• Search Keywords

  • Year

  • Production Status

  • Genre

  • Co-production

  • SA Supported

  • First Nations Creative

  • Length

  • Technique

Here are some tips for tracking down a copy of an Australian film or TV program to watch.

stream, rent or buy online

  • Screen Australia’s The Screen Guide is like IMDB but for Australian drama. Search for your title and it will tell you it’s available on Australian streaming services such as Stan or Netflix and/or available to buy/rent online from stores like iTunes.

buy a DVD

  • Check your local retailer, or search online stories such as JB Hi-Fi, Sanity, ABC Shop, SBS Shop or specialists like EzyDVD and Mighty Ape.
  • DVDs do not necessarily stay in print, so another option is to buy a second hand version from sites like ebay.com.au. It’s also worth checking international online retailers like Amazon, because some Australian titles are released later overseas and/or get special overseas editions. Remember to check if your DVD player can read the region of the DVD you’re buying.

looking for rare titles

  • The NFSA may be able to provide access to a copy of the film or TV show to view on-site at NFSA access centres. Search the NFSA collection.
  • The NFSA also loans copies for non-commercial screenings to organisations including educational institutions. Search their Non-theatrical Loans Catalogue.
  • Search the ACMI collection for videos/DVDs available via ACMI’s lending service.

As a last resort

  • Screen Australia’s The Screen Guide lists a sales contact for each title where available. Sales contacts generally handle sale of the title to distributors or other parts of the distribution chain, either locally or internationally, so they’re not the best place to start if you’re looking for a title for personal or non-industry use.
  • For non-industry uses, if none of the above strategies has been successful, you could contact the Australian distributor directly. Try typing the film’s title plus ‘DVD distributor’ into an online search engine, e.g. ‘Muriel’s Wedding DVD distributor’, or search an international film database such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
  • If you can’t track down the distributor you could try the producerproduction company or sales contact, as listed in the The Screen Guide. If the contact details are not listed you can search for them in the business White Pages, or (for a fee) in an industry directory such as the Encore Directory or The Production Book.

What if the title listing says ‘Sales information not current, please contact Screen Australia for enquiries’?

First, we suggest you try contacting the film’s producer or production company. Again, if the contact details are not listed on the The Screen Guide you can search for them in the business White Pages, or (for a fee) in an industry directory such as the Encore Directory or The Production Book.

If all else fails, email Screen Australia.
Note: Screen Australia can only assist with Australian drama titles.