Join Richard “Harry” Harris – 2019 Australian of the Year, famed for the Tham Luang Cave Rescue – as he shares the secret worlds beneath the surface of South Australia’s stunning Limestone Coast.

A group of incarcerated women sign up to learn an instrument and write their own songs, as part of a unique music program in an Australian prison. The process opens deep scars around trauma and addiction, but can they prove that music has the universal power to heal, even in the complex world of prison?

When talented Bahrain refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi steps off the plane in Thailand he finds himself surrounded by police with an Interpol arrest order. What unfolds is the gripping true story of a heroic whistle-blower who, after speaking out about his own torture, sets off a revenge plot involving three countries, two royal families and the world’s most powerful sporting body, FIFA.

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A true-crime documentary about the unsolved “Burger Chef Murders” that claimed the lives of four teenagers in Speedway, Indiana in 1978. This film uses archive, animation, interviews and scripted scenes to explore the 40-year mystery.

The remote islands of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia harbour some of the largest Great White sharks on the planet – but are rarely seen at the neighbouring Neptune Islands where thousands of cage-divers visit each year. Great white shark expert, Dr Lauren Meyer, leads a small team on an adventure like no other, in the hopes of coming face to face with one of these eighteen-foot mega sharks! Is it possible these sharks have found sanctuary amongst these remote island chains to avoid the cage diving hotspot? If so what are they doing there and where will they turn up next?

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Created and co-produced by South Australia’s Breakout Productions, this special follows shark researchers Dr Johan Gustafson and Dr Mariel Familiar Lopez as they study bull sharks stealing fishing catches off far north Queensland. Using a world-first-noise-cancelling shark cage, designed and built by Director and underwater cinematographer Colin Thrupp, this special helps shine a light on the behaviours – and intelligence – of one of the world’s most misunderstood predators. Opened National Geographic’s SharkFest 2023.

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WORLD PREMIERE AT ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL 2023 — What is perfection? The search for human connection and the reward of finding your tribe. A visually beautiful, heart-warming, character-led arts documentary, Rewards For The Tribe traces the first collaboration between acclaimed contemporary dance companies Restless Dance Theatre and Chunky Move, and so celebrates human connection and reminds us of the value of engagement and sharing.

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A glimpse into the private worlds and elite musical processes of four superstar musicians, brought together through their connection with the blockbuster movie Shine and its director Scott Hicks. These four enormous talents are interwoven by portraits, created on camera, by renowned artist Loribelle Spirovski. A celebration of the individuality of the creative brain, The Musical Mind explores the remarkable ability of four extraordinary musicians to channel their unique instincts and individual neurodiversity into sublime musical creations, unlocking profound emotion through the borderless language of music.

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Featuring lovingly restored and never before seen footage, You Should Have Been Here Yesterday is an experiential journey through the birth of Australian surfing and youth culture and features Tim Winton, Wayne Lynch, Bob McTavish, Alby Falzon, Evelyn Rich, Maurice Cole and many more.

In the follow-up to her 2016 break-out documentary Embrace, filmmaker, best-selling author and globally heralded activist Taryn Brumfitt turns her lens on the issue of kids’ body image to understand why 70% of Australian school kids consider body image to be their number one concern, and what can be done about it. Primarily targeted at 8-12 year olds, the film uses Taryn’s distinctive filmmaking style to create an energising texture of animation, music, live action, interviews and more guided by body image health professionals Dr Zali Yager (Associate Professor, Victoria University) and Dr Ivanka Prichard (Senior Lecturer, Flinders University). Executive producers are comedian Celeste Barber, actor Teresa Palmer and Natasha Stott Despoja AO, Australia’s former Ambassador for Women and Girls. Producers are Anna Vincent (Embrace, Chasing Wonders) and Bonnie McBride (Demonic, Making a Mark).
 

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In September 1852, in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, the body of 16-year-old shepherd James Brown was found, mutilated and castrated. The next day, a reprisal party of 17 men pursued a flock of stolen sheep and killed a disputed number of First Nations people. Almost 170 years later, descendants of James Brown’s family return to the Flinders Ranges and reach out to people from some of the Aboriginal groups that share memories from the traumatic early period of European invasion.
What happens when stories of violence and conquest on Australia’s colonial frontier are more than just a historical abstraction, with powerful and personal meanings for families and individuals on both sides of the inter-cultural frontier? How do memories of colonial violence still resonate powerfully today, especially within the lives of many First Nations people? And can the scars of past atrocities be reconciled and healed through the act of truth telling?
Close to the Bone is a practical exercise in ‘truth and reconciliation’, engaging with culturally and politically challenging material in an effort to forge shared understandings. The film reveals diverse understandings of historic events, while seeking to resolve a shared path forward. In doing so, the film is informed by Charlie Perkins’ immortal words of: ‘We know we cannot live in the past, but the past lives in us.’ 

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It’s easy to feel alone in the Australian music industry, but for First Nations musicians, the isolation can be overwhelming. Rapper and Larrakia man Jimblah knows all too well that despite Black song playing such a transformative role in Australia’s history, it’s still seen as just another marketable asset. But what if it could be different? What if there was hope for something better? What will it take for Jimblah to create his own Black Empire? 

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The Angels came hurtling out of Adelaide with the searing guitars of the Brewster brothers and Doc Neeson, a frontman who was beyond intense. Their songs are etched in the DNA of the city: Take a Long Line, Am I Ever Goin’ to See Your Face Again. They were on the path to international success… until they just missed out. Yet they revolutionised Aussie music with gritty guitar rock and ferociously theatrical live shows. SA writer/director Madeleine Parry has made an intimate documentary exploring the tensions that tore relationships apart while producing unforgettable rock ’n’ roll.

