DOCUMENTARIES

The Seven Up Series –

7 Up &14 Up Dir. Michael Apted. This extraordinary TV series following the lives and changing fortunes of a mixed group of British children, first went to air in 1964 & has progressed in 7 year intervals - 21 Up/ 28 Up / 35 Up/ 42 Up/ 49 Up now available on individual discs.

Air Guitar Nation Dir. Alexandra Lipsitz, 2006. Feature doco about the mania for air guitar that swept the US

Amandla! Dir. Lee Hirsch. Moving documentary about the role music played in the struggle against Apartheid.

Ballet Russes Dir. Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine. Intimate portrait of dance pioneers.

Baraka Dir. Ron Fricke. Stunning non-verbal environmental doco.

The Blues Film Collection – Feel Like Going Home Dir. Martin Scorsese. Winds its way from the banks of the Niger River in Mali to the cotton fields and juke joints of the Mississippi Delta to trace the origins of the blues.

The Blues Film Collection - The Soul of a Man Dir. Wim Wenders. Looks at dramatic tension of the blues between the sacred and the profane by exploring the music and lives of Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson & J.B. Lenoir.

The Blues Film Collection - Piano Blues Dir. Clint Eastwood.

The Blues Film Collection - Godfathers & Sons Dir. Marc Levin

The Blues Film Collection - Red, White & Blues Dir. Mike Figgis

Born Into Brothels Dir. Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman, 2004. Documents the lives of children of Calcutta prostitutes..

Bowling for Columbine Dir. Michael Moore. 2003 Academy Award winner shows the tragi comic absurdity of America's love affair with guns.

Bra Boys Dir. Sunny Aberton, 2007. Documents the rise of the Maroubra Beach gang.

The Buena Vista Social Club Dir. Wim Wenders. Totally uplifting doco about Ry Cooder’s and the world’s re-discovery of a group of elderly Cuban musicians.

Calle 54 Dir. Fernando Trueba. Great music documentary exploring Latin Jazz.

Cane Toads: an Unnatural History written & directed by Mark Lewis.

Capturing the Friedmans Dir. Andrew Jarecki. Explores the elusive nature of truth through the prism of one of the strangest criminal cases in American history.

Capitalism: a love story Dir. Michael Moore, 2009. Examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans.

The Celluloid Closet Dir. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman. Based on Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book about homosexuality and Hollywood.

Chavez, Venuzuela and the New Latin America Dir. Aleida Guevara.

Cirque Du Soleil Presents Dralion Dir. David Mallet and Guy Caron. An extraordinary circus’ performance.

Cocaine Cowboys Dir. Billy Corben, 2006. The incedible true story that inspired “Scarface” & “Miami Vice”.

Comic Book Confidential Profiles significant US comic book artists.

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures Dir. Chris Waitt, 2008. Amusing autobiographical work.

Control Room Dir. Jahine Noujaim. Covers perceptions of the US war on Iraq especially from the perspective of the coverage by Al Jazeera.

The Corporation Dirs. Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott & Joel Bakan. Absolutely riveting account of some of today’s most dominant institutions.

Crumb Dir. Terry Zwigoff. Extraordinarily intimate portrait of the underground comicstrip artist, Robert Crumb.

Darling ! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story Dir. Julian Shaw. Bio of the controversial South African political satirist.

Deep Blue Dir. Andy Byatt. A natural history of the oceans. Written by David Attenborough.

Dogtown and Z Boys Dir. Stacey Peralta. The 70s Zephyr skateboarders are reunited.

Enron the Smartest Guys in the Room Dir. Alex Gibney. Powerful expose of corporate corruption.

Fahrenheit 9/11 Dir. Michael Moore. Traces the various truths behind the US’ decision to go to war in Iraq.

The First Australians Dir. Rachel Perkins, 2008. First Australians is a seven part historical series chronicling the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people.

The Fog of War Dir. Errol Morris. Academy Award Best Documentary feature 2003 is a portrait of the controversial US political figure Robert S McNamara.

