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JAVA SPIRIT, THE: Religious Diversity in Indonesia
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 45 min
An exploration of changing attitudes to religion and spirituality in Java, Indonesia. more
JOHN FARROW: HOLLYWOOD'S MAN IN THE SHADOWS
2021 (PG) 96 min
This award-winning documentary is the first ever made about one of Hollywood's most prolific yet forgotten filmmakers, John Villiers Farrow (1904-1963). Part mystery, part biography, part film noir, the documentary follows the stranger-than-fiction story of this Australian-born, Oscar-winning filmmaker. more
JOURNEY WEST (BUWARRALA ARYAH)
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
In the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia, Aboriginal Elders lead their community on a traditional walk across Country to re-connect children and youth to their culture. more
KARAM IN JAIPUR
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 54 min
This third film in the Doon School Quintet follows the main protagonist of With Morning Hearts into the next phase of his life in Jaipur House, one of the five main houses of the school. more
KEEN AS MUSTARD
1989 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 46 min
Re-release of an important documentary that explores little known experiments in chemical warfare conducted in Australia from 1942 to 1945. more
![KEEPERS OF THE STORY - Jandamarra [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/4590.jpg)
KEEPERS OF THE STORY - Jandamarra [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
The story of the Bunuba people's efforts to keep alive the story of Jandamarra and his war against white settlers in the 1880s in the Kimberleys, as a source of inspiration for Aboriginal people and all Australians. more
KIDNAPPED!
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
The extraordinary story of a group of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korean spies in the 1970s and 1980s and the subsequent struggle of their families to have their loved ones returned. more
KILLING PRISCILLA
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 55 min
A filmmaker with three films to his name, including one huge hit and one enormous flop, attempts to get his career back on track and direct a stylish thriller in this behind-the-scenes documentary by costume designer Lizzy Gardiner. more
KIM & HARLEY & THE KIDS (Family Foibles)
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: M) 27 min
Kim and Harley and the Kids looks at how hard family life can be when resources are limited. Kim has four children including four-year-old twins. Her partner Harley is father to the youngest three kids and his heart is in the right place. They all live below the poverty line in a Ministry of Housing home in outer Melbourne. more
KINGS OF BAXTER
2017 (M) 66 min
A rare insight into life behind bars for juvenile inmates in one of the country's largest juvenile justice centres: two actors from the Bell Shakespeare company engage with young offenders in an attempt to stage a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth for their families and fellow inmates. more
KORIAM'S LAW and the Dead Who Govern
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 110 min
In Koriam's Law Australian anthropologist Andrew Lattas meets his match in philosopher-informant Peter Avarea of Matong village, Pomio, Papua New Guinea. Driven by their feisty dialogue and with access to sacred ceremonies, the film patiently goes about making sense of that mysterious Pacific phenomenon, the "cargo-cult". more
KOTLA WALKS - performing locality
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 92 min
This film tells the story of the residents of Kotla Mubarakpur, an 'urban village' in South Delhi, focusing on the family of Sarita and Raman Bhardwaj, their friends and neighbours. more
LAND BETWEEN, THE
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 77 min
An intimate insight into the hidden and desperate lives of Sub-Saharan African migrants living in the mountains of northern Morocco: most dream of jumping the fence into the Spanish enclave of Melilla, in search of "a better life" in Europe. more
LANGUAGE OF LIGHT, THE
2023 (M) 171 min
Intimate portraits of seven ground-breaking Australian photographers, each with a significant body of work and each with a different photographic style. more
LAST OF THE NOMADS, THE
1997 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
THE LAST OF THE NOMADS tells the moving story of Warri and Yatungka, the last of the Mandildjara people to be living a traditional nomadic lifestyle in the remote Gibson Desert of central Australia. more
LAST STAND AT NYMBOIDA
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 56 min
The remarkable story of a worker rebellion that made international history. Bonus 35 minute extra feature includes interviews with ANDREW VICKERS, General Secretary, CFMEU Mining & Energy Chairman, Mineworkers Trust, and ALAN MURRAY, mining historian and author. more
LAST WRIGHT, THE
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
An award-winning film about the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the story of the last hotel he designed. In Mason City, Iowa, Wright was commissioned to design a city block encompassing a bank and hotel facing the city park. Soon scandal and tragedy ruined his career but the Park Inn Hotel still stands as one of his... more