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Imagine being born profoundly deaf into an Italian migrant family of 10 without any means to communicate with them, let alone the ability to hold a simple conversation. Director Anne Tsoulis (From Under the Rubble, These Heathen Dreams) takes the audience into the world of the Deaf through the charismatic performer, artist and “Adelaide’s funniest Deaf guy” Barry Priori. This insightful, funny, and at times heart breaking documentary takes us on a journey that holds many surprises and revelations into the Deaf world from the 1950’s to the present day through a combination of interviews, observational footage and rare unseen archival material which offers many intimate insights into a community steeped in Deaf Pride, Culture and its own unique language, Auslan. Within the documentary Barry and close friends Deane, Katrina and Donovan recount what it was like growing up and being educated as profoundly deaf children in the hearing world during the 1950s and 1960s where Deaf children were sent away to school at two-and-a-half, and were made to speak. Their lives as teenagers and adults were profoundly changed by the shift from oralism to the increasing acceptance and teaching of Auslan, with Barry, Katrina and Donovan going on to become ground-breaking leaders and mentors in the teaching and promotion of Auslan in both the Deaf and hearing communities. The Silent World of Barry Priori aims to demystify what it is to be Deaf and presents the world of the Deaf community. Through Barry we come to understand the mechanisms the Deaf community put in place to help them navigate the hearing world, celebrate Deaf culture and gain an understanding of the local and international Deaf communities.

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Combining modern science with ancient First Nations knowledge, The Endangered Generation? seeks new ways of thinking about the many crises facing our planet. Our world is at a crossroads of myriad crises, but all too often the solutions to the problems we face – especially vis-a-vis climate change – are put in the “too hard” basket. But, as director Celeste Geer discovers, it doesn’t have to be this way. Following Then the Wind Changed, her Walkley Award–winning film about rebuilding after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, she seeks answers to the question of why, after decades of warnings, we continue to shirk the necessary measures that will prevent all-out climate catastrophe. The Endangered Generation? aims to remove roadblocks to change by presenting new and hopeful angles on the tasks required. In the lead-up to COP26, Geer met with scientists, First Nations leaders and communities from around the globe who, through their research and experiences, are showing how collaboration, imagination and creativity – in particular, Indigenous knowledge systems – will likely be the most effective tools for surviving the world we now find ourselves in. A moving, and at times surprisingly joyous, exploration of who we are and how we relate to the environment, the film reveals not just a potential salvation for humanity but a salve for the anxieties and uncertainties of modern life. The film premiered at MIFF 2022.

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After former Afghan refugee, new Australian and photographer Muzafar Ali discovers that Afghans have been an integral part of Australia for over 160 years, he begins to photograph their descendants in a search to define his own new Afghan-Australian identity. Then the Taliban take over Afghanistan and his old country comes calling.

Brenda’s first memories were of growing up in a loving white foster family, before she was suddenly taken away and returned to her Aboriginal family. Decades later, she feels disconnected from both halves of her life, so she goes searching for the foster family with whom she had lost contact. Along the way she uncovers long-buried secrets, government lies, and the possibility of deeper connections to family and culture. The Last Daughter is a moving documentary about Brenda’s mission to unearth the truth about her past, and to reconcile the two sides of her family. It premiered at Adelaide Film Festival 2022.

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For the supporters of the Port Adelaide Football Club, it’s more than just footy. It’s life! This is Port Adelaide celebrates the undying passion and loyalty of those at the heart of the club – a working-class story of success against all odds. This is Port Adelaide explores the true meaning of a footy club to its people: it’s a tribe, a place to belong, a religion. But above all, it’s a family.

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Premiering on SBS On Demand on 21 April, 2021, world first interactive documentary Are You Addicted to Technology? invites audiences to go on a journey of enlightenment to discover how concerned we should be about our relationship with technology by offering a personalised investigation into the user’s own tech dependency through an interactive questionnaire built into the documentary. Hosted by child psychiatrist Dr. Kim Le, who has himself experienced gaming addiction, this first-of-its-kind experiment exclusive to SBS On Demand will guide users through the matrix of technology addiction, revealing the tricks used by Big Tech that draw us to their products to help us understand how we got here, and what we should do next. Cutting edge visual effects accompany the built-in questionnaire which prompts the audience to answer Dr. Kim Le’s questions. The tailored results will be a wake-up call for those who have become victims of the lucrative attention economy. The documentary also explores the impact of technology on the next generation and the worrying trends within the classroom.

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Early in 2017, Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months for him but David, being David, was always likely to defy the odds. And he continues to do so with probably his last great work, My Name is Gulpilil.

Maralinga Tjarutja is an hour-long documentary from Blackfella Films for the ABC that focuses on the South Australian Maralinga Tjarutja people who have lived on their lands for more than 60,000 years. The film will provide complementary programming from an Indigenous perspective to ABC drama series Operation Buffalo. Maralinga Tjarutja premieres on ABC and iview on Sunday 24 May 2020.

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Follow joint artistic directors Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy in their most challenging year as they scour the globe and battle the clock to deliver the 2020 Adelaide Festival in its all-important 60th year.

