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Sep 2018
A hand-coloured still of Annette Kellerman as a child. She is dressed in a pink ballet tutu with ballet slippers and is striking a pose with her arms and on leg out.

Annette Kellerman's amazing life

Overcoming childhood adversity, Australian silent movie star Annette Kellerman took on the world – swimming, acting, performing and writing herself into the history books.

By Beth Taylor / 27 Sep 2018
Film
Photographs
Aug 2018
A rose-pink tinted image of a woman looking off into the distance.

The McDonagh Sisters

A portrait of the pioneering filmmakers, The McDonagh Sisters - Isabel, Paulette and Phyllis. NFSA Restores: The Cheaters screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2018.

By Graham Shirley / 9 Aug 2018
Film
Photographs
Jun 2018
Two figures argue in a scene from the futuristic 1924 Russian science-fiction silent film Aelita, Queen of Mars

Aelita: Queen of Mars

The NFSA has recently digitised to 4K the groundbreaking 1924 Russian science-fiction feature film 'Aelita: Queen of Mars'.

By Craig Dingwall / 7 Jun 2018
Film
May 2018
A man holds hands with Louise Lovely in a garden in a scene from the silent film Jewelled Nights.

Louise Lovely: 1916 fan mail

The NFSA recently acquired two signed photographs of silent film star Louise Lovely and a letter of hers responding to a fan in 1916.

By Jenny Gall / 22 May 2018
Film
Object
Photographs
Apr 2018
Actor and filmmaker Snowy Baker leaning against a car with 'Carroll-Baker Australian Picture Productions' written on the side

NFSA Restores: Snowy Baker

The NFSA restores three silent films starring Snowy Baker - Australian Olympian, filmmaker and trainer of Hollywood stars.

By Nathan Smith / 18 Apr 2018
Film
Jan 2018
Josef Bambach tried to console Isabel McDonagh in a scene from the 1929 silent movie The Cheaters

NFSA Restores: The Cheaters

Restoring 'The Cheaters', a 1929 silent film by the pioneering McDonagh sisters.

By Tara Marynowsky / 10 Jan 2018
Film
Feb 2016
Headshot of actor JP McGowan

JP McGowan

David Donaldson, the inaugural Director of the Sydney Film Festival, shines a light on the career of South Australian-born Hollywood pioneer JP McGowan.

By David Donaldson / 15 Feb 2016
Film
Dec 2015

The Kid Stakes

The NFSA has released silent classic film The Kid Stakes (1927) on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time.

By John Brady / 14 Dec 2015
Film
Oct 2015

Chaplins, goats and Bathing Beauties

Just another day at the races: Charlie Chaplin lookalikes and a Bathing Beauty competition from 1921.

By Beth Taylor / 27 Oct 2015
Film

100 Years of The Sentimental Bloke

Assistant Curator Jenny Gall spoke with CJ Dennis biographer Phil Butters, ahead of this week's centenary anniversary of the publication of The Sentimental Bloke.

By Miguel Gonzalez / 9 Oct 2015
Film