LEAST SAID, SOONEST MENDED
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
The story of the filmmaker's twin sister: despatched at the age of 15 to an institution where she was hidden away and arrangements made for the adoption of her baby. She then lived for the next 25 years without knowing where her child was or whether she was alive or dead. more
LIFE IS A VERY STRANGE THING (English language version)
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 80 min
Frédéric, a former high school rebel, ethnomusicologist, and multinational executive, returns from decades abroad, to a France that is both familiar and on edge. A quirky and moving portrait by outsiders, exploring what it is to be French in the 21st century. A delightful film by Les McLaren and Annie Stiven. more
LIFE IS A VERY STRANGE THING (French language version)
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 80 min
Frédéric, a former high school rebel, ethnomusicologist, and multinational executive, returns from decades abroad, to a France that is both familiar and on edge. A quirky and moving portrait by outsiders, exploring what it is to be French in the 21st century. more
LIFE OF THE TOWN
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 390 min
13 half hour episodes detailing the happy, sad, funny and dramatic endeavours of a community of battlers united through footy. Narrated by Dale Kickett, LIFE OF THE TOWN is a homage to grass roots football and is a window into the lives of the men, women and children who are passionate about their community. more
LIFE'S BURNING DESIRE
1992 (G) 51 min
LIFE'S BURNING DESIRE follows the rise of Paul Mercurio, the star of STRICTLY BALLROOM, as an internationally acclaimed actor, dancer and choreographer. more
LIGHT FROM THE SHADOWS
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 29 min
The remarkable life and work of Aboriginal artist Danny Eastwood and his contribution to the well-being of his community in western Sydney, and to Reconciliation and Australian culture at large. more
LIGHT YEARS
1991 (G) 47 min
NOW SUPERBLY RE-MASTERED FROM ORIGINAL FILM MATERIALS! A unique record of the life and work of eminent Australian photographer, Olive Cotton. more
LIGHTING A CANDLE
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 56 min
Dr Catherine Hamlin's 50 year journey for the destitute women of Ethiopia. EXTRA FEATURES include 3 additional short films: A COMPASSIONATE VISION, HEAVEN SENT and LABOUR OF LOVE. more
LILI (English version)
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 85 min
LILI is a powerful exploration of inter-generational trauma; a mother, Lili, abandons her two-year-old daughter as she flees from Hungary in 1956 when the Soviets quash the Hungarian revolution. The trauma sparks a history of abandonment that spans four generations of Lili's family. more
![LINK-UP DIARY [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7692.jpg)
LINK-UP DIARY [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1987 (G) 87 min
On the road with Link-up, an organisation that re-unites Aboriginal families more
![LOCKHART FESTIVAL [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/9052.jpg)
LOCKHART FESTIVAL [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1974 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 33 min
A classic documentary about an Aboriginal dance festival organised by the Lockhart River community in far north Queensland. more
LONG GOODBYE, THE
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 55 min
THE LONG GOODBYE follows the journeys of three families living with dementia as they struggle to maintain the identity and dignity of those they love. Filmed over a 3 year period, the documentary celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to search for meaning and hope when the end is known and inescapable. more
LONG NIGHT'S JOURNEY INTO DAY
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: M) 94 min
This documentary studies South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up by the post-apartheid, democratic government to consider amnesty for perpetrators of crimes committed under apartheid's reign. more
LOUSY LITTLE SIXPENCE
1983 (G) 54 min
DIGITALLY RESTORED! In NSW, in 1909, the Aborigines Protection Board planned to break up Aboriginal communities by forcibly removing their children and hiring them out as servants to white employers. The title of this powerful documentary comes from the wages that were to be paid to the children. Many never saw that lousy... more
MAGIC HARVEST
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
Feeding the world's ever-expanding population is a growing global concern. Where is the land that once grew food? It's at your own back door! This documentary tells the story of a backyard revolution - new food-growing gardens, one square metre at a time. more
MALANGAN LABADAMA
1982 (G) 58 min
The story of three brothers and their tribute to deceased clansman, Buk-Buk. Their preparations, and the performances of the 'malangan' is vividly portrayed in this superbly photographed film. 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
MAN ON THE RIM - DVD 2
1989 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 224 min
