John Clarke

For over 40 years, the iconic John Clarke tickled the funny bones of Australian and New Zealand audiences. Now, in this intimately produced documentary, hear his story in his own words. In a remarkable series of recorded conversations between John and his daughter, writer/director Lorin Clarke, he traces his steadfast resistance to authority back to his childhood and offers delightful insights into his four decades in the entertainment industry.

Frank Mollard, divorced but still attached, can't move on and also can't sell a house in a property boom, much less connect with his teenage son. One night Frank gets a phone call from his mother. Nothing out of the ordinary there – apart from the fact that she died the year before.

1981. A summertime day in the life of a Samoan kid in West Auckland touches on wider conflict and grief. A simple story perfectly told.

Auteur filmmaker Paul Cox contemplates his own mortality and his life's work as he wits for a life saving liver transplant.

Since 1989, before many of you were born, John Clarke and Bryan Dawe have broadcast a weekly interview in which prominent figures speak about issues of the day. After 20 years this idea is getting into its stride nicely. In the interviews, John makes no attempt to look or sound like the person he is pretending to be, but deals with matters as he sees fit. Bryan persists with dignity and strives for understanding.

The Sounds of Aus tells the story of the Australian accent: how it came about, how it has evolved over two hundred years of colonial and cultural history, and how it is today.

Documentary by John Clarke about his greatest creation - Fred Dagg.

This Artsville documentary profiles Roger Hall, New Zealand’s most successful playwright. Three decades after Hall's early play Middle Age Spread became a hit, the original cast return for 2006 follow-up Spreading Out. Director Shirley Horrocks explores the secrets behind Hall’s successful brand of comedy (which includes dozens of stage plays, and TV hit Gliding On), while closely exploring Middle Age Spread and Spreading Out. Alongside excerpts from both, there are interviews with John Clarke, Grant Tilly, Ginette McDonald on Hall's role in the birth of her character Lynn of Tawa, and Hall himself.

Roy Höllsdotter (Darren Casey) is a stand-up comedian in his late 30s making an adequate living as a pub performer. However, all is not well in his personal life – he’s drinking too much and has been stalking his ex-girlfriend Cate (Asher Keddie). When his best friend Simmo (Luke Elliot) finds out what Roy is doing, he tries to intervene, but Roy’s problems only worsen and begin to affect his ability to create and perform his stand-up routines.

The political adviser to Australia's Minister of the Arts investigates the suspicious death of a disgruntled artist.