Canberra Today and Tomorrow

A look at the unusual process used in the making of the film Shortbus (2006) featuring interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from the feature film. Director John Cameron Mitchell starts with the concept of using real sex in a film with a positive message. The cast of unknowns is selected from homemade audition tapes and then a callback audition workshop. More acting workshops are used to develop the characters and script. The project overcomes a number of obstacles and the rest of the film's development is followed up until its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

A lyrical and haunting portrait of reindeer herding in the twilight expanses of the Lappish wilderness.

This documentary film focuses on the animal life that survives in this harsh arctic climates at the edge of the ice - from the simple algae to narwhals, polar bears, sea birds, seals, whales and walruses.

Among the various diseases that attack the potato during the growing season, there are first of all the virus diseases such as Mosaic, Leaf Roll, Spindle, Purple Top, etc. Certified seed appears to be the most effective means of combating these diseases.

Like an antipodean version of Romeo and Juliet, it emerges that Warri and Yatungka became the last nomads because they had married outside their tribal laws and eloped to the most inaccessible of regions. In 1977 the land was stricken by a severe drought and their tribal elders mounted a search for them with the help of a party of white men led by Dr Bill Peasley and one of their own number, a childhood friend named Mudjon. The film takes Dr Peasley back into the desert to relive his momentous journey with Mudjon and culminates with poignant archival footage of the elderly couple found naked and starving.

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

An unconventional, tone-shifting travelogue that stitches together nations of the former Yugoslavia through chance encounters, 1970s rock music, architecture, and inventive editing, Ryan Ferko’s Hrvoji, Look at You From the Tower locates traces of the past in an increasingly fractured present.

No Mercy, No Remorse takes viewers back to the winter of 1993, with a journey into the deeply disturbing world of Paul Charles Denyer, the then 21-year old who is currently serving three life sentences for the Frankston murders.

Puente de la Costa Sur, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2004 Community Leadership Awards (John R. May Award) - for its creative, grassroots efforts to provide education, social justice advocacy, direct services, and community connections enabling immigrant men in rural San Mateo County to improve their living and working conditions

Arabella Martinez, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award), was recognized for her commitment to building culturally relevant services and resources necessary for strong and vibrant communities, and for her outstanding contributions to Oakland’s Fruitvale district and the creation of the Fruitvale Transit Village.

Zakarya Diouf, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (Helen Crocker Russell Award) - for his vision in unifying the African cultural arts community, for serving as a mentor and educator of young artists, and for his artistic contributions to the development of African-based performing arts.

Insight Prison Project, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (John R. May Award) - for its dedication to breaking the cycle of incarceration through effective in-prison rehabilitation programming, and for being a model for catalyzing statewide prison reform.

Bishop William Swing, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2006 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for creating a more just and compassionate community. He reaches out across religions and takes risks to push for innovative solutions to social problems. Bishop Swing's perseverance in fighting homelessness, raising HIV/AIDS awareness, and providing equal access to healthcare has left an indelible imprint on local, national, and international communities.

Dr. Joseph Marshall, Jr., winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2006 Community Leadership Awards (The Robert Kirkwood Award) - for redefining youth violence as a public health issue. By developing violence prevention methodologies and promoting these models nationwide, he influenced the lives of hundreds of young men and women whose mindsets were changed, and futures improved, through their involvement with Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers.

Arnold Perkins, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2007 Community Leadership Awards (the San Francisco Foundation Award). Arnolds broad experiences reflect his passion to build and strengthen community spirit. Through his lifelong commitment to the Bay Area, Arnold has mentored hundreds of African American men and challenged them to be leaders in their own right. His diverse and inspired leadership creates positive change in the health of underserved communities locally and throughout the world.