An 11 part film series which was first released in 1989 and represents one of the major achievements in the field of pre-history, archeology and anthropology. DVD 2 consists of 4 episodes: Changing the Menu | The Cutting Edge | The Powerhouse | Pure & Simple. more
MAN ON THE RIM - DVD 3
1989 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 168 min
An 11 part film series which was first released in 1989 and represents one of the major achievements in the field of pre-history, archeology and anthropology. DVD 3 consists of 3 episodes: Roads Without Wheels | The Feathered Serpent | The Last Horizon. more
MAN WITHOUT PIGS
1990 (G) 59 min
MAN WITHOUT PIGS offers a rare insight into the dynamics of village life in Papua New Guinea. The film explores the antagonism aroused when conflict between traditional custom and Western values occurs in an isolated community. 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
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
MICK'S GIFT (Family Foibles)
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 27 min
Mick Hudson was mythologised by his family but his films of the 1950s and the memories of loved ones leave contradictory images prompting a reassessment of the 'real' Mick. more
MILLION ACRES A YEAR, A
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
The devastating story of an ecological disaster: the epic history of post-war agricultural development in Western Australia and the personal journeys of a rural vanguard who came to acknowledge that current forms of agriculture were not sustainable. The re-release of a remarkable documentary from 2002, still powerfully... more
MINISTER WITHOUT MONEY
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
Minister Without Money portrays Dr John Waiko's political rise and fall fourteen years after the first film about Waiko, Man Without Pigs (1990) which focused on the significance of Dr Waiko's achievement as the first Indigenous scholar to gain the title of Professor in Papua New Guinea. 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
MORNING SUN
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 117 min
A brilliant portrait of China's "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" of the 1960s and 70s. Another extraordinary film from the team that made the award-winning THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE. more
![MPARNTWE - Sacred Sites [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/6587.jpg)
MPARNTWE - Sacred Sites [from the CAAMA Collection]
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
The continuous struggle by Central Australia's Arrernte people to maintain their sacred sites in the face of property development in the Mparntwe (Alice Springs) area. more
MR STREHLOW'S FILMS
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
The life and work of one of Australia's most eminent and controversial anthropologists, T.G.H. (Ted) Strehlow. more
MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 93 min
Was William Shakespeare truly the greatest English author, or does that honour really belong to Christopher Marlowe, a peer of the great bard who penned a number of popular plays during the late 1500s? This documentary plunges deep into the mystery surrounding the authorship of the plays and Marlowe's supposed murder. 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
MUSLIMS IN AUSTRALIA
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 76 min
Take a journey and discover how deep Muslim history runs in Australia. Discover the earliest contact that dates back to the 1600s, their connection with the indigenous population and the rich contribution they made. more
MY MOTHER MY SON
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
The story of an Aboriginal mother and daughter [Mona & Kymmy], both victims of the stolen generation, who embark on a journey to regain custody of Kymmy's young son Rowland. They are determined to shed the baggage from their past and take control of their own lives and by so doing break the cycle of dispossession, broken... more
NEW BEIJING
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
Swinging from old to new, this documentary deals with sustainability, climate change, urban development and architecture, giving a panoramic view of the biggest construction boom in history and charts the modern face of Beijing and its newly iconic buildings. more
NEW BOYS, THE
2003 (G) 100 min
THE NEW BOYS provides a comparison to the group viewed in With Morning Hearts, for these boys appear more divided and class-conscious. Within the group there is a range of personalities and backgrounds - some are natural leaders, some subject to teasing and bullying, some argumentative and some peace-makers. 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 CRIES
1990 (G) 17 min
DIGITALLY REMASTERED! NIGHT CRIES – a story of a white woman and her adopted Aboriginal daughter, told with vibrantly coloured landscapes and a richly constructed soundscape. The film is in part a response by visual artist Tracey Moffatt to Charles Chauvel's celebrated feature film, JEDDA (1955). 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
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
NOT A BEDROOM WAR
1992 (G) 52 min
In 1992, four hundred of the world's most prominent women met in Dublin to discuss new visions of leadership. Hosted by Mary Robinson, Ireland's first woman president, NOT A BEDROOM WAR is the behind-the-scenes story of this historic and extraordinary gathering. more