Forbidden Lie$ Dir. Anna Broinowski, 2007. Compelling investigation of the con artist/ author Norma Khouri, whose bestselling book, Forbidden Love, a biography of a Muslim girl who was killed by her family for dating a Christian, which turned out to be complete fabrication.

4/ Four Dir. Tim Slade. Documentary based on Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Frost/ Nixon the Original Watergate Interview Dir. Jorn Winther, 1977.

F*CK Dir. Steve Anderson Drew Carey, Billy Connolly, Kevin Smith & more in an amusing doco on the uses & abuses of the F Word. Rated R.

Gallipoli a Frontline Experience Dir. Tolga Ornek. Powerful retelling of the WWI battle from the Turkish perspective.

Garbage Warrior Dir. Oliver Hodge, 2007. Tells the story of maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce radically sustainable housing.

Girl in a Mirror: a Portrait of Carol Jerrems. Dir. Kathy Drayton, 2005.

The Girl Next Door Dir. Christine Fugate. From housewife to porn star, meet the girl next door - Stacey Valentine. Rated R.

Hell on Wheels Dir. Pepe Danquart. Popular 2004 cycling documentary.

In Search of Mozart Dir. Phil Grabsky, 2006. A wonderful biography of the musician.

In Shifting Sands Dir. Scott Ritter. The former UN chief weapons inspector tells his side of the US vs Iraq WOMD saga.

An Inconvenient Truth Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Al Gore presents his persuasive thesis on climate change.

Into Great Silence Dir.Philip Groning. Extraordinary observation of the daily life of an enclosed religious order.

I.O.U.S.A. Dir. Patrick Creadon, 2008. Reviews the causes of the current US financial meltdown.

Jesus Camp Dir. Heidi Ewing, 2006. Documents the fundamentalist evangelical Christian approach to summer camps for American children.

La Jetee & Sans Soleil Dir. Chris Marker. Two classic cinematic essays.

Land Mines a Love Story Dir. Dennis O’Rourke. A compelling anti-war film set in Afghanistan.

Latcho Drom Dir. Tony Gatlif. Looks at Gypsy music world-wide.

Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man Dir. Lian Lunson, 2005. An account of the legendary singer-songwriter and his influence on other musicians.

Lost in La Mancha Dir. Keith Fulton. Entertaining account of Terry Gilliam’s ultimate tilt at a windmill – in his doomed attempt to film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”.

Man on Wire Dir. James Marsh, 2008. Looks at the exploits of maverick tightrope walker, Philippe Petit’s 1974 wire dance between NY’s twin towers, 1350 feet above the ground.

Manufacturing Consent Noam Chomsky and the Media.

March of the Penguins Dir. Luc Jaquet. Acadamy Award winning nature doco, 2005.

The Natural History of the Chicken Dir. Mark Lewis A natural history film like no other.

Not Quite Hollywood Dir. Hal Hartley, 2007. The wild untold story of Ozploitation cinema. You can take a trip down memory lane with Alvin or discover it all for the very first time.

Paper Clips Dir. Elliot Berlin & Joe Fab. Inspiring story about a predominately white Christian US school where children learning about the Jewish Holocaust of WWII promise to honour every lost soul by collecting one paper clip for each individual persecuted by the Nazis.

Paris is Burning New York's black and Hispanic gay subculture.

The Party’s Over Dir. Rebecca Chaiklin & Donovan Leitch. Covers the controversial US Presidential Election in 2000 when the winner failed to get the popular vote.

Peak Oil 2006 Documentary dealing with the decline in global oil production.

Persona Non Grata Dir. Oliver Stone, 2003. Covers the history and contemporary politics of the Arab/Irasli conflict

Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times Dir. John Junkerman

Prisoner of Paradise Dirs. Malcolm Clarke & Stuart Sender. The startling true story of a Jewish film director ordered to make a propaganda film for the Nazis.

The September Issue Dir. R.J. Cutler, 2008. Looks at Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.

Sex at 24 Frames Per Second A look at sex and the Hollywood film industry.

