Black Man's Houses (1993)

365 Without 377

Imposed under the British colonial rule in 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalise any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, stigmatising them as 'against the order of nature'. On July 2, 2009 the Delhi High Court passed a landmark judgment scrapping this clause, thus fulfilling the most basic demand of the Indian LGBTQ community, which had been fighting this law for the past 10 years. Three characters, Beena, Pallav and Abheena travel through the city of Bombay heading to the celebrations for the first anniversary of the historic verdict. '365 without 377' is the story of their journey towards freedom.

Fantome Island

In 1945, at the age of seven, a young Joe Eggmolesse was diagnosed with Leprosy. He was immediately removed from his family and home and transported under police escort over a thousand kilometres to be confined on an island for the treatment of the disease. For the next ten years, a leprosarium for Aboriginal people became his home. A lush tropical idyll off the north east coast of Australia, Fantome Island was the home to a close knit community of indigenous 'lepers' who made the most of their existence as people living on the fringes of the marginalised. Now as a 73 year old Joe reflects on his indelible Fantome years. His incredible, poignant story offers a profound insight into one of Australia's hidden histories.

Packed Lunch

What is it about Speedos? Well here Australian director Tim Hunter is on a mission to find the answer to the question of why so many gay men can't seem to get enough of hunks in tight fitting trunks? Although somehow I think the answer can be found in the question! Anyway in a bid to discover the truth, Hunter has carried out a series of interviews with men who have more than a passing interest in this briefest of garment, including that of Speedo designer Peter Travis, who here relates his part in the history of 'the male equivalent of the Wonder Bra.'

Imphal Bazaar

A scenes from a tour of Manipur State and a women's bazaar in Imphal.

Old Barak

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

Kids On Ice

Quiet towns across rural Australia are in the grip of an Ice epidemic. Major international drug cartels are working with local outlawed motorcycle gangs to push crystal meth to a captive market of children.

Salt of the Earth

An Australian icon found on every supermarket shelf, and coating every game day pack of hot chips. But the story of the South Australian man who invented the famous Chicken Salt has never been told. While he sold the company in the late 70’s to the brand names you see in your cupboard today, he maintains that the original recipe, held secret for more than 40 years, tastes even better.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Malakand, Kapurthala and Dehra Dun

The future Edward VIII visits Malakand, Kapurthala and opens the Royal Military College at Dehra Dun

Procession of Elephants at Jaipur; Galta; Raj Mahal

Armoured elephants, sacred monkeys and a camel carriage from Rajasthan.

Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!

Director Anna Broinowski explores how Pauline Hanson's speech in 1996 and the decades of debate that followed has influenced Australia today; the impact of her political career on modern multicultural Australia, and the people who have helped her transition from local fish shop owner to Member for Oxley. Featuring many of Hanson's critics, opponents, advisors and commentators, from former Prime Minister John Howard, to current members of the media, including Margo Kingston and Alan Jones; and leading Indigenous commentator, Professor Marcia Langton.

Still We Rise

50 years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world. Taking a fresh lens this is a bold dive into a year of protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people.

Monica in the South Seas

Finnish filmmaker and artist Sami van Ingen is a great-grandson of documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, and seemingly the sole member of the family with a hands-on interest in continuing the directing legacy. Among the materials he found in the estate of Robert and Frances Flaherty’s daughter Monica were the film reels and video tapes detailing several years of work on realising her lifelong dream project: a sound version of her parents’ 1926 docu-fiction axiom, Moana: A Romance of the Golden Age.

Sydney in Time

Sydney in Time is a rich and powerful story that charts the evolution of Sydney from its early years as a colonial outpost through to its emergence as a dynamic world city. The one-hour documentary looks back at the people, places and front page stories that have shaped a great city and helped define Australia.

Indian Wildlife Park

Accompany a couple on their visit to a local wildlife park.

India

Amateur film of the passage to India - complete with guest appearance by Gandhi.

Native Life in Bundi

Amateur film showing daily life in Bundi, India.

Simla and Lahore

Evocative observational scenes of Simla and Lahore, including the gorgeous Shalimar Gardens and Anarkali Bazar.

Delhi - Jubilee

Amateur footage of Delhi and Jaipur, from a military review to an atmospheric torchlit procession - and some armour-plated elephants.

Without Water

A resilient crop-farmer endeavours to preserve his land, legacy and way of life in the face of Australia’s ongoing ‘big dry’.

Concerning Violence

Concerning Violence is based on newly discovered, powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky

A new songline for 21st century Australia - a fresh look at the Cook legend from a First Nations' perspective - the songline tells of connection to country, resistance and survival and features the cheeky, acerbic and heartfelt showman - Steven Oliver and a host of outstanding, political Indigenous singer/songwriters.

Australia: Land Beyond Time

Australia: Land Beyond Time takes viewers on a breathtaking journey back in time to witness the birth and evolution of a mysterious land that harbors remnants of Earth's earliest life and many of it's strangest creatures that exist nowhere else on the planet.

Looking for Modern Art: Rethinking Art History

Many twentieth century European artists, such as Paul Gauguin or Pablo Picasso, were influenced by art brought to Europe from African and Asian colonies. How to frame these Modernist works today when the idea of the primitive in art is problematic?