This documentary tells the story of the making of Emmaus Community in Perth, WA – an extraordinary place created by an extraordinary man – Alan Archer. After singing and performing on stage around the world to signing up with a record label whose clients included Prince and Michael Jackson, Alan’s life was transformed by a powerful experience in a Los Angeles church. Giving up a wild life of parties, drinking and performing, Al returned to Australia to work in a 500 bed homeless men’s shelter in Kings Cross and later from one small house in Queens Park, Perth, managed to create a community of 15 houses for over 60 adults who live with mental illness. Mental health professionals have spoken about how Emmaus reduces hospitalisation and dependency on the mental health system. Residents speak about how it’s changed their lives. In our world of ever increasing isolation and mental health challenges, Emmaus Community is a timely reminder of how communities can change lives. A Place to Call Home premiered on ABC TV’s Compass program on 19 April, 2020.

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Set in the industrial town of Whyalla, South Australia, this is an intimate portrait of Glaswegian immigrant John Croall, the father of long-time Adelaide Fringe director Heather Croall. John Croall delivered three generations of babies and planted thousands of trees in the town. He was also a great letter writer, and this very personal documentary uses these letters as its point of departure. Heather Croall films with her father as a way of coping with his approaching death and reflecting on the close, and often very funny, relationship between a father and a daughter, opening up an exploration that transcends individual grief and loss to encompass the broader issues raised by a man’s life. As John Croall is dying, so too is the town he loves – but on the horizon there is hope of new growth. The trees John Croall planted in the desert live on and amongst the harsh reality of change, and this film offers hope as the town reinvents itself.

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In 1970s New York City, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of subway graffiti – an art form the city had declared war on. Decades later, Martha discovers her photographs have made her an icon of a global art movement.

Ten-year-old Dujuan is a child-healer, a good hunter, speaks two Indigenous languages, but is “failing” in school. With little space in the western system for Dujuan’s language and culture his grandmother Carol is fighting a loving battle to give him a strong Arrernte education alongside his western education lest he become another statistic in juvenile detention or the welfare system. We walk with him as he grapples this educational schism and somewhere in-between finds a space to dream, imagine and hope for his future self.

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Artist Robert Fielding and son Zaachariaha Fielding, of music group Electric Fields, tell their story about reconnecting to culture and identity in their home of Mimili, in the far north-west of South Australia.

Aboriginal performing artists Lillian and Elaine Crombie share this emotionally driven story that explores the very heart of their being and the very essence of their connection to each other.

Sisters Taree and Caleena Sansbury move seamlessly together as they dance across the stage, with connection to culture and a strong female energy present in every step.

The Loop is an absurd journey into disability, authorship and representation, twisting the world of soap operas to share Lorcan Hooper’s experience of disability.

Limited Surrender is a testament to the power of creativity. Artist Kirsty Martinsen addresses how her creative energy and force have kept going despite confronting an ever deteriorating body from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Reflecting on her diagnosis and artistic journey, her story unfolds at the same time as the creation of a bold new artwork.

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With honesty, humour and heart, Deafinition presents the first-hand narrative of Paul and his experiences being Deaf. From the physical day-to-day, social interactions, the intricacies of communication and language, the frustrations and challenges we see it all unfold through the inner world of Paul.

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Meet the Mulka Man, Adnyamathanha Elder Roy Coulthard, the last wood carver of the Flinders Ranges, keeping culture alive by passing on his knowledge to the next generation. With time against him, Uncle Roy is determined to see his tradition live on. From the rich ochre sands outside Port Augusta in search of the perfect Mulka tree to a fire-lit camp backdropped by the stunning Flinders Ranges, Uncle Roy passes his expert carving knowledge to the next generation. But to do so, he must bravely cross traditional conventions and gender lines, teaching women the art of Mulka wood carving in order to keep Adnyamathanha culture alive. The project was funded by the Port Augusta City through the Regional Arts Fund and Country Arts SA and the South Australian Film Corporation grants for an Aboriginal screen initiative, with additional support from the Australia Council for the Arts through Change Media’s What Privilege initiative 2019.

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From the sand hills of Port Augusta to the bustling streets of Adelaide, Dusty Feet Mob’s young Aboriginal performers dance their way into the hearts and minds of their enraptured audiences, using the power of song and dance to help heal the pain of the past. As they prepare to perform their signature dance to Archie Roach’s iconic song ‘Took the Children Away’, the dancers and their dedicated supporters offer creative, intergenerational and deeply emotional insights into the story of the Stolen Generations, determined to carry on Uncle Archie’s legacy – the past will not be forgotten. Dusty Feet Mob – This Story’s True was created by Aboriginal community members in Port Augusta, in collaboration with award-winning production company Change Media, through an initiative of the SAFC, Country Arts SA and the City of Port Augusta.

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Demonic revisits the infamous Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic of the 1980s, a mass hysteria where people around the world recovered memories of debauchery, murder, human sacrifice and satanic cults. Blending archive and reconstruction the film uncovers the forces at play between psychiatry, media, and false memory.

Kate Blackmore looks at motherhood and mobility, film and feminism, through the prism of Margaret Dodd’s classic short This Woman is Not a Car (1982). Blackmore and Dodd are both Adelaide-born artists, making films a generation apart. Sitting in an FX Holden, Blackmore talks to Dodd, and her friends, about the context in which her film was made.

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Paul is 30, single and his mentally ill mother is still the most important person in his life. But when he meets the woman of his dreams, Paul decides that if he’s ever going to make a new life of his own, he must first find a cure for his mother’s illness.