NUN'S NEW HABIT, A
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 56 min
This documentary follows Sister Carmel, a sister of the Good Samaritans, in her fight for social justice. Along with many of her contemporaries, she is passionately involved with the plight of refugees who were incarcerated in detention for many years and the ongoing psychological trauma suffered after their release. 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
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 A QUEEN
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 50 min
A universal story of a rural community with big aspirations ... Grafton in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, and its inspired annual celebration of its rich history. 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
ONE LAST CHANCE
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 36 min
An award-winning film about justice and morality, by Rod Freedman (producer of ONCE MY MOTHER). 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
ORIGINAL MERMAID, THE
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
From crippled child to the star of the biggest theatres in the world, the story of Annette Kellerman is truly without peer. Along the way she changed the face of swimming, fashion and dance and helped forge a new identity for women. 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
OVER THE EDGE
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 56 min
Teenagers in the series ON THE EDGE reunite 5 years later as young adults facing a turbulent world. This film explores how their choices have determined their present circumstances. Some are working, some in jail, and three are parents. Every one of them is living an extraordinary life and coming to terms with their world. more
PAINTING THE TOWN
1986 (G) 59 min
PAINTING THE TOWN is a film about art and artists, culture and politics. Through the story of Yosl Bergner, the film reveals a community of Australian painters who sought to create an art that would reflect the great social upheavals of the 1930s and 1940s. more
PAPA BILONG CHIMBU
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 54 min
In 1937 a young Catholic missionary, Father John Nilles, arrived in the highlands of Papua New Guinea – one of the first whites the local people had ever seen. There he would stay for the next 54 years. More than just a priest, he would become an anthropologist, linguist, politician and clan leader. 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
PASSPORT TO PARENTHOOD
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 56 min
When Melbourne couple Davor Dirlic and his wife Nina decide to adopt Petra, whilst visiting their homeland Croatia, they embark on an emotional rollercoaster that will uncover a tragic past. 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
PIONEERS OF LOVE
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 110 min
An epic story of Immigrant and Indigenous experiences in far north Queensland spanning across the 20th century. more
POLES APART: The Blue Poles Controversy
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
POLES APART places the acquisition by the Whitlam government of Jackson Pollock's 'Blue Poles' in all the turbulence of its social and political context. more
PORTRAITS OF US
2022 (PG) 82 min
An intimate portrait of the life and work of iconoclastic New Zealand artist Geoff Dixon. See GEOFF DIXON - PORTRAITS OF US: more
PRISON SONGS
2015 (M) 56 min
The inmates of a Darwin prison are shown in a new light in Australia's first documentary musical. Incarcerated in tropical Northern Territory, over 800 inmates squeeze into the overcrowded spaces of Berrimah Prison, and share their experiences in the most extraordinary way – through song. 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
RAOUL WALLENBERG: Between The Lines
1985 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 86 min
Raoul Wallenberg was an unlikely hero. A Swedish diplomat, he risked his life to challenge the Nazi forces in Hungary and to save the lives of as many as 100,000 Jews in Budapest in 1944. more
RED BOWMEN, THE
1978 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 58 min
The record of a ceremony called Ida which is performed every year by villagers of the Waina-Sowanda district of West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. A film by Chris Owen. 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
REMEMBERING COUNTRY
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
An intimate autobiographical film that invites the audience into Harold Furber's vivid memories of being a desert kid stolen away to a tropical island. 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
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
RIVER OF NO RETURN
2008 (PG) 52 min
The story of Frances Daingangan, one of the stars of TEN CANOES, and her journey from traditional tribal life to the international red carpet. A film written and directed by Darlene Johnson, one of Australia's leading Indigenous documentary filmmakers, acclaimed for GULPILIL – ONE RED BLOOD and STOLEN GENERATIONS. more
ROAD TO HOME, THE
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
A portrait of the West Papuan Benny Wenda, now in exile in England, and his on-going fight for the right to self-determination for his people. more
