All titles in the ‘Biography’ genre
104 titles - sorted by title / by year
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An Airman Remembers (1964)
Sir Gordon Taylor, one of the great aviation pioneers of Australia, presents this documentary. He delivers his story about the history of Australian aviation in the manner of ...
Al Daff (1975)
Filmed in 1975, Al Daff talks about his career and offers advice for Australian filmmakers. Al Daff was born in Melbourne before the First World War. He started ...
Alicia (1996)
Alicia Liley was a promising 18-year-old drama student when she sustained brain damage in a near fatal car accident. The documentary traces her recovery and her determination to ...
All About Olive (2004)
Filmmaker Mike Rubbo takes 105-year-old Olive Riley back to her childhood home in Broken Hill, western NSW, to talk about her life. Rubbo enlists Olive’s help to faithfully ...
Always a Visitor (2000)
A personal journey by 30-year-old Turkish Australian Muslim Kuranda Seyit. He discusses his relationship with his father and his siblings, and talks about growing up in Emu Plains ...
Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God (1974)
The documentary celebrates the work of Catalonian architect Antonio Gaudí (1852–1926), showing his many architectural works around Barcelona and interviewing a range of experts. Gaudí‘s style is a ...
Arthur Boyd: Figures in the Landscape (1985)
Arthur Boyd is interviewed in his studio in Shoalhaven NSW. The internationally acclaimed artist paints two large works depicting water skiers on the river nearby. He talks about ...
Arthur Boyd: Testament of a Painter (1994)
A portrait of Australian painter Arthur Boyd (1920 – 1999). Born into a family of painters, writers and potters in 1920, his paintings are displayed in galleries all ...
Astonish Me, Graeme Murphy Choreographer (1989)
An observational documentary that explores the world of choreographer Graeme Murphy. The camera finds him in rehearsal, in performance and with his wife Janet Vernon. He was born ...
Australian Story – With This Ring (2005)
When Australian Story first recorded the life of this gutsy young couple, Gayle and Mac Shann were newly married and struggling to come to terms with the horrific ...
Bastards from the Bush, A Journey with Bob Ellis and Les Murray (1998)
Author and screenwriter Bob Ellis and poet Les Murray go on a journey visiting significant places from their past. They attended Sydney University together and remain staunch friends ...
Betelnut Bisnis (2004)
This documentary follows several indigenous people of New Guinea as they attempt to earn cash by selling the psychoactive drug betelnut. The money is needed to pay for ...
Betty Pounder (1988)
Australian dancer and choreographer Betty Pounder (1921–1990) is interviewed about her life. She recalls her years with the Sydney based theatre company JC Williamson and the joy of ...
Billal (1996)
Sixteen-year-old Lebanese-Australian Billal is struck by a car in the aftermath of fighting between Anglo–Australian and Lebanese youths on a state housing estate in south-west Sydney. Billal is ...
Billy and Percy (1974)
This dramatised documentary is based on the diaries of Percy Deane, who became the private secretary of Prime Minister WM Hughes during one of the most controversial and ...
The Black Swan: Meryl Tankard Choreographer (1995)
This documentary examines Meryl’s professional and personal life in 1995 when she was the artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Australian Dance Theatre. Meryl rehearses the dancers, talks ...
Bodyline (1984)
In the summer of 1932–33, three men of Empire – the brilliant young Australian batsman Donald Bradman (Gary Sweet), the gentleman English captain Douglas Jardine (Hugo Weaving) and ...
The Bradman Era (1982)
Former test cricketer Bill O’Reilly recalls the test matches, mainly in the 1930s, with Don Bradman and other notable players. The documentary intercuts Bill O’Reilly’s interview with archival ...
Bran Nue Dae (1991)
This documentary by Tom Zubrycki traces the development and production of the successful stage musical Bran Nue Dae. The writer of the play, Jimmy Chi, talks about how ...
The Breaker (c1973)
A documentary of Henry ‘Breaker’ Morant’s life. It covers his disputed parentage, his variety of names, and his adventures as a bushman in Queensland and New South Wales. ...
