Paul Cox

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green ants go to dream, and that if their dreams are disturbed, it will bring down disaster on us all. The Aborigines' belief is not shared by a giant mining company, which wants to tear open the soil and search for uranium.

Set in the last century, a man is outlawed and condemned to live alone on a small island, his only crime the theft of a few sheep. A girl from the mainland learns of his existence and, compelled by loneliness and romantic dreams, crosses the treacherous sea to join him. Together they create their own truth.

My First Wife is about the dramatic collapse of the marriage between John and Helen. It is also a film about our children and the future we offer them. Helen has decided to leave, and it is John who lacks the inner resources to cope with the impending tragedy. Slowly he is sucked into a tunnel of despair – fighting his conservative nature and the romantic memories of his married life.

The true story of the 19th century Belgian priest, Father Damien, who volunteered to go to the island of Molokai, to console and care for the lepers.

Calcutta is one of India’s largest cities. Paul Cox’s camera explores the lives of the poorest of its inhabitants. Filled with the vibrant sounds of Indian music, the culture of the people of Calcutta is rich and vital despite the harsh conditions in which they live.

A biography of Vincent van Gogh using only images and the letters he wrote to his brother Theo.

The mountain-village passions of a German widow and her sons unfold in the style of a 1920s expressionist movie.

Island is Paul Cox's serene and beautiful film which explores a spectrum of emotions - ranging from extreme passion to fear, leading to murder - from loneliness to sensuality. Three women from Australia, Sri Lanka, and Greece meet on a Greek island. All are exiles escaping from their own personal tragedies. Ultimately, it is the island itself, with the generosity and warmth of the islanders, which leads all three women to revelations about themselves and their place in the world.

This caustic Australian comedy meant to burn those commercial interests who sponsor artists for tax breaks. It is also a sexually unresponsive wife's revenge against her cheating husband. Heiress Georgina Oliphant, the daughter of pharmaceutical magnate George Oliphant is on a mission to find a sculptor suitable of her father's sponsorship. Normally, George doesn't give a hoot about art, but tax time approaches and he needs a big deduction. Since large bronze statues are 100% deductible, that's what he wants. Georgina comes through with the lesbian sculptor Lily Carmichael who suggests a detailed male nude, sans fig leaf. For her model, Lily chooses unemployed hunk Karl-Heinz Applebaum who at first doesn't realize he is to model totally nude. Fortunately, coquettish Georgina is around to convince him to shed those clothes.

Two women escape to the mountains where they enjoy each others company, apparently disappointed with their male partners.

A couple living together have a tense relationship. The woman's father dies and she becomes preoccupied with death. She almost drowns in the bath but then recovers her enthusiasm for life.

An eccentric elderly man tries to enjoy the three things in life that he considers real beauty: collecting art, collecting flowers, and watching pretty women undress.

In this offbeat comedy, an unlikely romance develops between a flamboyant, middle-aged piano tuner and an extremely timid office worker.

Dramatization of Russian ballet star Vaclav Nijinsky's diaries which detail his madness as well as his homosexual relationship with Ballet Russe impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his marriage to his Hungarian wife.

Claustrophobic drama sent in the summer of 1973 against the backdrop of day-to-day social and political turmoil including the sacking of the Whitlam government. Two people meet: the gap between their intellectual and emotional response widens as their relationship develops.

Uplifting and intimate look at the last days of an elderly cancer victim. The film is even more relevant as it was written specifically for the lead actress, Sheila Florance, who was in fact dying of cancer as she created what is essentially a self-portrait.

A journey of love and hope, of courage and sacrifice, and one man's miraculous salvation through a life-saving liver transplant. FORCE OF DESTINY is a story of survival inspired by Paul Cox's personal experiences and his recent book Tales From the Cancer Ward.

The Remarkable Mr Kaye is a blatantly biased portrait by filmmaker Paul Cox about the life of Norman Kaye - actor, musician and compassionate lover of life. Norman Kaye and Paul Cox first met in Melbourne in 1967. Norman, a music teacher and 'after hours' actor and Paul, a stills photographer, discovered in each other a mutual desire to explore their ideas and dreams through film. So began a 36-year working relationship that ceased only as the curtains of Alzheimer's Disease gradually closed around Kaye. There are few films by Paul Cox that are without some significant contribution, on-screen or off, by Kaye. Whether as lead actor or in a supporting role; as composer or performer, Kaye influenced everyone around him with guileless enthusiasm and humour. The Remarkable Mr Kaye includes film extracts and personal memories in a moving film that is homage to friendship and a creative partnership that shaped and changed Paul Cox's life.

A mood piece involving two lesbian lovers and a disturbed young man contemplating suicide.

Outlaws kidnap their 14-year-old cousin and hold her for ransom. The girl is being chaperoned by a visiting nun, who refuses to abandon her during the kidnapping.

After more than forty years apart, Andreas and Claire embark on an affair as reckless and intense as when they were young lovers. Widowed musician Andreas decides to get back in touch with his one great love, Claire, who is still married to her first husband, John. Andreas and Claire find that the connection they shared when they were young is still there and they soon become involved in a rekindled love affair.

The marriage of Robert and Elizabeth is collapsing, both concentrating on their jobs (journalist, mother) rather than each other. The film looks at a week in their lives. Robert sleeps with their babysitter, Marianne, while Elizabeth talks with their friends, Juliet and Alex.

Aging artist and scholar Barry is disenchanted with his existence - disillusioned by his sexless marriage to a televangelist, and repulsed by her brand of easy-to-swallow self-help Christianity. In dire need of an outlet he turns to Irina, a Russian immigrant and prostitute. Seeking better lives, both Barry and Irina find strength in each other as they seek mutual salvation.

Villagers surrounding Antwan, a middle-aged lute player who struggles with a depression, try to get him involved with life again. But only when an old friend and musician appears in the village something changes

An international anthology series of short films by acclaimed directors, alongside a few unrelated adult features and TV projects.