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Film Catalogue (9/34)
EMILY IN JAPAN - The Making of An Exhibition
2009 (PG) 82 min
Behind the scenes of the blockbuster exhibition of paintings by the Indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye which toured Japan attracting record crowds. more
END OF THE RAINBOW
2007 (M) 83 min
From filmmaker Rob Nugent, an elegiac portrait of the changes brought by the arrival of an industrial gold mine in a remote region of West Africa, and a testament to the universal human desire for a better life. more
ESCHER: JOURNEY INTO INFINITY
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 80 min
A portrait of one of the most influential and inspiring artists of the 20th century, M.C. Escher. Narrated by Stephen Fry, in Escher's own words. A superb film by highly regarded Dutch filmmaker, Robin Lutz. more
ETCHED IN BONE
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 73 min
When the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC agrees to repatriate stolen human bones from northern Australia, an Aboriginal elder creates a ceremony that restores his ancestors' spirits to their homeland. more
EVER THE LAND
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 93 min
EVER THE LAND explores the bond between people and their land through the landmark design and construction of a unique "Living Building" by one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most passionately independent Maori tribes, Ngai Tuhoe. more
E-WASTELAND
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 20 min
Have you ever wondered what happens to your electronics at the end of their life? more
EXILE AND THE KINGDOM
1993 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 110 min
The experiences of a community of Aboriginal people from pre-colonial times to the 1990s. The re-release of the award-winning feature documentary from 1993, made with the YINDJIBARNDI, NGARLUMA, BANYJIMA and GURRAMA people of Roebourne, Western Australia. more
EXILE IN SARAJEVO
1996 (M) 91 min
A passionate, cinematically innovative story of the siege of Sarajevo from the viewpoint of Australian, Tahir Cambis and Sarajevan, Alma Sahbaz. Rich in imagery with a wonderful music score - Alma and Tahir take us on a kaleidoscopic adventure as they chart the soul of a city in exile. more
FACING THE DEMONS
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 57 min
A powerful documentary about restorative justice and conferencing. The story of a journey to bring the family and friends of a murdered boy together in one room with those convicted of his killing. more
FAHIMEH'S STORY
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 83 min
A powerful and engrossing documentary by a young Iranian-Australian filmmaker observing the relationship between an Iranian woman, Fahimeh, her Australian husband some 30 years her senior, their adult children from their earlier marriages, and Fahimeh's ex-husband who arrives unexpectedly from Iran. more
FAMILIAR PLACES [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1980 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 50 min
Mapping traditional clan country in north Queensland. more
FAMINE WITHIN, THE
1991 (G) 90 min
An exploration of the contemporary obsession with body size and shape among North American women. Under the coercive powers of consumerism and the mass media, women have come to view their bodies as marketable objects and to judge them according to the unrealistic standards of the beauty ideal. more
FANTOME ISLAND
2011 (PG) 82 min
The fascinating and moving tale of Joe Eggmolesse, who in 1945 was removed from his family and confined to an Indigenous leper colony on an island off the North Queensland coast. He was seven years old. more
FIERCE GREEN FIRE, A
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 101 min
A FIERCE GREEN FIRE explores the history of the international environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. Narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep. more
FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FIRE
1997 (PG) 55 min
On 8 January 1994, Sydney was in the grip of an intense heat wave. Without warning, a quiet suburban street exploded into fire and in the space of just fifteen minutes, many homes were reduced to smouldering heaps of ash. This film documents the challenges faced by the community as they go about the prospect of rebuilding... more
FIFTY YEARS OF SILENCE
1994 (M) 57 min
50 YEARS OF SILENCE tells the story of Jan Ruff-O'Herne and her experience of enforced prostitution at the hands of the Japanese military during World War II. As the first European woman to go public on this issue Jan faced the difficult decision to reveal her secret to her family, her friends and her parish. more
FIGURES IN THE LANDSCAPE
1985 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 50 min
A superb film about the internationally acclaimed Australian painter, Arthur Boyd, arguably Australia's finest painter. A new upgraded 1080p file and DVD master of a great documentary classic. more
FINAL INSULT
1997 (PG) 55 min
