Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan embarks on a literary journey to celebrate our love of books, meet some of our most beloved and brilliant writers, and explore our Australian identity through the place, its people and the power of our stories.
The story of Australia's nation-shaping and shifting relationship with the Royal Family during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
With her low-flying solicitor's practice incinerated by a disgruntled client, her marriage collapsing and motherhood fast losing its charm, Josephine Newton's old uni friend and not-so secret admirer, Lewis Hughes, persuades her to resume her briefly glorious career at the Bar. As she rises to the challenge, though, trading the benefits of her brilliant mind for a berth in the lofty glamour of Knox Chambers, Josephine realises it's not so easy to leave her entourage behind.
Jack Irish is a man getting his life back together again. A former criminal lawyer whose world imploded, he now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and sometime lover – the complete man really. An expert in finding those who don’t want to be found – dead or alive, Jack helps out his mates while avoiding the past. That is until the past finds him.
The story of Hugh Knight, a rising heart surgeon who is gifted, charming and infallible. He is a hedonist who, due to his sheer talent, believes he can live outside the rules. His "work hard, play harder" philosophy is about to come back and bite him.
The Time of Our Lives follows the lives of the extended Tivolli family as they navigate their way around relationships, raising kids, love, careers, divorce, disability and finding happiness. Elder brother Matt is a high-flying sports agent struggling with his obsessive wife Caroline. Younger brother Luce runs a much more relaxed household with long-time partner Bernadette, despite a chaotic schedule and financial pressures. Chai Li, the youngest, was adopted from Vietnam as a baby and is a successful and happy thirty-something until her world is shattered by a humiliating turn of events. Herb has known the family since childhood.
An evocative crime thriller that captures the chilling action and sharp wit of Peter Temple's acclaimed novel The Broken Shore. In this gripping adaptation, Detective Joe Cashin uncovers a web of lies, betrayal and police corruption in a small coastal town where tensions are at boiling point and the shocking face behind the community's respectable mask is slowly unveiled.
The remarkable life and death of Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese Australian man who was convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore and executed for his crime in 2005.
Writer and Director Warwick Thornton has assembled a collection of the most poignant, sad, funny and absurd ghost stories from around Australia. He will bring them to life with the help of some of Australia's most iconic actors as the storytellers.
Based on Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey's iconic novel, Puberty Blues tells the story of two girls, Debbie and Sue, of innocence lost and experience gained against the backdrop of Australia in the 1970s.
Dean Randall has sponsored a young Chinese orphan Mei Mei for many years, when she arrives in Sydney out of the blue to thank him, their lives are changed forever.
Spirited is an Australian television drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011. The series stars Claudia Karvan, as dentist Suzy Darling, who walks away from a loveless marriage and into an old apartment block that is inhabited by the ghost of a 1980s English rock star, Henry Mallet, played by Matt King. Suzy had been married to Steve Darling, played by Rodger Corser, for 15 years, and they have two children, Elvis, 13, played by Louis Fowler, and Verity, 8, played by Charlie Hancock. Belinda Bromilow plays Suzy’s sister Jonquil.
Behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the 2008 science ficiton/horror film, Daybreakers featuring interviews with members of the cast and crew and delving into every aspect of the feature including early development, pre-production, production and post-production.
Mother Nature gets revenge on some careless campers in this remastered version of the Australian horror classic.
Have you ever wondered "What is the meaning of life? Why do we exist?" The answer to this vexing question is now within your reach! You'll find it in a small yet amazing booklet, which will explain, in easy to follow, simple terms your reason for being! The booklet, printed on the finest paper, contains illuminating, exquisite colour pictures, and could be yours for a mere $9.99.
In the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vampires on a way to save humankind.
