first job was with Happy Harry Salmon’s travelling show.
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George Dreyfus: A Portrait documentary – 1984
Composer George Dreyfus marks this portrait with his own whimsical style, showing how lively biography can be when the subject is prepared to satirise himself.
Gillies documentary – 1987
Max Gillies, probably best know for his portrayal of Bob Hawke, feels more confident and secure when he creates a character to hide behind.
Girl in a Mirror: A Portrait of Carol Jerrems documentary – 2005
Carol Jerrems, who photographed Melbourne subcultures in the 1970s, unsentimentally documents her own decline from terminal illness polycythemia.
God’s Girls: Stories from an Australian Convent documentary – 1992
The Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy give full access to the filmmakers to explore and question those who choose a relegious life.
The Good Looker documentary – 1995
Joy Hester’s emotionally disturbing and challenging work mainly deals with the relationships between men and women. Her genius is now gaining wider recognition.
Green Tea and Cherry Ripe documentary – 1989
In the bingo halls and poker machine clubs, Japanese ‘war bride’ Chiaki has found a way to become a 'dinky-di’ Australian.