A challenging film about people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities - a powerful exploration of the human reaction to the accumulated chemical pollutants in our environment. more
FINDING PLACE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
A film about manhood and the problems of living in two cultures. more
FIRST CITIZEN: ALBERT NAMATJIRA
1989 (G) 54 min
Albert Namatjira was the first Aboriginal artist to be recognised by white Australians. He was torn between two worlds simply because he had the wisdom to recognise both. Two cultures, two laws. The feting and fawning of the city glitterati, ultimately led to his tragic decline and death. more
FIRST FAGIN, THE
2012 (PG) 87 min
From New York to Hobart, and from the darkest jails and prison ships of England to the penal colony of Port Arthur, THE FIRST FAGIN brings to life the passionate love and dramatic adventures of Ikey Solomon, family man, fence, and Charles Dickens' inspiration for the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist. more
FIRST MISSION
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 54 min
Each year the Australian Red Cross recruits new people for its overseas postings. This film follows three successful applicants from their training in Melbourne to their first missions in Africa – a refugee camp in Western Tanzania, a field hospital in north Kenya, dealing with wounded from the war in the Sudan. more
FIVE SEASONS [from the CAAMA Collection]
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
In these fast and modern times, the Numurindi people are still guided by the seasons and stories of the Dreamtime. This observational documentary focuses on Moses Numamurdirdi and his families fight to hold onto their culture and ways in an ever-changing world. more
FLOATING ... LIKE WIND BLOW 'EM ABOUT
1975 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 58 min
A film by Michael Edols. Available on DVD and Vimeo-on-Demand as part of the ASPECTS OF A LIFE collection. more
FLOWERS AND TROOPS (Hana to Heitai)
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 106 min
Inspired by the documentaries of the great Imamura Shohei, under whom the filmmaker studied, this film explores the lives of Japanese soldiers who chose not to return to Japan when the war finished, but who stayed behind in south-east Asia to build new lives for themselves. more
FLYING BOOMERANGS, THE
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
24 Indigenous teenagers embark on the first Aussie Rules tour of South Africa. more
FOLLOWING THE FENCELINE
1996 (PG) 50 min
A documentary about breast cancer and an innovative approach to public awareness taken by 14 remarkable women. more
FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE
1992 (PG) 73 min
A portrait of Professor Fred Hollows whose eye health programs in Eritrea, Nepal and outback Australia offer a model for Third World countries where millions suffer from curable blindness. A bold, wry, intimate and ultimately very moving tribute to an extraordinary life more
FORGOTTEN BIRD OF PARADISE
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 27 min
A rare and moving insight into West Papua's struggle for freedom. more
FORGOTTEN DISTRICT, THE
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
Toledo is "the Forgotten District" of Belize in Central America - an area of dense rainforest and minimal economic development. For the last 20 years, the Maya people have been promoting their own eco-tourism programme in order to protect their natural resources and traditions. more
FOR LOVE OR MONEY: A History of Women and Work in Australia
1983 (G) 107 min
DIGITALLY RESTORED! An investigation and celebration of women's work from white settlement to the present, a story told by Aboriginal and migrant women, convict women and today's women. more
FOR LOVE OR MONEY: A pictorial history of women and work in Australia (book)
(G)
A book by Megan McMurchy, Margot Oliver & Jeni Thornley * Penguin Books 1983 * Paperback (large) * 186 pages A telling and passionate tribute to the unsung labors of Australian women, past and present. more
FOR THE DEFENCE
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 55 min
Explores the Victorian criminal justice system via the experiences of three criminal defence lawyers. Their journey takes us from interview room to supreme court, and into their own lives as they strive to maintain the principles of the right to defence and the presumption of innocence in an increasingly pressurised legal... more
FOUNDATION, The (NIDF series 5)
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
A documentary that intercuts interviews with historical footage to tell the history of The Foundation of Aboriginal Affairs, an organisation significant in the push for the 1967 referendum in which Aboriginal peoples were given the vote. more
FRAMED
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
FRAMED is about our fascination with faces. It's about portraits. But what is a portrait? Of course it's the famous painting on the gallery wall and the notorious candidate for the Archibald Prize. But isn't it also the cherished photograph you have in your wallet, at your place of work, by your bed? In FRAMED we... more