A Breath (1998)
Artists Huang Miaozi and Yu Feng migrated to Australia in 1989. The Chinese octogenarian couple reflect upon their life in the 20th Century. They were artists in China ...
Brothers and Sisters (1997)
A lecture by scientist Frank J Sulloway about sibling behaviour is intercut with interviews in which a range of brothers and sisters, young and old, including an only ...
Case 442 (2005)
Frank Byrne was stolen from his mother Maudie Yooringun at the age of five. Decades later, Frank searches for his mother’s burial site with the intention of taking ...
Clifton Pugh (1988)
In this short film Australian landscape painter Clifton Pugh is interviewed by Nina O’Leary. He describes painting the Australian bush, his influences and his plan to keep the ...
Conrad Martens (1978)
The documentary follows the life and work of watercolourist Conrad Martens. The painter was born in England and moved to New South Wales in 1835, remaining in Australia ...
Crystal Voyager (1973)
A surfing biography about legendary design innovator and photographer George Greenough, shot largely in California. Greenough’s search for uncrowded waves drives his construction of a 37-foot ocean-going yacht ...
Dance of Nature: The Music of Ross Edwards (1995)
A documentary about the life and work of Australian composer Ross Edwards. Born in 1943, he went to England to study composition and returned to Australia to work, ...
Demons at Drivetime (1995)
A documentary overview of the high-rating radio announcers across Australia in 1995. The style is ‘a day-in-the-life of’, with poignant reminders that ratings are paramount and that the ...
Desert Walker: Gulf to Gulf (1985)
Fifty-two year-old adventurer Denis Bartell was the first person to walk across Australia from north to south – from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gulf of St ...
Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001)
Director Paul Cox tells the story of Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky (1890–1950). English actor Derek Jacobi reads selections from Nijinsky’s diaries. The readings are illustrated with ...
Difficult Pleasure: A Portrait of Brett Whiteley (1989)
A biographical documentary that follows Australian artist Brett Whiteley as he travels from his studio in Sydney to London. Whiteley started painting in the 1960s in London and ...
Dig A Million, Make A Million (1968)
Australia’s richest iron ore deposit has been found by Lang Hancock and his partner, Peter Wright. The mining company Hamersley Iron is developing a huge mining infrastructure in ...
Don Bradman in England (1930)
Don Bradman is interviewed in 1930 while on tour in England. He gives a demonstration of various batting techniques.
Dreamtime, Machinetime (1987)
An episodic documentary featuring distinguished Indigenous artists specialising in literary and visual art forms.
Dynasties – The Murdochs (2001)
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is the last of the world’s great media empires controlled by a family dynasty. The Murdochs is a portrait of a very close-knit family. ...
Dynasties – The Rose Family (2003)
Bob Rose was a football legend and head of a sporting dynasty. He was one of seven sons rescued from poverty by Australian Rules Football and their story ...
Eternity (1994)
Recreating Sydney in the 1930s, the documentary is the story of Sydneysider, Arthur Stace. Arthur had a hard life that deteriorated into alcoholism and despair. In 1930 he ...
Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History (2004)
A biography of photographer Frank Hurley. Hurley went to Antarctica several times to record expeditions with his still and movie cameras. He photographed the First and Second World ...
Frontline (1979)
A biographical documentary about the working life of combat cameraman and correspondent, Neil Davis (1934–1985). The former Tasmanian went to Vietnam in 1974, working for the London based ...
Funny by George: The George Wallace Story (1999)
A biography of comedian and actor George Wallace (1895–1960). The documentary traces Wallace’s life from childhood to death. The film shows Wallace starring in many of his films, ...
George Dreyfus: A Portrait (1984)
Australian composer George Dreyfus marks this biography with his own whimsical style. He talks about how he composed ‘Peace’, ‘Mary Gilmore goes to Paraguay’, ‘Rush’, ‘Deep Throat’, the ...