Zibeon Fielding, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander man and long distance runner, is preparing to run a crazy 62 kilometres. Driven by passion to help those he loves, Zibeon will run further than he ever has before in the heart of Australian desert. He is determined to run from Iwantja to Mimili, raising funds to bring dialysis services to the remote APY Lands. We follow him on his journey of training and experience with him the mental and physical preparation required whilst living in one of Australia’s remotest and smallest communities. Training early mornings with the help of the camp dogs, his two year old daughter and his wife, Zibeon is a unique and driven man with a positive outlook on life. He wants to bring awareness that making healthy changes can give you a healthier, happier lifestyle to live longer and enjoy life.

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Filmmaker Sam Matthews sets out to meet other gender-diverse Australian artists, challenging each of them to create a new artwork based on the theme Unboxed.

Anthony is about to turn 28 and is still living with his parents in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. He’s determined to go through his life without getting “a real job”. He’s tried his hand at stand up comedy, filmmaking and music, but his pursuits in the arts have yet to be fruitful. Wanting to give music another try, he searched the Internet for ways to make money fast and he came across self-proclaimed “middle-class artist”, Matt Farley. Matt pays his mortgage with his art, making online streaming’s small payouts work for him by writing almost 20,000 novelty songs, earning half a penny for each stream. Teaming up with his producer friend, Rebecca, Anthony gets a grant to make a documentary about his musical journey and uses the money to travel to Massachusetts to meet Matt. Over 10 days, Anthony will become Matt’s song-spamming apprentice, and learn the ins and outs of making a buck off music in the age of music streaming. Anthony challenges himself to write 100 songs using Matt’s method. Like most artists, Anthony usually spends hours and hours perfecting one song. The effortlessly charming Matt Farley, CEO of his music empire Motern Media, will write four songs in one hour. And in Matt’s own words, “they’re usually pretty good!” In the dim light of his home basement studio, Matt will show Anthony how he can achieve anything with positive reinforcement, if only he can believe it. While traipsing across beautiful New England in the fall, Anthony will experience his first time away from home, his first pumpkin carving and his first attic. Can Anthony still imagine himself an artist if he writes a hundred songs about poop, not caring about the quality? Can he put aside his personal integrity to complete his challenge, when he’s given up on everything in the past? Can he really re-record the same song over and over again and only change one lyric, and still call it a new song? Anthony will find out in an American adventure that pushes him to the limit of his artistic abilities.

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From Under the Rubble is a high impact feature length documentary that prompts us to examine the personal, emotional and psychological toll of armed conflict on defenseless civilian populations, in particular, women and children. There is are a multitude of stories to be told from conflict zones and this is just one among many, so extreme it challenges the audience to stand in the shoes of Zeinat Samouni and her seven children, survivors of what has become known in Gaza as the Samouni massacre.

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Filmed during the inaugural year of the Ramsay Art Prize, Making a Mark chronicles a story of passion and creative trailblazing as a selection of finalists, all aged under 40, vie for the $100,000 prize. In a story that spans the globe from Europe to Outback Australia, we explore one of the most personally challenging and financially tenuous vocations, and find out just what it takes to live a life in the world of visual arts.

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Prisoners sign up to rehabilitate retired greyhound racing dogs to prepare them for life on the outside. The inmates have just a few weeks to learn how to train, socialise and transform the dogs into loving, family-friendly pets – and then face giving them up for adoption in the outside world. In turn, can the dogs help the inmates rebuild their lives? Can man and animal work together to create a better life for each other?

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Photographer Robert McFarlane has worked for over five decades, independently and largely free of mainstream media or the restrictions of commercial photography. He makes images that take his audience into cinematic and intriguing visual spaces and has photographed on the street, in the theatre, within Indigenous Australia, and in public and private spaces, amassing a body of work that is, in scope and quality, a sincere reflection of the world.

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This documentary was created with community members in Port Augusta and Davenport Aboriginal Community in South Australia during a two-day Change Media filmmaking workshop, as part of the South Australian Film Corporation’s Aboriginal Screen Strategy.

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A symphony of meat and fire, Barbecue shows us how an everyday ritual is shared by cultures around the world, as a way to celebrate community, friendship, and tradition. A film told in 13 languages, from Texas to the Syrian border, from ‘Shisanyama’ to ‘Lechon’, Barbecue is a film about the simple truths in life that bring people together, and how barbecue is a path to salvation.

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At home in Adelaide, Taryn Brumfitt is a mother of three. But internationally, she is a highly recognised positive body image activist and the creator behind documentary EMBRACE which endeavors to shift the way women think about their bodies, and in turn, feel about themselves. To date Taryn’s powerful message has reached over 100 million people worldwide via social media. She has been interviewed by Good Morning America, USA’s Today Show and 60 Minutes. Such is the strength of her international following, EMBRACE raised $350,000 through public pledges and has been supported by Rosie O’Donnell, Zooey Deschanel, Ashton Kutcher and Ricki Lake amongst others.

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Joe Murray, a member of the stolen generation, was a chameleon. In his early years Joe was a part of a boxing tent troupe before he turned professional. He was known as the “Black Panther” in the ring because of his incredible speed and lightning punches. He and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of South Australian German settlers, created a vaudeville troupe and travelled around the country performing and boxing. Joe, however, left behind him unanswered questions about where he was born, where his country was, and what happened to him in his later years. Joe’s daughter Barbara together with her son Edoardo hit the road to retrace Joe Murray’s history, hoping to find some of the missing pieces of his life.