FREEDOM STORIES
2015 (PG) 99 min
Explores the achievements of former 'boat people' who arrived from the Middle-East around the watershed year of 2001. Locked in remote detention centres and then placed on temporary protection visas, their limbo lasted for years. Now Australian citizens, they are building secure lives and contributing to their new country. more
FRIENDLY ENEMY ALIEN
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 90 min
In June 1940, the HMT Dunera leaves Liverpool for Australia crammed with over 2,500 German, Austrian and Italian internees. We hear from the last survivors of the "Dunera Scandal," who tell the story of the 57-day long journey and what happened after they were interned by the British Government in an Australian Outback... more
FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
1988 (PG) 88 min
FRIENDS AND ENEMIES is a provocative film about one of the most vicious and protracted labour disputes in Australian history - one which saw the emergence of the New Right as a powerful force on the country's political landscape. more
FROHE OSTERN! HAPPY EASTER
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
The story of joyful Easter camping rituals celebrating the way in which a group of German families have made their home in Australia over three generations. more
FROM UNDER THE RUBBLE
2018 (M) 76 min
The Samouni family story: a powerful civilian perspective on the violent clash between Palestinians and Israeli armed forces in Gaza. Australian filmmaker Anne Tsoulis has created an intimate and unflinching film about an appalling crisis. more
FRONTIER CONVERSATION, A
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 54 min
A fascinating journey through the Top End of Australia to explore what history means to the traditional landowners. more
FUKUSHIMA - Memories of the Lost Landscape (Soma Kanka Daiichibu Ubawareta Tochino Kioku)
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 109 min
In the wake of the devastating tsunami and the Fukushima disaster, a 20km exclusion zone was created around the afflicted power plant. This award-winning film looks at the effect of the disaster on the lives of the evacuees. more
FULL CIRCLE [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1987 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 20 min
A story of Aboriginal stockmen at Robinson River Station on traditional Garawa land, in the Northern Territory. more
GANDHI'S CHILDREN
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 185 min
GANDHI'S CHILDREN is an award-winning film by David MacDougall about abandoned or orphaned boys living in a charitable Home in one of the poorer quarters of New Delhi, India, building a society of their own within the institutional environment. more
GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE, THE
1996 (G) 190 min
During the northern spring of 1989, nightly news accounts filmed in Tiananmen Square alternately enthralled and horrified millions of viewers around the globe. THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE revisits these events and explores the complex political process that eventually led to the Beijing Massacre of June 4th. more
GENOCIDE IN THE WILDFLOWER STATE
2024 (M) 58 min
An intensively researched documentary which describes a violent, state-run system of eugenics, racial absorption, and social assimilation in 20th century Western Australia. more
GEOFF DIXON - PORTRAITS OF US
2022 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 82 min
An intimate portrait of the life and work of iconoclastic New Zealand artist Geoff Dixon. more
GEOFFREY RUSH: The Imp, the Spirit, the Hero - playing David Helfgott in SHINE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
A delightful short film, made for the 20th anniversary of the release of SHINE. Prior to the production of SHINE in 1996, Geoffrey Rush was a renowned theatre actor in Australia but had had little involvement in film. SHINE transformed his career, especially when he won the Oscar for Best Actor. more
GIORGIO MANGIAMELE COLLECTION, THE
(M) 282 min
Five provocative works from an Italian filmmaker in post-war Australia. This 2-DVD set includes a 28-page booklet, 70 minutes of interviews with film historians as well as the following five films: IL CONTRATTO, THE SPAG [unreleased], THE SPAG [released], NINETY NINE PER CENT and CLAY. more
GIRLS' TALES: Women discuss experiences of schooling
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 87 min
"GIRLS' TALES: Women discuss experiences of schooling" consists of three thirty-minute episodes. The documentary is a compilation of interviews in which adult women recollect the experiences and opportunities of their secondary school education. more
GOD'S GIRLS: Stories from an Australian Convent
1992 (PG) 49 min
GOD'S GIRLS describes life in a Sisters of Mercy convent in country New South Wales from the 1940s to the present day. This courageous and clever film investigates the subtle complexities of change within a society that has been surrounded by mystery for hundreds of years. more
GOGODALA: A Cultural Revival?
