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MAKING TRAPS
1994 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 27 min
MAKING TRAPS follows Pauline Chan's first journey to Vietnam, since leaving with her family in 1972, to make her debut feature film, TRAPS. more
MAKING VENUS
2002 (MA) 70 min
MAKING VENUS is an hilarious and revealing portrait of the terrors and excitement of making a low-budget feature film, from fundraising to final test screenings. more
![MALBANGKA COUNTRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/9118.jpg)
MALBANGKA COUNTRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1975 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 29 min
The Malbangka family leaves the social problems of Hermannsburg in central Australia to return to their own traditional land and set up their own independent settlement. more
MARATUS
2016 (M) 30 min
A film about a lost spider and the power of "citizen science". An enthusiastic "citizen scientist" bushwalking in the Namadgi National Park near Canberra stumbles across a tiny, exquisite spider, hitherto unknown to science. Later, when the significance of his find becomes known, the search begins to find the spider... more
MEMOIRS OF A PLAGUE
2010 (G) 77 min
The war against locusts is as old as human civilisation. Filmmaker Rob Nugent examines the complexity of the dramatic interactions between man and locust. more
![MERREPEN [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/2510.jpg)
MERREPEN [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 23 min
The Merrepen palm tree is one of many plants that provide a life source for the people of the Daly River region in the top end of the Northern Territory. In this landscape lavished with natural beauty, we discover the many uses of the Merrepen Palm as well as some unforgettable characters. more
MESSAGE FROM MUNGO
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 70 min
WINNER! UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA MEDIA AWARDS in the Category of "Promotion of Indigenous Recognition". The story of the interaction between Scientists and the Custodians of Indigenous Heritage at Lake Mungo, one of the world's richest archaeological sites. more
MILLI MILLI
1994 (G) 53 min
MILLI MILLI tells the story of the Kimberley people from their point of view. Using the Kimberley people's traditions of storytelling, painting, dancing and taking into account Aboriginal law and culture, the film records a cultural revival from within. more
MISSING PRESUMED DEAD
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 55 min
The mysteries of a World War One German soldier's wallet found in Adelaide, South Australia and a British airman missing in France lead to a deeply personal investigation with unexpected results. more
MORE THAN A FISH KILL
2024 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 38 min
Two beloved rivers and more than 30 million dead fish bring artists, scientists and First Nations custodians together to turn ecological disasters into a journey of cultural healing. more
MORESBY MODERN
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
PNG is slowly joining the globalised world, and if you look closely at this society in transition you can see signs of a modest middle class on the rise, and a new generation coming of age. more
![MOURNING FOR MANGATOPI [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/9119.jpg)
MOURNING FOR MANGATOPI [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1974 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 53 min
An elaborate Tiwi mourning ceremony, performed as an affirmation of traditional culture. more
MUSIC AND MURDER
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
Music and Murder follows the story of three men, all incarcerated for horrific murders, who have become accomplished musicians in prison. Each man believed music was helping them in the long road to being reintegrated into society. more
MUSIC CENTRAL
2023 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 27 min
MUSIC CENTRAL explores the power of music to create connection and healing. Filmed on the Central Coast of New South Wales, this documentary follows the stories of local Elder Uncle Kevin 'Gavi' Duncan, the staff and students at Woy Woy Public School, young singer-songwriter Ruby Archer and the Artistic Director of the... more
![MY COLOUR, YOUR KIND [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/2298.jpg)
MY COLOUR, YOUR KIND [from the CAAMA Collection]
1998 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 11 min
An atmospheric short drama about Aboriginal identity. more
MY GRANDPARENTS