The advocate for a young Iranian refugee held in detention. Amir Ali claims to be an Iranian student persecuted by the government but the Department of Immigration dispute his identity. When Julia meets Amir, he is severely depressed and close to deportation. Julia throws herself obsessively into Amir's case, causing friction between Julia and her husband, Peter. Julia eventually frees Amir and the young Iranian man moves in with Peter and Julia. As Julia helps Amir adjust to ordinary life, she finds herself increasingly attracted to this handsome, damaged young man. But she also starts to see the subtle cracks in Amir's story. Is he really who he claims he is? Or does he have a darker, more dangerous history?
Two teenage girls discover that mermaids really do exist after a violent storm washes one ashore. The mermaid, a sassy creature named Aquamarine, is determined to prove to her father that real love exists, and enlists the girls' help in winning the heart of a handsome lifeguard.
An unemployed sports fan enters an amateur rugby league tournament where losing just isn't an option if he's to keep his family together.
Chrissy and Jo attend Chrissy's university reunion. Surrounded by success, Chrissy begins to question her decision to stay at home with the kids. When an old friend's husband is found dead in the harbour from an apparent heart attack, Chrissy and Jo are drawn to solve the mystery after learning the dead man's blood contained Ketamine, an animal tranquilliser used as a party drug.
The evil Darth Sidious enacts his final plan for unlimited power -- and the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.
Jo has a family wedding to attend, but the wedding is in crisis. Chrissy and Jo face the twin tasks of bringing the wedding to a successful conclusion, whilst at the same time, investigating a murder in which all the suspects are key figures in the wedding party.
Love My Way is a Logie Award winning and critically acclaimed Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons. Love My Way was about a group of thirty-somethings dealing with the ups and downs of life. The series revolves around an extended family unit - Frankie Paige and Charlie Jackson are the separated parents of Lou, and Frankie also lives with Charlie's brother, Tom. As the series began, Charlie's new wife Julia is about to have their first child. Frankie's mother, Di and Charlie's mother Brenda and father Gerry also have a strong presence in the ongoing story, as does Julia's ex-lover Howard, who enters into a relationship with Frankie. Produced by John Edwards and Claudia Karvan, Love My Way starred Karvan, Sam Worthington, Dan Wyllie, Asher Keddie, Brendan Cowell, and Alex Cook. As the program was made for subscription television in Australia, it contained stronger material than most Australian programs: regular swearing, drug use and sexual references. When the series was launched, much was made of the connection between Love My Way and The Secret Life of Us: both sharing a star, as well as significant creative talent. However, the series is not a continuation of Secret Life, although it does share some thematic concerns.
This movie is about an ex drug dealer on the run. Melinda Fehlers is on the run from her old life. Being known as Leanne in her past this all becoming déjà Vu the people from the past reappear and are here to get her.
Three people discover jealousy and larceny are a dangerous combination in this tense drama. John (Bryan Brown) is a veteran insurance investigator who succumbs to temptation and veers towards the wrong side of the law. With the help of novice con man Ben (Tom Long), John hatches a scheme to substantiate false claims by taking a percentage of several questionable claims his firm has settled for a fraction of their usual worth. John and Ben are assisted in their illegal business by Louise (Claudia Karvan), a lawyer with a cocaine problem who is also John's lover. But when Louise becomes involved with Ben and demands a bigger share of the money, their already-shaky confidence game begins to collapse.
The Secret Life of Us is an Australian television drama series about the lives of 20-30 somethings living in the early 2000s.
Passion concentrates on Grainger's unusual relationship with his mother and his sexual peculiarities (especially his obsessive self-flagellation, though homosexuality is also hinted at) which affect his relationship with a woman who comes to love him. It is set mainly in London in 1914, when Grainger's mother Rose was ill (she would later jump to her death in New York, upset by ill-founded rumours of incest with her son).