1976 (G) 58 min
The stormy history of the Gogodala people earlier this century, and the attempts in the 1970s to revive their culture, form the basis for this superbly photographed film by Chris Owen. more
GOLDEN CORD, THE
1996 (G) 55 min
THE GOLDEN CORD looks beyond the fascinating detail of the refined technical skills required by the art of batik, to aspects of the vivid spiritual and social traditions of Java and Aboriginal Australia: two distinct but strangely parallel contemporary cultures resting on timeless foundations. more
GOOD-BYE OLD MAN [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1977 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 66 min
A Tiwi Island Bereavement Ceremony. more
GOODBYE REVOLUTION
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
This beautiful and moving portrait of Chinese artist, Shen Jiawei, is a 'labour of love' from director Esben Storm. Shen moved to Australia at the time of the Tiananmen Square uprising. Now, 20 years later, Shen is taking us back to China. A journey of rediscovery and reflection, a journey through which we get to know the... more
GOUGH WHITLAM: In His Own Words
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 84 min
Australia's reformist and controversial former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, shares his views on 50 years of public life, in an in-depth conversation with Senator John Faulkner. more
GREAT STRIKE 1917, THE
2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 69 min
To this day, the Great Strike of 1917 is still Australia's largest industrial upheaval. The story of the Strike has long been dormant in archives, and is now re-told with original film footage from the era. OFFICIAL SELECTION! Antenna Documentary Film Festival. FINALIST! ATOM AWARDS, Documentary (History). more
GREEN BUSH [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: MA) 26 min
NOW DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED FROM ORIGINAL FILM NEGATIVES! An Indigenous radio DJ does the nightshift at a remote community radio station, and must negotiate nightly dramas while still spinning the music. A film by Warwick Thornton. more
GREEN CHAIN, THE
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
For 30 years, a Maori community fights for truth and justice after industrial chemical poisoning afflicts its land and people. In the process, many Maori workers affected by the poison learn new skills of leadership and become powerful spokespeople for their cause. more
GREEN TEA AND CHERRY RIPE
1989 (G) 56 min
NOW DIGITALLY REMASTERED. A fascinating portrait of Japanese women who came to Australia as war brides, and their survival in an alien land. more
GROWING CITIES
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 92 min
From rooftop farmers to backyard beekeepers, Americans are growing food like never before. Growing Cities tells the inspiring stories of these intrepid urban farmers, innovators, and everyday city-dwellers who are challenging the way the USA grows and distributes its food. more
GURINDJI JOURNEY (book)
(G)
This compelling book by the young Japanese historian, Dr Minory Hokari, published in English posthumously, is a personal, philosophical, lyrical record of his journey into Indigenous Australian culture. Part memoir, part history, part theory, the book is the story of Hokari's discovery of Gurindji modes of history and historical... more
HABITS OF NEW NORCIA, THE
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 53 min
Re-release of a remarkable documentary from 2000: the story of the Benedictine Aboriginal Mission at New Norcia, in Western Australia. Now a popular tourist destination north of Perth, the Mission holds harsh memories for the former Aboriginal "inmates" who were placed there during the 1920s through to the 1960s. more
HACKTIVISTS, THE
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: M) 52 min
A one hour documentary that explores the world of on-line activists. These are computer experts who are using the Internet and cyberspace as very effective new means of protest against global capitalism and the power of large transnational companies. more
HAND-DRAWN HISTORIES: The Films of Lee Whitmore
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 61 min
NED WETHERED (11 mins), ON A FULL MOON (17 mins), ADA (7 mins) and THE SAFE HOUSE (26 mins). EXTRA FEATURES: Interview (23 mins), The Making of ... (42 mins) Plus slideshow of storyboards. DVD also includes a 28-page DVD booklet - Hand-drawn Histories THE FILMS OF LEE WHITMORE: the animator talks about her... more
HANDLING THE HEART
2022 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 27 min
An exploration of patient experiences following major heart surgery - how to understand them and live with them: a story of existential crises and transformative experiences, told by four ex-patients. Adapted from the feature-length documentary, PUMPHEAD. more
HANDMAIDENS AND BATTLEAXES
1989 (PG) 55 min
This remarkable award-winning documentary by the late Rosalind Gillespie (filmmaker and Registered Nurse) traces the role of nurses from pre-industrial times to the modern era. more
HANGING AUSTRALIA
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 49 min
