films as director...
The Hungry Tide
The Pacific nation of Kiribati is likely to be the first country in the world to disappear as a result of climate change.
Maria Tiimon, a Kiribati woman living in Sydney, has the task of alerting the world to her sinking homeland. We follow her to the Copenhagen Climate Conference and a year later to Cancun. Right from the start Maria struggles to find a balance between her advocacy work and the financial needs of her large family living on the islands. Meanwhile back on Kiribati sea walls are crumbling, and storm tides are sweeping into villages.
Temple of Dreams (90 mins)
Temple of Dreams is about the struggle of a group of young Muslim Australians to keep open a youth centre in Sydney's west.
The Centre, an old Masonic temple, is the brainchild of Fadi Rahman, a prominent young Muslim leader who shot into the media spotlight during the infamous Cronulla Riots. The Centre thrives, but then one day Fadi gets a threatening letter from the Council. It seems the Temple's 'change of use' allegedly contravenes zoning regulations. Luckily to Fadi's aid come three determined and argumentative young women: Alyah, Amna and Zouhour. But will the Centre survive?
Vietnam Symphony (52 mins)
In 1965, as the Vietnam War intensified and faced with the threat of
massive bombing, the Hanoi Conservatorium of Music - all 600 students
and teachers - fled to the countryside where they built an entire campus
underground, remaining there for 5 years as the war raged around them.
The film is a look at Vietnam today through the prism of the past.
Molly & Mobarak (85 mins)
Mobarak, a young refugee from Afghanistan finds work in a small Australian country town
and falls in love with a local schoolteacher Molly. The events of 9/11 and the Bali bombing divide
the town. Some people want the Afghans to stay and others to leave. Meanwhile Molly and Mobarak's
relationship runs into difficulties, and to complicate matters Mobarak's temporary visa is running out.
The Secret Safari (52 mins)
A documentary about an overland safari truck which, between 1986 and 1993, ran 40 successful trips
smuggling arms into the townships of South Africa without the passengers knowledge. An account of
one of the ANC's most audacious military operations in the armed fight against apartheid told by
those who were the main protagonists.
The Diplomat (86 mins)
A profile of freedom fighter Jose Ramos Horta in the final tumultuous year of his campaign to secure
independence for his country of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975.
The film starts with the fall of President Suharto, continues with the referendum to determine East
Timor's future, the devastating carnage that ensued, and the intervention of the multinational force
culminating in Horta's return after 24 years in exile.
Billal (90 mins)
A Lebanese family, the Eters, live on a housing estate in Sydney's west. Suddenly their lives are shattered
when their teenage boy suffers major brain damage after being run-down by a car driven by an anglo-Australian.
While the slow wheels of bureaucracy frustrate the family, Billal regains consciousness. His mother nurses
him hoping for a complete recovery, while his father grieves, believing he has lost a son.
Homelands (80 mins)
Maria and Carlos, refugees from the war story of in El Salvador are living in suburban Melbourne. After 7
years Maria has flourished. Carlos has not. After peace arrives in his homeland Carlos chooses to return and
rebuild his country. Maria and their 4 children decide to remain in Australia. However 6 month later and with
no sign of Carlos returning, Maria decides to track him down. What she discovers tests their marriage to the limits.
Bran Nue Dae (55 mins)
A film about the life of Broome Aboriginal playwright Jimmy Chi and the production of the first Australian
musical written and staged by Aboriginal people. Bran Nue Dae is the story of an Aboriginal boy's flight form
the Perth to his homeland in Lombadina. His journey in search of identity takes on a road movie blending
comedy, song, dance and romance.
Lord of the Bush (55 mins)
Eccentric British developer Lord McAlpine has a dream - an urge to create a whole new civilisation in
Australia's North based around the town of Broome in the remote north of Western Australia. Within a year of
arriving he buys a cinema, builds a luxury resort and starts a zoo. He even has his sights on an international
airport. However not everyone likes the change this will bring to the town - least of all the Aboriginal community.
Strangers in Paradise (50 mins)
Twelve American and British tourists go on a ten day guided tour of Australia at the height of the Bicentennial
celebrations. What they discover about Aboriginal Australians shocks them and perplexes them.
Amongst Equals (90 mins)
A film about the history of the Australian Trade Union movement - starting with the Shearer's strike of the 1890's and leading
to the present day.
Friends & Enemies (90 mins)
A blow by blow account of a year-long dramatic industrial dispute in Queensland where a small union takes on
the notorious Bjelke Peterson state government. At issue is the replacing of the permanent workforce with individual
contractors. The film tells the story from both sides shifting between union offices, worker rallies, garden parties
and country shows.
Kemira - Diary of a Strike (60 mins)
At the height of an economic recession, the Australian steelworks
BHP announces its intention to close down its coal mines in the
Wollongong area south of Sydney. 31 miners decide to resist the
closure by organising an underground sit-in which leads to the
storming of Parliament House, Canberra. The film is a day by day
account of these events and is personalised through one of the
families of the striking miners.
Waterloo (48 mins)
A 50 minute documentary completed in 1981, is an historical account
of the 1970's battle by residents of this inner Sydney suburb
to save the area from slum clearance and redevelopment by public
housing authorities. The film contains early footage of Sydney's
growth and a section dealing with the Greeen Ban movement.
