Movies: Australian National Film Board

Beautifully filmed in black and white, this classic short film looks at pearling in the late 1940s. It goes on board the boats that work off the coast of Broome, Western Australia, from March to December each year. Crewed mainly by Aboriginal, Malay ...

A road safety lesson using puppets and animation kindergarten age children....

This film makes clear for the layperson the whole pattern of building construction for a brick home, from the moment that the architect prepares working plans to the completion of the house itself. It was originally intended as an instructional film ...

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the South Australian regional town of Mount Gambier in the mid 1960s....

There was dancing in the street and tea on the river front when the Jacaranda Festival sprung to life in the last week of October in 1949. The Jacaranda Queen was the "most popular and prettiest girl in town" and the whole of the Clarence Valley desc...

This year the Musica Viva Festival will feature content from the NFSA's Film Australia Collection to be screened in the Bang & Olufsen Salon throughout the festival in Sydney. This film Music Camp is one of those films. Directed by R. Maslyn William...

In the estuaries and lagoons of the Northern Territory, freshwater and saltwater crocodile are hunted for their hides by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous hunters. This film shows Aboriginal people using age-old hunting techniques to land crocs eith...

Original archival synopsis: The Japanese bombed Darwin many times during World War II because it was strategically important target number one in their attack on the Australian mainland. Before the war, Darwin was little known except to the crews of ...

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s....

Canberra, the National Capital of Australia, is a city which has been planned; a place where modern living is enriched by a lovely setting. But the hustling young city of today is expanding and developing, and there is emerging the pattern of the pro...

Much of the romance associated with the development of the gold industry is to be found at Kalgoorlie on the golden mile, that rich strip of Western Australian territory. This film illustrates life in the town and the work of the miners: the school o...

In Australia, children live in the Outback, too far from others to travel to any school. The Australian government has a school with no student only teachers that correspond with their pupils and teach those children at their own pace....

The film examines the organisation of civil aviation in Australia, from passenger flights to freight and utility aircraft. It includes planning and control procedures before and during each flight, safety measures established by the Department of Civ...

Produced by The National Film Board 1945. Directed by Maslyn Williams. When this film was made, Canberra was one of the world's youngest planned cities. This film briefly outlines how the Australian colonies became one nation in 1901 and how the need...

A record from the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition lead by anthropologist Charles P Mountford that explores the abundant birdlife and waterways of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Thousands of birds, both native to Australia and from ar...

On piloting ships into Sydney harbour....

Shows new methods in treating those afflicted with mental health issues. Contrasts past treatment regimes where people were locked away out of sight with the new, 1960s, psychiatric ideas of "group therapy" and talking therapy. Also shows practical b...

Radio is one of the most important communication technologies ever invented and has been a vital tool in helping Australians overcome the tyranny of distance both nationally and internationally....

Made by the National Film Board 1949. Directed by Bern Gandy. The expanding activities of the Post Office to cater for communications in an ever growing nation. This film also deals with the rapid expansion to cater for post-war demands, especially i...

Made by The National Film Board 1947. Directed by Catherine Duncan. Christmas in Australia is a mid summer festival, with temperatures rising high. Over the years many of the traditional northern hemisphere Christmas customs have been modified to f...