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

G (continued)

Green Bush short film – 2005

Warwick Thornton began his film career as a cinematographer and moved into directing and writing. In Green Bush, his visual aesthetic complements his storytelling strengths.

Greetings from Wollongong short feature – 1982

Writer-director Mary Callaghan’s film provides an insight into the creativity and friendships that give meaning to an otherwise desperate existence.

Grievous Bodily Harm feature film – 1988

Movie critic David Stratton described Grievous Bodily Harm as 'one of the most satisfying thrillers made in Australia’.

H

H20: Just Add Water – Hocus Pocus television program – 2007

H2O: Just Add Water is about three teenagers facing everyday problems but with a twist – they become mermaids when in contact with water.

Halifax f.p. – Afraid of the Dark television program – 1997

A forensic psychiatrist finds she has to solve a petrol station shooting without getting too personally involved.

A Hard God television program – 1980

A Hard God, based on the play of the same name, is the story of a working-class Irish-Australian Catholic family in Sydney in the 1940s.

The Hard Word feature film – 2002

The Hard Word is both a comical crime fable and a story of brotherly love, an unusual mix of elements.

Harp in the South television program – 1986

The ‘harp in the south’ refers to Irish immigrants in Australia. A mini-series, based on Ruth Park’s book, follows the Darcys in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Harry’s War short film – 2000

Richard Frankland, writer and director of the short drama Harry’s War, is from the third generation of Indigenous men to have served in the Australian army.

Harvie Krumpet short film – 2003

Adam Elliot combines darkness and humour, tragedy and triumph, Alzheimer’s and living life to the full, so that we may learn more about what it means to be human.

Hayride to Hell short film – 1995

This short film featuring Kylie Minogue is part rock’n'roll moment, part homage to the mysteries and mood of film noir.

Head On feature film – 1998

In terms of iconoclastic daring, Head On has no equal in Australian cinema. It broke so many rules, offended so many polite conventions, attacked so many silences, that it left audiences stunned and gulping for air.

Heartbreak High – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1993

Edgy, fast-paced drama starring a young Alex Dimitriades and set in a multicultural urban high school.

Heartbreak High – Series 7 Episode 210 television program – 1998

Stolen goods, lawn bowls and a séance feature in this final episode of the groundbreaking 1990s teen drama.

Heatwave feature film – 1982

An architect and an activist from opposing sides unite against a crooked developer.

Here I Am feature film – 2011

A young woman attempts to reconnect with her mother and daughter after her release from prison.

Heritage feature film – 1935

Heritage is a thunderous piece of endorsement for the pioneer mythology of Australia, made by the prolific Charles Chauvel.

The Hero of the Dardanelles feature film – 1915

Hero is the first surviving feature film depiction of Australian troops of the First World War and includes images of a real army camp and real soldiers, in training at Liverpool, NSW.

Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger feature film – 2007

Esther hates conformity but also needs to be part of a group, and it is this contradiction that gives the character complexity.

Hey Sista! short film – 2001

A coming of age story about a girl who just wants to play basketball … and have straight hair.

High Tide feature film – 1987

Judy Davis makes her deeply flawed character compelling and, without her in the role, audiences may have rejected the character.

Holly’s Heroes – Crunch Time television program – 2005

Focuses on the importance of attitudes and honour in sport, in the story of basketball-mad Holly who moves from New Zealand to Australia and starts her own team.

Holy Smoke feature film – 1999

Ruth Barron falls under the spell of a guru while visiting India. Her desperate family hires cult deprogrammer PJ Waters to confront Ruth.

The Home Song Stories feature film – 2007

The film succeeds on the basis of uniformly superb performances. Joan Chen’s Rose is a tour de force, perhaps the best role of an already distinguished international career.

Homicide – The Decimal Point television program – 1965

When Homicide first aired, Australian television drama, complete with Australian cops and accents, was a novelty on screen.

