Titles curated by Damien Parer
234 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 next
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The 1930s Golden Era of Australian Movies: A Tribute to Ken G Hall AO OBE documentary – 1988
Two of Ken G Hall’s basic rules were that films had to have a memorable title and a strong story climax.
250 Million Years Ago documentary – c1940
While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.
40,000 Years of Dreaming: A Century of Australian Cinema documentary – 1996
Filmmaker George Miller is a big believer in applying Joseph Campbell’s musings on the hero’s journey to storytelling.
The 8th Wonder of the World sponsored film – 1973
This documentary coincided with the official opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973 and looks at the architecture, art and functions of the building.
900 Neighbours documentary – 2006
Big hART, a community group, allowed residents of Sydney’s Northcott public housing estate to give their own views on living there.
A
Across Bass Strait documentary – 1974
The action on board the boats dominates this record of the 1974 Bass Strait Yacht Race.
Advertising Missionaries documentary – 1996
In their quest to find new consumers, multinational companies are using performance to reach isolated PNG highlanders.
Al Daff documentary – 1975
This straightforward interview with a powerful Hollywood executive contains wisdom about filmmaking that is timeless.
Alicia documentary – 1996
Alicia and her parents believe the family’s collective faith aided her recovery from a brain injury sustained in a car accident.
All About Olive documentary – 2004
Filmmaker Mike Rubbo takes 105 year-old Olive Riley back to her childhood home in Broken Hill, western NSW, to talk about her life.
Allies documentary – 1983
When Gough Whitlam lead the Australian Labor Party to election victory in 1972, it altered Australia’s relationship with the US.
Always a Visitor documentary – 2000
The Turkish-Australian Muslim Kuranda Seyit remembers what it was like to be a migrant at school, caught between two cultures.
Angst documentary – 1993
Sandy Gutman, one of the comedians featured, released Australiana in 1983 and it is still the biggest-selling local comedy record.
Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God documentary – 1974
Gaudi’s belief that his artistic work was a form of spirituality has led some Spaniards to ask that he be canonized.
Art documentary – 1974
This short, amusing and thoughtful animated documentary is full of debate about art and is a good starter for students.
Art From the Heart documentary – 1998
White collectors and gallery owners have benefited from indigenous art since the 1970s yet this issue is not vigorously pursued here.
Arthur Boyd: Figures in the Landscape documentary – 1985
Arthur Boyd shows how he uses his fingers and the palm of his hand to paint, allowing him to 'feel his way through the painting’.
Arthur Boyd: Testament of a Painter documentary – 1994
Boyd’s habit of making people and objects float in his landscapes has earned him the title of an 'antipodean Marc Chagall’.
Astonish Me, Graeme Murphy Choreographer documentary – 1989
Dancer Graeme Murphy remembers the anxiety he felt about partnering, particularly in a pas de deux, because of his small stature.
Australia Daze documentary – 1988
An observational documentary shot by 29 different camera crews on the bicentennial anniversary of Australia’s European settlement on 26 January 1988.
Australia in World War 1 documentary – c1980
Hubert Wilkins, official Australian war photographer, would have shot most of this footage, some of which is recreated.
The Australian Way: A Salute to Aussie Sex Appeal documentary – 1982
This is a time capsule of what was considered sexy, naughty and outrageous in the early 1980s — by commercial television anyway.
B
Backs to the Blast, an Australian Nuclear Story documentary – 1981
Made 25 years after nuclear tests were conducted in SA in the 1950s, this documentary stirred up a political hornet’s nest.
The Barefoot Bushman: Dancing With Dingoes documentary – 1997
The film includes footage of Bruce Jacobs, who established a dingo sanctuary in Victoria and bred dingoes for domestic sale.
Barred Wives documentary – 1993
Not all these stories of marrying prisoners end well: one woman was murdered by her bridegroom upon his release.
Bastards from the Bush, A Journey with Bob Ellis and Les Murray documentary – 1998
The ridicule poet Les Murray experienced at school, contributed to a nervous breakdown 30 years later, he says.
The Battle for Byron documentary – 1996
The Byron Bay whaling station operated between 1954 and 1962, producing more than 10,000 tonnes of oil from 1,146 whales.
The Battleships documentary – 2000
Included is a dramatic recreation of Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour, which brought the US into the Second World War.
Beating About the Bush documentary – 1993
The filmmakers set out to record a music documentary with a happy ending but end up with coverage of a goodwill disaster.
Behind the Sun documentary – 1988
Robert Klippel, who sculpts from discarded materials, is one of the artists featured in this documentary compilation.
Belsen For Example documentary – 1985
The recollections of concentration camp survivors, now living in Australia, and rescuers, are extraordinary.
Betelnut Bisnis documentary – 2004
Betelnut is the fourth most consumed legal substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine.
Betty Pounder documentary – 1988
Being successful in theatre, says dancer Betty Pounder, requires passion, and that may have to come at the expense of family.
Big Bag’s Japanese Adventure documentary – 1998
The Geelong-based Big Bag Band was invited to Japan to inspire that country’s fledgling arts and disability scene.
The Big Boomerang documentary – 1962
This promotional film about Qantas has information about the company’s only foray into aircraft construction, which was in 1926.
Bigger than Texas documentary – 1992
WA’s need for a hero and corporate excess created Alan Bond, who features heavily in this quite personal documentary.
Big Hair Woman documentary – 1996
An aid organisation chose to 'gently educate’ a television audience about PNG using comedy, hiring Mary Coustas for the job.
Big People, Small People documentary – 1991
Cartoonist Michael Leunig and then opposition member John Howard have very different views on the desire for more.
Billal documentary – 1996
Skilled documentarian, Tom Zubrycki, set out to make a film about young Lebanese-Australians in Sydney but had to change tack.
Bitter Herbs and Honey documentary – 1981
While this study of Jews in Carlton re-enacts how Jewish boys were bullied, it is also a celebration of family and citizenship.
The Black Road: on the front line of Aceh’s war documentary – 2005
This compelling inside view on Aceh’s struggle for independence from Indonesia, raises many questions about journalistic ethics.
Black Soldier Blues documentary – 2004
African American veterans talk candidly about the friendliness of Australians compared with their callous treatment by white American servicemen.
The Black Swan: Meryl Tankard Choreographer documentary – 1995
Meryl Tankard was on a high at the Australian Dance Theatre in this 1995 documentary; the controversial dispute was later.
Blowin’ in the Wind documentary – 2005
David Bradbury argues against weapons that use depleted uranium, and says they have already been tested in Australia by the US.
Body Work documentary – 1988
Death is a taboo subject but not in this stylised documentary about those who 'make a living out of dead bodies’.
Boys and Balls documentary – 1994
Greig Pickhaver and John Doyle, aka 'Roy and HG’, are the commentators: of course the sport theme is tackled with humour.
The Bradman Era documentary – 1982
The documentary intercuts archival footage with former test cricketer Bill O’Reilly’s recollections of Don Bradman and notable 1930s test matches.
Bread and Dripping documentary – 1981
Four women recall raising families during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The film also looks at the activism of women and the beginnings of the early feminist movement in Australia.
The Breaker documentary – 1973
The Breaker reveals the details of Henry 'Breaker’ Morant’s life before he went to the Boer War and was executed for murder.
A Breath documentary – 1998
Calligrapher Huang Miaozi and painter Yu Feng opposed the Japanese occupation of China through their art.