Gillies (1987)
The documentary is a biography of comedian Max Gillies. The film cuts between performance pieces caricaturing public figures like Bob Hawke and Ronald Reagan, and Gillies’ private life ...
Girl in a Mirror: A Portrait of Carol Jerrems (2005)
The documentary is a tribute to photographer Carol Jerrems (1949–1980). Jerrems photographed Melbourne’s sub-culture in the 1970s. The biography is told through the short films she made, her ...
God’s Girls: Stories from an Australian Convent (1992)
The documentary follows the extraordinary changes in the Sisters of Mercy order in Australia from the 1950s to the 1990s. This Roman Catholic religious order had many postulants ...
The Good Looker (1995)
This biographical documentary about artist Joy Hester (1920–1960) is collated from interviews with contemporaries, dramatically recreated sequences, still photographs and drawings by the artist herself.
Helen’s War: Portrait of a Dissident (2003)
Director and writer Anna Brionowski follows her aunt, Dr Helen Caldicott, for a year. Dr Caldicott is seen in the USA promoting her book and giving public addresses ...
Hephzibah (1998)
A biography of Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), using home movies, still photographs, extracts from Hephzibah’s letters, film of concert performances and interviews with family and friends. Hephzibah and her ...
Home of the Blizzard (1998)
The AAP Mawson’s Hut Expedition sailed to the Antarctic in the summer of 1998 to restore and conserve the original scientific huts constructed by explorer Douglas Mawson in ...
Homelands: View from the Edge (1993)
This documentary by filmmaker Tom Zubrycki follows the Robles family – Carlos, Maria and their four daughters – who came to Melbourne as refugees from El Salvador in ...
I Can Jump Puddles (1981)
This is the inspirational boyhood story of the author Alan Marshall, a victim of polio. Born in rural Victoria in the early 1900s, young Alan Marshall contracted the ...
In Limbo (2002)
The documentary follows Australian-Vietnamese lawyer Hoi Trinh, as he attempts to secure Australian citizenship for 2,000 Vietnamese boat people who fled to the Philippines when the Vietnam War ...
In the Mind of the Architect – Episode One: Keeping the Faith (2000)
Keeping the Faith is the first in a series of three programs showcasing contemporary Australian architecture. In this program, some of Australia’s best-known and finest architects talk about ...
Interview with Archbishop Mannix (1962)
Dr Daniel Mannix was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne from 1913 until his death in 1963. He was a man of considerable influence in Australian public life, ...
The Isabellas: The Long March (1995)
Chen Xing Liang attained refugee status after six months in detention. He arrived in northern Australia by boat along with 56 other Chinese. He retells the story of ...
It’s Ruth (1994)
A biography of Australian actress Ruth Cracknell (1926–2002). Cracknell started in radio then moved to live theatre before becoming a household name in film and television. She is ...
Jimmy Little’s Gentle Journey (2006)
A documentary about singer–songwriter Jimmy Little, an Indigenous musician whose voice reaches out to all people across the generations.
A Kid Called Troy (1993)
Eight-year-old Troy has contracted AIDS from his mother. His father, Vince, cares for him now that his mother has died. Troy requires hospital treatment and drugs to delay ...
Kylie Tennant (1986)
An interview with the writer Kylie Tennant (1912–1988), filmed at her home in Blackheath NSW, between February and May 1985.
Least Said, Soonest Mended (1999)
At age fifteen, in 1964, Val gave birth to an illegitimate baby girl. Her parents sent her to a school in another town until she had delivered the ...
The Legend of Damien Parer (1964)
The life story of the legendary Australian combat cameraman Damien Parer, as seen through the eyes of those who knew him and through the amazing footage that he ...
Letters to Ali (2004)
A documentary feature by Clara Law that follows an Australian family on their journey of friendship with fifteen-year-old ‘Ali’, an Afghani asylum seeker detained at the Port Hedland ...