ROBERT FORTUNE - THE TEA THIEF
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
Behind the story of a simple cup of tea is a tale of espionage and intrigue captured in a documentary by Melbourne filmmaker Diane Perelsztein. The cup that cheers has a complex, often dark history. The story of tea is a tale of politics, economics and spirituality, of espionage, art and the drug trade. more
ROCKING THE FOUNDATIONS
1985 (PG) 92 min
DIGITALLY RESTORED! A riveting documentary about the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation (BLF). Filmmaker Pat Fiske, herself one of the first women members of the BLF, develops a portrait of this once-powerful union through interviews with former union members and officials, archival film, and television news... more
RUNNING WITH CRUTCHES (original title: ShoPaaPaa)
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 96 min
Cinematically bold and intellectually mesmerising, Running With Crutches is an exploration of the line between drama and documentary in the worst of times and the best of times. A film by Shekhar Bassi and Molly Reynolds. more
RUSHING TO SUNSHINE
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 73 min
A rare and remarkable insight into the relations between North and South Korea at a personal, intimate level, through the stories of student dissidents, ex-political prisoners, writers and artists. more
![SATELLITE DREAMING [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/10777.jpg)
SATELLITE DREAMING [from the CAAMA Collection]
1991 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
A film of considerable historic importance, this documentary narrates the emergence of Indigenous media in Australia, and discusses its role in preserving Indigenous languages and culture. more
SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN
2018 (M) 99 min
In this beautifully crafted and moving memoir, Margarethe von Trotta recalls the inspiration she found in the work of Ingmar Bergman: his films triggered her decision to become a director and guided many of her creative decisions over her long career. 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
SENSO DAUGHTERS
1990 (PG) 55 min
During World War II, 140,000 Japanese troops died in Papua New Guinea. Considered the 'Forgotten War,' neither the war nor its veterans received public recognition in Japan. Another unacknowledged tragedy of that campaign was the army's mistreatment of New Guinean women and 'comfort girls'. Over 90,000 'comfort girls' were... more
SERIOUSLY SINGING
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
At a small school in the Victorian Mallee, indefatigable 91 year-old choral conductor, the late Jessie Carmichael, works with a group of novice singers to revisit a legendary moment in local history. 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
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
SHARK TRACKER
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 47 min
A spectacular voyage of discovery with a team of marine biologists, catching and tagging Tiger Sharks in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland. The team is led by scientist and underwater photographer, Richard Fitzpatrick. more
SHINE
1996 (PG) 107 min
The 1996 multi-award winning Australian film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood and Alex Rafalowicz. more
SHOCK ROOM
2016 (M) 72 min
In the early 1960s American psychologist Stanley Milgram ran a series of controversial experiments on obedience. An authority orders you to inflict painful shocks on another person. Most us will obey, claimed Milgram. But will we? more
SIGNED, THEO SCHOON
2021 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 100 min
A superb portrait of the Dutch émigré artist, Theo Schoon (1915 – 1985), raised in the East, trained in the West, and replanted in the South. He rocked the New Zealand cultural world and built a strong liaison with Māori communities and the landscape. 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
SINCE THE COMPANY CAME
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
A Solomon Islands community struggles with some unexpected consequences of a logging operation. The men of Rendova Island embrace the chance to be part of the modern economy; but the women are concerned for the forests and traditions that sustain their families. As Rendova's forest rapidly disappears, the loggers set their... more
SIX DAYS IN AUGUST
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
This documentary juxtaposes an international AIDS Conference with the realities of "life on the ground" in South Africa. In the city of Durban, 1 in 3 people are infected with AIDS, the government's solution is to urge its people to eat beetroot and garlic, and most people just wish the problem would go away on its own. 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
SMARTER COUNTRY, A - creating the future
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
As Australia struggles with the harsh effects of climate change, green pioneers and visionaries are working towards an ecologically sustainable future in agriculture, architecture, renewable energy, and how we live on our planet - both here and in America, China and in developing countries. more
![SOMETHING OF THE TIMES [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/8895.jpg)
