The Best Australian Films
(Must be made in Australia, by Australians and/or based in Australia)
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- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorLoene CarmenBen MendelsohnIn rural 1960s Australia, a boy watches helplessly as his best friend falls in love with a small-time criminal, setting off a violent chain of events.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.
- DirectorKriv StendersStarsJosh LucasRachael TaylorRohan NicholBased on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
- DirectorPeter AndrikidisStarsLeeanna WalsmanLisa HarrowSam NeillYoung Jessica is sent to a mental asylum by her rotten family on a false pretense. Her only chance is a down-on-his-luck boozing lawyer.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsGeoffrey RushArmin Mueller-StahlJustin BrainePianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
- DirectorRob SitchStarsMichael CatonAnne TenneyStephen CurryA working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.
- DirectorWarwick ThorntonStarsHamilton MorrisShanika ColeEwen LeslieWestern set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s, where justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self-defense and goes on the run as a posse gathers to hunt him down.
- DirectorGarth DavisStarsDev PatelNicole KidmanRooney MaraA five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
- DirectorRolf de HeerStarsNicholas HopeClaire BenitoRalph CotterillBubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsEverlyn SampiTianna SansburyKenneth BranaghIn 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
- DirectorBob WeisStarsGarry McDonaldKim GyngellPeter CollingwoodParody of historical epics that focuses on real-life Australian explorers William John Wills and Robert O'Hara Burkes, who tragically tried to cross the Australian continent from the south, to the north, a distance of 3,250 km.
- DirectorAdam ElliotStarsGeoffrey RushKamahlJohn FlausThe odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsNathan PhillipsCassandra MagrathKestie MorassiThree backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
- DirectorDean MurphyStarsPaul HoganShane JacobsonRoy BillingA father and son who travel from Victoria to Cape York to fulfill their lifelong ambition to fish off Australia's northern tip.
- DirectorAndrew TrauckiStarsDamian Walshe-HowlingGyton GrantleyAdrienne PickeringA great white shark hunts the crew of a capsized sailboat along the Great Barrier Reef.
- DirectorMark HartleyStarsPhillip AdamsGlory AnnenChristine AmorThe story of the Australian exploitation genre cinema of 1970s and 80s.
- DirectorJohn CurranStarsMia WasikowskaAdam DriverLily PearlA young woman goes on a 1,700-mile trek across the deserts of West Australia with four camels and her faithful dog.
- DirectorDaniel NettheimStarsWillem DafoeSam NeillMorgan DaviesMartin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine CavanaughGentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?
- DirectorMark JoffeStarsBilly ConnollyJudy DavisColin FrielsAn ex lawyer now fisherman sees his fishing boat sunk by a lightning. His insurance company claims "Act of God". Sue the insurance company or God/churches?
- DirectorDean MurphyStarsMichael CatonPaul HoganAndy PappasTwo 'very straight' old timers have to learn how to pass as a loving gay couple after falsely claiming same-sex status to take advantage of newly legislated tax laws.
- DirectorPhillip CrawfordMary CallaghanGemma ParsonsStarsChaise BarbaricSkie CarlsonTiran DingleA feature length drama made collaboratively with young people who dip below the surface of their often tough exteriors to reveal what is going on inside.
- DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAn American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
- DirectorShane AbbessStarsKellan LutzDaniel MacPhersonIsabel LucasSet in the future in a time of interplanetary colonization, an unlikely pair race against an impending global crisis and are confronted by the monsters that live inside us all.
- DirectorRobert ConnollyStarsJane HampsonBea ViegasChristine MartinsWar correspondent Roger East and the young Jose Ramos-Horta travel to East Timor to investigate the murders of the Balibo Five in 1975.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsThomas CocquerelCorey LargeWilliam MoseleyThe adventurous life of young Errol Flynn in Australia before he became a famous Hollywood actor.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJohn HargreavesPat BishopGraham KennedyOn the night of the 1969 Australian election, Don holds a party in his suburban Sydney house, where his raucous, rude, embarrassing, extrovert friends discuss sex, politics, and their lives, and seduce each others wives.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonMark LeeBill KerrTwo Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
- DirectorJohn CornellStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAustralian outback expert protects his New York love from gangsters who've followed her down under.
- DirectorKarl ZwickyStarsSam NeillHugo WeavingJohn CleeseAn old man, a young anthropomorphic koala, a South Pole penguin and Albert, a magic sentient walking and talking bowl of pudding with an attitude are searching for koala's missing parents. However, sinister forces want the pudding.
- DirectorPaul FenechStarsPaul FenechTahir BilgicRob ShehadieThe life at a suburban Sydney pizzeria.
- DirectorClayton JacobsonStarsShane JacobsonTravis GollandChris DavisThis hilarious mockumentary film follows the numerous misadventures of a porta-john worker through both his personal and professional life, including an oddly glamorous excursion to the Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville, TN.
- DirectorRob SitchStarsSam NeillBilly MitchellRoz HammondA remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.
- DirectorGeorge MillerWarren ColemanJudy MorrisStarsElijah WoodBrittany MurphyHugh JackmanInto the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
- DirectorMario AndreacchioStarsJamie CroftPhilip QuastSusan LyonsThe adventures of Golden Retriever pup Napoleon and his friend, the parrot Birdo Lucci.
