Compass (1988 - current)
Current affairs program
Weekly x 30 minutes
Series synopsis:
Compass is produced by the ABC’s Religious and Ethics Department and broadcast on Sunday nights at 10 pm, 52 weeks a year. Compass is compered by Geraldine Doogue.
Compass explores issues of faith, values, ethics and religion in Australia and around the world. Its guiding principle is to illuminate the inner journey and reveal the human condition in a social context.
Curator’s Notes:
Compass aims to illuminate the spiritual and ethical journey of individuals and communities. It’s not restricted to organised religion, and one of its great strengths is the way in which it explores public debate around particular religious and ethical issues such as Muslim women wearing the veil or stem cell research.
Compass explores contemporary issues through the prism of history while juxtaposing the personal with the political and the religious with the secular. Its team of experienced documentary directors ensures that no matter what the issue of the day may be, the program will be distinguished by the breadth of its research, articulate talent and compelling images.
Titles in this series
Compass – Broken Open 2005
Craig Hamilton was a very successful sports commentator who suffered a nervous breakdown at the peak of his career. He was about to take up a job at the Sydney 2000 Olympics when he fell apart in a very public ...
Compass – Buddha Realms, Part 1 2001
Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest religions; it’s older than both Christianity and Islam and, like those faiths, its influence has spread throughout the world. This program traces the development of this ancient religion from its origins in India, ...
Compass – Changi Days, POW Poets 2003
When 22,000 Australian soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese on the Malay Peninsula early in 1942, they disappeared into the vast prison camp called Changi on Singapore Island. The soldiers had to find ways of overcoming both the physical ...
Compass – Embracing the Enemy 2005
Turkish immigrants to Australia in the 1970s immediately felt connected through the Anzac Day marches but found they were forbidden to march with the Australians. Thus began a long campaign to be acknowledged, just as their great leader Atatürk had ...
Compass – Fly on the Wall Messiah 2004
Every year, 700 amateur singers come together to perform Handel’s Messiah at the Sydney Town Hall. It’s a Christmas tradition. They have nine rehearsals only and getting ready for the big night is a nail-biting experience.
Compass – Gallipoli Pilgrimage 2006
Australians are making their way in increasing numbers to Anzac Cove in Turkey each year to commemorate the ANZAC landing there on April 25th, 1915. This is the story of some of those who were present at the dawn service ...
Compass – Islam on Parade 2005
There are 250,000 Muslims living in Australia from vastly different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In the wake of the terrorist bombings around the world, a young and dynamic Muslim couple from Melbourne, are working to dispel some stereotypes and to ...
Compass – Paws For Thought 2000
Traditional Christianity taught that humans are superior to animals. Science is rapidly changing that perception. So is non human life important and if so why?
Compass – Pregnant Pause 2006
Four women talk about their experiences with unwanted pregnancies in the fifties, an era before abortion was readily available. One of the women already had two children, was looking after her invalid father, and living with a violent and alcoholic ...
Compass – Quakers: Seeking the Light Within 2003
This is a simple but very informative program about Quakers in Australia today. The Quakers are a protestant group that has existed for over 350 years, also called the Society of Friends.
Compass – Saving Claymore 2002
Fire-bombings, stealing and vandalism were the norm in the Sydney suburb of Claymore, where residents lived in fear and isolation. Then the Catholic Church moved in and introduced a project developed in the third world, which required the residents themselves ...
Compass – The Cardinal’s Cousin 2005
Monica is a lesbian and a former nun. She rose to prominence in 2004 when she published a letter she’d sent to her cousin, Cardinal George Pell, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. She asked him to look her in ...
Compass – Tomorrow’s Islam 2003
From New York to London and Paris, this program examines how Western Muslims are taking the lead in finding new ways to deal with some of the most pressing issues for 21st century Islam.