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
A cross-generational documentary in which filmmaker Joshua Marks sets out to find out more about his grandparents. The film is, as Joshua describes it, "a journey of awareness in front of and behind the camera. Gradually, we ask who is the real subject of the film, and who is really in control?" more
MY LIFE WITHOUT STEVE
1987 (PG) 53 min
A film by Gillian Leahy. Through the story of one woman's year in a room with a view, the film catches its audience up in the collective memories of all those who have loved and lost. more
MY REMBETIKA BLUES (English version)
2021 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 83 min
Rembetika music or the Greek blues is a music born of exile and the streets. The film traces the roots of this music in the mass migration of people in the early twentieth century and in particular the journey of the filmmaker's own forebears from Smyrna in Turkey to Sydney, Australia. A universal story about love, life... more
MY REMBETIKA BLUES (Greek version)
2021 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 83 min
Rembetika music or the Greek blues is a music born of exile and the streets. The film traces the roots of this music in the mass migration of people in the early twentieth century and in particular the journey of the filmmaker's own forebears from Smyrna in Turkey to Sydney, Australia. A universal story about love, life... more
MY UNCLE BLUEY
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 16 min
A filmmaker's personal story about her estranged Uncle Bluey - a white man who found his home in a remote Aboriginal community. more
NGANGKARI (NIDF series 5)
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
The role of Ngangkari, Traditional Healer, still plays a vital role in the health and well-being of the Anangu people of Central Australia. Yet only two Ngangkari are employed in full-time positions. This film introduces these two renowned Ngangkari specialists. more
NICE COLOURED GIRLS
1987 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: M) 17 min
NOW DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED! This stylistically daring film audaciously explores the history of exploitation between white men and Aboriginal women, juxtaposing the 'first encounter' between colonisers and native women with the attempts of modern urban Aboriginal women to reverse their fortunes. more
NIGHT PARROT STORIES
2016 (G) 89 min
A cinematic ode to a bird lost in the darkness: a wonderfully inventive and engaging exploration by filmmaker Rob Nugent of the science, mythology and rumours surrounding the elusive nocturnal bird, the Night Parrot, that supposedly disappeared In Australia at the end of the 19th Century. more
NIGHT THE PROWLER, THE
1978/2021 (M) 85 min
A wickedly funny and subversive collaboration between Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick White and one of Australia's most adventurous film directors, Jim Sharman (director of The Rocky Horror Picture Show). more
NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 77 min
Inside an Afghan women's prison. Women are normally faceless in Afghanistan: outside the home, burqas cover them from head to toe. But in prison, they sometimes have more freedom and safety than outside. more
NORTH OF CAPRICORN
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 54 min
"Northern Australia is a profoundly important part of Australia. It's a third of Australia that's in the tropics. It the part of Australia least developed, it's very rich in resources, and its the part of Australia closest to our neighbours," Professor Henry Reynolds. more
NORTHERN LIGHTS
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
Behind the scenes of a successful programme to promote Indigenous participation in AFL, led by Indigenous football legends, Andrew McLeod and Michael Long. It's the story of NT Thunder, a new team with 60% Indigenous players, and a new philosophy of community engagement. more
![NYIRR-MARIE [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/4583.jpg)
NYIRR-MARIE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
Evelyn Hall (Nyirr-Marie), a leader of her community in the campaign for land rights, returns to her country to say goodbye for the last time. more
OCHRE AND INK
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 27 min
OCHRE AND INK tells the extraordinary story of artist Zhou Xiaoping and his inspiring 23 year collaboration with Indigenous artists in the Maningrida area in the heart of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. A film by James Bradley, with co-producer Rachel Clements. more
OH, BEETHOVEN!
