All short films
128 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
G (continued)
Green Bush 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.
H
The Hand of the Artist 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.
Harry’s War 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 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 1995
This short film featuring Kylie Minogue is part rock’n'roll moment, part homage to the mysteries and mood of film noir.
Hello 2003
In this beautifully realised short film, animated characters communicate using music and recorded sound.
Hot to Trot 1977
A cartoon adventure featuring Captain Goodvibes, the pig of steel, and his sidekick Astro.
I
Indefinable Moods 2001
This short animation by artist Kathy Smith is a surreal Australian dream landscape with music.
The Instructional Guide to Dating 2005
This short film contains in-flight instructions for dating success.
It’s Like That 2003
A haunting animated documentary depicting the sadness of refugee children held in captivity in Australia.
L
La Poule aux Oeufs d’Or 1905
A fable of wealth and greed leads to disaster for a farmer and his wife. The Corrick family entertainers incorporated this early French film into their touring show.
Letters From Poland 1978
While the plight of migrant women was a pillar issue for 1970s and 1980s Australian feminism, this film’s approach to the issue is very much focused on the individual.
Leunig Animated – How Democracy Actually Works 2001
This animated short based on the cartoons of Michael Leunig offers a fresh look at democracy and elections.
Living with Happiness 2001
Living with Happiness is a short animation about our inability to embrace happiness without worrying about its demise.
Looking for Horses 2001
A stop-motion short about two sisters’ holiday illusions and family revelations.
Love Tricycle 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.
The Luminary 2005
In this animated short without dialogue, a moth collector searches for a lost moth and more.
M
The Mad Century 2000
All you ever wanted to know about the 20th century according to cartoonist Bruce Petty.
Magical Powers 1936
The idea behind Magical Powers was to show the audience some of the illusions and simple tricks that can be created with a moving image camera.
Maidens 1978
Almost four years in the making, Maidens sparked impassioned debate and became compulsory viewing in women and film courses around the country.
The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet 1989
A whimsical, animated tale of music and romance, narrated by Ruth Cracknell and set amidst the Great Maitland Flood of 1955.
Mimi 2002
Warwick Thornton’s satirical short film stars Sophie Lee and Aaron Pedersen and pokes fun at white art collectors who purchase Indigenous art purely for its investment value.
Mother Tongue 2002
Set in Korea in 1976, this haunting film conveys how a young girl’s relationship with her parents is altered by the loss of her mother tongue.
My Mother Told Me 2007
A fragmentary account of the horrors of war in Cambodia evolves into an exploration of its aftershocks in a family and the impact of cultural dislocation on identity.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello 2005
The film evokes an aura of mystery from the outset and is a superb example of how animation at its best can create a magical imaginary, yet convincing, world.
N
The New Car 1953
An ambitious amateur production, most of which is set in the early 1900s, the film was shot on location at an historic homestead in Morphettville, South Australia.
Nice Coloured Girls 1987
The tongue-in-cheek title of Tracey Moffatt’s first film positions Aboriginal women as naïve and 'nice’ but these are merely roles played by the women.
Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy 1989
Tracey Moffatt continues to challenge the social construction of Aboriginality and how it is viewed nationally and internationally. Night Cries is a possible sequel to Jedda.
O
P
Palermo: ‘History’ Standing Still 2004
Images of architecture and street life shot in Palermo in 1999 are edited as a mock-documentary to suggest a century of history, and to examine issues of authenticity in the period film.
Paper City Architects 2006
A stunning, Manhattan-esque metropolis made of paper is the setting for this stop-motion tale of all-too-familiar bureaucratic frustration.
Passionless Moments 1983
Jane Campion’s student short film delivers funny, fragmentary tales with an unsentimental whimsy.
Pentuphouse 1998
This short film by Cate Shortland is a snapshot of a relationship in its last days.
Peter Nicholson Animations – Fraser’s Leadership Challenge 1974
An animated political cartoon by Peter Nicholson featuring Billy Snedden and Malcolm Fraser.
Peter Nicholson Animations – Gough’s World Tour 1974
An animated political cartoon by Peter Nicholson featuring Gough Whitlam, Joh Bjelke-Petersen and Bob Hawke.
The Piano Tuner 1960
Amateur filmmakers the Straford Brothers started making this comedy short to test their newly purchased 16mm Bolex camera.
Pianoforte 1984
A young woman who yearns to become a concert pianist is rescued from a sleazy cabaret by a mysterious cat burglar with whom she falls in love.
The Picture Woman 1997
Over a series of seemingly unrelated images, a woman speaks in voice-over of taking a photo of herself every other day.
Plains Empty 2005
Plains Empty functions as a metaphor for the whole Australian landscape, where the living characters are beset by the spirits of the past, and at no time is the past truly absent.
Pleasure Domes 1987
The first Australian animation to compete at Cannes, Pleasure Domes is a reflection on the inevitability of attaching associations to perceptions of landscape.
R
Redback 1995
In this playful animated short, a redback spider wreaks the ultimate humiliation on his male tormentor.
Road 2000
A film that emphasises the strangeness of the city, where a black fella has a hard time getting a cab, and more often than not, anything can happen.
S
Sa Black Thing 2005
This romantic comedy explores the role that cultural values play in the romance between two Indigenous characters.
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning 1999
The film offers few answers or a resolution and presents a possibility of characters trapped in an experience from which all are seeking liberation.
