The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Empusa or Empousa is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousae have been described as a category of phantoms or spectres, equated with the lamiai and mormolykeia, thought to seduce and feed on young men.
Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes the Dreamtime, songlines, and Aboriginal oral literature.
BMX Bandits is a 1983 Australian crime comedy action film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starring Nicole Kidman.
Lasseter's Reef refers to the purported discovery, announced by Harold Bell Lasseter in 1929 and 1930, of a fabulously rich gold deposit in a remote and desolate corner of central Australia. Lasseter's accounts of the find are conflicting and its precise location remains a mystery—if it exists.
Yowie is one of several names for an Australian folklore entity that is reputed to live in the Outback. The creature has its roots in Aboriginal oral history. In parts of Queensland, they are known as quinkin, and as joogabinna, in parts of New South Wales, they are called Ghindaring, jurrawarra, myngawin, puttikan, doolaga, gulaga and thoolagal. Other names include yahweh, noocoonah, wawee, pangkarlangu, jimbra and tjangara. Yowie-type creatures are common in Aboriginal Australian legends, particularly in the eastern Australian states.
The Last Wave is a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Aboriginal people accused of the crime.
A Nargun, according to Gunai/Kurnai tribal legends, a fierce half-human half-stone creature that lived in the Den of Nargun, a cave under a rock overhang behind a small waterfall located in the Mitchell River National Park, Victoria, Australia. Aboriginal legend describes the Nargun as a beast entirely made of stone except for its hands, arms and breast. The fierce creature would drag unwary travellers into its den. Any weapon directed against it would be turned back on its owner.
Brian Medwin Trenchard-Smith is an English-Australian filmmaker and author, known for his idiosyncratic and satirical low-budget genre films. His filmography covers action, science fiction, martial arts, dystopian fiction, comedy, war, family, thriller, romance and erotica, and his works tend to be cross-genre pieces.
A kurdaitcha, or kurdaitcha man, also spelt gadaidja, cadiche, kadaitcha, karadji, or kaditcha, is a type of shaman and traditional executioner amongst the Arrernte people, an Aboriginal group in Central Australia. The name featherfoot is used to denote the same figure by other Aboriginal peoples.
Turkey Shoot is a 1982 Australian dystopian action film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. Its ensemble cast — an eclectic mix of international stars, Australian soap opera veterans and character actors — is led by Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig, Noel Ferrier, Carmen Duncan, Roger Ward and Lynda Stoner. The film marks the first of three directorial collaborations between Trenchard-Smith and producer Antony I. Ginnane — the others being The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989) and Arctic Blast (2010) — although the director had previously made promotional reels and trailers for Ginnane's earlier films.
Stunt Rock is a 1978 Australian mockumentary musical action film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starring Grant Page.
Jenny Kissed Me is a 1985 Australian drama film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. The director calls it a "tearjerker for men". It is inspired by Leigh Hunt's poem Jenny kiss'd Me, which appears in the opening credits.
The Stuntmen is a one-hour documentary for Australian TV written and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith.
Brian Kavanagh is an Australian author, editor, writer, producer, and director of films and documentaries. As a film editor, he is known for his collaborative works with Fred Schepisi and Murray Fahey. In 1986, he was honored with the Australia Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in Editing, for his work on Frog Dreaming. In 1997, he was awarded a lifetime membership of Australian Screen Editors.
Drive Hard is a 2014 Australian direct-to-video action buddy film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and written by Chad Law, Evan Law, and Smith. A professional thief takes a former race car driver hostage and forces him to drive his getaway car.
