Dennis O'Rourke

Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age

Dennis O'Rourke

The film features interviews with residents of the nearby Rongelap and Utirik Atolls who were affected by nuclear fallout from the tests. Unlike in previous nuclear tests and despite the considerably more powerful nuclear explosion involved, these residents were not relocated to a safer location. Declassified American military footage is included in the production

The Sharkcallers of Kontu

Dennis O'Rourke

Believing that the spirits of their ancestors dwell in the mako shark, shark callers are not only hunting but also maintaining a connection with their past.

Cannibal Tours

Dennis O'Rourke

The film follows a number of European and American ecotourists as they travel from village to village throughout the Sepik River area in Papua New Guinea, driving hard bargains for local handcrafted items, paying to view formerly sacred ceremonies and taking photographs of every aspect of "primitive" life. With some prodding, the tourists unwittingly reveal an unattractive and pervasive ethnocentrism to O'Rourke's cameras. The tourists thus become somewhat dehumanized by the camera, even as the tourists themselves are busy exoticizing even the most mundane aspects of Sepik River life.

Yap: How Did You Know We'd Like TV?

Dennis O'Rourke

Examining the change of culture in the small island after American television began being broadcast.

Cunnamulla

Dennis O'Rourke

Cunnamulla, 800 kilometres west of Brisbane, is the end of the railway line. In the months leading up to a scorching Christmas in the bush, there's a lot more going on than the annual lizard race. Here, Aboriginal and white Australians live together but apart. Creativity struggles against indifference, eccentricity against conformity.

The Good Woman of Bangkok

Dennis O'Rourke

Yagwalak Chonchanakun

Film maker Dennis O'Rourke documents the day to day life of Aoi, a Thai prostitute through interviews with her and her family as well as taking us through some of the tourist frequented bars and night clubs.

Ileksen: Politics in Papua New Guinea

Dennis O'Rourke, Gary Kildea

A companion to Yumi yet, O’Rourke and Kildea’s Ileksen (derived from the English 'election’) documents Papua New Guinea’s first general election in 1977. The film records a broad cross-section of candidates who, without an extended media network at their disposal, rely on relentless campaigning, ingenuity and personal charisma to attract votes. Emphasising the divide between coastal people and highlanders, Ileksen looks at the election campaign, election day and the political manouvering that goes with the formation of a government.

Yumi Yet

Dennis O'Rourke

Anton Kaut, Sir John Guise

Documents Independence Day of Papua New Guinea on September 16, 1975, comparing the pageantry of local celebrations with the official ceremony in the capital. Also provides historical background about the area's 19th-century colonization by Holland, Germany, and Great Britain.

Land Mines: A Love Story

Dennis O'Rourke

Habiba and Shah who, because of the wars fought in Afghanistan over the past 25 years, have experienced immense suffering, but who have survived to show how it is possible to be brave and moral in this world of sanctioned violence and lies. Shah, a former Mujaheddin soldier and land mine victim, works as a cobbler on the pavements of the ruined city of Kabul. One day, he noticed a pretty Tajik girl who had only one leg, and he began to court her. Amidst the chaos and violence, and despite all the obstacles of tradition and religion, Shah and Habiba were able to marry.