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 25 min
Dr Susan West and children from Ainslie Primary School, Canberra, in a special performance of a work about Beethoven's life, followed by discussion about Dr West's innovative approach to music education. more
OK, LET'S TALK ABOUT ME
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 26 min
Meet Eddie. He's a 17-year-old boy with Down Syndrome. He's stubborn and charming, funny and sometimes temperamental. Through the course of this documentary the viewer is invited to get to know Eddie - a rare treat - and journey with him as he turns 18 and prepares to leave school. more
![OLD MAN AND THE INLAND SEA, THE [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/2306.jpg)
OLD MAN AND THE INLAND SEA, THE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 20 min
Norman Hayes Jagamarra gives us a unique Aboriginal perspective on greed, alcohol and the importance of maintaining your pride and self-sufficiency through a working life. more
ON RICHARD'S SIDE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 90 min
Filmed over three decades, On Richard's Side charts the life-story of Richard, a young man with a complex disability since birth. The film provides intimate and poignant insights into his parents' determined quest to establish a quality life for their son and for themselves. more
ON THE BANKS OF THE TIGRIS
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 79 min
A musical odyssey that uncovers the hidden – and almost erased – story of Iraqi music. more
ONCE MY MOTHER
2013 (PG) 75 min
Australian filmmaker Sophia Turkiewicz investigates the reasons why her Polish mother abandoned her in an orphanage as a child and uncovers the truth behind her mother's wartime escape from a Siberian gulag, leaving Sophia to confront her own capacity for forgiveness. more
OPHIR
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 97 min
Voiced entirely by the Indigenous people of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, Ophir observes the colonisation of the land and its people, who at the end of the 1980s were left with no choice but to revolt for their right to exist. more
OUR BOTANICAL BIOSPHERE
1990 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 240 min
This pioneering series of short documentaries, first released as UNDER SOUTHERN SKIES in 1990, is even more relevant today: there is now an ever-increasing urgency for us all to be informed about science, to liberate us from a dependence on politicians and corporations. more
OUR COMMUNITY
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
An exploration of the concept of 'community' in the far northwest of NSW - an intimate expedition through the townships of WALGETT, LIGHTNING RIDGE and SHEEPYARD. more
OUT OF OUR MINDS
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
OUT OF OUR MINDS explores the interlocking stories of Mark Dean, Rita Halabarek and Sonia Teuben. They are full-time professional actors and writers with Geelong's Back to Back Theatre, each of them are people with intellectual disabilities. more
PASSIONATE APPRENTICES, THE
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 75 min
Three intimate portraits of a close-knit group of inspiring people who share a passion for perfection. These three artisans and their apprentices live and work in a quiet valley in Tasmania, in the shadow of Sleeping Beauty Mountain. more
PETYARRE and ATNANGKERE (Our Cave) (From the CAAMA Collection)
2016-7 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 40 min
Two related short documentaries by Viviana Petyarre, featuring artist Gloria Petyarre and her family's search for a cave to which they are culturally connected. For millennia, the Atnangkere Cave has been a Dreaming centrepiece for the Alyawarre people of Atneltye (Boundary Bore), Utopia, north of Alice Springs in central... more
PLEAD GUILTY, GET A BOND
1991 (G) 30 min
A young Aboriginal woman has been charged with wounding her husband during a domestic argument. It is expected by all concerned that she will simply plead guilty and receive a good behaviour bond. The inexperienced legal aid lawyer is outraged by this expectations and persuades Amy to plead her innocence. more
PRODIGAL SON, THE
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 27 min
Alexo hasn't spoken to his son for 15 years. It is only after serious illness that he begins to speak to him again. THE PRODIGAL SON is the moving story of a traditional Macedonian family's 'dilemma' with having a gay son. more
PUMPHEAD
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 74 min
Pumphead is a feature-length documentary exploring patient experiences following major heart surgery - how to understand these experiences and how to live with them. A story of existential crises and transformative experiences, told by eight ex-patients including the filmmaker himself. more
PUTUPARRI and the Rainmakers
2015 (M) 97 min
Against the backdrop of Australia's tangled colonial and Indigenous history, Putuparri and the Rainmakers explores one man's struggle to fulfill his destiny. more
RED MATILDAS
1984 (G) 50 min
Through the lives of three women, RED MATILDAS explores the social and political conditions in Australia during the Great Depression - conditions of massive unemployment, widespread malnutrition and growing militarism at home and abroad - that provoked many people to political activity. more
REDFERN STORY, THE
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 57 min