Jack Willis is a handsome roadtrain driver with a secret - he has just become a top-selling romance novelist. However, being a 'man's man' in the Australian outlook, to avoid embarrassment, he needs a name, a woman's name - and he chooses that of his best friend, Ruby Vale. He must do some fancy footwork to continue the charade when the glamorous city publisher, Ziggy, arrives in dusty outback Lucktown to sign 'Ruby Vale' to a major book deal. Ruby agrees to help Jack though it's for her own gain as well - the publisher will pay for her coming wedding (with Hamish, Jack's buddy). Accompanied by Jack, Ruby goes to Sydney to meet the media, appear on TV and cocktail parties, etc. Gradually, Jack realizes that he has fallen in love with Ruby, while Ruby is also touched by Jack's novel. However, Hamish arrives in Sydney a few days later and asks both of them to stop all these foolish things
Alice, Judy and Sally are three Australian roommates who are unlucky in love. Over the course of a year, they endure numerous personal ups and downs. Meanwhile, Ewan, Joel and Neil are friends and coworkers with similar problems, and gradually their lives intersect with the trio of women to varying degrees. Will any of these young people finally find a satisfying relationship?
The Violent Earth is a 1998 French-Australian mini series set in New Caledonia from 1888 to 1977.
This is the story of Janine Shepard, a world class skier faced with tragedy, being hit by a car and being told she will never walk again.
Four new mind bending tales where truth takes a detour and nothing is what it seems. The characters in each tale discover that their preconceived notions of reality couldn't be further from the truth.
This caustic Australian comedy is meant to burn those commercial interests who sponsor artists for tax breaks. It also a sexually unresponsive wife's revenge against her cheating husband. Heiress Georgina Oliphant, the daughter of pharmaceutical magnate George Oliphant is on a mission to find a sculptor suitable of her father's sponsorship. Normally, George doesn't give a hoot about art, but tax time approaches and he needs a big deduction. Since large bronze statues are 100% deductible, that's what he wants. Georgina comes through with the lesbian sculptor Lily Carmichael who suggests a detailed male nude, sans fig leaf. For her model, lily chooses unemployed hunk Karl-Heinz Applebaum who at first doesn't realize he is to model totally nude. Fortunately, coquettish Georgina is around to convince him to shed those clothes.
One messy science journalist (Tash) and a neat television host (Brett). Two very different people whose relationship is nose diving to get the opportunity to experience life in their partners shoes when they wake up one morning in each others bodies. Valuable lessons are learned by each as they both have to adjust to very different lives.
An idealistic solicitor heads to the bush after a disillusioning encounter with the legal system. In a small country town she witnesses an incident between police and two local Aborigines, and reluctantly becomes embroiled in a fight for justice.
Lucy is apparently very confident, and quite "forward," as the saying used to be; she has made all the moves to pick up a staid lawyer-type for sex. Once back at her apartment, she sets a video camera going to record their coupling. However, someone breaks into the place while they are having at it, and she is barely able to leave the bed and hide before her sex-partner is killed. She never sees the intruder's face herself. In the aftermath, the terrified lass finds herself with a sympathetic female state-appointed attorney (since she's the obvious suspect) and together, they try to track down the murderer.
Christina (Claudia Karvan) is a school teacher from a wealthy Greek-Australian background, engaged to a lawyer and content with the traditional course of her life. She begins teaching at an inner-city working-class school and she finds her ideas challenged by the students. Involving herself in a campaign by a group of non-anglo students to form a soccer club in a school where the racist PE teacher only supports Australian Rules Football, Christina starts falling in love with aspiring soccer player, 17 year old Nick (Alex Dimitriades). The ensuing affair forces Christina to challenge herself, her family and the culture she lives in. Managing to effectively combine comedy with a refreshing examination of contemporary ethnic relationships in Australia, beautifully acted by a young cast, and insightfully scripted.
Danny wants two things in life more than anything else, one is a Jaguar and the other is Joanna Johnson. After Danny is conned into trading his Nissan Cedric for a 1973 Jaguar, he plots to win Joanna and get revenge against the sleazy car dealer Gordon Farkes.
Karli's over the Sydney scene and its small-pond bohemian excesses. That's why she's moving to New York City in the morning. But over the course of one unforgettable night, Karli's best friends will show her that a little Sydney goes a long way .
A woman experiences a medical miracle, after which she has only a few days to bring together her estranged children, save the family's wallpaper business and rekindle an old flame.
