All titles in the ‘Social realism’ genre
22 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
B
![](/media/titles/boxingda/boxingda1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Boxing Day feature film – 2007
The unconventional production method helped give Boxing Day an unusually intense sense of foreboding, danger and unpredictability.
C
![](/media/titles/cedarboy/cedarboy1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Cedar Boys feature film – 2008
Three young Lebanese Australians get into deep water by stealing drugs from a dealer.
![](/media/titles/combinat/combinat1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
The Combination feature film – 2009
After serving a jail term a young Lebanese Australian man struggles to stop his wild younger brother from making the mistakes that he made.
D
![](/media/titles/danceme/danceme1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Dance Me to My Song feature film – 1998
A woman with severe cerebral palsy battles to maintain her dignity and independence in the face of a selfish and negligent carer.
F
![](/media/titles/finished/finished1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
The Finished People feature film – 2003
This ultra-low budget feature cuts between three stories of disadvantaged young people struggling to survive on the streets of Cabramatta.
![](/media/titles/fran/fran1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Fran feature film – 1985
A vivacious young mother is married to a violent man. Her desperate need for love leads her to some tragically inappropriate choices.
G
![](/media/titles/goldcage/goldcage1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
The Golden Cage feature film – 1975
Murat and Ayhan are Turkish migrants living in Sydney. Ayhan falls in love with Sarah, but religious and cultural differences create problems.
H
![](/media/titles/hardgoda/hardgoda1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
A Hard God television program – 1980
A Hard God, based on the play of the same name, is the story of a working-class Irish-Australian Catholic family in Sydney in the 1940s.
![](/media/titles/harpinth/harpinth1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Harp in the South television program – 1986
The ‘harp in the south’ refers to Irish immigrants in Australia. A mini-series, based on Ruth Park’s book, follows the Darcys in the aftermath of the Second World War.
J
![](/media/titles/jackjill/jackjill1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Jack and Jill: A Postscript feature film – 1970
Jack lives in a condemned house and rides with a bikie gang. Gillian, a kindergarten teacher from a middle-class family, is attracted to Jack.
L
![](/media/titles/leavlive/leavlive1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
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’.
M
![](/media/titles/mailorde/mailorde1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Mail Order Bride television program – 1984
A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.
P
![](/media/titles/petersen/petersen1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Petersen feature film – 1974
Though promoted as a lusty yarn, the frequent and fairly explicit sex scenes between the film’s unhappy characters are hardly titillating.
![](/media/titles/poormans/poormans1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Poor Man’s Orange television program – 1987
Harp in the South was so admired by Network Ten’s then head of drama, Valerie Hardy, that she immediately commissioned this second series.
R
![](/media/titles/ratsrank/ratsrank1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Rats in the Ranks documentary – 1996
The behind-the-scenes political wheeling and dealing in the countdown to the election of a new mayor for Sydney’s Leichhardt Council.
S
![](/media/titles/snowtown/snowtown1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Snowtown feature film – 2010
A vulnerable South Australian teenage boy is drawn into a horrific world of murder and torture.
![](/media/titles/sonofali/sonofali1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Son of a Lion feature film – 2007
The story behind this brave independent film, shot secretly in Pakistan and depicting everyday life there, is as fascinating as the film itself.
![](/media/titles/soundofo/soundofo1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
The Sound of One Hand Clapping feature film – 1997
Sonja Buloh returns to Hobart 20 years after leaving her violent father, Bojan. Their reunion ignites painful memories of shattered family life.
![](/media/titles/strikebo/strikebo1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Strikebound feature film – 1983
A docudrama based on the memories of Wattie and Agnes Doig, a miner and his wife involved in the Gippsland coal workers’ strike of 1937.
![](/media/titles/sunsally/sunsally1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Sunshine Sally feature film – 1922
The working-class Sally falls in love with the adopted son of wealthy parents from whom she was kidnapped as a child.
T
![](/media/titles/thirdper/thirdper1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
Third Person Plural feature film – 1978
A look at the emotional entanglements of four Sydney friends who take a weekend boating trip.
W
![](/media/titles/west/west1__jpg_120x90_crop_q85.jpg)
West feature film – 2007
Pete and Jerry are like the ‘dole-bludgers’ and ‘welfare cheats’ found in current affairs programs; West makes them human.