The Life and Times of Margaret Whitlam (1993)
Maxine McKew interviews Margaret Whitlam in 1993. Margaret Whitlam talks about her childhood, career choices and her life married to Gough Whitlam (Prime Minister of Australia 1972–1975). She ...
Lizzy Gardiner’s Story of the Fame Game (1997)
Academy Award winning costume designer, Lizzy Gardiner, interviews television stars about their time in the spotlight and what follows. Gardiner interviews stars like Bruce Samazan, Ashley Paske and ...
Lord of the Bush (1990)
The documentary is about Lord Alistair McAlpine, bon vivant, patron of the arts and author. After falling in love with the Broome region in Western Australia in the ...
Loved Up – Our Bush Wedding (2005)
An observational documentary about the wedding between artist Gordon Syron and photographer Elaine Pelot-Kitchener. Syron went to jail in 1972 for killing a man who, in his view, ...
Lowering the Tone: 45 Years of Robyn Archer (1993)
Australian singer Robyn Archer has been acclaimed worldwide for her cabaret singing. This biographical documentary looks into Archer’s life in 1993. Archer speaks frankly about her personal life ...
Mao’s New Suit (1997)
Two young Chinese fashion designers combine forces to stage a fashion show in Shanghai. The enterprise is plagued with problems but the designers are optimistic about their future.
Message Stick – Bill’s Wake (2001)
Bill Neidjie decided to have a wake while he was alive, rather than waiting until his death, to hear what everyone would say about him.
Message Stick – Wayne’s World (2005)
An episode that introduces us to award-winning filmmaker and actor Wayne Blair.
Molly and Mobarak (2003)
Molly and Mobarak follows the emotional journey of Mobarak Tahiri, a young Hazara refugee from Afghanistan living on a Temporary Protection Visa, as he struggles to adjust to ...
My Country (1994)
The documentary examines the working relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous occupants of a cattle station in the Northern Territory. Most of the filming takes place during a cattle ...
My Mother India (2001)
Director Safina Uberoi traces her parents’ history. Her Australian mother married a Sikh and moved to India. There they bought up their three children and survived the anti-Sikh ...
No Fences, No Boundaries – Walter Burley Griffin (c1976)
A biography that examines the life and work of architect Walter Burley Griffin (1876 – 1937), based on the unpublished biography by his wife, Marion Mahony (1871 – ...
Opal Fever (2004)
Opal Fever is a four-part documentary series that explores the obsession with mining the precious stone opal. The series looks at the miners, retailers and consumers of opals. ...
Painting Country (2000)
Balgo is a centre for Aboriginal painters in the remote north of Western Australia. The artists originally come from hundreds of kilometres around the area. They decide to ...
Peach’s Explorers – The Prison Walls (1984)
The story of the Blue Mountains’ barrier to the expansion of the fledgling colony of NSW and its eventual crossing by Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth and William Lawson ...
A Personal History of the Australian Surf: Being the Confessions of a Straight Poofter (1981)
Sydney born theatre director Michael Blakemore returns from England for a nostalgic remembrance of his childhood on the Sydney beaches. His father, who developed young Michael’s love of ...
Poetry In Australia – Judith Wright (1963)
The poet Judith Wright (1915–2000) is introduced by well-known ABC broadcaster John Thompson in an interview that covers aspects of her early life on the land, her art ...
Profiles of Power, HC Coombs (1961)
HC Coombs is interviewed about his life and work by the current affairs journalist Robert Moore. Questions cover the forty years in which he was advisor to six ...
Public Enemy Number One (1981)
Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett reported the Vietnam War from the perspective of the North Vietnamese. For this he was reviled as a traitor and a communist in the ...
Pyongyang Diaries (1997)
Shortly after the death of the country’s leader Kim Il Sung, and again on a return trip two years later in 1996, filmmaker Solrun Hoaas embarked on a ...
Rachel’s Story (1997)
At sixteen, Rachel began working as a prostitute in Kings Cross and became addicted to heroin. She met Clive, who helped her recover from the addiction and give ...
