Documentary

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli.

• Tue 05 Sep
  • 4:30PM

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power

A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution.

• Today
  • 2:30PM

Chicken People

CHICKEN PEOPLE is a chirpy feature documentary that follows American breeders Brian C, Shari and Brian K as their chickens compete for the ultimate title of Grand Champion at the Ohio National Poultry Show. Enter their fascinating world as they share their passion for poultry, and how competing provides a place for their dreams to roost. CHICKEN PEOPLE is a heart-warming look at the ultimate best-in-show of chicken perfection.

Kedi

Hundreds of thousands of cats have roamed the metropolis of Istanbul freely for thousands of years, wandering in and out of people's lives, impacting them in ways only an animal who lives between the worlds of the wild and the tamed can. Cats and their kittens bring joy and purpose to those they choose, giving people an opportunity to reflect on life and their place in it. In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to ourselves.

Risk

Director Laura Poitras turns her camera on another controversial figure: the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.

McLaren

The story of New Zealander, Bruce McLaren, who founded the McLaren Motor Racing team, showing the world that a man of humble beginnings could take on the elite of motor racing and win.

I Am Heath Ledger

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

The Eagle Huntress

Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

David Stratton: A Cinematic Life

A compelling personal journey with David Stratton, as he relates the fascinating development of our cinema history.

The Coming War On China

The Coming War on China reveals what the news doesn't - that the United States and the world's second economic power, China (both nuclear armed) are on the road to war. Pilger's film is a warning and an inspiring story of resistance. Releases in Sydney Feb 16th and Canberra Feb 26th

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

A portrait of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, a group of master musicians from around the world.

Gimme Danger

No other band in rock roll history has rivaled The Stooges combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia and blues-a-billy grind. Gimme Danger presents the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relates their adventures and misadventures as well as their long-lasting legacy.

Janis: Little Girl Blue

Musician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.

Concerto: A Beethoven Journey

Filmed over the course of four years, Grabsky and his Seventh Art team followed leading concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes's attempt to understand and interpret one of the greatest sets of works for piano ever written: Beethoven's five piano concertos.The end result is a beautifully-crafted film with lavish cinematography, a signature of Grabsky and Seventh Art's style. Considered one of the top pianists of the age, Leif Ove Andsnes offers rare insights into the mind of a world-class pianist and access to his personal and professional life. Against the wonderful background of Leif Ove Andsnes playing these five pieces, we also peel back the many myths of Beethoven's life. Perhaps above all it is the fresh new biography of Beethoven that is most revealing.

Poi e: The Story of Our Song

Written and directed by Tearepa Kahi (Mt Zion) and starring Maaka Pohatu (The Modern Maori Quartet, Two Little Boys) the film tells the story of musician Dalvanius Prime and the origin of the song “Poi E”, a ground-breaking fusion of 1980s pop and traditional Maori music. “Poi E”, composed by Dalvanius and Ngoingoi Pewhairangi and performed by the Patea Maori Club, remains the only song in Te Reo Maori to reach No 1 in the charts, over 30 years since its 1984 release.

THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS

A compilation of found footage featuring music, interviews and stories of the Beatles 250 concerts from 1963 to 1966.

Chasing Great

Chasing Great is an insightful portrayal that weaves Richie McCaw's life story into his final season as an All Black, revealing the determination and mental toughness of an international sporting legend who still sees himself as an 'ordinary guy' from small town New Zealand.

Life Animated

At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.