Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘media’

46 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

A

Anthem: An Act of Sedition documentary – 2004

This ambitious work gives voice to everyday people affected by the ‘war on terror’ and Australia’s mandatory detention policies.

B

Backchat, Episode 216 television program – 1988

Backchat, presented by Tim Bowden for over eight years, was an opportunity for ABC viewers to vent their spleens or heap praise on Aunty.

Backchat, Episode 217 television program – 1988

For some, ABC’s religious programs are a welcome alternative to commercial broadcasts, while for others the ABC turns religion into a Marxist critique.

Balibo feature film – 2009

In 1975 an Australian journalist travels to East Timor in search of five Australian journalists rumoured to have been murdered by invading Indonesian forces.

Bit of Black Business – Days Like These short film – 2007

Days Like These is a day in the life of Dan, a young Aboriginal man trying to get ahead – but it seems the odds are stacked against him.

Blackrock feature film – 1996

Blackrock’s depiction of teenagers letting off steam with sex and drink and rock 'n’ roll is very dynamic because of the fluid camerawork, lively soundtrack and energetic choreography.

Breathing Under Water feature film – 1991

The director’s preoccupation with humankind’s tendency to self-destruct was one factor that lead to the creation of this complex film.

C

The Chaser’s War on Everything – APEC Episodes television program – 2007

The Chaser’s APEC episodes underscore the power of the unexpected in this type of comedy and the legal juggling act involved in bringing it to air on a weekly basis.

The Chaser’s War on Everything – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 2006

This is the first episode of the satirical variety program, containing comic pranks, commentary and send-ups responding to topical issues and more general subjects.

Cheap Blonde short film – 1998

A humorous experimental word game which examines gender representation and authorship in the cinema.

CNNNN: Chaser Non-stop News Network – Lunchgate television program – 2002

Finely tuned satire that gives sensationalist reportage a caning.

D

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.

D-Generation – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1985

While the D-Generation credits read like a who’s who of two decades’ worth of Australian comedy, at the time these comedians were unknowns.

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.

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

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.

F

Fast Forward – Series 4 Episode 3 television program – 1992

A sketch comedy show from the late 1980s and early ‘90s featuring some big names in Australian comedy.

Father feature film – 1989

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

Fear or Favour documentary – 1993

Chequebook journalism is one of the topics put under the spotlight when Iain Gillespie points the camera at his own kind.

First Australians – Episode 7, We Are No Longer Shadows documentary – 2008

The final episode of First Australians covers the period 1967–93 and Eddie Mabo’s fight for land rights.

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.

Four’s a Crowd documentary – 1957

Four’s a Crowd comically portrays four types of workers in the waterfront industry – Glass-arm Harry, Tiddly Pete, Nick-away Ned and Ron the Roaster.

Full Frontal – Series 3 Episode 4 television program – 1995

This sketch comedy series features early work from performers like Eric Bana and Shaun Micallef.

G

The Gillies Report – Series 1, Episode 4 television program – 1984

Max Gillies’ ability to capture the mannerisms of our politicians and Patrick Cook’s searingly funny scripts are this program’s great strengths.

Glued to the Telly documentary – 1995

Forty years of television broadcasting in Australia is presented in a self-conscious, ironic style.

Good Girls Do Swallow documentary – 2000

Dumb Idiotic Eating Trauma – Rachael Oakes-Ash takes a witty look at widespread dieting and its sometimes deadly consequences.

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.

K

Ken Howard Calls the Melbourne Cup radio – 1941

A 1941 recording of famous sports broadcaster Ken Howard calling the Melbourne Cup.

L

Lizzy Gardiner’s Story of the Fame Game documentary – 1997

Director and interviewer Lizzy Gardiner had her own taste of fame when she won the Best Costume Design Oscar for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

M

Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976

Mad Dog Morgan updates the bushranging movie conventions, by seeing Morgan as a modern media phenomenon.

Making Venus documentary – 2002

Making Venus records in exquisitely painful detail the worst that can happen when making an under-budgeted, ill-prepared film.

Media Watch – Series 11 Episode 18 television program – 1999

A weekly program that exposes the tricks journalists use. Every journalist loves the show until they are featured on it.

Media Watch – Series 9 Episode 1 television program – 1997

In this vintage Media Watch Story, presenter Stuart Littlemore thoroughly enjoys demolishing a couple of journalists from the Seven Network.

Message Stick – Macumba: Outside Looking In television program – 2003

Macumba tells the story of Australia’s first Aboriginal radio station, the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA).

N

National Treasures – ‘The Magic Pudding’ Illustrations documentary – 2004

A look at the illustrations for one of Australia’s best-loved children’s books, The Magic Pudding.

P

Palermo: ‘History’ Standing Still short film – 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.

Pyongyang Diaries documentary – 1997

Solrun Hoaas uses a diary-like voice-over to reflect on the gap between what she was able to film and what she could not show.

S

Satellite Dreaming documentary – 1991

The creation of CAAMA was designed to produce media that would sustain a strong Indigenous identity with regional variations.

Size 10 documentary – 1978

Size 10 is about how four young women break free of the pressure to conform to beauty and fashion norms.

The Sydney Morning Herald documentary – 1911

One of the first Australian docos to be shot at night with artificial light, this Pathé short shows the newspaper printing process of the Sydney Morning Herald.

T

Temple of Dreams documentary – 2007

Made at the time of the Cronulla riots, articulate young Australian Muslim leaders take action to recognise and address the needs of their community.

W

Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? documentary – 2006

A landmark documentary that not only reveals the criminal investigation into the mysterious deaths of Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler in 1963 but solves it as well.

Winners – Top Kid television program – 1985

A compelling moral drama, made more powerful by its refusal to deal in absolutes, Top Kid draws on the real-life rigging of top American quiz shows in the 1950s.

Y

Yanks Down Under documentary – 1983

This documentary profiles Americans in the entertainment business, including a 16-year-old Marcia Hines brought to Australia by the musical Hair.

The Year of Living Dangerously feature film – 1982

The Year of Living Dangerously was Peter Weir’s last film about Australia, or his first film about the rest of the world, depending on how you look at it.

Your Daily and Weekly News: The Making of Two Great Papers newsreel – 1928

This newsreel shows the 'organised haste’ involved in preparing a daily newspaper, in this case Melbourne’s The Argus.