A major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, "Australia" was the largest collection of art ever to represent this country overseas. more
HATOMA FILMS, THE
1983 (G) 119 min
NOW DIGITALLY REMASTERED - A series of four films by Australian filmmaker Solrun Hoaas, about the tiny depopulated island of Hatoma, in Okinawa, Southern Japan. more
HEALING OF BALI, THE
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
The Balinese response to the terrorist bombing of October 2002: an intimate, personal story of grief, recovery and tolerance in an age of terrorism. more
HEPHZIBAH
1998 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 75 min
A biography of the acclaimed concert pianist and human rights worker, Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), using home movies, still photographs, extracts from Hephzibah's letters, film of concert performances and interviews with family and friends. more
HERE'S MY HAND: A testimony to an Aboriginal Memorial
1988 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 27 min
A film by Michael Edols. Available on DVD and Vimeo-on-Demand as part of the ASPECTS OF A LIFE collection. more
HERITAGE FIGHT
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 104 min
Broome is a town in the Kimberley region, one of Australia's great wilderness areas. This is where the head of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, and Woodside, a multi billion-dollar company and Australia's largest liquid natural gas producers, decided to install the second largest liquified natural gas plant in the... more
HIGHER EDUCATION
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 72 min
For some students, entering university can be the result of years of personal struggle and challenge. [DVD includes EXTRA FEATURE: Interview with the director, MILES ROSTON] more
HILLMEN, THE - a Soccer Fable
1996 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 56 min
A story about cross-cultural relationships, the generation gap and what it's like to lose. ... A film by Steve Thomas. WINNER! BEST TV DOCUMENTARY in the AFI Awards,1996. more
HIRED ASSASSINS
2003 (PG) 58 min
An incisive documentary about Australia's leading editorial cartoonists who grapple daily with the double-edged sword of humour and seriousness to reveal the heart of politics in Australia. more
HISTORY BITES BACK
2021 (MA) 55 min
After the bold and brilliant Occupation: Native, Aboriginal filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas teams up again with Comedy Director-Writer, Craig Anderson to launch a rocket into 250 years of taboos, prejudice and ignorance. History Bites Back uses devastating satire to unpack the negative social bias of the history shared... more
HOLDING TIGHTLY - Custom and Healing in Timor-Leste
2021 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 30 min
Holding Tightly observes seven approaches to healing in remote, rural and urban parts of the Baucau municipality in Timor-Leste, spanning contexts and experiences from the armed resistance era to the independence period. A film by Lisa Palmer and Susanna Barnes. more
HOMELAND STORY
2019 (M) 84 min
An intimate portrait of Donydji, an Indigenous Homeland community in north-east Arnhem Land. The film charts their struggle from the 1960s to the present day to overcome the corrosive effects of government policy and pressure from mining interests, and to remain on their land. more
HOMEMADE HISTORY
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 65 min
Every day in the homes, backyards and workplaces of ordinary people, hundreds of personal stories unfold. In Homemade History, 13 of these stories have been captured by amateur cinematographers on 8mm and 16mm cameras. These slices of everyday life span the 1930s to the 1980s and are a fascinating glimpse into a private... more
HOMETIME
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 49 min
Hometime is the story of a group of homeless men and their experiences at Charles O'Neill House, an innovative program offering the tools to break the debilitating homeless cycle. We witness their growing confidence as they actually participate in the making of Hometime, and talk about their newly discovered direction. more
HONEYMOON IN KABUL
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 71 min
A powerful documentary about Afghanistan and the difficulties of delivering aid to a country that is suffering from "aid fatigue" and prolonged exposure to Western misunderstanding. The psychological and physical damage caused by war, exacerbated by mistrust of foreigners, is at the heart of this honest and challenging... more
HOPE IN A SLINGSHOT
2010 (M) 61 min
HOPE IN A SLINGSHOT explores the day-to-day realities of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the effect on civilians on both sides. A journey through the underbelly of the occupation of Palestine by Israel. more
HOPE ROAD
2017 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 103 min
Filmed over a 5-year period, HOPE ROAD is a film by Tom Zubrycki which follows an ambitious project undertaken by a Sudanese refugee in Australia, Zacharia Machiek, to build a much-needed school back in his home village, now part of the new nation of South Sudan. But life disrupts his best-laid plans ... more