In Redfern, in inner Sydney, a group of determined visionaries pioneered the National Black Theatre at a turbulent time for Indigenous politics in the 1970s. The Theatre left a lasting legacy on national politics, social welfare and the Australian arts scene. more
REVENIR (To Return)
2018 (PG) 77 min
For years, stories of West African migrants and refugees have been told through the lenses of foreign journalists. Revenir is a story from the inside: a bold new documentary by Australian filmmaker David Fedele in collaboration with Kumut Imesh, a refugee from the Ivory Coast now living in Paris. more
RINGBALIN - BREAKING THE DROUGHT
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 32 min
A powerful documentary about the healing of Australia's greatest river and its diverse peoples through ancient ceremony of culture and spirit. more
RINGTONE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 30 min
In the Yolngu community of Gapuwiyak in the Northern Territory, individual ringtones on mobiles reveal rich insights into lives and relationships. Ringtone features individuals talking directly to camera, revealing the stories behind their own ringtones as well as the pleasures and perils of their new connectivity. more
SCOTT HICKS: sculpting the movie - the experience of directing SHINE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
In this documentary, made for the 20th anniversary of the release of SHINE, director Scott Hicks recalls the long development of the project and the complexities of shooting the film in Australia on a limited budget, contrasting with his subsequent experiences working in Hollywood on major studio productions. more
SECRET AND SACRED
2008 (G) 53 min
A documentary detailing the anthropological and historical story of the Badtjala people of the Hervey Bay and Fraser (K'Gari) Island region. more
SECRET SAFARI, THE
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
A documentary about an overland safari truck which, between 1986 and 1993, ran 40 successful trips smuggling arms into the townships of South Africa without the passengers knowledge. An account of one of the ANC's most audacious military operations in the armed fight against apartheid told by those who were the main protagonists. more
SELLING SICKNESS
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
SELLING SICKNESS explores the unhealthy relationships between society, medical science and the pharmaceutical industry as they promote their new miracle cures - selling not just drugs but also the latest diseases that go with them. more
SENSE OF PLACE, A
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
An intimate portrait of four Vietnamese Australians who, for the past 30 years, have searched to build their identity and home in Australia. more
SERPENT AND THE CROSS, THE
1991 (G) 55 min
In several outback Australian communities Aboriginal artists are consciously seeking an expression that builds bridges between Aboriginal spirituality (the Dreaming) and the Christian religion of their invaders. A look at these artists' thinking and dreaming which provides a rich, privileged look at the artwork, beautifully... more
SEX, DRUGS AND STRING QUARTETS
2003 (M) 27 min
The Landau String Quartet comes together to rehearse. Each player has travelled a very different path to become a musician. In this dramatised documentary, the musicians reveal the story of that journey. more
SHADOW OF MARY POPPINS, THE
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
This documentary explores the complex and troubled life of the creator of Mary Poppins, Pamela Travers. The audience will be taken on a journey tracing the parallel lives of Travers and Mary Poppins from their origins through to their transformation from servant to seer. The enigma of Travers is finally revealed in this... more
SHADOW PANIC
1989/2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 25 min
The feminist classic from 1989, now restored from original 16mm film materials. An innovative film by Margot Nash (director of VACANT POSSESSION and THE SILENCES) based on "the idea of structuring a film via the female gaze". more
SHADOW PLAY
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: M) 79 min
In Indonesia, on 30 September 1965 a group of President Sukarno's guards murdered six generals who were anti-Communist. General Suharto blamed the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). Suharto grabbed power and set up death squads to murder up to a million accused Communist sympathisers. The documentary traces the events... more
SHIFT IN PERCEPTION, A
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 16 min
Journey through the senses and memories of three vision-impaired Australian women. more
SILENCES, THE
2015 (M) 73 min
A film about family secrets and the ties of love, loss and kinship between a mother and daughter. more
SILMA'S SCHOOL
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 83 min
SILMA'S SCHOOL is a compelling observational documentary about a Muslim school in Sydney and the tumultuous struggle by its principal to keep it open. more
SKIN OF OTHERS, THE
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 91 min
A story of modern Australia told through the extraordinary life of Aboriginal WW1 soldier Douglas Grant (c.1885-1951), an intellectual, a journalist, a soldier and a bagpipe player with a fine Scottish accent. Featuring the acclaimed Indigenous actor Balang Tom E. Lewis in his final performance (as Douglas Grant) and guest... more
SLEEP OF REASON, THE
1993 (PG) 50 min