Satanic Cult

The Queensland country town of Warwick was shocked when a flock of sheep was brutally massacred on a local property. They were even more shocked when they discovered the killings were, in fact, a sacrificial offering to Satan. For the first time, John Burdoe, the teenager who started this satanic cult, tells how he planned and executed the bloody ceremony. He also tells how he came close to stabbing one of his followers, a young man who later died in mysterious circumstances.

Servant or Slave

During the time of the Stolen Generations, thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal girls were taken from their families and pressed into domestic servitude by the Australian Government. They were supposedly employed as servants, but with total control over their movements, wages and living conditions, their lives all too frequently became an inescapable cycle of abuse, rape and enslavement, with consequences that echo powerfully to this day. Recounting the stories of five of these women – Rita, Violet and the three Wenberg sisters – Servant or Slave is a commanding piece of first-person testimony to a dark and unacknowledged corner of Australian history. Shot with admirable craft and humanity by documentarian Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, MIFF 2012), Servant or Slave is a work of great sadness and urgency, bringing to forceful life the human tragedy of Australia's Indigenous history in the unadorned words of those who lived it.

Hijos de África

Plot unavailable

Uti

Snapshots of colonial life around Tamil Nadu, plus a visit to the Toda tribe.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Madras, Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad

This official travelogue of a royal tour follows the Prince on a series of regimental displays and a tiger hunt.

Government House Garden Party

Scenes at a garden party given by Earl Lytton, Governor of Bengal, at Government House, Calcutta.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Delhi

The future Edward VIII enjoys a stately procession and visits the Taj Mahal before meeting senior Indian royalty.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Bombay, Poona, Baroda, Jodhpur and Bikaner

The future Edward VIII visits his Empire, with Indian royalty, elephants, palaces and temples.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Bikaner, Lucknow, Benares, Nepal and Great Tiger Shoot

The future Edward VIII enjoys receptions, playing polo and hunting tigers on his royal tour.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Peshawar, The Khyber Pass and Rawl Pindi

The future Edward VIII enjoys stunning mountain scenery on a visit to the Khyber Pass during his royal tour

David Attenborough's Tasmania

Tasmania lies on the Australian continent, but is a world apart. It is home to an extraordinary cast of black devils and white wallabies. Trees here tower to one hundred metres and green lights dance in the southern sky. As the last landfall heading south before Antarctica, Tasmania's isolation, cooler climate and distinct seasons influence everything.

Adwa

In 1896, Ethiopia, an African nation, largely armed with spears and knives, defeats a well-equipped and organized Italian military bent on colonization.

Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra

Taking us through Bangarra Dance Theatre’s spectacular growth, we follow the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse.

Jisoe

A year in the life of troubled Australian graffiti artist Justin Hughes.

Deep Water: The Real Story

In the 1980s and 1990s a wave of murders bloodied the idyllic coastline of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The victims: young gay men. Disturbing gang assaults were being carried out on coastal cliffs around Sydney, and mysterious deaths officially recorded as "suicide", "disappearance" and "misadventure". Individual stories are woven together by first person interviews and detailed re-enactments, piecing together the facts of these unsolved cases, decades later.

Coffee: Songs of Smoke

In the town of San Miguel Tzinacapan, in Puebla’s Nahua Mountain Range, a family lost its father. His absence transforms the lives of those who were so deeply connected to him. Tere, now in charge of the family, must make money by selling crafts. Jorge is about to finish school and will soon have to choose his own path. Chayo, 16, must make an important decision. A year has passed, and the members of the family have been able to redefine themselves, finding their own destiny while always venerating their father’s memory.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Calcutta and Delhi

The future Edward VIII opens a durbar and enjoys a day at the races before inspecting the fire brigade in Calcutta.

Utopia

Documentary by John Pilger looks at the awful truth behind white Australia's dysfunctional relationship with Indigenous Australians

Step Into Paradise

The lives and careers of iconic fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, who created a bold Australian identity through their clothes

Savages: The Story of Human Zoos

For more than a century the great colonial powers put human beings, taken by force from their native lands, on show as entertainment, just like animals in zoos; a shameful, outrageous and savage treatment of people who were considered subhuman.

Déjà le sang de mai ensemençait novembre

The essay by René Vautier, "Déjà le sang de Mai ensemençait Novembre", starts with the recapitulation of the representations of Algeria throughout the history of visual arts in France in an effort to explore the causes for the quest for independence.

No Loitering

An intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities. The film weaves together video shot by teens and by the filmmaker, as they work together to make a film and create expressive outlets for youth in the community. They organize dances and community events and paint a mural. At the same time, with humor and pathos, these young people raise issues around violence, feeling misunderstood by adults and lacking respect in their community. Set in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, home to a large Alaska Native population, the video chronicles their creativity, concerns and dreams.

Dead on Their Feet

A road safety film for pedestrians in city traffic. Demonstrates typical unsafe practices.

The Ghan: Australia's Greatest Train Journey

The Ghan is an innovative three-hour documentary that takes the viewer on an immersive, visually stunning journey on Australia's most iconic passenger train. In Australia's first 'Slow TV' documentary, The Ghan doesn't just travel through the heart of Australia, from Adelaide to Darwin, it explores the part the Ghan played in the foundation of modern multicultural Australia.