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In 1977, Sam Klemke started obsessively documenting his entire life on film. Beginning decades before the modern obsession with selfies and status updates, we see Sam grow from an optimistic teen to a self-important 20 year old, into an obese, self-loathing 30-something and onwards into his philosophical 50s. The same year that Sam began his project, NASA launched the Voyager craft into deep space carrying the Golden Record, a portrait of humanity that would try to explain to extra terrestrials who we are. From director Matthew Bate (Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure), Sam Klemke’s Time Machine follows two unique self-portraits as they travel in parallel – one hurtling through the infinity of space and the other stuck in the suburbs of Earth – in a freewheeling look at time, memory, mortality and what it means to be human.

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Director Scott Hicks (SHINE and GLASS: A Portrait of Philip in 12 Parts). Continues his exploration of music-themed films with a new documentary project. It is a story of passion… of obsession… and possession. A journey into a world of rarefied instruments and the dealers, philanthropists and musicians who seek them out.

At the peak of her career, one of Australia’s most celebrated dancers, Michelle Ryan, is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Betrayed by her body, she loses her career, mobility and marriage. Despite her damaged confidence and disability, in a chance moment of opportunity she is eventually drawn back to dance, becoming an inspirational Artistic Director at Restless Dance Theatre, an Adelaide based dance company working with young disabled people. MICHELLE is a heart warming and uplifting story for a TV and film festival audience that offers an insight into the world of dance and disability and the liberating power of art.

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Travel guidebooks describe Thailand’s “long neck” villages as human zoos. Tourists pay big money to gawk at women with brass rings around their neck and take photographs. Filmed over three years, My Long Neck follows the stories of three young Kayan sisters forced to live in the past and desperate to move into the future.

ALL THIS MAYHEM is a searing account of what happens when raw talent and extreme personalities collide. In this unflinching, never-before-seen tale of drugs and the dark side of professional skateboarding, brothers Tas and Ben Pappas’ intense bond and charisma take them from the pinnacle of their sport into a spiralling world of self-destruction from which only one returns. Stars Tas Pappas, Ben Pappas, Tommy Caudill.

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King’s Seal reveals the hidden history of Australia’s first Aboriginal Land rights, documents the struggle for recognition of rights that were granted but denied and breaches occuring today.

Follow 28-year-old uni student Lise as she investigates how her past ecstasy use is affecting her mental health, and offers insights for the estimated half a million ecstasy users in Australia today.

Once described by the press as “one of the most controversial figures on the Australian art scene”, avant-garde poet and playwright Christopher Barnett achieved a level of notoriety in the Melbourne underground theatre scene during the 70s and 80s, before self-exiling to France. He remains there today, running an experimental theatre lab working with the marginalised and underprivileged, applauded by the establishment (including former French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault) and faithful to his belief that art can change the world. These Heathen Dreams is an intimate portrait of Barnett¹s life and revolutionary philosophy. Combining archival footage dating back to the 60s with contemporary observational documentation and text from Barnett¹s writings, it is a poignant and inspiring study of the power of both art and political activism.

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Park Life immerses the viewer in a version of retirement unlike anything seen in the West. Elderly ravers cutting loose to pounding techno, mass maraca troupes trancing in unison. The antics of China’s urban retirees are truly uplifting to watch. But in a place where social harmony and self censorship reign supreme, this frenzy of eccentricity and self proclaimed happiness builds to unsettling crescendo. By letting the characters and the edits tell the story, Park Life is an upbeat but ultimately melancholic celebration of relative freedom in China’s ‘harmonious society’.

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An all-male theatre troupe set out to create a love letter to their mothers. As they put their hearts on the line, things get complicated and not everyone makes it to opening night.

Recovering from the tragic and untimely death of his wife, Phillip Rose finds himself in middle age both a single parent and a single man. After a clumsy episode on a dance floor at a house warming party, he begins private Latin dance classes with Melissa, a young instructor. Over the course of ten dance lessons their friendships evolves, and Phillip confronts his loneliness and isolation while learning to dance the Merengue. Based on a true story this hybrid film fuses choreography, documentary and drama filmmaking to create a unique and moving portrait of a grieving man.

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London 1909, an actress from Adelaide makes worldwide headlines after taking to the skies under a 25-metre balloon emblazoned with ‘Votes For Women’. Known as ‘That daring Australian girl’ Muriel Matters is inspired by playwrights, anarchists and revolutionaries to use her performance skills in the fight for women’s rights. Stars Eileen Darley, Cameron Goodall, Ellonye Keniry.

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The Australian outback. Over 90 million sheep and cattle call this unforgiving land home, as does the Australian Cowboy – the Jackaroo. But as cities grow and the mines boom, the Jackaroo is leaving the land. Enter 5 wannabe Jillaroos. Over the next month these women will be trained in the South Australian bush by master horseman Bill Willoughby. There are real jobs on real properties up for grabs, but they’ll need to show teamwork, determination, and a whole lot of grit.

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RINGBALIN: RIVER STORIES is an immersive multi-platform documentary that reinterprets Australia’s greatest river system, the Murray-Darling, through the geo-located stories of the world’s oldest living Indigenous culture.

Ringbalin – Breaking the Drought is a 30 minute film about the healing of Australia’s greatest river through an ancient ceremony of culture and spirit.

CROC COLLEGE follows six Australians who dream of changing their ordinary lives for the better. The three men and three women do just that when they embark on one of the most thrilling and dangerous training courses Australia has to offer. Led by Queensland croc legend John Lever, the students learn how to handle, farm and manage the world’s oldest and largest living reptile – the saltwater crocodile. They will also study the hardcore and sometimes ethically confronting business side to croc farming and some will take part in a ground breaking scientific artificial insemination project.

