All titles in the ‘Romance’ genre
53 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1900s
The Hand of the Artist short film – 1906
The artist’s hand gives a young man and woman a number of options for romance. This English short film was used by the Corrick family entertainers in their performances.
1910s
The Man from Kangaroo feature film – 1919
John Harland, a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.
1920s
Sunshine Sally feature film – 1922
The working-class Sally falls in love with the adopted son of wealthy parents from whom she was kidnapped as a child.
Those Who Love feature film – 1926
Barry Manton marries Lola Quayle, a dancer from a humble background. Lola faces an uphill battle for acceptance from Barry’s wealthy parents.
The Far Paradise feature film – 1928
Despite their love for each other, family loyalties keep Cherry Carson and Peter Lawton apart until Cherry learns the truth about her father’s past.
The Cheaters (silent) feature film – 1929
Paula Marsh decides to end her career as a thief after falling in love with Lee Travers, son of a wealthy businessman.
1930s
The Cheaters (sound version) feature film – 1931
Paula Marsh decides to end her career as a thief after falling in love with Lee Travers, son of a wealthy businessman.
1940s
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.
1960s
Clay feature film – 1965
Nick, a killer on the run from the police, takes shelter in an isolated artists’ colony. He falls in love with Margot, a sculptress.
1970s
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.
Sunstruck feature film – 1972
Welsh schoolteacher Stanley Evans takes a posting in Kookaburra Springs, a tiny outback town. He forms a children’s choir which travels to Sydney for a national competition.
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.
The Sullivans – On the Brink of War television program – 1976
The first four episodes of the long-running hit series cover the period leading up to the declaration of the Second World War in Australia on 3 September 1939.
Ride On Stranger television program – 1979
Bookworm Shannon Jones heads for the Harbour City to learn about life, love and politics in the 1930s.
1980s
Lucinda Brayford television program – 1980
Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Carol Burns and Barry Quin feature in the saga of an Australian heiress who marries into British aristocracy.
A Town Like Alice television program – 1980
This mini-series, based on the novel by Nevil Shute, tells an epic love story that begins in Malaya during the Japanese occupation of 1941–45.
Lonely Hearts feature film – 1981
Comedian and satirist John Clarke wrote this film with Paul Cox: no wonder it is full of bright impish humour.
1915 television program – 1982
The television series 1915 cleverly uses First World War historical footage and successfully moves between the action at the front and events at home in Australia.
All the Rivers Run television program – 1983
This program won a swag of awards and has arguably been watched by more people, more often, than any other Australian mini-series of the prolific ’80s.
Mail Order Bride television program – 1984
A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.
The Coca-Cola Kid feature film – 1985
The Coca–Cola company sends its top trouble shooter to boost sales in Australia. He plans to win customers away from a much loved, old-style soft-drink maker.
Palace of Dreams television program – 1985
In this acclaimed drama series, an aspiring writer arrives in Sydney from the country during the turbulent and desperate times of the Great Depression.
Playing Beatie Bow feature film – 1985
Playing Beatie Bow has the sumptuous look and feel of a period film, thanks to its award-winning cinematography and production design.
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.
The Shiralee television program – 1987
This miniseries was made during the golden decade of television drama. Its magic lies in the chemistry of Bryan Brown and Rebecca Smart.
The Time Guardian feature film – 1987
The Time Guardian is one of the great missed opportunities of Australian cinema and symbolic of its wavering fortunes in the 1980s.
The Dirtwater Dynasty television program – 1988
In this 1980s epic production from the Kennedy Miller stable, Richard Eastwick, born in a London slum, dreams of establishing a family dynasty.
Come In Spinner television program – 1989
Lisa Harrow, Kerry Armstrong and Rebecca Gibney feature in the story of three very different women in wartime.The series won a slew of AFI awards.
1990s
Flirting feature film – 1990
In 1965 a rebellious private schoolboy finds his romantic soulmate in an African pupil from the neighbouring girls’ school.
Strictly Ballroom feature film – 1992
Strictly Ballroom is one of the most popular Australian films ever made. The story may be nothing new but the execution is so colourful and eccentric it hardly matters.
Metal Skin feature film – 1994
Social misfit Joe is befriended by the cool and confident Dazey. Their shared passion for drag racing leads to conflict and tragedy.
Romeo + Juliet feature film – 1996
Baz Luhrmann’s radical update of Romeo + Juliet boldly shattered conventional wisdom that said Shakespeare as he wrote it would never appeal to a mass audience.
Oscar and Lucinda feature film – 1997
Drawn together by a passion for gambling, Anglican priest Oscar Hopkins and Australian heiress Lucinda Leplastrier agree on a wager with life-changing consequences.
Thank God He Met Lizzie feature film – 1997
This romantic comedy helped launch Cate Blanchett’s cinema career. It intercuts two stories to create a very satisfying contemplation on romantic love and commitment.
Feeling Sexy short feature – 1998
A young woman struggles to maintain her creativity within the confines of her new marriage and motherhood.
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.
2000s
Innocence feature film – 2000
Innocence depicts an adulterous romance with a difference – the lovers are retirees, rekindling the flames of their intense youthful relationship.
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand feature film – 2001
An aspiring writer moves between share households in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Moulin Rouge! feature film – 2001
Moulin Rouge! was a risky venture for director Baz Luhrmann but is a tour de force of imagination and appropriation.
My Brother Jack television program – 2001
This acclaimed mini-series is based on the classic Australian novel, a record of the changing social mores of the restless time between the First and Second World Wars.
Redfern Beach short film – 2001
Redfern Beach is a love story between two people from different cultural backgrounds, set in a fish-processing factory.
The Summer of 77 short film – 2001
In this live action-animated short, a newly single woman runs into a former teenage crush and relives the summer they met.
Turn Around short film – 2002
Director Samantha Saunders refers to her film as a 'girl fantasy’ and it is refreshing to have an all-Indigenous cast in a romantic comedy.
Love Tricycle short film – 2003
Love Tricycle is like Grease with bicycles instead of people, complete with a high school, a love affair and a showdown between rivals on the racetrack.
Loved Up – Lore of Love documentary – 2005
This film about people in love is a refreshing break from the usual heavy-handed anthropological treatment of Indigenous subjects.
Sa Black Thing short film – 2005
This romantic comedy explores the role that cultural values play in the romance between two Indigenous characters.
Candy feature film – 2006
Candy is a beautifully controlled film with an intense sensuality preceding an equally intense descent into grief and regret.
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.
Death Defying Acts feature film – 2007
Filmmakers often tell imagined stories to explore a famous figure or incident and this love story involving Harry Houdini in 1926 is a good example.
Unfinished Sky feature film – 2007
The same Dutch actor plays the lead role in this Australian remake of a Dutch film, and the original.
Australia feature film – 2008
Three outsiders – an aristocrat, a stockman and a vulnerable child – are set against the malevolent forces of greedy neighbours, a world war and assimilationist policy.
Bright Star feature film – 2009
A chronicle of the platonic love affair between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne in early nineteenth century England.
