Film Australia

On 20 October 1973, the Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. From conception to completion, it had taken more than 15 years and over $100 million dollars. In the years since its completion, the Sydney Opera House has become one of the most identifiable of Australia’s icons - ranking with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru, the koala and kangaroo - and is considered by many to be among the world's great architectural masterpieces.

The Douglas Mawson Antarctic Expedition of 1912 is considered one of the most amazing feats of endurance of all time. Although his two companions perished, Douglas Mawson survived, but how? In a bold historical experiment, scientist and adventurer Tim Jarvis is retracing the gruelling experience, with the same meagre rations, primitive clothing and equipment to uncover what happened to Mawson physically — and mentally — as a man hanging on the precipice of life and death.

During World War II there were nearly 2,500 Allied prisoners held in Sandakan POW camp in British North Borneo. Along with the ravages of war and the struggle to survive abject conditions, only six of these POW's were found alive when the war finally ended. In the years that followed, the horror stories of human depravity and the atrocities committed by the Japanese at Sandakan POW camp would come to light, considered by many as one of the most devastating chapters of the Pacific War.

An Australian couple strive to prove that chemical companies have polluted the water supply, giving their daughter leukemia.

A disturbing drama about a young mother who physically abuses her baby. Feeling overwhelmed and aware that she's not coping after the birth of her third child, she sends desperate cries for help. But her mother, husband, neighbour and clinic sister do not recognise the seriousness of the situation until the baby ends up in hospital with a fractured skull. A heart-wrenching film that illustrates the experiences of many women who suffer from post-natal depression.

Every September Sydney's inner-suburban Leichhardt Council re-elects it mayor. Incumbent Larry Hand was popular with the citizenry but they don't vote for mayor - the 12 councillors do - and after three years of Larry, at least four councillors were after his job. When film-makers Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson settled in at Leichhardt Council in early 1994 the knives were already being sharpened. A battle royal was in the making, and so it came to pass. By the end of September Larry had fought the fight of his life, with Connolly and Anderson documenting every bit of it on film. Ambition, courage, envy, hatred, loyalty, betrayal, disaster, triumph... in other words, a classic study in politics.

The director explores the birth origins of actress Merle Oberon, traveling to Tasmania and India in search of the truth, but her quest ultimately results in probably more questions than it answers.

The adventures of Golden Retriever pup Napoleon and his friend, the parrot Birdo Lucci.

It tells the story of a young female social worker who begins work at a hospital for retarded children, and discovers that some of the psychological problems attributed to these children are incorrectly diagnosed. Proving this to be the case is difficult, however, as it is generally accepted that as those who are 'profoundly retarded' cannot communicate, therefore they cannot think. In the case of Annie O'Farrell (Tina Arhondis), finding a way for her to 'talk', other than speaking or writing, finally shows that she is not only able to think, but is highly intelligent. The battle against the hospital to acknowledge this in a legal sense goes to court, as the psychiatrists try to hide their misdiagnosis.

A sensitive portrayal of a young office worker who alleges sexual abuse by her employer. She loses her job as a result of her claims. This dramatised situation looks at the ways in which an employee can be victimised in an office environment without those around being aware of the situation.

How Wonderful is a hilarious and really honest look at pregnancy, featuring a cast of well known Australian actors and actresses.

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s.

Aussie boys of Asian descent candidly discuss their status as a "minority within a minority".

Generally regarded as Australia's finest railway film and winner of many awards the world over, A Steam Train Passes is a nostalgic, imaginative essay on one of the majestic C38 class steam locomotives, 3801. The locomotive has recently returned to service and is currently operating out of the NSW Rail Museum at Thirlmere, south of Sydney.

Profile on three young Adelaide women. Diana, Kerry and Josie are now 18 years old, and continue to have open and frank discussions about their lives.

Why do women and girls feel insecure about body image, and what thoughts tempt them towards eating disorders and other strange beauty rituals? Gorgeous follows the perils of cartoon character Hermoine the Modern Girl as she tackles plastic surgery, beauty therapy and bulimia in a feral fit of inadequacy. Undermined by her evil inner voice, otherwise known as Deirdre the Weird Fairy, Hermoine journeys from heavy chocolate biscuit abuse to tortuous treatment at the beauty salon, the boutique and the gym. After narrowly escaping the clutches of an out-of-control plastic surgeon, Hermoine finally rebels against Deidre’s obsession with eating behaviour and ‘beauty’ and proves that modern girls can stop feeling inadequate and regain their self-esteem.

Three young women in Adelaide, Australia, reflect on their past and futures. This is a shorter version of Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better, created for educational use.

An epic tale about the making of Australia. This tells the stories of the founding fathers and of the people in six separate colonies in the decades leading to Federation. It's a tale of winners and losers, of great debates which unified the country, of the struggle not just to make an Australian nation, but to create Australian democracy.

Excessive speed is the number one killer on the roads: one-thrid of all road deaths are caused by it. By excessive speeding drivers risk their own lives and those of others.

The world continues to look to Japan as a highly industrialized, future-oriented country that has retained much of its ancient tradition. This series provides an insight into the character of a highly complex nation by examining the lives of nine Japanese from widely diverse backgrounds in the context of social and economic developments.