A film about the end of the world: the myth that has been with us since the beginning of civilization, and the possibility made real at Hiroshima in 1945. The journey takes us from medieval paintings to 50s sci fi movies and leaves us better able to understand and deal with our destructive urges. more
SNAKES AND LADDERS
1988 (PG) 59 min
Drawing on interviews and a striking selection of archival footage, this film reveals the expectations and achievements of women who have struggled to gain a tertiary education - and the reality of discrimination. The film employs the unusual device of a whimsical investigator, Sophia Whist, who pieces together the elements... more
![SPEAR IN THE STONE [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/12161.jpg)
SPEAR IN THE STONE [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1983 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 34 min
An age-old tradition of making spear-heads from special stones in Arnhem Land. more
SPECIAL TREATMENT- Locking Up Aboriginal Children
1991 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 56 min
Australia imprisons almost as many black children as are imprisoned in South Africa. Today 45% of all juveniles in NSW jails are Aboriginal, though they form less than 2% of the population. Made by a crew of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, this documentary asks why police are under-using alternative procedures... more
STEPPING OUT
1981 (G) 54 min
In November 1979, forty extraordinary people took to the stage. Labelled by society as mentally handicapped, isolated and hidden away in institutions since early childhood, they came to the Sydney Opera House and gave a performance that held audiences spellbound. This film tells the joyous story of that event. more
STOLEN GENERATIONS
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
The removal of Aboriginal children in Australia was a deliberate government policy and forms part of the history of dispossession of the country's original inhabitants. Every Aboriginal family in Australia has directly or indirectly been affected and the effects have lasted over generations. Many have called this genocide. more
STONE COUNTRY
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
Stone Country is a snapshot of a remote Indigenous community of Ngukurr in northern Australia. more
STRANDED
2006 (M) 52 min
Claudia is trying to start a new life for herself after the loss of her mother. She lives and fights with her loving but inept father and psychotic little sister. When two children are dumped on the family, Claudia moves into her mother's abandoned car in the driveway. She plans to fix it and take off - that's if she can... more
STRONG MEN OF NGUIU
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
Nguiu (known as Wurrumiyanga today) is a community on Bathurst Island, Northern Territory. There the "strong men" have been striving to restore cultural traditions among the youth on the island. Leading by example, they are steering the next generation away from substance abuse and crime to become leaders of tomorrow. more
SYDNEY AT WAR
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
At midnight on Sun May 31, 1942, three Japanese midget submarines broke through Sydney Harbour's defences and launched a surprise attack on an ill-prepared city. During that night of confusion and violence, 21 Australian and 6 Japanese service personnel lost their lives. Sydney At War recounts the events of that fateful... more
TAGGED
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 59 min
TAGGED is the story of four young people growing up in Sydney's notorious south-western suburbs. Reacting against the negative portrayal of young people from their area in the mainstream press, they talk about the things they love in their community, especially its diversity, its familiarity and its youthful energy. more
TAKING PICTURES
1996 (G) 56 min
Taking Pictures focuses on several Australian film makers and the internationally renowned documentaries they made in Papua New Guinea in the 1970s-90s. Juxtaposing clips of the films with interviews of the filmmakers, it reflects upon the Western tradition of inquiring into and recording other people's lives, raising questions... more
![TALES FROM THE DALY - Nauiyu Nambiyu [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/4588.jpg)
TALES FROM THE DALY - Nauiyu Nambiyu [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 20 min
A journey into the stories and spectacular landscapes of the Daly River region in the north-west of the Northern Territory. more
![TALKING LANGUAGE with Ernie Dingo [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/10154.jpg)
TALKING LANGUAGE with Ernie Dingo [from the CAAMA Collection]
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 132 min
There are around 250 languages with 600 dialects spoken on this land. Today it is estimated around 30 of those languages are still strong and spoken daily, while over a hundred are critically endangered. more
TEA WITH MADAME CLOS
2010 (G) 90 min
TEA WITH MADAME CLOS is about an extraordinary woman in her extreme old age living in a small medieval village in South West France. Couched in the framework of a train journey, the filmmaker, Jane Oehr, remembers her many encounters over four years with Madame Clos. more
THIS IS HOW YOU'LL MAKE YOUR BED IN PRISON
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 10 min
The story of Vickie Lee Roach, an Aboriginal woman in an Australian prison who challenged the Federal government to gain the right to vote ... and won. more
