Leah Purcell

Shayda

Shayda, a young Iranian woman living in Australia, finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz, she tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he reenters their life, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran.

Looking Black

Looking Black explores the impact of Indigenous storytelling at the ABC, and how it has created deep and honest conversations about the experience of First Nations journalists, storytellers, and presenters.

The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson

In 1893, heavily pregnant Molly Johnson and her children struggle in isolation to survive the harsh Australian landscape after her husband left to go droving sheep in the high country. One day, she finds a shackled Aboriginal fugitive named Yakada wounded on her property. As an unlikely bond begins to form between them he reveals secrets about her true identity. Realizing Molly’s husband is actually missing, new town lawman Nate Clintoff starts being suspicious and sends his constable to investigate.

David Stratton: A Cinematic Life

A compelling personal journey with David Stratton, as he relates the fascinating development of our cinema history. David guides us from his boyhood cinema experience of Australia in England, where he saw the first images of this strange and exotic landscape via the medium of film, to his migration to Australia as a ‘ten pound pom’ in 1963 and onto his present day reflections on the iconic themes that run through our cinematic legacy. All of this reflects a passionate engagement in a uniquely Australian medium. Parallel and at the heart of the series is the story of an industry whose growing pains David has witnessed over a lifetime. Alongside David, the protagonists of this history are the giants of Australian cinema – both behind the camera and in front of it.

Mary: The Making of a Princess

This is the story of a fateful encounter and the life-changing choices that led to one of Australia's and the world's most recognisable and romantic love stories.

Last Cab to Darwin

Rex is a loner, and when he's told he doesn't have long to live, he embarks on an epic drive through the Australian outback from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms; but his journey reveals to him that before you can end your life, you have to live it, and to live it, you've got to share it.

My Mistress

After experiencing a tragic event, a teenager is comforted by an older French woman who convinces him that an S&M relationship will help him heal.

Tomorrow

Kirsten is a 14 year old girl who lives in an isolated Australian country town. Laura is a businesswoman on her way to Brisbane. When their journeys coincide Kirsten and Laura make a connection that runs deeper than their differences.

Jindabyne

Outside the Australian town of Jindabyne, local man Stuart Kane is on a fishing trip with friends when they discover the body of a murdered girl.

The Proposition

In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hunt down and kill his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. Venturing into one of the Outback's most inhospitable regions, Charlie faces a terrible moral dilemma that can end only in violence.

Somersault

Australian teenager Heidi is left with little choice but to leave home after she's caught red-handed with her mother's boyfriend. With few options, Heidi ends up in Jindabyne, a tourist community. Upon meeting Joe at a bar, she pursues a relationship with him and tries to find something resembling a normal home life. Heidi makes small strides by getting a job and finding a place to stay, but her relationship with Joe must overcome more than its share of hurdles.

Lennie Cahill Shoots Through

An unsolved crime, a retiring cop and a dying crim determined not to take his regrets to the grave.

Black Chicks Talking

Performer and writer Leah Purcell talks with five dynamic Indigenous women - Rosanna Angus, Kathryn Hay, Deborah Mailman, Cilla Malone and Tammy Williams - about what it means to be Aboriginal in Australia today. In a series of individual interviews and at one lively dinner party, the women share their experiences and opinions with extraordinary candour. The result is a passionate and challenging exploration of black identity and a celebration of five very different lives.

Lantana

Plagued with grief over the murder of her daughter, Valerie Somers suspects that her husband John is cheating on her. When Valerie disappears, Detective Leon Zat attempts to solve the mystery of her absence. A complex web of love, sex and deceit emerges -- drawing in four related couples whose various partners are distrustful and suspicious about each other's involvement.

Somewhere in the Darkness

In this Australian drama, a department store collapses, trapping an old man (Barry Jenkins) and a young boy (Rowan Whitt) underneath. In hopes of keeping the child calm, the man tells him a series of folk tales which teach a moral lesson while they entertain. Somewhere In The Darkness received its world premier at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival in the United States; it was later screened at Australia's Sydney Film Festival the same year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi