Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles curated by Dr Marian Quigley

21 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

A

Ada short film – 2001

Set in a domestic dining room in Sydney in the mid-1950s, the main focus of this autobiographical short film is the relationship between Ada and her granddaughter.

B

The Bronze Mirror short film – 2007

This animated short tells an ancient tale of human illusions.

D

Dad’s Clock short film – 2001

This stop-motion animation short film celebrates the life of the animator’s late father.

Driving Home short film – 1999

In this animated short film, a young Korean immigrant struggles to define her cultural identity.

E

Episodes in Disbelief short film – 2000

This short animation is a reflection on childhood loss as the narrator attempts to come to terms with the death of her father.

G

Grendel Grendel Grendel feature film – 1980

A lonely, philosophical monster ruminates on the stupidity of men, whose heads he occasionally devours.

I

Indefinable Moods short film – 2001

This short animation by artist Kathy Smith is a surreal Australian dream landscape with music.

It’s Like That short film – 2003

A haunting animated documentary depicting the sadness of refugee children held in captivity in Australia.

L

The Long Yard short film – 2000

In this animated short film, an ex-soldier has an encounter with death.

Looking for Horses short film – 2001

A stop-motion short about two sisters’ holiday illusions and family revelations.

M

The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet short film – 1989

A whimsical, animated tale of music and romance, narrated by Ruth Cracknell and set amidst the Great Maitland Flood of 1955.

Mother Tongue short film – 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.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello short film – 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

Ned Wethered short film – 1983

Lee Whitmore’s first animated film is a memoir of a frequent visitor to her home when she was growing up in the 1950s.

P

Pianoforte short film – 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.

Pussy Pumps Up short feature – 1979

This 2D animated film features a tiny cat-girl heroine who metamorphoses into a muscular, powerful figure.

S

Shadowland short film – 1988

In Anthony Lucas’s animated student film, humanity evolves in a savage landscape.

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.

T

Tiga short film – 1987

This animated short film is an homage to an extinct Australian species.

U

Union Street short film – 1990

An ordinary city street is revealed as a ‘street of many colours’.

Z

Zipper short film – 1998

This tongue-in-cheek live action-animated short blames the zipper for unleashing women’s sexuality.