Cirrus@Austlit

'Cheers turned to boos in the final years of AFL champion footballer Adam Goodes' career when he publicly called out racism. This impassioned film tracks Australia's heated response.

'The Indigenous leader and Sydney Swans player became a lightning rod for an intense public debate and widespread media commentary that divided the country. In the last three years of his career, Goodes was named Australian of the Year, accused of staging for free kicks, and performed an on-field war dance celebration. When the football crowds turned on him, the Brownlow medallist left his beloved game. Director Ian Darling’s (Suzy and the Simple Man, SFF 2016) film is crafted using only archival footage aired at the time, which has been expertly edited: a technique seen most recently in documentaries such as Amy and Senna. The result is a powerful film that holds a mirror to Australia and suggests we reconsider what happened on and off the football field.'

Source: Sydney Film Festival.

'A group of troubled boys are on a perilous course towards jail until they meet up with the free-wheeling jackaroo, Bernie Shakeshaft, and hit the road with his legendary dog jumping team.

'This observational documentary, filmed over two years, follows boys in a youth program that Bernie runs from a shed on the outskirts of Armidale, a rural town in Australia. On the road, the boys find their voice, make great friendships and the dogs become national champions. But as the boy’s sleep under the stars at night the trauma is never too far away.

'A soaring, evocative audio-visual journey into the life, culture and landscapes of one of Australia’s most beloved singers – Dr G Yunupingu.

'Blind from birth, Dr G Yunupingu found his identity through song and the haunting voice that has already become legend. His debut album introduced Australia to the Songlines and culture of his Elcho Island community, but Dr G Yunupingu found himself increasingly torn between city and country, present and past, self and the community to which he owed so much.

'From director and close friend Paul Williams comes a profound exploration of the life and music of this most revered of Australian artists. Co-produced by Dr G Yunupingu himself, the film uses the tools of his music – chord, melody, song – and the sounds of the land to craft an audio-first cinematic experience of beauty and power, offering a rare insight into a reclusive master who spoke in his own inimitable language.' (Production summary)

'In July 2004, Norma Khouri, best-selling author of 'Forbidden Love', was exposed as a fake. She'd won fame and fortune as a Jordanian virgin with a fatwah on her head for her campaign against honour killings. But she was really Norma Bagain, an alleged Chicago con artist on the run from the FBI for $1 million of fraud. Spinning murder, greed and literary scandal into a web that entangles us all, FORBIDDEN LIE$ is a real-life thriller for our time.'

Source: Screen Australia.