Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘rivers’

29 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

0-9

A 5000 Mile Tour Through Central Australia documentary – 1930

Clearly, exploring Australia’s interior back in the 1930s was very challenging.

A

All the Rivers Run television program – 1983

This program won a swag of awards and has arguably been watched by more people, more often, than any other Australian mini-series of the prolific ’80s.

Alyawarre Country documentary – 2001

For decades there was awful conflict between pastoralists and Indigenous people; two elders share their perspective, in their language.

B

A Big Country – Perkins Navy television program – 1979

Bruce Perkins, a highly trained engineer with a pioneering spirit, says you need someone for the top end who is prepared to get things done.

The Breaking of the Drought feature film – 1920

An outback family faces ruin through drought and a son corrupted by life in the big city.

Brisbane Dreaming documentary – 1994

Historical footage and re-enactments help tell stories about the Indigenous people who were displaced by Brisbane.

Buckley, Anthony: Buckley Family Collection: Tarn Shan Tin Mine, Thailand home movie – c1928

This footage is rare because Australians travelled infrequently to South-East Asia in the 1920s.

C

Chinese Take Away documentary – 2002

An adaptation of a physical theatre show by performer Anna Yen, which explores stories about her family.

The Colony television program – 2005

In this 'living history’ series, participants chosen to match the social fabric of the time as convicts, free settlers and Indigenous Australians relive the birth of the Australian colony.

Cradle of Creation documentary – 1944

A compendium of the Middle East filmed by Frank Hurley during his years working as an official war photographer in the Second World War.

I

Isle of Many Waters sponsored film – 1939

The opening credits read 'a portrayal by Frank Hurley described by himself’ and contain the relaxed and descriptive narration style evident in many of his travelogues.

J

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.

K

Kokoda Trail, Cadets from Scots College home movie – 1972

The challenging terrain of the Kokoda Trail is constantly evident as the boys climb over rocks, through jungle, across rivers and up mountains.

M

Merrepen documentary – 2005

Women from the Nauiya community 'are painting our stories and making things’ to practise cultural knowledge and pass on and preserve traditions.

Minter, R: South-East Asia, India and Rome home movie – 1958

This home movie from Robert Minter follows his travels to Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma, India, Turkey, Greece and Italy.

N

Nature of Australia – A Separate Creation television program – 1989

This first episode of the most expensive wildlife program ever made in Australia boasts magnificent photography and a great script.

Nature of Australia – Land of Flood and Fire television program – 1988

The animals and plants must cope with the stresses of life in a place that swings savagely between the wet season and the dust and heat of the dry season.

The New Gladesville Bridge sponsored film – 1967

A public relations film made for the NSW Department of Main Roads documenting the construction of the New Gladesville Bridge, then the longest reinforced concrete arch span in the world.

O

The Overlanders feature film – 1946

As the Japanese threaten northern Australia in 1942, a drover takes a mob of prime beef cattle across 2,600 kms of hazardous country to Queensland.

Oyster Farmer feature film – 2004

Writer-director Anna Reeves spent four years immersed in the culture of the beautiful Hawkesbury River area before making this drama.

P

Peach’s Explorers – The Secret of the Rivers: Captain Charles Sturt television program – 1984

This Bill Peach series uses recreations, diary entries and letters, among other devices, to tell the story of Australia’s colonial exploration in visually interesting ways.

R

Ross Smith’s Flight from London to Australia documentary – 1919

In 1919, aviator Ross Smith and crew became the first Australians to fly between England and Australia in under 30 days. Cameraman Frank Hurley joined them.

S

Snowy Hydro - Snowy 69 sponsored film – 1969

This 1969 film makes a concerted effort to explain the many facets of the Snowy Hydro scheme to the public, including how the system was being built.

Snowy Hydro - The Best of the Years sponsored film – 1974

This 1974 documentary examines the multicultural workforce and its achievement in building one of the world’s largest hydroelectric schemes to that date.

Stateline – The Transcontinental Dream television program – 2004

The spine of the story is Mark Bowling’s journey from Adelaide to Darwin on the historic Ghan, but what makes the story special are moments from the history of the region.

Steamboat Holidays on the Murray River documentary – c1920

This silent documentary shows the landscape and townships along the Murray River and is from a series made in the 1920s called See Australia First.

T

Terrain Study of Phuoc Tuy Province South Vietnam sponsored film – 1967

Many of the places named in this formerly restricted army training film have become pilgrimage tour destinations for veterans of the Vietnam War.

A Trip Along the River Murray documentary – 1925

This silent black-and-white film from 1925 emphasises the ‘Mighty Murray’ river’s significance in Australia’s agricultural and natural history.

Turn Around short film – 2002

Director Samantha Saunders refers to her film as a 'girl fantasy’ and it is refreshing to have an all-Indigenous cast in a romantic comedy.