Sex With Strangers Dir. Joe & Harry Gantz. Engrossing examination of how sex can become an overwhelming obsession.

Shake Hands With the Devil Dir Peter Raymont. Story of the controversial commander of the UN mission to Rwanda in 1994.

Shakespeare Behind Bars Dir. Hank Rogerson, 2005. Unexpectedly delightful doco follows the casting, rehearsal and presentation of The Tempest by convicted felons inside a US prison. Winner of ten film festival awards.

Sketches of Frank Gehry Dir. Sydney Pollack, 2006. Fascinating portrait of the reknowned architect.

Spellbound Engaging documentary about the US phenomena of competition spelling.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown Dir. Paul Justman. Fascinating account of the music of the Funk Brothers who had more number one hits than The Beatles but are virtually unknown today.

Startup.com Rivetting account of two boyhood friends who joined forces to start an online service.

A State of Mind Dir. Daniel Gordon Follows 2 young gymnasts and their families for over 8 months in the lead up to North Lorea’s Mass Games. A rare insight into a society usually closed to the west.

State of the Planet 2000 David Attenborough tv series on the environment.

Strummer the Future is Unwritten Dir. Julien Temple, 2007. Feature doco about the enigmatic frontman of the 80s band, The Clash.

Super Size Me Dir. Morgan Spurlock. A 30 day encounter with the fast food giant McDonalds.

The Take Dir. Avi Lewis & Naomi Klein, 2004. Follows the defiant actions of 30 unemployed auto workers in Buenos Aires.

Tarnation Dir. Jonathan Caouette, 2003 Autobiographical documentary about growing up with his schizophrenic mother.

The Ten Conditions of Love Dir. Jeff Daniels. Controversial documentary which follows the personal and political struggle of Rebiya Kadeer, the most galvanizing leader of the Uyghur people in 60 years. The Uyghur are China's Muslim minority

The Thin Blue Line Dir. Errol Morris. Powerful and mesmerising doco about a real life murder investigation.

Tibet Cry of the Snow Lion Dir. Tom Peosay. Dramatic documentary covering the major events of the long running Tibet-China conflict.

The Times of Harvey Milk

About the life and political assassination of San Francisco's first openly gay politician.

Touching the Void Dir. Kevin McDonald. Dramatic reconstruction of the remarkable mountaineering story by Joe Simpson.

Travelling Birds Dir. Jacques Perrin. An extraordinary wildlife documentary on the annual migration cycle of various birds.

Triumph of the Will Dir. Leni Riefenstahl. Infamous doco on Hitler’s 1934 Nuremberg Rallies.

The U.S. vs John Lennon Dir. David Leaf & John Scheinfeld. Documents the transition in John Lennon’s life from musician to political activist.

Valentino: the Last Emperor Dir. Matt Tyrnauer, 2008. A fascinating look at the life of legendary fashion designer Valentino.

The War on Democracy Dir. Christopher Mann & John Pilger, 2007. Examines the covert manipulation of Latin American politics by the US.

The Weather Underground Dir. Sam Green. Remarkable story of 1970s underground activists.

What the Bleep Do We Know? Dir. William Arntz & Betsy Chasse, 2004. Mind bending exploration of the big questions of life the universe and everything.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? Dir. Morgan Spurlock, 2008. Spurlock tours the middle east to “deal with” the war on terror.

Who Killed the Electric Car? Dir. Chris Paine. Investigates the politics of the birth and death of the electric car in the US and the issues of renewable/ sustainable energy. 2006

Who the #%!? Is Jackson Pollock? Dir. Harry Moses. Examines aspects of the contemporary US art world.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill Dir. Judy Irving. Story of a modern day St Francis who befriended a flock of parrots in San Francisco.

Wordplay Dir. Patrick Creadon, 2006. Looks at the history of the NY Times crossword and its fans.

Young @ Heart Dir. Stephen Walker, 2007. Chronicles s a senior citizens choir who cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Coldplay, Sonic Youth, and other “unexpected” musicians.