Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles in the ‘Drama’ genre

407 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next

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The Last Wave feature film – 1977

As the weather gets worse, tax lawyer David Burton has a premonition of disaster, in which he is to play a key role.

The Leaving of Liverpool television program – 1992

Lily and Bert are transported from an orphanage in England to Australia, where their childhoods are stolen from them in so-called 'centres of care’.

Legacy of the Silver Shadow – The Feral Element television program – 2002

1950s superhero the Silver Shadow and his archenemy The Crab are revealed to four kids who carry on the struggle between good and evil.

Letters From Poland short film – 1978

While the plight of migrant women was a pillar issue for 1970s and 1980s Australian feminism, this film’s approach to the issue is very much focused on the individual.

Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part B television program – 1992

Spruikers from the ‘Bonza’ cereal advertisement come out of the TV set to persuade Poss and Kim that buying Bonza will make all their dreams come true.

Little Fish feature film – 2005

In the climax of Little Fish Cate Blanchett convinces a man with a gun that he has a choice about what to do. There’s never really been a scene like it in another Australian film, because guns, once drawn, tend to get used. It’s a powerful message for young viewers used to violent resolutions to complex problems.

Living with Happiness short film – 2001

Living with Happiness is a short animation about our inability to embrace happiness without worrying about its demise.

Lockie Leonard – The Human Torpedo television program – 2006

Based on Tim Winton’s novels, this series follows ‘surf rat’ Lockie Leonard who is starting high school in a new town on the WA coast.

Lonely Hearts feature film – 1981

Comedian and satirist John Clarke wrote this film with Paul Cox: no wonder it is full of bright impish humour.

The Long Yard short film – 2000

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

Look Both Ways feature film – 2005

Rather than having just one viewpoint, Sarah Watt’s hit debut explores the emotions of six major characters, all connected by a tragedy.

Love Letters from Teralba Road short feature – 1977

Based on letters found in a flat in Sydney, Love Letters from Teralba Road examines love among the working classes in the western suburbs.

Love My Way – What’s in a Name television program – 2004

The understatement accompanying several key dramatic scenes stands out; they are treated with a wry humour that doesn’t lose sight of the emotion involved for the characters.

Lucinda Brayford television program – 1980

Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Carol Burns and Barry Quin feature in the saga of an Australian heiress who marries into British aristocracy.

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Mad Bastards feature film – 2011

TJ returns to the Kimberley region of Western Australia to try and reconnect with his teenage son.

Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976

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

Mail Order Bride television program – 1984

A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.

The Man from Kangaroo feature film – 1919

John Harland, a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.

The Man from Snowy River feature film – 1982

The Man From Snowy River is an iconic Australian western. It’s a naive film of epic proportions, but the naiveté is calculated to appeal to a sense of American nostalgia, and Australian chauvinism.

Man of Flowers feature film – 1983

An elderly aesthete who regularly hires a young woman to strip for him finds his life becoming entwined with hers.

Mao’s Last Dancer feature film – 2009

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

Mary and Max feature film – 2009

Across two continents and 20 years, the tragic comedy of life is described through the friendship of penpals, Mary and Max.

Matlock Police – Episode 1, Twenty-six Hours television program – 1971

From an opening sequence strongly reminiscent of Easy Rider (1969) to a rollicking country car chase at its climax, this is a bumper first episode.

McLeod’s Daughters television program – 1996

The McLeod’s Daughters telemovie about independent women running a rural Australian property inspired the later successful TV series.

McLeod’s Daughters – Welcome Home television program – 2001

Self-reliant women working the land, romantic rural vistas and horseriding and farming montages make up the signature style of McLeod’s Daughters.

MDA – Second Chance television program – 2005

Medical Defence Australia provide insurance and legal representation to doctors. This self-contained mini-series is from the third series of MDA.

Men’s Group feature film – 2008

A group of men meet regularly to discuss their feelings and their lives, but it takes a tragedy to help them reach a new understanding.

Metal Skin feature film – 1994

Social misfit Joe is befriended by the cool and confident Dazey. Their shared passion for drag racing leads to conflict and tragedy.

Modern Love feature film – 2006

Like Wake in Fright, Modern Love plays upon the threatening nature of the Australian outback as an ordinary man undergoes an extraordinary personality change.

Money Movers feature film – 1979

Money Movers was ahead of its time, and may have suffered because of that. It’s a 'crime procedural’, a genre that is now much more popular.

More Winners – Boy Soldiers television program – 1990

1910 legislation required boys between 14 and 17 to register for compulsory military training . Will Barnes, a brave 14-year-old conscientious objector, refused.

More Winners – His Master’s Ghost television program – 1990

The setting of Montsalvat – a gothic mansion and former artists’ colony– is perfect for this mystery-comedy about a group of kids on a music camp in a spooky old mansion.

More Winners – Mr Edmund television program – 1990

A roller-coaster ride of raised hopes, dashed dreams and happy endings: a charming modern fairytale from the More Winners series.

More Winners – The Journey television program – 1990

On an isolated Tasmanian mountain, 12-year-old Ada lives with her wealthy father Justus. Housekeeper Martha is plotting to secure the family fortune for herself.

Mortified – Taylor’s DNA television program – 2006

The series creator says her inspiration came from realising that, from age 11 onwards, kids begin to find things their parents do very embarrassing.

Moulin Rouge! feature film – 2001

Moulin Rouge! was a risky venture for director Baz Luhrmann but is a tour de force of imagination and appropriation.

Mr Chedworth Steps Out feature film – 1939

Cecil Kellaway was probably the best actor that Ken G Hall ever worked with. He returned from Hollywood to play the titular little man who learns to assert himself.

Mr Squiggle and Friends – Cheer Up television program – 1990

A 1990s episode of iconic children’s series Mr Squiggle and Friends created and performed by Norman Hetherington, written by Margaret Hetherington and co-presented by their daughter Rebecca Hetherington.

Mr Squiggle and Friends – Episode 148 television program – c1960

Mr Squiggle is one of the most recognised children’s television characters. Although no longer on air, he continues to appear at exhibitions and science fiction conventions.

Mullet feature film – 2001

Mullet is about how people behave and about how men don’t talk and women do.

Murder Call – Black Friday television program – 1997

Murder Call’s take on the crime genre combines a slick look and feel with offbeat story-lines that hark back to the clue-puzzle tradition of fictional sleuths.

My Brother Jack television program – 2001

This acclaimed mini-series is based on the classic Australian novel, a record of the changing social mores of the restless time between the First and Second World Wars.

My First Wife feature film – 1984

Director Paul Cox made this film about a disintegrating marriage after going through a painful break-up himself.

My Mother My Son short film – 2000

The pain experienced by three generations of a family as the cycle of separation of mother from child repeats itself.

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.

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.

Mystery Island feature film – 1937

Two of the principal actors disappeared at sea after filming finished and what became of them is still unknown.

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The Night the Prowler feature film – 1978

This savage satire on the neuroses of the privileged of Sydney’s eastern suburbs was written by the great novelist Patrick White.

No Worries feature film – 1993

Drought has a terrible social cost, as the 11-year-old girl who has to move from a sheep station to the city in this film, makes clear.

Number 96 – Episode 35 television program – 1972

One of the only surviving early black-and-white episodes of Number 96 is a rollicking ride through an apartment building and its class values and sex-obsessed situations.

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