Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles in the ‘Drama’ genre

407 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next

D (continued)

Dirty Deeds feature film – 2002

A photograph from the 1960s of a prominent Sydney criminal pig-shooting with two American mafiosi helped inspire this drama.

Division 4 – The Return of John Kelso television program – 1971

This superb hour of drama was Division 4’s most awarded individual episode. It sustains a mood of simmering tension and the supporting cast deliver deliciously malicious performances.

The Djarn Djarns short film – 2005

The Djarn Djarns is a comedy-drama very much suited for young people. It is a dance film with a sports feel, so culture and sport are not in competition.

Dogs in Space feature film – 1986

Inner-city Melbourne, 1978. Aspiring rock singer Sam and his girlfriend Anna live in a crowded share house. The party atmosphere is shattered by tragedy.

Dogwatch feature film – 1997

This film could almost pass as a 1940s Hollywood studio thriller starring Humphrey Bogart.

Don’t Blame the Koalas - Episode 1, Fate Steps In television program – 2002

Gregory has placed magnets in his shoes and hat so that he won’t fall into outer space when he gets to Australia.

The Dunera Boys – Episode 2 television program – 1985

German Jews who had fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution were then interned as 'enemy aliens’ in Australia and became known as the 'Dunera boys’.

The Dunera Boys – Episode 3 television program – 1985

Just who or what is a Jew is an important theme of this series. Private Dunstan’s response shows how sheltered Australia was from the maelstrom of Europe.

Dynasty – Have You Got the Numbers? television program – 1970

A drama series that revolves around the Mason family, owners of a media empire in the tradition of the real-life Packer and Murdoch clans.

E

East West 101 – The Enemy Within television program – 2007

A simmering vision of western Sydney and consistently powerful performances define this cop-show take on the fault lines of a post 9/11 world.

Edens Lost television program – 1988

A beautiful woman’s obsession with one man damages the lives of all around her.

Elephant Tales feature film – 2006

Elephant Tales tells the story of two orphaned elephant brothers Zef and Tutu and their search for a new future.

The Enemy Within feature film – 1918

Snowy Baker stars as a secret agent who smashes a ring of German spies in Sydney during the First World War.

Epsilon feature film – 1995

Rolf de Heer combines extraordinary time lapse photography with a drama that argues that the human race is killing the planet.

Erskineville Kings feature film – 1999

This was Hugh Jackman’s first film role, before he had established himself as a star of musical theatre, and he gives a fine performance in a difficult role.

Eureka Stockade feature film – 1949

In 1854, miners in the Ballarat goldfields take up arms against government troops in a defining moment of Australian history.

Everynight… Everynight feature film – 1994

A new prisoner refuses to submit to frequent bashings by prison officers in the notorious H Division of Pentridge prison in Melbourne.

Evil Angels feature film – 1988

Evil Angels is a highlight of ‘80s Australian cinema but did not perform as well locally as it deserved, perhaps because it presents the dark side of the easygoing ‘g’day mate’ nation.

The Exploits of the Emden feature film – 1928

A reconstruction of Ken G Hall’s composite film about the destruction of the German warship Emden in November 1914.

The Eye of the Storm feature film – 2011

The expatriate, grown children of an ill Sydney matriarch return to her bedside with more than love on their minds.

F

Face to Face feature film – 2011

A group of colleagues meet to decide the fate of a sacked co-worker facing jail.

The Fairytale Police Department – Black Day for Snow White television program – 2002

Crimes committed in Fairytale land mean the world’s best-known fairy tales won’t end the way they should. Combines genres of fairytale and detective television.

Father feature film – 1989

Elderly widower Joseph Mueller is accused of being a war criminal by Holocaust survivor Iya Zetnick.

Feeling Sexy short feature – 1998

A young woman struggles to maintain her creativity within the confines of her new marriage and motherhood.

Fergus McPhail – Double Trouble television program – 2004

The hapless Fergus, who is probably the biggest dag around, is trying to be cool as he attempts to settle into his new life. Of course all does not go to plan.

