Life in Australia: Cairns

Keeping Country Strong

2025

Keeping Country Strong is a new documentary by Country Needs People From the heart of the desert to the islands and estuaries of Sea Country, Indigenous Protected Areas span over 110 million hectares of land and sea and now cover over 54% of Australia’s reserves on land. Indigenous Rangers are on the frontline. Working in some of the most remote corners of the planet they are safeguarding endangered species, fighting wildfires and invasive species, and practising culture in the face of a changing climate. FEATURING Indigenous Rangers and Traditional Owners from Budj Bim IPA, Gaagal Wajaarr Proposed Sea Country IPA, Ngururrpa IPA, Tiwi Islands Proposed IPA, Anangu Tjutaku IPA, Lungtalanana IPA, Mayala IPA & SE Arnhem Land IPA.

Something in the Water

2008 · ★ 5.7

Something in the Water explores the rock phenomenon that is music in WA. How can the most isolated city in the world have exploded with so many successful bands over the years? Across decades and genres, Something in the Water asks "what is responsible for the sparkling talent pool?"

Rodeo Road

1999

RODEO ROAD explores the unique cowboy culture of Australia's remote north west in the pursuit of the rodeo dream - eight seconds of bull riding glory. Each year cowboys from across the Kimberley load up their saddles, chaps and wranglers and go rough-riding. Some are born and bred in the saddle, while others are young ringers from over east who come to muster through the dry season. Come rodeo time they are chasing the dream, gripped by the rodeo fever of the wild north west.

Land of the Long Weekend

This film examines how, since white settlement, Australians have structured, and restructured, their time. Despite some basic inequalities, Australia was a new nation trying to throw off the conditions of the Old World. Even two world wars and severe economic depression could not deter Australians from pursuit of “the fair go”. By the 1950s most middle class Australians lived in an ordered, protected, prosperous world of school, employment, Saturday afternoon sport and the Sunday roast. Yet today Australia is following the global trend towards a population divided between the overworked and the underemployed. The old 9 to 5 certainties are no longer in place. People work from home via computer; shop in non-stop trading supermarkets seven days a week; and online 24 hours a day. Overtime has increased and penalty rates are disappearing.

Strine Life

2016 · ★ 10

A short film / documentary that depicts the daily grind of first-generation immigrants in Australia.

Lair Of The Killer Crocs

2015

Paul "Gator Boy" Bedard and croc hunter "Crocodile Mick Pittman" journey through the Northern Territory to explore the invasion of crocodiles.

In My Own Words

2017

The raw, heartfelt and often funny journey of adult Aboriginal students and their teachers as they discover the transformative power of reading and writing for the first time.

Platypus: World's Strangest Animal

2003 · ★ 9

One of only two living mammals to lay eggs, the platypus has baffled and inspired the scientific community for hundreds of years. Three years in the making, this stunning natural history film takes us down the East Coast of Australia to the many serenely beautiful habitats of the platypus. Technology specially created for this film captures images from inside the nesting chamber of a wild platypus, and records the extraordinary sounds of the mother suckling her offspring. We watch as they grow from newborns to adulthood. Join renowned documentary makers David Parer and Elizabeth Parer-Cook (Dragons of Galapagos, Wolves of the Sea) on this fascinating journey from the rainforests of Queensland to the frozen mountains of Tasmania, as they reveal new insights into this mysterious creature.

The Search for the Ocean's Super Predator

2014

There's a mysterious predator lurking in the depths of Australia's wild Southern Ocean, a beast that savagely devoured a great white shark in front of cinematographer David Riggs 11 years ago. Riggs's obsession to find the killer leads him to an aquatic battle zone that's remained hidden until now. Here, killer whales, colossal squid and great white sharks face off in an underwater coliseum where only the fiercest creatures of the marine world survive.

Sacred Ground

2007

Sacred Ground tells the true story of Aboriginal people fighting to save the last remnants of their ancient heritage and culture.

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce

2009 · ★ 5.9

Eight men escape from the most isolated prison on earth. Only one man survives and the story he recounts shocks the British establishment to the core. This story is the last confession of Alexander Pearce.

malaysian mcdonalds

2023

The creator, Seth Ho, takes his audience on a journey to Malaysia to explore and review the unique menu items offered at a local McDonald's. Blending food commentary with a personal travel experience, the documentary highlights the physical effects of globalization, migration and its role in modern culture.