Homicide – The Friendly Fellow television program – 1973

This was star Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s favourite Homicide episode.

Homicide – The Superintendent television program – 1970

This extraordinary episode breaks away from many of the usual Homicide conventions and dispenses with the customary police investigation in record time.

I

I Can Jump Puddles television program – 1981

Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Alan Marshall, this story of struggle and courage has become a classic Australian tale.

Il Contratto feature film – 1953

In 1950s Melbourne, four recent Italian migrants eager for work to pay off their debts finally find employment on a rural farm near the city.

In a Savage Land feature film – 1999

Evelyn’s misadventures in the Trobriand Islands are in the foreground of this exploration of racism, colonialism and voyeurism set during the Second World War.

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant television program – 2004

An epic period adventure, full of swash and buckle, sweeping landscapes, high seas and romance.

Innocence feature film – 2000

Innocence depicts an adulterous romance with a difference – the lovers are retirees, rekindling the flames of their intense youthful relationship.

In Search of Anna feature film – 1978

This film has a restless energy and is part of a pre-professional maverick tradition that grew out of the experimental cinema of the 1970s.

In the Winter Dark feature film – 1998

There have been genre films that explored this kind of rural paranoia, but not so many that take the loneliness of the bush seriously as a cause of real mental trauma.

Into the Straight feature film – 1949

Australian horse breeder WJ Curzon hires British trainer Hugh Duncan and his playboy son Paul. Father and son are both attracted to JW’s daughter, June.

J

Jack and Jill: A Postscript feature film – 1970

Jack lives in a condemned house and rides with a bikie gang. Gillian, a kindergarten teacher from a middle-class family, is attracted to Jack.

The Jammed feature film – 2007

The Jammed (2007) is a rare kind of Australian film – a passionately committed thriller about a great wrong. It was shot on a low budget and struggled to find a cinema release until it was championed by critics.

Japanese Story feature film – 2003

An unexpected plot development in the middle of Japanese Story left audiences stunned and disbelieving — and occasionally hostile.

Jedda feature film – 1955

Jedda (1955) is probably Charles Chauvel’s best film, as well as his last. It is historic both for being the first colour feature film made in Australia, but more importantly, because it is arguably the first Australian film to take the emotional lives of Aboriginal people seriously.

Jewboy short feature – 2005

Jewboy was well received locally and internationally, screening at the Cannes Film Festival and winning three AFI awards.

Jindabyne feature film – 2006

Jindabyne is based on a 20-year-old short story by American Raymond Carver, but it’s been so well adapted to the Australian milieu that it feels home-grown.

Journey among Women feature film – 1977

Making this film in the 1970s became politically charged: should and could a male director make a meaningful film about women?

Just Out of Reach short feature – 1979

Brilliantly acted and shot, Just Out of Reach sits comfortably alongside other films produced during this rich and creative period of the Australian film industry.

K

The Killing of Angel Street feature film – 1981

This political thriller is loosely based on the disappearance of Sydney heiress and anti-development campaigner Juanita Nielsen.

L

Lantana feature film – 2001

Lantana is distinctly different to most contemporary Australian films: sparser, darker and more emotionally mysterious.

La Spagnola feature film – 2001

The men here are little better than beasts, and into sex without responsibility; the women are crafty, creative and capable of malice.

Last Breakfast in Paradise short feature – 1982

Even in 1982 Last Breakfast in Paradise was one of a very few dramas of any length which had been directed by a woman.

The Last Days of Chez Nous feature film – 1992

The Last Days of Chez Nous was one of the most interesting films of the early 1990s.

The Last of the Knucklemen feature film – 1979

Near the remote town of Andamooka a group of opal miners work for Tarzan, a tough foreman known as ‘the last of the knucklemen’ for his fighting abilities.

Last Ride feature film – 2009

On the run in rural South Australia, a former convict and his 10-year-old son get to know each other for the first and last time.

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