The Final Winter feature film – 2007

Matt Nable drew on his rugby league career to write the script but it was his natural skill as an actor that scored him a Hollywood gig.

The Finished People feature film – 2003

This ultra-low budget feature cuts between three stories of disadvantaged young people struggling to survive on the streets of Cabramatta.

The FJ Holden feature film – 1977

When The FJ Holden premiered at the Chullora Drive-in in 1977, anyone driving an FJ or FX Holden got in free.

Flat short film – 2002

A short drama about the day in a life of a young teenager. Marnie lives in a housing commission estate and captures Alice Springs through a video camera given to her by her mostly absent father.

Floating Life feature film – 1996

Being a new migrant is portrayed with amazing freshness, perhaps because the film’s key creators had not been in Australia for long.

Flowergirl short film – 1999

Cate Shortland brings her distinctive visual sensibility and mood-oriented storytelling to a tale of cross-cultural experience, departure and unrequited love.

The Flying Doctors – Public Property television program – 1986

The Flying Doctors is a drama series set in the fictional town of Coopers Crossing and based on the work and lives of the men and women of the outback medical service.

Footy Legends feature film – 2006

Anh Do, best known as a stand-up comedian, gives a heartbreakingly real performance as a man of limited education trying to keep his family together, and get back into the economic mainstream.

A Fortunate Life television program – 1985

While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.

Forty Thousand Horsemen feature film – 1940

Chauvel introduced a very young and fresh-faced Chips Rafferty, who modelled his performance in part on the comical digger created by Pat Hanna in Diggers (1931).

The Fourth Wish television program – 1974

An obstinate single father struggles to grant his terminally ill son three wishes.

Fran feature film – 1985

A vivacious young mother is married to a violent man. Her desperate need for love leads her to some tragically inappropriate choices.

The Fringe Dwellers feature film – 1986

This film has an Aboriginal ensemble cast, but a narrative based on a Western woman’s experience of an Aboriginal community.

From Sand to Celluloid – Black Man Down short film – 1996

This short experimental drama offers a spiritual alternative to fighting the system. To overcome injustice, return to your spiritual roots for healing to take place.

From Sand to Celluloid – No Way to Forget short film – 1996

Writer-director Richard J Frankland drew on his experience as a field officer for the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody to compose this story.

From Sand to Celluloid – Payback short film – 1996

Payback, a black-and-white short about the Western and Indigenous legal systems, is one of Warwick Thornton’s earliest dramatic works.

G

Gallipoli feature film – 1981

Gallipoli remains one of the most loved of all Australian films. It’s one of Weir’s most nakedly emotional films and one of his most poetic.

The Genie From Down Under – It’s my Opal … (and I’ll cry if I want to) television program – 1995

This episode shifts the action to Australia and introduces ‘the tour guide from hell’ and his sneaky nephew, both in pursuit of a magical opal.

The Getting of Wisdom feature film – 1978

The affair between two school girls was only hinted at in Henry Handel Richardson’s 1910 novel, but lesbian overtones are obvious in the film.

A Girl’s Own Story short film – 1983

In this short film by Jane Campion about changes afoot in 1960s society, teenage girls get in trouble for acting out Beatles concerts in the playground.

The Goddess of 1967 feature film – 2000

The Goddess of 1967 is a love story that’s made more powerful by its ambiguity and its lack of conventional storytelling.

Going Down feature film – 1983

Four women friends leave behind the feral days of youth after a night of uncontrolled excess in inner-city Sydney during the early 1980s.

The Golden Cage feature film – 1975

Murat and Ayhan are Turkish migrants living in Sydney. Ayhan falls in love with Sarah, but religious and cultural differences create problems.

Good Guys Bad Guys – Car Wars television program – 1998

A crime series set in a drycleaners.

G.P. – Toss a Coin television program – 1989

G.P. is a medical drama that looks at topical social issues.

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