As notions of civil rights transformed across the world, so was the screen landscape reformed by the ascension of grassroots film movements seeking to challenge the mainstream. Some aspired to push form to its limit; others worked to destabilise what they saw as a homogenous industry, or to provoke questions around gender, sexuality, migration and race.

A refugee from the Sudanese civil war, Zacharia (one of the ‘Lost Boys' of Sudan) lives in Sydney with his wife and daughter. He desperately wants to do something for his former village, now in the newly created nation of South Sudan. His dream is to build a much-needed school, enlisting the backing of numerous Australians. Janet, a dedicated supporter, joins him on a 40-day fundraising walk from Tweed Heads to Sydney along with filmmaker Tom Zubrycki. But will this strategy raise the funds they need? Thwarted by escalating conflict back in South Sudan, and shocked by a broken relationship, Zac must decide what's important in his life.

The Diplomat (2000) is a documentary film that chronicles the life of a diplomat and his fight for justice in the face of political turmoil. It explores themes of politics, government, and the atrocities committed during the year 1999. Set against the backdrop of Australia and New Zealand, the film delves into the diplomat's tenacity, his personal struggles, and the challenges he faced while trying to bring about change.

Eccentric British developer Lord McAlpine has a dream – an urge to create a whole new civilisation in Australia’s North based around the town of Broome in the remote north of Western Australia. Within a year of arriving he buys a cinema, builds a luxury resort and starts a zoo. He even has his sights on an international airport. However not everyone likes the change this will bring to the town – least of all the Aboriginal community.

One thousand power workers went on strike against the South East Queensland Electrical Board (SEQEB)in February 1985 in protest against the introduction of contract worker hire. This documentary details the industrial relations dispute between the ensuing Joh Bjelke Peterson coalition government and the Electrical Trades Union in Queensland, Australia during 1985.

Billal is a documentary film that tells the story of the life of an individual named Billal. It explores his journey, achievements, and struggles, providing a comprehensive and in-depth look into his experiences.

Residents take on the bulldozers and the police in Tom Zubrycki’s look at urban redevelopment in Sydney in the 1970s. It is a 'process video' used in conjunction with a residents-led campaign to stop a freeway decimating inner-Sydney suburbs of Glebe and Ultimo.

Weeks before the closure of a Wollongong coal mine, a group of 31 miners occupied the pit and established themselves 5 kilometres underground. The strike, which caught the imagination of the whole country, was documented from the inside by documentarian Tom Zubrycki.

A video made by filmmakers Tom Zubrycki and Russ Hermann, in collaboration with members of the Federated Ship Painters And Dockers Union of Australia, covering the 13 week-long strike by ship-workers to improve working conditions involving the handling of asbestos on ships docked in the port of Sydney.

In 1965 during the Vietnam War, students and teachers from the National Conservatory of Music in Hanoi were forced to flee to a small village in the countryside. With the help of villagers they built an entire campus underground where they lived, studied and played music for five years as the war raged around them. This documentary records the coming together of the former conservatory students and villagers for a reunion concert 30 years after the war, to paint a moving portrait of life in Vietnam then and now.

Goes behind the scenes of the original stage production of Bran Nue Dae, which was eventually adapted into the box-office hit musical.

The Secret Safari is a documentary that uncovers the untold stories of the South African safari. It delves into the history of apartheid and reveals the shocking truth behind gun-smuggling operations. Through interviews and breathtaking footage, the film provides a unique perspective on the hidden side of the safari.

The Hungry Tide explores the devastating effects of climate change on coastal communities around the world. Through interviews with individuals living in these vulnerable areas, the film sheds light on the challenges they face and the urgent need for action to mitigate the effects of global warming. It highlights the interconnectedness of human and environmental systems and the importance of addressing the ecological footprint we leave on the planet.

A video that looks at some of the marginalised young people who come to the Addison Road Drop-In Centre in Marrickville. Interviews with both the youth and centre staff are combined with images of the young peoples activities, and in some parts the boys take over the camerawork and commentary themselves.

The Sydney suburb of Marrickville has Australia’s ‘first, largest and longest-surviving community centre’; it is shown here in the 1970s.

A compelling documentary that tells the extraordinary story of the unlikely friendship that develops between Molly, a young woman from California, and Mobarak, an Afghan refugee. Through their interactions, the film explores themes of empathy, cultural understanding, and the power of human connection.

The film outlines the history of the redevelopment of the Sydney suburb of Waterloo. Residents are interviewed and archival footage is used to outline the history of change in the area. The documentary emphasises the need for consultation and shows the results of more recent residents’ action groups.

On the eve of bicentennial celebrations, Strangers in Paradise looks at Australian culture through the eyes of tourists on a ‘Dreamtime’ tour.

Zubrycki’s controversial, provocative and rarely screened documentary about the Australian trade-union movement was originally commissioned by the ACTU and funded by the Bicentennial Authority to provide an audio-visual history stretching from the birth of the movement in the mid-1850s and the formation of the Australian Labor Party to key events like the 1891 shearers’ strike and the 1988 Bicentenary. This pro-union but objective history, focusing on the struggle between capital and labour, and featuring the candid testimony of many unionists, was refused sanction by the ACTU and has long languished in obscurity aside from some “illegal” screenings in the early 1990s.

In his first exploration of the migration experience, Zubrycki poses the question ‘When the fighting stops, how do you make choices about where you want to live?’.