Christopher Pidcock plays the cello into a large gramophone horn, to record a wax cylinder.
Tracks on wax
Wax cylinder cello recordings

We recorded the SSO's Christopher Pidcock playing cello on wax cylinder – just the way it would have been done in the 19th century. Read more

A section of a game show wheel with different dollar amounts written on each section and one section that says Lose A Turn.
Game changers
Classic TV game shows

Spin the Wheel of Fortune, scream your way through Supermarket Sweep and dream of finding your Perfect Match. Let the games begin

A black and white photo of the scene of the West Gate Bridge disaster. It shows investigators and bridge workers alongside the metal wreckage of the bridge.
The West Gate legacy
Fighting for fair work

Behind every safer site and shorter shift lies a story of protest, persistence and the people who changed how Australia works. Read the article

Tina Turner laughing on a beach, surrounded by male rugby league players in swimming costumes.
Simply the best
Tina Turner NRL ads
The ad campaign that reshaped the public perception of rugby league.
Artist Mikaela Stafford at the NFSA
Behind the scenes
Making of Inferno
The ideas and influences behind the audiovisual installation now showing at the NFSA.
A busy street in Melbourne city with pedestrians and a tram going past.
Now in glorious 4K
Life in Australia
These 1960s time capsules reveal Australia's optimism and blind spots.
Animated still of two blue heeler dogs dancing in the twilight on a balcony.
It's Dad!
Daggy dads
We salute the Australian phenomenon that is the daggy dad.
A transgender woman wears a glittery corset and white pearl necklace and stands on stage in front a banner reading Transylvanian Convention
It's astounding
Rocky Horror is 50
Let's time do the time warp again.
A lick of flame rises against a night sky filled with glowing embers
NFSA Commissions
WINHANGANHA
Jazz Money's acclaimed film about how the legacies of collection affect First Nations people.

'Our collection tells the story of the nation – our memories, our lives, our futures.'

Explore a wealth of stories
Video game consoles and hardware laid out on a table
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-08/Games-preservation_hardware.jpg
Video games at the NFSA

Hitting the start button on preserving our video game history

Our video game collection continues to expand rapidly as the NFSA evolves in response to 21st-century media production and consumption trends. 

In late 2023, we conducted a landmark international survey that revealed the threats to the survival of important video game heritage.

View the key findings of the international survey

Computer screen with the words 'Game Not Over' on it.
International survey
Video game preservation
Computer graphics of Space Invaders computer screen.
Retro gaming
Advertising, news and reviews
A screenshot from a video game featuring a goose being chased by a farmer.
1980s to Now
Video games in the NFSA collection
A woman in a floral dress pictured from the waist up, walking away but with her head turned to look back over her shoulder.
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/collection/hero_image05-2022/hero_deborah_mabo_1062165.jpg
A celebration of First Nations culture

Experience Nangamai

Nangamai ('Dream' in the Dharawal language) is the NFSA's online collection of First Nations content.

It pays tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander icons, trailblazers, dreamers and performers who have kept their rich culture and history alive through activism, writing, filmmaking, song, dance and art.

View Nangamai: a celebration of First Nations culture

Image (above): Deborah Mailman

Nova Peris flanked by team mates receiving an Olympic gold medal
Icons
Sporting legends
Indigenous singer/songwriter Archie Roach, pictured in profile from the waist up.
Trailblazers
First Nations Portraits
Close up of actor Miranda Tapsell holding a wedding bouquet and smiling.
Dreamers
First Nations filmmaking
Canberra highlights
4
Nov
Still from Tukana-Husat i asua
Tuesday 6:00 pm
NFSA Restores: Tukana-Husat i asua
Tukana–Husat I asua (who’s to blame) follows the story of a university dropout who returns to his village in Buka Passage, Bougainville.
7
Nov
Still from Amélie (2001)
Friday 7:00 pm
Amélie
Quirky romance starring Audrey Tautou and the city of Paris.
View full event calendar
Open daily
Detail from the art installation Inferno at the NFSA featuring a vertical screen with dense handwriting, a white sculpture arising from a mass on the floor, and a long screen showing a black-and-white landscape.
Inferno

Step into Inferno – an exciting new audiovisual installation by Paris-based Australian artist, Mikaela Stafford. 

Find out more

March 2026
The front lawn and exterior of the National Film and Sound Archive building in Canberra
Joint Technical Symposium

In March 2026, the NFSA will host Joint Technical Symposium 2026, a premier international event that gathers professionals working on the preservation and management of audiovisual collections.

Find out more 

Visit the NFSA

NFSA logo - link to home

Two young girls looking at screen with headphones on

We're Australia's national audiovisual cultural institution

Our strategic direction
Our story and vision