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.
C (continued)
Chez les Sauvages Australiens historical – 1917
An engaging and respectful insight into Aboriginal people’s culture and their interaction with the filmmaking process, made in 1917.
The Coca-Cola Kid feature film – 1985
The Coca–Cola company sends its top trouble shooter to boost sales in Australia. He plans to win customers away from a much loved, old-style soft-drink maker.
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.
Conrad Martens documentary – 1978
Conrad Martens, whose watercolours are a valuable record of colonial Sydney, is reputed to be its first successful artist.
Couldn’t Be Fairer documentary – 1984
This film, to some degree, is a tribute to Mick Miller, who was committed to fighting for the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Crocodile Dundee feature film – 1985
This is not just the most commercially successful Australian film ever made, but also one of the most successful non-Hollywood films.
Crocodile Dundee II feature film – 1988
This sequel, in which Mick Dundee battles drug dealers, follows the pattern of the first movie but in reverse.
Cyclone Tracy television program – 1986
A fictional account of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters – a major turning point in the history of Darwin.
D
Darnley Islanders Pay Tribute historical – 1899
Early footage documenting a visit to the Torres Strait by the Queensland Home Secretary, the Hon. Justin FG Foxton, and his wife.
Dead Heart feature film – 1996
Bryan Brown plays a second generation Northern Territory cop caught up in a power struggle over whether black or white law is supreme.
Desert Walker: Gulf to Gulf documentary – 1985
The Flying Doctor base helped Denis Bartell when he became the first white man to walk across Australia from north to south.
Dingo feature film – 1991
Dingo is a French-Australian co-production starring an American jazz legend. According to director Rolf de Heer, Miles Davis turned out to be a wonderfully instinctive actor.
Dot and the Kangaroo feature film – 1977
A generation of Australian school children grew up on Dot and the Kangaroo and the six other Dot films that followed it. Really.
The Dream and the Dreaming documentary – 2003
When Lutheran missionaries arrived in Central Australia, the strength of the existing culture made it challenging to make converts.
Dreamtime, Machinetime documentary – 1987
There are strict rules about who can and can’t tell certain stories in indigenous culture, these distinguished artists reveal.
Dr Plonk feature film – 2007
One of a tiny number of silent movies made since ‘the talkies’ arrived in the late 1920s, Rolf de Heer’s Dr Plonk is a high-spirited throwback to the days of pure visual slapstick.
E
The Enemy Within feature film – 1918
Snowy Baker stars as a secret agent who smashes a ring of German spies in Sydney during the First World War.
Eternity documentary – 1994
Cinematographer Dion Beebe has beautifully recreated 1930s Sydney here — and about 10 years later won an Oscar.
Eureka Stockade feature film – 1949
In 1854, miners in the Ballarat goldfields take up arms against government troops in a defining moment of Australian history.
F
Farey: Opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge home movie – 1932
Lesley Francis Farey captured what it would have been like to be in the crowd at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Fighting Blood documentary – 1951
This Cinesound documentary highlights the talents of Australian fighters, including Aboriginal boxers Alfie Clay, Elley Bennett and Dave Sands.
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.
The Flying Vet documentary – 1984
The bonus for the viewer is that the vet, and his wife, provide a real sense of what it’s like to live in remote Australia.
Footy Legends feature film – 2006
Anh Do, best known as a stand-up comedian, gives a heartbreakingly real performance as a man of limited education trying to keep his family together, and get back into the economic mainstream.
For Love or Money documentary – 1983
Using almost totally historical material, For Love or Money encompasses the role of Australian women in both paid and unpaid work, over a 200 year period.
A Fortunate Life television program – 1985
While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.
Four Corners – Inside the Circle television program – 2005
Inside the circle’, a new way to deal with offenders who come up before the legal system. Robert is face-to-face with his victim and four Aboriginal Elders.
The Fringe Dwellers feature film – 1986
This film has an Aboriginal ensemble cast, but a narrative based on a Western woman’s experience of an Aboriginal community.
Frontier: Stories from White Australia’s Forgotten War television program – 1996
This documentary is about the continuing war that erupted between white colonists and Indigenous peoples upon first contact.
G
Going Down feature film – 1983
Four women friends leave behind the feral days of youth after a night of uncontrolled excess in inner-city Sydney during the early 1980s.
The Golden West documentary – 1940
This film was made by William George Alma, a member of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society who was predominantly a magician and collector of material about magic.
Grange short film – 2005
Grange is an irreverent story of the extremes two young lawyers go to in order to get promoted in the corporate sector.
H
Harold documentary – 1994
A big man with a big voice. As the first Indigenous man to sing on national radio, Harold Blair carried huge responsibilities on his shoulders.
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.
Heatwave feature film – 1982
An architect and an activist from opposing sides unite against a crooked developer.
Heritage feature film – 1935
Heritage is a thunderous piece of endorsement for the pioneer mythology of Australia, made by the prolific Charles Chauvel.
Hey Sista! short film – 2001
A coming of age story about a girl who just wants to play basketball … and have straight hair.
How the West was Lost documentary – 1987
The strike of 1 May 1946 was the first major strike by Indigenous peoples. It took a significant organisational effort to bring unified opposition against the powerful pastoral industry.
I
Ikara the Weapon Thrower sponsored film – 1963
This black-and-white film, classified 'confidential’ at the time, shows the lead up to the Ikara weapons trials and the trials that began in April 1963.
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant television program – 2004
An epic period adventure, full of swash and buckle, sweeping landscapes, high seas and romance.
The Inlanders documentary – 1949
The Inlanders comes from a tradition of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that presents the outback as a harsh and hostile terrain to be overcome.
In the Wild with Harry Butler – Scars on the Landscape television program – 1976
Harry Butler seems the archetypal bushie, with his khaki shorts and battered bushman’s hat. He doesn’t work to a script, but moves around the bush with a keen eye.
J
Jabiluka documentary – 1997
This film offers Indigenous, scientific and economic perspectives on the issue of mining uranium at Jabiluka.
Japanese Story feature film – 2003
An unexpected plot development in the middle of Japanese Story left audiences stunned and disbelieving — and occasionally hostile.
Jedda feature film – 1955
Jedda (1955) is probably Charles Chauvel’s best film, as well as his last. It is historic both for being the first colour feature film made in Australia, but more importantly, because it is arguably the first Australian film to take the emotional lives of Aboriginal people seriously.
Jimmy Little’s Gentle Journey documentary – 2006
Jimmy Little’s softly softly style came under scrutiny during the heyday of 1970s Indigenous politics.
Jindabyne feature film – 2006
Jindabyne is based on a 20-year-old short story by American Raymond Carver, but it’s been so well adapted to the Australian milieu that it feels home-grown.
John Safran vs God – Episode 2 television program – 2004
Nothing is sacred in John Safran’s comedy-documentary series about religion.
Journey among Women feature film – 1977
Making this film in the 1970s became politically charged: should and could a male director make a meaningful film about women?
Journey Out of Darkness feature film – 1967
In 1901 Constable Peterson arrives in Central Australia to arrest an Arrernte man who has committed a ritual killing.