SOMETHING OF THE TIMES [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1985 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 41 min
The story of Aboriginal and white buffalo hunters in the remote wetlands of the Northern Territory in the 1930s. 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
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
SUBURB 4 SALE
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
An observational documentary, filmed over two years, that follows what happens when a public housing estate goes under the hammer. It documents the lives of families desperate to buy in, and those desperate to get out, and the charismatic real estate agent whose job it is to turn a public housing estate into a viable property... more
![SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7242.jpg)
SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1987 (PG) 86 min
Country folk know of pleasures that townsfolk never know ... The story of an Aboriginal stockman and his family and their growing passion for "picnic racing" on bush tracks in New South Wales. more
SURFING THE HEALING WAVE
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
In this documentary, Kyle Slabb, a young Aboriginal surfer, takes us to the annual indigenous surfing contest at Fingal on the Northern New South Wales coast. Along the way, he offers us insights into traditional ways, dances and ceremonies and an understanding of his struggle to preserve those values in his modern life. 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
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
TALKING BROKEN
1991 (G) 76 min
'Broken' is the creole spoken by the Torres Strait Islanders in far north Australia. Although they appear to keep up with 'the system', the hidden language of the authorities will always remain a mystery. With humour and intelligence, various Islanders talk openly about subjects as wide-ranging as independence, culture,... more
TEACH A MAN TO FISH
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 80 min
Grant Leigh Saunders is an Aboriginal filmmaker, writer and musician who has secretly always wanted to be a fisherman, just like his father and grandfather before him. This fishing yarn is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Manning River in central New South Wales. more
TEMPLE OF DREAMS
2007 (G) 90 min
Fadi Rahman runs the self-funded ICRA Youth Centre, operating out of a converted Masonic Temple in the heart of Sydney's Muslim community. When the Cronulla riots take place in December 2005, Fadi realises the need to accelerate and increase the programmes for Muslim youth. In the meantime, the local council has ruled... more
TENDER HOOKS
1988 (M) 95 min
NEW UPGRADED FILE! One of the great unsung classics of 1980s Australian cinema, now remastered. A bold debut feature by Wollongong filmmaker, Mary Callaghan: a new wave, pop cult, love story set in Sydney, starring Jo Kennedy and Nique Needles. more
THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
A film about the remarkable relationship between Indigenous cultures, the dolphin and the marine environment. We learn of remarkable signs observed between land and ocean to indicate when fish are travelling and in what numbers, and gain a clear insight into the 'yuri' or totem system and its place in contemporary culture. 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
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
TO LIVE WITH HERDS
1972 (B&W) (G) 70 min
This classic, widely acclaimed film on the Jie of Uganda, produced by the renowned ethnographic filmmaking team of David and Judith MacDougall, examines the effects of nation building in pre-Amin Uganda on the seminomadic, pastoral Jie. more
TOO MANY CAPTAIN COOKS
1988 (G) 18 min
In this film, Paddy Wainburranga of the Rembarrnga tribe from the centre of Arnhem Land in Northern Australia relates and paints the Rembarrnga history of Captain Cook. more
![TRANSFER OF POWER, A [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7243.jpg)
TRANSFER OF POWER, A [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1986 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 21 min
Replacing the engine in an old car: the work of "bush mechanics" on a cattle station in northern New South Wales. more
TRIAL, THE
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
In February 2008 twelve Muslim men went on trial in Melbourne on terrorism charges. The trial ran for nine months, heard hundreds of hours of secretly taped conversations and presented 66,000 pages of evidence. THE TRIAL takes us inside one of the biggest court cases in Australia's history. more
TROBRIAND CRICKET
1979 (G) 52 min
"Trobriand cricket" refers to a unique version of the ball-and-bat sport cricket played by the Trobriand Islanders. They were first exposed to the game by Christian missionaries, who thought the game would discourage war among the natives. However, the game was quickly adapted to Trobriand culture by expanding the number... more
TROUBLESOME PRIEST, THE
2017 (G) 30 min
The story of Father Rod Bower, an Anglican priest from the central coast of New South Wales, whose provocative church signs go viral through social media around the world. He is committed to the belief that Australia's treatment of asylum seekers has put the soul of the nation in peril. 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