A group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women creates a vocal orchestra while being imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp on Sumatra during World War II.
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A group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women creates a vocal orchestra while being imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp on Sumatra during World War II.
Produced and directed by Walt Missingham who, in 1983, became the first non-Chinese to practice Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple, this authoritative and informative programme uses rarely seen archive footage to trace both the history of martial arts and the phenomenal impact Bruce Lee had on this culture. Narrated by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler.
Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.
Fact-based story of an Israeli government agent assigned to use her beauty as well as intelligence to snag a man on the run with atomic secrets.
The true story of explorer, journalist and writer Isabelle Eberhardt, originally from Switzerland. She moved to Annaba in Algeria in 1897 with her mother, who preferred to live in the Algerian neighborhoods rather than the European neighborhoods that she hated, and converted to Islam. Her lifestyle shocked the French colonialists: she dressed like a man, frequented cafes and smoke shops. Fascinated by the desert, she traveled the Sahara under the identity of Si Mahmoud, she published articles and books on the world she discovered in southern Algeria, strongly criticizing the colonial authorities. Arriving in El Oued, the soldiers prevent him from continuing his journey. She disobeys and overhears officers shooting Arab prisoners. Arrested, she was accused of espionage and was expelled from Algeria. She married Slimane, a Muslim non-commissioned officer in 1901. Having become French through this marriage, she could now reside in Algeria.
After the atomic obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 36,000 Australian men and women, part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), marched onto Japanese soil. They were assigned the toughest and most dangerous area of Japan: Hiroshima Prefecture, which included the atom-bombed city. The Forgotten Force tells for the first time the story of Australia's role in Japan. Rare archival and private footage, photographs and eyewitness accounts from both sides vividly recreate the atmosphere of post-war Japan - the horror of Hiroshima and its aftermath; the struggle to build a new "democratic" society while under the heel of military rule; the growth from suspicion and fear to friendship and trust between foes.
The story of Fred Paterson, member for Bowen in the Queensland parliament in the 1940s and the only Communist Party member ever elected to any Australian parliament.
During World War II there were nearly 2,500 Allied prisoners held in Sandakan POW camp in British North Borneo. Along with the ravages of war and the struggle to survive abject conditions, only six of these POW's were found alive when the war finally ended. In the years that followed, the horror stories of human depravity and the atrocities committed by the Japanese at Sandakan POW camp would come to light, considered by many as one of the most devastating chapters of the Pacific War.
Every September Sydney's inner-suburban Leichhardt Council re-elects it mayor. Incumbent Larry Hand was popular with the citizenry but they don't vote for mayor - the 12 councillors do - and after three years of Larry, at least four councillors were after his job. When film-makers Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson settled in at Leichhardt Council in early 1994 the knives were already being sharpened. A battle royal was in the making, and so it came to pass. By the end of September Larry had fought the fight of his life, with Connolly and Anderson documenting every bit of it on film. Ambition, courage, envy, hatred, loyalty, betrayal, disaster, triumph... in other words, a classic study in politics.
Set in 1950s Australia, in which a Chinese family comes to terms with its new country.
Based on the premise that "God" is actually an alien called G.D., who wiped out the dinosaurs and populated the Earth with apes from his own planet (who eventually evolve into us). "The Devil" is actually his son, "Little Red", who disagrees with what he is doing and pops up throughout history trying to upset G.D.'s plans.
Like an antipodean version of Romeo and Juliet, it emerges that Warri and Yatungka became the last nomads because they had married outside their tribal laws and eloped to the most inaccessible of regions. In 1977 the land was stricken by a severe drought and their tribal elders mounted a search for them with the help of a party of white men led by Dr Bill Peasley and one of their own number, a childhood friend named Mudjon. The film takes Dr Peasley back into the desert to relive his momentous journey with Mudjon and culminates with poignant archival footage of the elderly couple found naked and starving.
Through a case scenario set in Pyrmont, one of Sydney's inner city suburbs, the film explores community responses to the community consultation process surrounding major urban redevelopment plans. Traditionally a working class area, Pyrmont has borne the brunt of urban residential demolition. Pyrmont's future includes a major casino complex, heliport, marinas and more. Where does a social mix community fit within this vision of the future, occurring under the guise of urban consolidation? - https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/concrete-city-1994/7266/
A gay nightclub owner decides to stand for the first presidency of Australia. His motive was commercial at first but he sees he could contribute something to the job. On election night he is not elected but on advice from his solicitor they contest the outcome in the courts. They win on a technicality. The boyfriend of the president though confesses he's still a royalist at heart.
Australia was rocked on February 13, 1978, when a bomb placed in a garbage bin outside the Hilton Hotel exploded in a garbage truck killing three people. Many years later, Australia's most significant political crime, remains unsolved. This documentary focuses on the question of whether the bombing was part of a conspiracy involving security organisations.
In 1918 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife, son and four daughters were summarily assassinated. In 1992 the bodies were unearthed only to discover that the remains of two family members were missing - Alexei and Anastasia. Persistent rumors of Anastasia's escape have circulated after her death. This documentary examines the possibility that Anastasia may have survived the brutal assassination.