Fiona Cochrane

This feature documentary charts Rod Quantock’s five-decade career and his tireless efforts to communicate the perils of neoliberalism and the urgency of climate change through humour. His journey illustrates the building of the thriving comedy landscape we take for granted today, showcasing a man who has remained steadfast in his pursuit of truth in an hilarious fashion.

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Brothers Mic and Jim Conway have been making music together since their school days, when they formed the Jellybean Jug Band, which later morphed into the wildly popular Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. In the early 1970s, Captain Matchbox became a phenomenon, delighting audiences with lively performances of Fats Waller classics like My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and quirky originals such as Wangaratta Wahine and Fernando’s Hideaway. Mic’s passion for vaudeville and creating instruments from anything at hand has driven his work across countless bands over the last 40 years, blending performance, circus, and humour. Jim, a blues purist, found his voice in Captain Matchbox as a harmonica player, becoming one of Australia’s foremost blues harp players.

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Strange Tenants were the 'Godfathers of Australian Ska', emerging in the 1980s in the wake of UK two-tone ska bands like The Specials but producing their own original political ska songs unlike most other Australian ska bands. Thirty-six years later they're still around and still political.

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'25' are two unknown, indie songwriters in a bare bones studio on a train in the industrial West of Melbourne - Australia’s music capital. They plan to write, record then release a fresh song every two weeks of the year. Cath loves pop; Nick loves garage rock. She wants jazz flute; he wants a dirty guitar. Is this ever going to work or are they totally deluded? Is it an impossible goal?

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Leverne McDonnell was an Australian actor who died in 2013 from pancreatic cancer. This documentary depicts elements of her life and documents her facing death, with her consideration of the topic of euthanasia. While euthanasia has been legalised in some countries, it is not legal in Australia yet, despite support for it by the majority of the population in opinion polls.

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Joe Camilleri, now aged 62, has been rocking the pubs and clubs of Australia for 45 years, as well as making close to 30 albums and producing countless more. This is a fascinating look at the man and his passion for music.

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Four different women, each with a well-hidden secret they are coaxed, tricked or forced into revealing... sometimes it's better to omit the truth.

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Rachel is a single mother and a very resilient young woman who has faced many problems in her past. Now she wants brain surgery to rid her of the epilepsy that is ruling her life. This intimate observational documentary follows her through the assessment process for brain surgery and the subsequent surgery, with many dramatic turns along the way.

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The Lady Gorillas are a down-and-out basketball team from the country town of Goondi. They are at the bottom of the regional basketball ladder and are scheduled to play the last match of the season against The Sharks, who are not only at the top of the ladder, but are also mean and dirty players. There are five main players for the Lady Gorillas, and they're a hopeless lot, covering the gamut of 'social problems'. The last match of the season is about to commence, and the Lady Gorilla's coach, Graham, has no reason to think that for once, just for once, the Lady Gorillas might win!

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Four divergent Aboriginal artists use their personal stories and historical injustice as a driving force to break through and create internationally recognised urban art.

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With a career that spans over four decades and across the globe, Jamaican singer Pat Powell (Patou) is one of Australia’s most accomplished yet hidden vocal talents. He is the artist that everyone wants to work with – the singer’s singer who sings with 15 bands, including the ARIA award-winning Melbourne Ska Orchestra. Born in the UK to Jamaican parents, Pat left the racism of the UK as soon as he could, although he ‘stupidly’ found his way to Australia with its own racism issues. Father to four children from different mothers with varying ethnic backgrounds, Pat’s children all identify differently and discuss racism and where identity comes from.

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The film documents the creation of Kelly’s monumental artwork “Peace or War/The Big Picture”. It is a tapestry of history and art, drawn from major artworks and photos from the defining conflicts of their times. This immense visual collage allows the audience to navigate through time and place, meeting survivors of these horrific moments in history and the artists who have created work commenting on these periods, some of which have become iconic. Through Kelly’s drawings, the audience is transported to the concentration camps of the Third Reich, the bombing of Hiroshima, “the troubles” in Ireland, the race riots in the US and Pol Pot’s Year Zero. Interwoven with archival footage of these cataclysmic events, the audience is invited to visit anti-war and anti-gun demonstrations today, events that call for similar injustices to be stopped. The film is a parallel work to Kelly’s masterpiece, unfolding to create the ‘Big Picture’ in documentary form.

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Strange Tenants were the 'Godfathers of Australian Ska', emerging in the 1980s in the wake of UK two-tone ska bands like The Specials but producing their own original political ska songs unlike most other Australian ska bands. Thirty-six years later they're still around and still political.

Open details →