UNKNOWN LAND 1972
Lyrics written by Oliver Howes
26 mins
The isolated far North West of Australia: cattlemen, pearl-shell divers on their sailing luggers, the big iron-ore mines, and the people from many countries who are living in this vast, wild land. Songs tell the story.
Silver Medal, 16th International Gold Mercury Film Competition, Venice
PEARLS IN THE NORTH 1972
13 mins
Japanese and Malay pearl-shell divers based in Broome spend weeks at sea on small sailing luggers. The pearl-shell goes on the mother ship to Kuri Bay on the colourful Kimberley Coast for the cultured pearl industry.
Silver Delfan, 10th International Education Festival, Iran, 1993
IRRIGATION 1993
17 mins
Irrigation in Australia, the driest continent on earth. Studies of the Ord River and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Schemes suggest the need for a reappraisal of irrigation.
CHORUS AND PRINCIPALS ON STAGE PLEASE 1981
54 mins, on Channel 7
The Australian Opera Company, with Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge, stage Delibe’s opera Lakme. We see back-stage the art direction and rehearsals leading up to the excitement of the opening night.
THE THINGS WE WANT TO KEEP 1979
21 mins, on ABC TV
Australia’s heritage, both natural and man-made, revealed in its rich diversity – paddle steamers, old hotels, hop kilns, and Aboriginal sites and artifacts. The film recounts the significance of Australia’s National Estate, and suggests how people can preserve our priceless cultural assets.
ON SACRED GROUND 1981
58 mins on 16 mm, and 50 mins video on ABC TV
The story behind the headlines of the Noonkanbah crisis, in which Aborigines of the WA Kimberley demand legal protection for their land and beliefs, after the destruction of their way of life. Ribnga Green, an Aboriginal university graduate and community volunteer, returns to his tribal land and people. The two-year struggle to preserve sacred sites from despoilation by mining companies leads to a national confrontation.
THE HUMAN FACE OF JAPAN 1982
96 mins, Network Ten TV Special, and six 28- minute films
An Australian view of Japan, seen in the lives of six Japanese people from widely diverse backgrounds, and the fast moving social and economic developments in this complex society.
Golden Tripod Award of the Australian Cinematographers’ Society to Andrew Fraser, 1982.
The six 28 mins films:
LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT
The young family of a Mazda car factory worker, and their relationship with the corporation.
TOMORROW AND YESTERDAY
How Japan reconciles its old traditions with its advanced industrial technology.
RAW FISH AND PICKLE
A fisherman and a high-level official with contrasting lives in a mountainous region.
THE CAREER ESCALATOR
A “ronin” student seeking university entrance, and a senior executive at Mitsubishi: two character studies showing intense competition and a unique decision making process.
A WORKING COUPLE
Two in Tokyo’s millions: the husband is a clerk in the vast city, his wife runs a small shop.
THE RICE LADLE
The place of women in Japanese society and the workforce.
THE HUMAN FACE OF THE PACIFIC 1983
90 mins Network Ten TV Special, and six 28- minute films. Co-produced/Directed with Denis O’Rourke.
The series covers six Pacific nations and territories, giving a wide-ranging view of Pacific society, from subsistence to urbanization, and the challenges from outside world to what has been called “The Pacific Way”.
The three 28-minute films directed by Oliver Howes:
ATOLL LIFE IN KIRIBAS
The island chain of Kiribati is amongst the most isolated in the Pacific. The people of Tabiteuea South have retained much of their pre-colonial way of life, living by fishing in their traditional sailing canoes. And there’s a three-day celebration, full of vibrant song and dance.
NEW CALEDONIA – A LAND IN SEARCH OF ITSELF
New Caledonia, a French Territory, is divided into the indigenous Melanesian Kanaks, the local and metropolitan French, and French Polynesians. The complex politics is revealed by Jean Marie Tjibaou, leader of the Kanak independence movement, who was later assassinated.
A PLACE OF POWER IN FRENCH POLYNESIA
In Tahiti – a rugged forest clad island surrounded by a coral reef – the old culture is being revived after much despoilation. A great double-hulled canoe is being built to re-enact the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand. At the Tiurai Festival, dancers compete.
A NEW ACHIEVEMENT 1984
26 mins,
Aborigines throughout the Northern Territory are balancing traditional ways and the modern world.
SMALL BUSINESS – BIG DREAMS 1985
For Australians, selling technology in Japan can be hard. We follow Dr John Hobbs around Japan as he does deals, selling an Australian high-tech medical device.
A LONG NIGHT WITH LETHAL GUESTS 1987
52 mins, ABC TV version
Malaria kills 200 million people in Third World countries. It is rife along the coast of Papua New Guinea, while the Highlands regions are safer. The film examines the complexities for the disease, and Australia’s attempt to create a malaria vaccine. The malaria parasite is devilish hard to kill.
CLEAN THE BEACHES 1990
and A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT 1990
Sydney Water’s engineering innovations in ocean outfalls tunneling using a floating oil rig, and processing sewage to stop the pollution of Sydney’s shoreline.
RIVER RUNNING OUT OF TIME 1991
43 mins
The Hawkesbury-Nepean River flows to the west of Sydney, where there is continuous human population growth. Urban water runoff pollutes and kills riverine biological life. How can Sydney stop degrading its environment?
IT’S YOUR LIFE! 1993
13 mins, for Sydney University Mechanical Engineering
Young women engineering students and women graduate engineers suggest mechanical engineering as an good, challenging career for women.
OSSU IN THE MOUNTAINS 2010
9 mins
In East Timor, Oliver travels with Nelson Ximenes to Ossu, a small town in the mountains where the Sydney group Willoughby Friends of Ossu is helping in the country’s recovery after the years of violent repression under Indonesian occupation.
GREEN REVOLUTION IN EAST TIMOR 2012
8 mins
Rob Williams of ACIAR (Australian Agricultural Research) is introducing high-yielding seeds into East Timor through the government’s Seeds of Life program. Timorese farmers can now harvest more, and take their surplus produce to market.