HORSES OF FUKUSHIMA (Matsuri no Uma)
2013 (PG) 74 min
A powerful and heart-breaking film of continuing relevance as new disclosures continue to emerge from the Fukushima disaster. After the tsunami, the nuclear meltdown, and many months of government inaction, the absurdity of human civilisation is reflected in their traumatised eyes of horses trapped for many weeks in a stud-farm... more
HOUSE-OPENING, THE [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1980 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 42 min
"House-opening" ceremonies in a contemporary Aboriginal community combine elements of Aboriginal, Torres Strait and European cultures in dealing with death. A film by Judith MacDougall. more
HOW FAR IS HEAVEN
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 99 min
The Sisters of Compassion have lived in the remote village of Jerusalem/Hiruharama on the Whanganui River in New Zealand for 120 years. Today, only three nuns remain - their legacy on the river is coming to an end. This is a complex world of powerful dualities; Maori and Christian spirituality, parties and prayers, pig... more
HOW THE WEST WAS LOST
1987 (G) 72 min
NOW RESTORED FROM ORIGINAL FILM NEGATIVES! The story of the 1946 Aboriginal Pastoral Workers' Strike that has never officially ended. An event more important than the Eureka Stockade but never recorded in written histories - the passive resistance by 800 Aboriginal station workers against the appalling living and working... more
HOW TO RUN A SCHOOL CONCERT
2013 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 102 min
Behind the scenes of a school concert where the division between audience and performers is non-existent. Presented by the Music Engagement Program of the School of Music, Australian National University. more
HUNDREDTH ROOM, THE
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 18 min
THE HUNDREDTH ROOM follows the personal journey undertaken by the filmmaker in the twelve months following her partner Caroline's death. We enter into the landscape of grief to discover what death says about life. more
HUNGRY TIDE, THE
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 90 min
A film about a nation on the front line of climate change: the central Pacific nation of Kiribati is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to rising sea levels. DVD includes 2 versions of the film: 53 mins abridged for television and 90 mins full unabridged version. more
HYBRID LIFE - group 1 of 3
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 104 min
A series of programs which examine the lives of the children and the grandchildren of Australian migrants. This group from the series consists of 4 episodes: ISLANDS | FROM HERE TO ITHACA | MISSING VIETNAM | COSENZA VECCHIA. more
HYBRID LIFE - group 2 of 3
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 104 min
A series of programs which examine the lives of the children and the grandchildren of Australian migrants. This group consists of 4 episodes from the series: ALWAYS A VISITOR | THE LAST PECHENIUK | WEE JIMMY | PARRA. more
HYBRID LIFE - group 3 of 3
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 104 min
A series of programs which examine the lives of the children and the grandchildren of Australian migrants. This group from the series consists of 4 episodes: THE BRIDES OF KHAN | DEAR BERT | DELIVERY DAY | SPARKY D COMES TO TOWN. more
IMAGINARY BORDER
2017 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 105 min
A challenging and compassionate reflection on race relations in Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. A film by Iranian-born Austrian filmmaker, Alireza Ghanie. more
IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 78 min
Follow the Tiwi Bombers football team through their first season in the Northern Territory's big league as they strive to fulfill the dreams of their grandfathers. more
INERTIA TRAP, THE
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 45 min
Packed with information, THE INERTIA TRAP is a rich compendium of scientific insights on the subject of the effect of climate change on the world's oceans. Includes EXTRAS - 88 minutes of extended interviews about the science of climate change. more
INHERITANCE, A FISHERMAN'S STORY
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
Follows Balazs Meszaros' passionate struggle to gain compensation for his fellow fishermen for the loss of income and livelihood incurred by the cyanide spill that devastated the River Tisza in Hungary in January 2000. more
INNOCENCE BETRAYED
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
In 1990 and 1991, three Aboriginal children were murdered in the rural town of Bowraville NSW - Colleen Craig, Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux. Despite two trials and a coroner's inquest, no-one was ever convicted of the murders. more
INTERVENTION 2 years on [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
An Aboriginal perspective on the effect of the Australian Government's Intervention in Aboriginal lives in the Northern Territory. more
INTERVENTION, Katherine, N.T.