THOSE WHO SAID NO
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 89 min
Crimes against humanity committed by the Iranian regime in the 1980s are revealed in the Iran Tribunal, an enquiry held under the auspices of the International Court of Justice in the Hague in 2012-3. A film by Iranian filmmaker, Nima Sarvestani, co-director of NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS. more
TIME TO DRAW THE LINE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
East Timor was born as a new nation in 2002 after 25 years of turmoil and war. Australia's peace-keeping force, INTERFET, helped with the peaceful transition to nationhood. Now, a darker story of Australia's relationship with this new nation is emerging. more
TOTEM & ORE
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 98 min
In Australia, British atomic bomb testing ran from 1953 to 1963 at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia. Indigenous communities had to live with the impact of these tests – testing that infected many with radioactive fallout. more
TRAVELS ON MY DONKEY
2024 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 32 min
In this hand-drawn animated film by Lee Whitmore, the filmmaker travels back in time on her donkey to meet her great-great-uncle, John Reed Hill, in Egypt in 1837. She joins him on an expedition to explore the pyramids of Gizeh. For Lee the journey is the adventure of a lifetime. more
TUPAIA'S ENDEAVOUR
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 119 min
A first contact story, told from a Pacific point of view. Tupaia was a Polynesian high-priest, star-navigator, and artist who joined Cook's Endeavour expedition in Tahiti in 1769 as a navigator, and had a profound impact on Cook's journey and survival. This film cements Tupaia's role as a central figure in Pacific history. more
TWELVE CANOES
2008 (PG) 66 min
In the wake of the international success of TEN CANOES, Rolf de Heer has collaborated again with the Ramingining community of north Arnhem Land in making this series of twelve short documentaries that together paint a visual and audio portrait of the people, history, culture and place of the Yolngu people. more
TWO HOMELANDS
2024 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
Fifty years after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, TWO HOMELANDS is both a commemoration of war and a celebration of community as six senior Australian Greek Cypriots - aged 70 to 102 - give emotional eyewitness accounts of the cost of war and their migration to Australia. more
UNDERCURRENTS: meditations on power
2023 (M) 19 min
A poetic essay documentary by Margot Nash, about the undercurrents of history playing out in the present: a 'song' for the dark times about repression and resistance. more
VIETNAM NURSES
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
The untold story of the young Australian Army nurses who served at the only Australian-run field hospital in the Vietnam War. more
VIRTUOSI
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 76 min
A documentary about the drive to be an artist and the special nature of virtuosity in dance. Through exhilarating dance and stories from the heart, Virtuosi reveals intimate and outstanding portraits of eight New Zealand dance artists. more
VISIONS OF PARADISE
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 44 min
The story of four young idealists who thought they had found paradise on earth only to discover they were actually in mind control cults. more
VOICES OF TRANSITION
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 66 min
Powered by the conviction that crisis can be a major catalyst for change, Voices of Transition present paths towards a new model of human existence: one which is fair, environmentally sound and fulfilling, with soil and people supporting each other in a balanced and sustainable system. more
![WALBIRI FIRE CEREMONY, A - Ngatjakula [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/10113.jpg)
WALBIRI FIRE CEREMONY, A - Ngatjakula [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1977 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 19 min
Ngatjakula is one of the most spectacular ceremonies of central Australia, employing fire, and several days of singing and dance, to resolve conflicts and re-affirm social order among the Warlpiri (Walbiri) people. more
![WALKING DANCING BELONGING [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/3326.jpg)
WALKING DANCING BELONGING [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
Three women from the Kununurra area of Western Australia share their art and their experience of being "in country". more
WANDERING SOULS
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 75 min
Wandering Souls follows the mounting of a new stage production, Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia, to honour the nearly 2 million Cambodians who died during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. more
WANJA
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 25 min
Wanja is a documentary about 'the Block', through the eyes of Auntie Barb and the life of Wanja her blue heeler dog, recently deceased. The community on the Block's many and varied stories of Wanja reflect on the issues affecting this indigenous community in the heart of Sydney. more
![WARREN WILLIAMS - The Stories, The Songs [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/6584.jpg)