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Filmmaker Shalom Almond and her husband Osker want a baby, but because Shalom has inherited an eye disease from her mother that leads to blindness, they don’t want to enter a random genetic lottery. Now modern science has thrown them a bone. It’s a controversial process called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis and it might just make them a baby with perfect eyes. So Shalom and Osker embark on the painful, expensive and morally fraught course that is embryo screening. It’s a harrowing ride for them and their extended family, and the destination seems forever distant – until they take one last, risky turn that ultimately changes their lives.

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Can you eat meat and really care about the animals on your dinner plate? Documentarian and meat-eater Madeleine Parry wants to find out. So she enlists to become an abattoir meat-worker, and works her way up the production line toward the “killbox”. With unparalleled access to a slaughterhouse, she explores the experiences of the animals we eat and the men who kill them. As she truly becomes part of the industrial meat production process, she faces the reality of killing hundreds of animals a day. Maddie wants to know the truth, but can she stomach it?

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The Ride is an award winning documentary directed by Sandra Cook that chronicles the journey of four men, as they journey 5000 km across the Australian outback on quad bikes. But this is no ordinary road movie. Three of the men are paraplegics, and one a quadriplegic. Their encounters with mud, deserts, floods and exhaustion test their resilience and endurance to breaking point.

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A gutsy young brother-sister team hits the desert in Ethiopia every Christmas to have a crack at aid work. Four years of filming shows just how complicated this can be.

Dancer/choreographer Tanja Liedtke was on the brink of artistic stardom. Her work was acclaimed across the world culminating in her appointment as the new Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company, only the second director in its 30-year history. But before officially taking up the position she was struck and killed by a truck during a midnight walk. The dance world had lost Tanja’s voice before she had told her full story. Tanja’s short life gives an inspiring insight into living creatively. As her work tours internationally, her collaborators reveal their memories and process their grief over her sudden death while Tanja continues to inspire through previously unseen interviews and footage of her compelling process.
Winner – Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize 2011, Sydney Film Festival
Winner – Dioraphte Jury Prize, Cinedans 2011
Winner – Audience Award, Cinedans 2011
Winner – Best Work, Ruby Awards 2011

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Many suburbs are built on former farmland. In the suburbs of Adelaide, locals arm themselves with pitch forks and kitchen knives to put that land to good use, pioneering a backyard revolution one square metre at a time.

When two friends tape-recorded the fights of their violently noisy neighbors, they accidentally created one of the world’s first ‘viral’ pop-culture sensations.

Long before ‘Brangelina’, it was the action-adventure stunt pioneers J.P McGowan and his daredevil wife Helen Holmes, who ruled Hollywood’s silver screens.

Australia’s dodgiest circus attempts to drive from Singapore to Ireland in a double decker bus! What could possibly go wrong? On route the circus gets waylaid in the south of Cambodia where they teach circus skills to a very spirited group of streetkids…

Love, Lust & Lies is the fifth film in the documentary series Gillian Armstrong has been making about the lives, hopes and dreams of three lively, working class Adelaide girls since they were fourteen in 1976.
Official Selection: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival

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Colin Darcy, an Aboriginal man, grew up in Whyalla in country SA. He has had his fair share of knocks, but now Colin, 24, is making a new start in life as he and his two best mates form a hip hop group called Shadows.

Burma’s eye surgeons are few and far between, but they are faced with the highest rate of recorded cataract blindness worldwide. Stretched
to their limits, they can restore sight to only a tiny proportion of patients. Dr Henry Newland and his team of Australian eye surgeons are
determined to help. For the first time, they expand their aid program beyond Burma’s city hospitals and head into the country’s most needy
and remote areas. There, they equip and train as many local eye doctors as they can, hoping to create a lasting, sustainable solution.

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This documentary goes to the heart of how the Australian criminal justice system works, prefaced by an introduction by the Hon Michael Kirby and the vigorous discussions of participants moderated by Geoffrey Robertson QC as they debate the realities and implications of the controversial Stuart Case, today viewed as a seminal point in the history of indigenous relations in Australia.

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This is a journey into the heart and soul of Freestyle Motocross (FMX) in Australia and the generation of riders who are addicted to this risky lifestyle. With little thought to self-preservation, these daredevils risk injury or death for something they love to do.

“Twelve Canoes” is a series of short films that paint a compelling portrait of the people, history, culture and place of the Yolngu people whose homeland is the Arafura Swamp of north-central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

Local band Rammonettes set out on a campaign of world domination, seeking to unite all the Ramones fans in the world. Then there will be a a golden age of peace and hard rocking.

A 10-part mini youth doco broadcast on the ABC in January and February 2009. Hone your bush survival skills and explore Kade’s Pinnaroo: gigantic Big Things, secret fishing spots, time travel and other stories in this series brought to you by the Hero Project, a Tallstoreez Productionz Pty Ltd initiative.

From the moment 9 young Zimbabwean soccer players took the momentous decision to seek escape from a homeland racked by hyperinflation, political murders, and cholera our cameras have followed the dramatic story of their encounter with Australia, as they attempt to gain Asylum and escape from the hell that their homeland has descended into. They are utterly unfamiliar with this country. They have no money, no jobs, no homes, and little education. They have left wives, girlfriends and children back in Africa. This is the story of their struggle to survive, seek Asylum and establish themselves. It is also story about soccer. Their team and the boys attempts to become professional players in the Australian League. Beyond this it is about how soccer means hope for these young men, and provides a vital focus for many African migrants in this country. The observational documentary follows their story from the homeless world cup in December 2008, through to a point in later 2009 when their Asylum is granted and they can be reunited with their loved ones in their new home.

