Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

17 collections

Berlei Advertisements

These cinema and television advertisements promote Berlei’s extensive range of foundation garments, corsetry and lingerie. [read more]

Reality and TV Crime

Australian audiences have demonstrated an enduring fascination with stories of ‘true crime’. TV curator Kate Matthews explores the relationship that Australian crime and police shows have had with reality over the years. [read more]

Reality Comedy

TV curator Kate Matthews looks at the postmodern blending that has created a genre mashup loosely referred to as ‘reality comedy’ in Australian television. [read more]

Australasian Gazette

The Australasian Gazette newsreels held at the National Film and Sound Archive span over three decades and capture a diverse range of subjects including political and national events, sport and entertainment. [read more]

Water in Australian cinema

Australia is the driest inhabited continent, but you don’t have to drill far to find water in our movies. [read more]

Australian Comedy Part 1: The Silent Era

Part one in Paul Byrnes’ series on comedy in Australian film looks at the silent filmmaking era. [read more]

Drive-ins

Richard Kuipers takes a trip back to the era of the drive-in. [read more]

Sounds of Australia

Sounds of Australia is the NFSA’s annual capsule of iconic audio moments, honouring recordings which have resonated deeply with communities and audiences across the country. [read more]

Marvellous Corricks

The Corrick family were vaudeville-style entertainers who toured Australia, New Zealand, and the world in the early 1900s. [read more]

Prisons on Film

Paul Byrnes examines the history of Australian penal cinema, from prison ships to detention centres. [read more]

Horror in Australian Cinema

While vampires and zombies thrilled audiences in the Northern hemisphere, Australia’s idea of a horror scenario lay somewhere in the vast centre of the continent. [read more]

Surfing

From lifesaving to 'soul surfing’: Paul Byrnes tracks the history of surfing and surf movies in Australia. [read more]

Australian Comedy Part 2: The Early Sound Era

Part two in Paul Byrnes’ series on comedy in Australian film covers the early sound era. [read more]

Outback on Screen

NFSA Historian Graham Shirley traces the rich diversity of Australian cinematic representations and interpretations of the outback. [read more]

AWM Western Front

Paul Byrnes argues that the surviving First World War footage held by the Australian War Memorial of Australians at the Western Front is worthy of more serious regard. [read more]

Gallipoli on Film

The legend of Gallipoli formed quickly in Australian hearts, based on the report of a man who wasn’t quite there. Australian feature film companies re-created the landings of 25 April 1915 on film, and that footage is still often presented as real. Paul Byrnes untangles the mythology of Gallipoli on film. [read more]

The Depression

The Depression was worse for Australia than many other countries. Paul Byrnes wonders if that explains its treatment on Australian screens. [read more]