WARREN WILLIAMS - The Stories, The Songs [from the CAAMA Collection]
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
A journey into the world of Warren H. Williams – his music and his Arrernte culture. more
WAYS OF THINKING
1990 (G) 29 min
A young Warlpiri Aboriginal man wants to leave his traditional community to seek work in a town. His wife is against this move; she wants to remain in the community, to be part of the traditional life of her tribe and to bring up their children in their ancient culture. She fears that the children will lose their language,... more
WE OF LITTLE VOICE (NIDF series 5)
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
WE OF LITTLE VOICE reveals the effects of uranium mining and nuclear testing on Indigenous communities in South Australia. more
WEDDING SARI SHOWDOWN
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
WEDDING SARI SHOWDOWN follows 2 young lovers, Ramona and Anu, as they struggle to maintain their relationship and their independence against the every-increasing pressure of family obligations and cultural expectations throughout their wedding preparations. more
WHAT I WROTE - Andrew Bovell
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 111 min
Andrew Bovell talks about his use of language, story and form, his re-writing of the plays, the rehearsal process and his collaboration with other writers, actors and artists. more
WHAT I WROTE - David Williamson
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 119 min
David Williamson talks about a lifetime of writing, the changing nature of Australian theatre and the rehearsal process. more
WHAT I WROTE - Debra Oswald
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 115 min
Oswald talks about the stories behind the plays, her stagecraft and her passion for notebooks. more
WHAT I WROTE - Hannie Rayson
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 60 min
Hannie Rayson engages with the national conversation and rehearses the big debates of our time. She uses family as a platform to discuss these issues. Hotel Sorrento, Inheritance, Life After George and the provocative Two Brothers make up her most influential works. She talks freely about her influences, her working methods... more
WHAT I WROTE - Joanna Murray-Smith
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 125 min
Joanna Murray-Smith talks about writing first drafts, her childhood influences, her overseas productions and her working relationship with directors. more
WHAT I WROTE - Katherine Thomson
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 60 min
The dissident walks through Katherine Thomson's plays – the whistleblower, the unionist and the activist occupy her stage. We see them in Harbour, Mavis Goes to Timor, and Wonderlands. Katherine talks about her writing process, where he research has led her and where her ideas come from. She discusses her stagecraft... more
WHAT I WROTE - Louis Nowra
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 60 min
A prolific writer who has changed the way we view theatre. From his evocative The Golden Age through Cosi and Radiance to the Boyce Trilogy we have come to expect the Nowra stage to show us the unexpected. A master of adaptation Nowra talks frankly about his working methods, his fascination with the fall of empires and... more
WHAT I WROTE - Matt Cameron
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 60 min
An Australian playwright whose influences are suburbia, politics and rock music. His Ruby Moon delighted and shocked audiences. He holds a lens up to the ordinary and shows us how disturbing, how provocative it can be. Cameron talks about his themes of love, loss and the impossible and he shares his interest in comedy,... more
![WHO WE ARE - Brave New Clan [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/11889.jpg)
WHO WE ARE - Brave New Clan [from the CAAMA Collection]
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 47 min
Six young Australians share what Indigenous culture means to them today in contemporary urban Australia. From the bustling streets of Sydney to the aquamarine vistas of the Torres Strait, their stories span a diverse population across the country and yet share common themes of resilience, courage, optimism and success. more
![WILLABERTA JACK [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/3327.jpg)
WILLABERTA JACK [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
He survived an attempted killing. He survived an unjust legal system. But can he survive white "payback"? A true story from the Northern Territory, 1929, which inspired the feature film, SWEET COUNTRY. more
WOMAN WITH AN EDITING BENCH
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 15 min
Inspired by the woman who edited Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Woman With An editing bench reveals the personal impact of Stalin's censorship of cinema on a woman navigating politics, bureaucracy and the impetuous outbursts of collaborators to create something beautiful despite the odds. more
![YELLOW FELLA [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/2299.jpg)
YELLOW FELLA [from the CAAMA Collection]
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 25 min
A portrait of the late Balang Tom E. Lewis who as a young man in 1978 was chosen by director Fred Schepisi to star in THE CHANT OF JIMMY BLACKSMITH. The life of the character he played was hauntingly close to his own – a restless young man of mixed heritage, struggling between two cultures to find his own identity. more