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After Rashiq’s father fled Iran, to seek asylum elsewhere, Rashiq, being the oldest of four children bore much of the responsibility of raising the family during the nine years of separation from his father. Now as a teenager in Australia he is determined to define and live a freedom that he has been unable to experience before. Rashiq has been in Australia for nine months, and in the summer break before Year 12, he has chosen to challenge himself in many areas. His ambition to learn English is unwavering. Despite having driven since he was ten in his home country he needs to learn the Australian road rules and get used to driving on the opposite side of the road, so he can pass his provisional drivers license test. His siblings are struggling to find friends and his father is struggling to get a job. Rashiq, determined to help, also begins the job hunt. On top of all this and for his own emotional health, Rashiq wants to confront and understand his father’s experience in Australia – the reason why he was separated from his family for nine years. Mousa, Rashiq’s father was held in Curtin Detention Centre for three years, Baxter Detention Centre for three years and then it took another three years for the family to gain Australian visas. So the family decides to go on a road trip to Baxter Detention Centre, that is now deserted but still has many of the original buildings and Mousa takes the family on a whirlwind tour. Rashiq has an opportunity to see and experience the place where his father was incarcerated. Rashiq is adjusting to Australian life; however he still has a deep connection to his culture and his country. Leaving his home was a “bittersweet” moment for him, bitter to lose those he loves and the places and culture he knows, but sweet to be with his father again.

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Henry and Bee tells the story of Bee King, a young Aboriginal woman who was removed from her mother at birth. As a teenager, brought up in a white family, she began to feel isolated and out of place and set out to locate and reconnect with her birth parents. It was no easy search and eventually she tracked down her mother and father. After rejection was replaced by hope a whole new world opened for Bee when she re-established a relationship with her father, Henry. This is the story of Henry and Bee.

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Like many young Australians, Shalom Almond has visited Vietnam and fallen in love with its landscapes and its people. In the northern highlands lies the remote town of Sapa which has been transformed by tourism in the last generation. Young girls from the Hmong minority have flocked into the city to sell embroideries and work as tour guides. Shalom befriends four girls aged 9 to 16, returning over the next three years to follow their stories. The girls are savvy and streetwise but painfully aware of their vulnerability and of the heavily restricted choices facing them. The filmmaker also emerges as a character who is aware of her position as a privileged outsider. The result is not so much a document as a dialogue between friends. Almond seeks to bridge the distances between young women, at the same time as she is painfully aware of the gulfs between tourist and local, west and east, observer and observed.

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A year after Leigh returned from serving in East Timor he reached breaking point and left the Army. It is only now, four years later, he feels able to speak out about the realities of being a soldier.

Risking it All is a roller-coaster ride following rookie entrepreneurs pursuing their passions to set up their own businesses. Series presenter and business expert, Shivani Gupta is on hand with her unique brand of “no-nonsense” business advice to guide them through the highs and lows of following the dream of being your own boss. With new business start-ups running at an all time high the reality is that three in every five new business are doomed to fail in the first three years. Risking It All shows the serious blood, sweat and tears involved in trying to keeping the dream alive.

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At age 42, former Bosnian boxing champion Nermin Sabanovic is making a comeback and dreaming of fighting for a world title, despite the concerns of his wife and two daughters.

In July 2005, filmmaker Scott Hicks started shooting a documentary about the composer Philip Glass to celebrate his 70th anniversary in 2007. Over the next 18 months, Scott followed Philip across three continents – from his annual ride on the Coney Island ‘Cyclone’ roller coaster, to the world premiere of his new opera in Germany and in performance with a didgeridoo virtuoso in Australia. Allowed unprecedented access to Glass’ working process, family life, spiritual teachers and long time collaborators, Hicks gives us a unique glimpse behind the curtain into the life of a surprising and complex man. ‘GLASS: a portrait of Philip in twelve parts’ is a remarkable mosaic portrait of one of the greatest – and at times controversial – artists of this or any era.
Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival, Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts, San Francisco Film Festival, River Run International Film Festival, Biografilm Festival, ERA New Horizons Film Festival, Keswick Film Festival, Titanic International Filmpresence Festival
Awards: Best Feature Length Documentary AFI Awards 2009
SAFC Support: Festival & Awards Grants

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Sacred Ground is an International multi award-winning documentary that tells the true story of Aboriginal people fighting to save what is left of their ancient heritage and culture. Land developments, greed and ignorance is destroying much of Australia’s ancient heritage and cultural sites. Quenten Agius discovers his ancestor’s ancient skeletal remains in the middle of a multi-million dollar housing development. This life changing moment forms the central story of his emotional journey. When Quenten speaks we can see and feel his pain. Five years in the making, Quenten and his mob have the guts to stand up, to speak out and express their views, to fight for what they believe in – Sacred Ground is their story.
Awards
Special Jury Selection Award (Grand Prize) – 2008 Global Green Indigenous Film Festival (Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA).
Special Jury Prize – 2008 Pacific International Doco Film Festival (FIFO Tahiti).
WINNER Best Documentary – AVPA National Awards (Australian Video Producers Assoc) 2007.
Best Documentary – 2007 AVPA Australian Video Producers Assoc National Awards.
Best Broadcast TV Pgm – 2007 AVPA Aust Video Producers Assoc National Awards.
Nominations
Best International Documentary: International Film Festival England (June 2008).
Official Selection: Reel Earth Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival, (May 2008).
Official Selection: Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival (June 2008).
Official Selection: Globians World and Culture Documentary Film Festival (Germany August 2008).
Official Selection: Canada International Film Festival – Feb 2009.
Nominated for International Gold Panda Award – Best Photography in a Documentary (Anthropology): Sichuan TV Festival (China 2009
Nominated for Best International Documentary: Swansea Bay Film Festival (Wales) May 2009.
Official Selection: The Dreaming Festival (Australia) June 2009.
Official Selection: Two Fires Festival (Australia) March 2009
Official Selection: International Film Festival Egypt (Cairo) April 2009
Screenings:
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) – July 2007.
EM TV Papua New Guinea – March 2008.
Press TV (Iranian Television) 2009
Maori TV New Zealand 2009.
NITV (National Indigenous TV Australia) 2009/10/11
Other screenings: NAIDOC Week – International Human Rights Day – Mabo Day: Adelaide, South Australia 2008/09 / State History Conference: South Australia, Aug 2009.
Educational Institutions: DVD purchased by over 80 educational institutions and libraries Australia wide.