Rebels With a Cause (1994)
The film looks at Cecil Waters and his unorthodox methods of bringing up his three sons on a farm on the Central Coast of NSW. Ces rules the ...
Reunion (1998)
Producer, writer, director Lisa Wang tells the story of her family through home movies, interviews with her mother, siblings and relatives, and historical footage of Melbourne. It is ...
Rough Riders (1995)
Twenty-four-year old Rodney Brien is killed bull riding. The documentary pays tribute to his life and examines the sport of bull riding. Brien is seen in an interview ...
Sammy Butcher, Out of the Shadows (2004)
A documentary about musician Sammy Butcher who once played with the Warumpi Band and now invests his energy in young musicians in his community, Papunya, 250 kilometres west ...
Shooey’s Little World (1984)
Keith and Gladys Shoesmith live in the country with their six children. This observational documentary explores all aspects of their daily life – from economics to sociology.
Smart’s Labyrinth (1994)
Australian artist Jeffrey Smart has been living in Italy since the 1970s. This documentary looks at his life in the 1990s. He reflects on his life as a ...
State of Shock (1991)
Aboriginal alcoholic Alwyn Peter traces the events in his life. Alwyn’s mother Rachel talks about the effect of forced relocation on the family and recalls Alwyn’s self-mutilation in ...
Stepping Out (1980)
This observational documentary follows the rehearsals and performance of the birth of a theatre of the mentally handicapped. Residents of the Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home in Sydney are ...
Tall Tales but True: David Williamson – playwright (1994)
Australian playwright David Williamson is interviewed about his professional and personal life. The documentary is intercut with segments from his plays and adapted films, home movie footage and ...
Teddy Briscoe (2000)
A documentary about an Indigenous stockman, and the legacy carried on by his family.
Tim Storrier, ‘Lighting Fires’ (1993)
The documentary is a biography of Australian painter, Tim Storrier. It follows the artist as he goes to the outback to paint. He photographs subjects and creates live ...
Time Bomb (2003)
A documentary about Frank Djara and his work as a men’s health consultant in Areyonga. Frank also talks about how diabetes has affected his life.
Tuckson (1988)
This biographical documentary examines the life and work of artist Tony Tuckson (1921–1973). Tony Tuckson was regarded by some as Australia’s answer to Picasso. From 1952 to 1973 ...
Wamsley’s War (2000)
The documentary follows Dr John Wamsley’s attempt to acquire a parcel of land in the Grose Valley NSW for use as a wildlife sanctuary. A wealthy man in ...
Warren H Williams, the stories, the songs (2004)
A documentary about Arrernte musician Warren H Williams, who shares the source of his musical inspiration and the role of family and culture in his personal and professional ...
Was That Really Me? (1997)
Tracey Callender suffered from postnatal depression after the birth of her first child, Lee. The documentary tells the story of Tracey, her partner Simon and her mother June ...
Where Angels Fear To Tread (1997)
Northern Territory medical practitioner Dr Philip Nitschke assisted terminally ill patients to die after the Northern Territory passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. Seventy five percent ...
The White Monkey (1987)
This documentary biography follows Father Brian Gore as he works among the poor on the island of Negros in the Philippines. In his fight for social justice he ...
Yanks Down Under (1983)
This documentary, made in 1983, profiles some Americans who have made Australia their home, and become successful in the entertainment business. It features people like Don Lane, Marcia ...
Yellow Fella (2005)
A documentary narrated by Tommy E Lewis, intercut with historical footage, tells of the journey of Tommy E Lewis to find the grave of his white father.
The Young One: A Portrait of the Conductor Simone Young (1995)
Biographical documentary on the life and times of Australian conductor Simone Young. The film follows her across continents, into rehearsals, during performances and sees her at home with ...
The 1930s Golden Era of Australian Movies: A Tribute to Ken G Hall AO OBE (1988)
Australian producer-director Ken G Hall talks to camera about five of his films – On Our Selection (1932), The Squatter’s Daughter (1933), Tall Timbers (1937), It Isn’t Done ...