2008 (PG) 52 min
Intervention, Katherine, N.T. is a one-year record of the impact of The Emergency Intervention by the Federal Government in the Northern Territory region of Katherine and the surrounding communities of Beswick, Barunga, Eva Valley and Binjari. more
INTERVENTION: Stories from the Inside
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 46 min
An incisive inside look at the historic Intervention by the Federal Government in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, made with the participation of Alice Springs town-campers. more
IN THEIR NAME
2022 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 27 min
Decades after Latvian Jewish women and children were humiliated and killed by Nazi troops and their Latvian collaborators in 1941, their descendants continue to be haunted by the massacre. A film by Peter Hegedus. more
INTO THE SHADOWS
2009 (M) 90 min
Looking from afar, the Australian film industry appears glitzy and glamorous, robust and invincible. Into the Shadows challenges this notion and journeys beyond the glamour to meet the filmmakers, distributors and exhibitors who bring Australian films to the screen. more
IRAQ, MY COUNTRY
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
A journey into Iraq after the American invasion, as told by an Iraqi refugee returning to his homeland after 10 years in Australia. A film of raw power and immediacy, capturing images of Iraq that we will never see on the nightly news. more
I REMEMBER 1948
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
Palestinian elders share memories of the year they became refugees. Personal memories of the tumultuous days of Al Nakba, 'the catastrophe', May 15th 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes. more
ISLAND OF LIES
1991 (G) 56 min
When Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked on Fraser Island in 1836, there were up to 3000 Aboriginal people living there — by 1905, there were perhaps a dozen left. Filmmaker Gillian Coote follows the route of early settlers north out of Sydney to Fraser Island to uncover the lies and secrets of Australia's settlement. more
IT'S A LONG ROAD BACK [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1981 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 13 min
The story of one woman's struggle to regain her Aboriginality. more
I WANT TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT WOMEN
2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 12 min
A queer, speculative, documentary love letter to Russian constructivist women. It asks what the revolutionary women artists of the 1920s said, what they did, and what they might have created had it not been for Stalin's suppression. A film by Karen Pearlman ASE. more
JABIRU 0886: TRESPASS [from the CAAMA Collection]
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 26 min
The story of Yvonne Margarula and the resistance of the Mirarr people to the loss of their land and their heritage because of mining operations in the Kakadu area. more
JACK THOMPSON Live at the Gearin Hotel
2011 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
The much loved Aussie actor Jack Thompson is in his element reading Australia's most loved classic poems in front of a live audience at the splendid art deco Gearin Hotel Katoomba NSW. more
JAMMIN' IN THE MIDDLE E
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 49 min
An Arab-Australian comedy based on the true-life stories of young people growing up in the tough Western suburbs of Sydney. more
JAPARTA - a Journey to the Gurindji Way
2025 (G) 99 min
The story of a Japanese scholar, Minoru Hokari, who, before his death in 2004 at the age of 32, achieved work which today commands an ever-widening audience. It is a story of cross-cultural understanding, how Gurindji Elders in the Northern Territory tasked Minoru to relay stories from their culture to a wider world. A... more
JARLMADANGAH: Our Dream Our Reality [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 25 min
Welcome to Jarlmadangah – where we go well off the beaten track! Situated in the West Kimberleys, Jarlmadangah is a remote community often hailed as 'a model' for its many social and cultural achievements. more
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
JUDITH ANDERSON - AUSTRALIAN STAR, FIRST LADY OF THE AMERICAN THEATRE
2019 (G)
A book by Desley Deacon. Paperback, 461 pages plus chronology, filmography, bibliography and index. Kerr Publishing, Melbourne, 2019. This well-researched biography tells the story of Judith Anderson's life and the full range of her work on stage and screen. more
JUPURRURLA - MAN OF MEDIA (from the CAAMA Collection)
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
A portrait of Warlpiri Elder and Lawman, Francis Jupurrurla Kelly – a pioneer of Indigenous filmmaking in central Australia. more
KABBARLI
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 50 min
KABBARLI explores the extraordinary life of Daisy Bates and her passionate involvement with Australian Aborigines. The film interweaves fiction and biography, history and memory to explore Daisy Bates' life - a dramatic map of the colonial imagination, and a portrait of a remarkable and wily old woman. 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
KARLU KARLU: Devil's Marbles [from the CAAMA Collection]
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 21 min
Stories of Karlu Karlu and its handback by the government to the traditional owners. 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]
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
KIMBERLEY MOB, THE
1991 (PG) 54 min
Three Aboriginal brothers run a cattle station in the Kimberley. They face drought, divided tribal loyalties, government bureaucracy, diamond-mining companies and fundamentalist Christianity while trying to keep traditional Aboriginal beliefs and customs alive for their children and future generations. 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
KULKA: The Life and Times of Gordon Briscoe
