Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles in the ‘Biography’ genre

178 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next

L (continued)

Life at the Top: A Week with Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser documentary – 1977

Tracks Malcolm Fraser for one week in 1977 as he goes about his prime ministerial duties in Canberra and takes trips to Kalgoorlie and Wollongong.

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.

The Long Yard short film – 2000

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

Lord of the Bush documentary – 1990

Through the complex character of McAlpine, Zubrycki reveals the issues confronting the rapidly expanding town of Broome.

Loved Up – Our Bush Wedding documentary – 2005

This documentary is about the wedding of artist Gordon Syron and photographer Elaine Pelot-Kitchener. Gordon went to jail for killing a man to protect his family’s country.

Loved Up – Yellow Fella documentary – 2005

Tommy E Lewis, Indigenous star of the stage and screen, identifies as a 'yellow fella’ – both black and white.

Lowering the Tone: 45 Years of Robyn Archer documentary – 1993

Archer considered A Star is Torn a tribute to women who influenced her music: Patsy Cline, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin and Marie Lloyd.

M

Man Without Pigs documentary – 1990

The first Papua New Guinea man to become a professor returns to his small village to celebrate, but inadvertently creates antagonism when rituals aren’t adhered to.

Mao’s Last Dancer feature film – 2009

A Chinese peasant boy grows up to become a bright star of the United States ballet world.

Mao’s New Suit documentary – 1997

A frank, behind-the-scenes look at modern China as two young fashion designers stage a show in Shanghai.

Maverick Mother documentary – 2007

When filmmaker Janet Merewether could no longer ignore her loudly ticking biological clock, she chose to have a child on her own.

Menzies in Profile documentary – 1964

A tribute celebrating the life of Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia and founder of the Australian Liberal Party.

Message Stick – Bill’s Wake television program – 2001

Bill Neidjie, a traditional owner of Kakadu, had a wake while he was alive, rather than waiting until his death, to hear what people wanted to say about him.

Message Stick – Blacktracker television program – 1996

A tribute to Aboriginal tracker Alexander Riley, a sergeant in the NSW Police Force and a recipient of the King’s Medal in 1943.

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).

Message Stick – Wayne’s World television program – 2005

Indigenous actor and filmmaker Wayne Blair offers insights into his craft and recounts experiences from his career.

Mister Prime Minister – Alfred Deakin television program – 1966

A biography of Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908 and from 1909 to 1910.

Mister Prime Minister – Joseph Aloysius Lyons television program – c1966

A profile of Joe Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia from 1932 to 1939.

Molly and Mobarak documentary – 2003

The emotional journey of a young Hazara refugee from Afghanistan who struggles to adjust to life in regional NSW.

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.

Much Ado About Something documentary – 2001

Much Ado About Something is a poetic investigation into whether the literary works attributed to Shakespeare were really written by Christopher Marlowe.

My Country documentary – 1994

My Country is about the impact of the Native Title Act on relationships between Indigenous peoples and pastoralists.

My Life as I Live It documentary – 1993

In this follow-up to My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978), also set in the Brewarrina Aboriginal community, 'Bush Queen’ Essie Coffey has nominated for the local council elections.

My Mother India documentary – 2001

My Mother India provides an insight into the experience of the filmmaker’s mother as an Australian migrant married to a Sikh in India.

My Mother Told Me short film – 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.

My South Polar Expedition spoken word – 1910

Sir Ernest Shackleton tells how the loss of a pony affected his attempt to reach the South Pole in 1908.

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.

No Fences, No Boundaries – Walter Burley Griffin documentary – c1976

Walter Burley Griffin believed that 'buildings convey the most truth of the mental and spiritual states of various people and times’.

O

One Way Street: Fragments for Walter Benjamin documentary – 1992

One Way Street is a timely exploration of a figure who was on the way to being recognised among the great 20th century philosophers.

Opal Fever documentary – 2004

Opal Fever examines the people who make a fortune, those who make a living and those who go broke mining opals in Coober Pedy.

P

Painting Country documentary – 2000

Indigenous paintings are maps of the artists’ country. They trace the land’s topography, but also contain personal history, mythology and Dreaming tracks.

Painting the Town: A Film About Yosl Bergner documentary – 1987

Bergner was one of the first contemporary artists to depict the plight of urban Aboriginal people and parallel their dispossession with that of European Jews.

Peach’s Explorers – The Prison Walls television program – 1984

The story is entertainingly told with a clever use of dramatic re-creations. The various techniques work to bring history alive.

A Personal History of the Australian Surf: Being the Confessions of a Straight Poofter documentary – 1981

His father told young Sydney-born theatre director Michael Blakemore that the world was divided into three groups, 'fools, crooks and gentlemen’.

Poetry In Australia – Judith Wright television program – 1963

This simple, talking heads interview is most informative and a delight to watch. It is a must-see for students of Judith Wright’s work and fellow poets.

The President Versus David Hicks documentary – 2004

This documentary traces the journey of David Hicks from Australia to Afghanistan and then detention by the US in Guantanamo Bay.

Profiles of Power, HC Coombs television program – 1970

When Dr Coombs saw the unnecessary cruelty of the Great Depression and its terrible impact on ordinary people, he decided to dedicate his life to economics.

Public Enemy Number One documentary – 1981

Public Enemy Number One gives insight into journalist Wilfred Burchett’s motives in covering wars from the enemy’s point of view.

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.

R

Rachel: A Perfect Life documentary – 2007

An intimate, observational documentary following a young woman as she goes through brain surgery to control her epilepsy.

Rachel’s Story documentary – 1997

At 16, Rachel was a prostitute and heroin addict in Kings Cross. Years later, she helps a prostitute reform.

Raoul Wallenberg: Between the Lines documentary – 1984

Profile of Raoul Wallenberg, an extraordinary humanitarian who disappeared after performing heroic deeds during the Second World War.

Rebels With a Cause documentary – 1994

Cecil Waters rules the family with a ‘rod of iron’, and is training his sons to be champion boxers.

Red Matildas documentary – 1985

Told through the lives of three women, Red Matildas explores the social and political conditions in Australia during the Great Depression.

Reunion documentary – 1998

A bio-documentary of filmmaker Lisa Wang revealing her growing awareness of her 'Chinese-ness’ in 1950s Australia.

River of No Return documentary – 2008

A thought-provoking film that explores the issues involved in living a traditional lifestyle while trying to gain access to the larger, dominant society.

Rocking the Foundations documentary – 1985

Rocking The Foundations is more than a film about a union: it’s a film about social change and how ordinary people can make that happen.

Rough Riders documentary – 1995

This film examines the gladiatorial machismo of the laconic roughriders of the rodeo.

S

Sadness documentary – 1999

Australian photographer William Yang explores loss, love and identity as he investigates a family murder and honours the lives of friends who have died from AIDS.

The Safe House short film – 2006

A young Lee Whitmore attempts to unravel the mystery of the spies living next door.

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