- DirectorWayne BlairStarsChris O'DowdDeborah MailmanJessica MauboyIn 1968, four talented young Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship, and war when their all-girl group The Sapphires entertains the US troops in Vietnam.
- DirectorDean CovellStarsMurray CookJeff FattGreg PageThe Wiggles throw a surprise party for Dorothy the Dinosaur, while she goes after a magician who takes Greg's magic wand to become popular.
- DirectorRolf de HeerPeter DjigirrStarsCrusoe KurddalJamie GulpililRichard BirrinbirrinIn Australia's Northern Territory, a man tells us a story of his people and his land. It's about an older man, Minygululu, who has three wives and realizes that his younger brother Dayindi may try to steal away the youngest wife.
- DirectorRachel PerkinsStarsRocky McKenzieJessica MauboyErnie DingoAn Aboriginal student on the west coast of Australia in the late '60s runs away from a Catholic boarding school with his cruel headmaster in hot pursuit, meeting eccentric characters along the journey back to his hometown.
- DirectorChris KennedyStarsJohn HowardAlyssa McClellandRebecca FrithA burly Australian fisherman moonlights as a hit man while trying to keep his family together in this hilarious comedy.
- DirectorRod HardyStarsDaniel RadcliffeTeresa PalmerLee CormieOne summer, four orphans boys who have grown to be the closest of friends find themselves competing for the attention of the same family.
- DirectorGeorge MillerGeorge OgilvieStarsMel GibsonTina TurnerBruce SpenceAfter being exiled from the most advanced town in post-apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerOrlando BloomGeoffrey RushAn innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.
- DirectorDaina ReidStarsBrendan CowellPeter DinklageYvonne StrahovskiA commitment-phobe and a New Ager buddy-up to win over the women of their respective dreams.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsMichael VartanRadha MitchellSam WorthingtonAn American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile while trapped on a rapidly flooding mud island.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
- DirectorMario AndreacchioStarsHelen NevilleNatalie VansierThea GumbertA young girl obsessed with watching the heavens takes a bet with the bully of the 12 year old set that their oddly acting new neighbors are not aliens from outer space. The bet is her telescope. As might be expected the girl and her new neighbor becomes best friends.
- DirectorKimble RendallStarsXavier SamuelSharni VinsonAdrian PangA freak tsunami traps shoppers at a coastal Australian supermarket inside the building - along with 12-foot Great White Sharks.
- DirectorTed EmeryStarsJane TurnerGina RileyGlenn RobbinsFilm adaptation of the Australian comedy series Kath and Kim.
- DirectorKhoa DoStarsAnh DoAngus SampsonLisa SaggersAn unemployed sports fan enters an amateur rugby league tournament where losing just isn't an option if he's to keep his family together.
- DirectorJohn StaintonStarsSteve IrwinTerri IrwinMagda SzubanskiThe Crocodile Hunter mistakes some CIA agents for poachers and sets out to stop them from capturing a wily croc which, unbeknownst to him, has swallowed a tracking drone.
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsFelicity MasonMungo McKayRob JenkinsA quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out.
- DirectorDavid NerlichAndrew TrauckiStarsDiana GlennMaeve DermodyAndy RodoredaA boat tour of a mangrove swamp turns into a fight for survival when a group of people are attacked by a ferocious saltwater crocodile.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJere BurnsAustralian Outback adventurer Mick "Crocodile" Dundee travels to Los Angeles with his young son while his longtime companion suspects foul play at a movie studio.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.
- DirectorStuart BeattieStarsCaitlin StaseyRachel Hurd-WoodLincoln LewisWhen their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely teenagers band together to fight.
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsLaura BrentXavier SamuelKris MarshallA groom and his three best men travel to the Australian outback for a wedding.
- DirectorKate WoodsStarsGreta ScacchiAnthony LaPagliaElena CottaAt seventeen Josie Alibrandi is about to enter her final year as a scholarship student at an exclusive Catholic College. It's the year her life is turned upside down and changed forever.
- DirectorTed EmeryStarsJane TurnerGina RileyMagda SzubanskiFountain Lakes' foxy ladies who turn more than just heads when they go on an overseas trip and end up being the centre of their very own fairytale.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsToni ColletteRachel GriffithsBill HunterA young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMagda SzubanskiElizabeth DailyMickey RooneyBabe, fresh from his victory in the sheepherding contest, returns to Farmer Hoggett's farm, but after Farmer Hoggett is injured and unable to work, Babe has to go to the big city to save the farm.
- DirectorBill BennettStarsGeraldine HakewillHenry JamesBob BainesA young couple go to a remote and deserted coral island for a camping holiday, only to find that the island is inhabited by a ghost seeking retribution for a past outrage.
- DirectorStephen JohnsonStarsGuruwuk MununggurrWakarra GondarraMark GarrawurraIn a bid to save the last of his family, Gutjuk, a young Aboriginal man, teams up with ex-soldier Travis to track down Baywara, the most dangerous warrior in the Territory, his uncle.
- DirectorHenri SafranIan GoddardStarsGreg RowePeter CumminsDavid GulpililMike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.
- DirectorJim LoachStarsEmily WatsonAisling LoftusStuart WolfendenSet in 1980s Nottingham, social worker Margaret Humphreys holds the British government accountable for child migration schemes and reunites the children involved -- now adults living mostly in Australia -- with their parents in Britain.
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsAisling FranciosiMaya ChristieBaykali GanambarrSet in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.