Whether through the staging of a school play, the creation of a whisky, in the couple who pioneered Australian guerrilla filmmaking or the mobilisation of thousands of women during WWII, the power of social expectations and a passion for self-expression results in some fascinating stories.
Dare To Be Different
Maggie Miles’ account of Port Phillip Specialist School's performance of the play Class Act showcases the transformative power of respect and inclusion. We follow three of the special needs children as they prepare and rehearse, working with the education model that gives them the freedom to become performers, and how the experience changes the world around them.
Scotch: The Story of Whisky
Scottish actor David Hayman proves a perfect guide through the centuries of production of whisky, from its birth in Scottish crofts to its dominance in bars across the world. Meeting master blenders, writers, distillers and marketers, this three-part BBC production travels from the Highlands to Hobart to find the people devoting their lives to the drink, and attempts to understand what makes it so special.
Thanks Girls and Goodbye
Director Sue Maslin tells the story of the Australian Women’s Land Army, a 7,000-strong division established by the government in 1942 to relieve labour shortages on Australian farms and businesses. This is the story of Australia’s “forgotten army”, the women whose lives were upturned and expectations of life were raised during the years the country was at war and how they have been written out of history since.
Hunt Angels
Australian filmmakers Alma Brooks and Rupert Kathner were pioneers of movie making in the 1930s, though their vast output is little known today. Director Alec Morgan tells their wild story of criminally-funded guerrilla filmmaking as they set themselves at war with Hollywood distributors, on the run from the police and ridiculed by cultural critics. using integrated documentary footage and reenactments starring Victoria Hill as Brooks and Ben Mendelsohn as Kathner.
Barista
Advertising might be inescapable, with its evolution from jingles and billboards to online impressions accompanied by a massive increase in data and technology allowing personalisation to a previously unimaginable degree. Unlike the artful pitch of Don Draper in the TV series Mad Men, director Scott Harper looks at the new titans of the industry: the inventor of the pop-up advertisement, the hoarders of metrics and the developers able to monitor eye movements and emotions.
