Film & Television with Indigenous content
192 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
Film and television titles written and/or directed by a non-Indigenous person.
0-9
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
Aborigines of the Sea Coast documentary – 1948
A valuable ethnographic record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert feature film – 1994
The most unforgettable scenes in Priscilla feature excessive costumes on incongruous characters in vast, humbling spaces.
After Mabo documentary – 1997
The most respected Indigenous commentators on native title are featured here, thus adding to the documentary’s historical importance.
An AIM Patrol documentary – 1927
This film documented outback life in the 1920s and may have been made to accompany a written report.
The Alice television program – 2004
A disparate group of people are heading for the outback to watch a solar eclipse. Strange things begin to happen as their fates entwine.
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.
Ask the Leyland Brothers – Episode 23 television program – 1976
The Leyland Brothers answer viewer requests and visit Broken Hill and Uluru.
At The Movies – Series 2 Episode 20, Ten Canoes television program – 2006
Margaret reviews Ten Canoes, a story of forbidden love and bloody retribution, followed by an interview with director Rolf de Heer and co-creator David Gulpilil.
Australasian Gazette – 10,000 Miles around Australia newsreel – c1926
In this Australasian Gazette newsreel from approximately 1926, Mr and Mrs F Dean arrive in Melbourne after their Shell-sponsored trip around Australia by touring car.
Australia feature film – 2008
Three outsiders – an aristocrat, a stockman and a vulnerable child – are set against the malevolent forces of greedy neighbours, a world war and assimilationist policy.
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.
Australian Movie Magazine No 7201 newsreel – 1971
This 'year in review’ edition is not a typical example of the newsreel’s format. It presents some of the significant events of 1971 and includes a range of story types.
Australian Rules feature film – 2002
This drama, with its racism theme, in turn sparked very heated debate about white filmmakers telling stories with Indigenous content.
Australia Post – Joint Stamp Issue sponsored film – 1988
This program consists mainly of footage shot at the celebratory launch of the Australian–USA bicentennial stamp in Sydney’s Martin Place.
Australia’s Land of Tomorrow sponsored film – 1962
An Australian Inland Mission patrol witnesses a prospering region where industry and agriculture have grown and the population has greatly increased since the last visit.
B
Babakiueria short film – 1986
A mockumentary surveying the culture and customs of the white native people of the land of ‘Babakiueria’, from the perspective of the country’s black colonisers.
Backlash feature film – 1986
Much of the dialogue in Bill Bennett’s film, about two police officers and a young indigenous woman, was improvised on location.
The Back of Beyond documentary – 1954
Battling heat, dust and flood, Tom Kruse delivers mail, stores and supplies along the 517 kilometre Birdsville Track in central Australia.
Backroads short feature – 1977
Backroads (1977) is the first feature (albeit, a short one) by Phillip Noyce, who would go on to make Newsfront (1978) and Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Bad Boy Bubby feature film – 1993
Bad Boy Bubby was conceived as an experiment on virtually every level. It had 32 different cinematographers, for example.
The Balanda and the Bark Canoes documentary – 2006
There are many humorous moments when director Rolf de Heer’s directions to the actors get lost in translation.
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.
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.
Beneath Hill 60 feature film – 2010
During the First World War, a Queensland miner learns the true cost of war when he leads Australians in a project to tunnel beneath enemy lines to plant explosives.
Beyond the Furthest Fences sponsored film – 1947
This is an abridged version of the feature-length documentary The Inlanders. Both follow the Australian Inland Mission through central Australia in 1947.
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.
A Big Country – Peninsula People television program – 1968
An early episode of this iconic series. A Big Country aimed to bring country Australia into the lives of urban Australians.
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.
The Birth of White Australia feature film – 1928
This early feature depicts racial tension in NSW in 1861. Despite its offensive representation of Aboriginality, the film has cultural and historic value.
Bitter Springs feature film – 1950
A family of white farmers fight to take possession of land and water that is home to a well-established Aboriginal clan.
Black and White feature film – 2002
The film presents both the defence’s and the prosecution’s version of what might have happened in the controversial Max Stuart case, so that there is no easy path to the truth.
The Blainey View – Footprints television program – 1982
Geoffrey Blainey, one of Australia’s foremost and most controversial historians, later coined the term 'black armband view of history’.
Blood Brothers – Broken English documentary – 1993
Arrernte man Max Stuart was sentenced to death in 1959 for murder but, nearly 35 years later, he talks about the case on camera.
Blood Brothers – From Little Things Big Things Grow documentary – 1993
An exploration into the life of Kev Carmody, portraying the years he spent in an orphanage when forcibly removed from his family by Queensland authorities at ten years old.
Blood Brothers – Jardiwarnpa documentary – 1993
The orchestration of Warlpiri ceremonies in this film challenges the concept that indigenous culture is stagnant.
The Book of Revelation feature film – 2006
The Book of Revelation is based on a simple, powerful idea: most films about rape are about women as victims of men, so reversing that idea allows men to experience the trauma of violation.
Boxing Day feature film – 2007
The unconventional production method helped give Boxing Day an unusually intense sense of foreboding, danger and unpredictability.
Bran Nue Dae documentary – 1991
There’s nothing I would rather be than to be an Aborigine’ is probably the most famous line from the successful stage musical.
Brisbane Dreaming documentary – 1994
Historical footage and re-enactments help tell stories about the Indigenous people who were displaced by Brisbane.
Broken Sun feature film – 2008
Imagination and resourcefulness helped this small filmmaking team, lead by Brad Haynes, overcome the constraints of having only $50,000.
Brothers and Sisters documentary – 1997
Actor Rachael Maza and her sister are among the people featured in this look at sibling behaviour.
Burke & Wills feature film – 1985
The epic and tragic story of the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, in 1860–61.
Bush Christmas feature film – 1947
In a rare villainous role, Chips Rafferty plays a horse thief, Long Bill. He is tracked by five kids spending Christmas in the Blue Mountains.
C
Cactus feature film – 1986
Cactus explores both the horror of not being able to see and the notion that blindness can sharpen the senses and lift the spirits.
Central Australia: The Eighth Wonder television program – 1989
Bushie explorer Ted Egan tours places of wonder in Central Australia.
A Changing Race documentary – 1964
An insightful portrait of Aboriginal people in Central Australia in the 1960s, highlighting their experience of racial discrimination and their integration in non-Aboriginal society.
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith feature film – 1978
This is one of the key Australian films of the 1970s, because it speaks about the unspeakable with a depth of rage that was absolutely unprecedented and has never been repeated.
Chequerboard – My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘im Away television program – 1970
This powerful film documents the impact of the government’s policy of removing light-skinned children from their Aboriginal mothers to be raised in Christian missions.