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The story of overland telegraph from Adelaide to Darwin. The incredible story of the struggle to cross a vast continent and build the telegraph line that would bring Australia to the world and the world to Australia.

A dramatised documentary investigating accusations that “Forbidden Love” author Norma Khouri made up her biographical tale of a Muslim friend who was killed for dating a Christian.

20 minutes by plane from modern Honolulu, lies a tiny settlement forgotten by time. Kalaupapa, a peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, with its swaying palms, unspoiled beaches and stunning mountains, is a paradise on earth – but with a dark and dramatic history. Kalaupapa is a leprosy colony.

From Dr Who to The Dark Side of the Moon to modern day dance music, the pioneering members of the Electronic Music Studios radically changed the sound-scape of the 20th Century. What the Future Sounded Like tells this fascinating story of British electronic music. What The Future Sounded Like mixes experimental visual and sonic techniques with animation and never-seen-since archival footage. A sonic and visual collage, this documentary colors in a lost chapter in music history, uncovering a group of composers and music engineers who harnessed technology and new ideas to re-imagine the boundaries of music and sound.

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A man’s pride can be measured by his shed – its size, what he stores in it, what he can fix or create in it.

This groundbreaking documentary series showcases nine fresh and fascinating youth films and behind-the-scenes documentaries. Relevant and entertaining, DIRECTING THE HERO WITHIN presents young people creatively documenting their world.

A documentary series about five individuals with disability and their desire to communicate through their artistic endeavours. Tim was born without sight and is now in his mid-thirties, leading a double life. Richard is a person who hasn’t let his disability stop him. Cathy has muscular dystrophy. In spite of this she has created an inspirational children’s book. Jungle is schizophrenic and has memory and concentration problems. Daniel has cerebral palsy.

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Tells the untold stories of five young women who survived Sierra Leone’s civil war, highlighting their strength and resilience to the horror and atrocities that took place in their home.

From white pointers to nudibranchs, cuttlefish to sea lions, Gavin, a leafy sea dragon, rubs fins and swaps yarns along South Australia’s coastline as his adolescent journey of self-discovery leads him home.

A Shift in Perception’ is a humanistic, informal examination of living with blindness. Taking an experimental approach to documentary making, conversations with three blind South Australian women are illustrated using a broad range of camera techniques on Super8 film (shot predominantly in black and white).

A four episode television series about the obsession that leads to opal fever and the dramas that arise out of that obsession. Set in the remote, unique and bizarre South Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy.
Winner – ACS Golden Tripod for Documentaries – Cinema and TV

A 34-year-old woman who has been deaf all her life has decided to have a cochlear implant or ‘bionic ear’; a remarkable operation that may allow her to hear. Because she has always been deaf, the operation and post-operative therapy is fraught with uncertainty. Will this be a life changing decision? Will Sophia hear her baby James’ voice for the first time?

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British atomic bombs in the 1950s decimated Aboriginal nations in central Australia, leaving survivors blind and their land poisoned. They remember and speak out against further desecration from uranium mining and nuclear waste dumping.

When it comes to gender there is a truly Samoan way of seeing the world. PARADISE BENT tells the story of the Samoan fa’afafines: boys who are raised as girls and play an important domestic role in Samoan culture. The anthropological spotlight has shone on Samoa many times this century, but there has been no mention of fa’afafines – is it possible the anthropologists just didn’t notice them? According to the Samoans, fa’afafines have a long history in their culture. The traditional role of the fa’afafines is now under threat as the western drag scene filters into Samoa. The older fa’afafines are not impressed. Through our main character, Cindy, we see the complexities of life facing the modern day fa’afafine in paradise.

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For millennia people have wondered at their own existence and the mysteries of life. Powerful answers – and entirely new questions – have been provided by mathematics and science. In this series, crafty interrogator and sceptic Phillip Adams talks to acclaimed scientist and author Professor Paul Davies about the mysteries that have filled people with fascination and dread since the dawn of time.
1995 Templeton Prize Winner

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Documentary exploring the myths and legends of a hardcore surfing community in the Australian outback, showing that out in the desert fact can indeed be stranger than fiction.

GENOCIDE is a documentary which focuses on the failure of governments and mainstream Australian society to address the misery and ruin that 200 years of indifference, arrogance and ignorance has wrought on black culture. This objective, yet sensitive and emphatic documentary goes to the heart of the problem and takes in the voices of those who have experienced and continue to suffer the intolerable privations of being a Black Australian.

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Documentary about the cranio-facial unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia, and its work performing facial reconstruction of disfigured faces.