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
The inspirational story of Dr. Gordon Briscoe's life - from his work with legendary eye doctor Fred Hollows, to his days as an activist travelling Australia and telling traditional land owners about their land rights, and everything in between. more
LAKE OF SCARS, THE
2022 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 95 min
A documentary exploring the beautiful, mysterious scarred trees, middens and stone scatters at Lake Boort and surrounds in Victoria, and the story of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, who are working against the clock to preserve and promote what they can. A film presented by the late, great Uncle Jack Charles, more
LALAI DREAMTIME
1972 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 60 min
LALAI DREAMTIME takes the viewer into pre-colonial Australia to tell a story depicting the spiritual tradition of the people. A film by Michael Edols, from the story told by Sam Woolagoodja. 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
LAND BILONG ISLANDERS
1990 (G) 52 min
LAND BILONG ISLANDERS tells the story of what has become known as the 'Mabo Case'. It contains rare interviews with the late Eddie Mabo, James Rice, Father Dave Passi and others involved in this historic legal drama. Together they challenged the idea that prior to European settlement, Australia was a land belonging to no-one,... more
LAND MINES - a love story
2005 (PG) 73 min
LAND MINES - a love story is a compelling anti-war film set in Afghanistan, a country that has become synonymous with conflict. It is also a story of romance and a celebration of life, hope and love. more
LAND OF THE LITTLE KINGS
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 78 min
LAND OF THE LITTLE KINGS is a feature-length documentary which provides personal accounts of the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. Through these stories of survivors of the stolen generations, musician and performer Archie Roach reconstructs his own story. 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 TASMANIAN, THE
1978 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 105 min
The controversial 1978 documentary by Tom Haydon and archaeologist Rhys Jones. The story of the swiftest and most destructive genocide on record. more
LAST VIOLIN, THE
2023 (PG) 75 min
Master violin maker, Charalambos Vatiliotis, known as Harry, is 85 and has retired. When Romano, a violinist and friend of 48 years, persuades him to make one final violin, a heart-warming story unfolds. 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
LEAPING OFF THE EDGE
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
A documentary about Melbourne's Women's Circus, a theatrical experience that has been inspiring, exciting and empowering audiences for over a decade. 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
LEGEND OF FRED PATERSON, THE
1996 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 58 min
The story of Fred Paterson, the only member of the Communist Party ever elected to an Australian Parliament. Idealist, divinity student, champion athlete, Rhodes scholar, war veteran and barrister, Paterson haunted the establishment until he was brought down by a police baton in 1948. more
LEMPAD OF BALI
1980 (G) 56 min
A re-release of an acclaimed documentary classic by John Darling - A film about the life and death of the 116-year-old Balinese Master-Artist. 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
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
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
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
LILI (Hungarian version)
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 85 min
Egy anya, Lili, az '56-os forradalom közepén elmenekül Magyarországról, ezzel egy kontinenseken és generációkon átívelő elhagyás történet veszi kezdetét. more
LINDSAY'S RESERVE
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 49 min
Four seasons in one of Australia's most successful boutique wineries - Paringa Estate Winery on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. more
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
LITTLE TOWNS, BIG VOICES
2016 (M) 28 min
Taking a stand on domestic violence in regional, rural and remote communities: in this powerful short film by Fran Dobbie, this often hidden subject is brought to light by people willing to speak out about abuse to help create social change. more
LIVING COUNTRY [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
Traditional owners of proposed nuclear waste dump sites in central Australia show us what's at stake if the unthinkable happens. A film by David Tranter. more
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 BOW TRILOGY
1984 (G) 174 min
All 3 parts sold separately. These three documentary films (ALL UNDER HEAVEN, SMALL HAPPINESS and TO TASTE 100 HERBS) offer extraordinary portraits of Chinese life in the early 1980s. Carma Hinton is uniquely qualified as an observer of China. Three one-hour films about the village of Long Bow in northern China. Pt 1: ALL... 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
LONG SHADOWS: Stories From A Jewish Home
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 56 min
Jewishcare (Montefiore Homes), is the largest Jewish aged care facility in Victoria, Australia. Most of its residents are survivors of the Holocaust. Stories of Montefiore residents rekindle horrific memories of a collective tragedy. more
LOOKING FOR LIGHT
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 83 min
Jane Bown (1925-2014) was one of the most celebrated of British portrait photographers, renowned for her highly individualistic portraits of the famous. Some of these portraits are now accepted as classics of the genre - Samuel Beckett, Queen Elizabeth, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Margaret Thatcher and countless more. more
LORANG'S WAY
1979 (G) 69 min
Part 2: TURKANA CONVERSATIONS - A multifaceted portrait of Lorang, the head of the homestead. more