NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Australia’s audiovisual cultural institution. Our collection tells the story of the nation: our memories, our lives, our futures.
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The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is the national audiovisual cultural institution. The NFSA is made of memories: the keeper of stories from as early as the 1890s to as late as this morning. We are the custodians of the earliest Australian audio and film recordings, and of social media from the 2020s, with more than a hundred years of radio, television, podcasts, photographs, costum

es and scripts in between. We share and celebrate the cultural forces that shaped our modern nation, while recognising the emerging perspectives and influences of contemporary Australian culture. Throughout, we celebrate fearless creativity, artistic innovation and the bold storytelling of our finest creative minds. We hold stories by and about First Nations people from all over Australia, including content representing culture, language, ceremony, story and song. As well as preserving content for future generations, we continue to add to the collection, ensuring we can provide an unbroken record of Australian life and Australian creativity.

12/06/2026

You’ll never see hat hair as fabulous as this.

In the hands of Bruno and Anthony Mascolo, hair becomes sculpture. Part fashion, part performance, these gravity-defying creations turn the human head into a wearable work of art.

This 1981 appearance on ‘The Mike Walsh Show’ pairs the brothers' deadpan confidence with the delighted disbelief of Walsh and his studio audience. Everyone is trying to remain professional. Nobody is entirely succeeding.

The showstopper arrives late: a gold-sprayed, helmet-shaped masterpiece complete with intricate woven detailing. It's less a hairstyle than an architectural achievement.

Bruno and Anthony are the younger brothers of Toni and Guy Mascolo, founders of the London hair empire Toni&Guy. More than 40 years later, salons bearing their family name can still be found around the world.

Year: 1981
NFSA ID: 3105W1JK

👒 Follow the link for more maximalist fashion: https://bit.ly/4ucwt83]

12/06/2026

Before streaming, before the algorithm, Australians watched television.

And in between the shows, we watched ads – on purpose.

Franco Cozzo sold furniture in three languages. Louie the Fly made insect spray memorable. Big Kev built an empire on uncontainable enthusiasm. Across the 1980s and 90s, a cast of larger-than-life characters turned advertising into one of the strangest and most creative spaces on Australian television.

The products were almost beside the point. What people remembered were the personalities.

Frida Las Vegas continues her three-part Australianarama guide with a celebration of Australia's gloriously over-the-top advertising culture.

Explore the full Australian maximalism deep dive at: https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-maximalism

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This Australianarama video series was created by Frida Las Vegas (Stavroula Adameitis), based on her forthcoming book ‘Australianarama: A Campendium of Kitsch’, published this September.

11/06/2026

It's rusty. It's lumpy. And its builder, Jim Mauger, was the first to admit it looked more like a giant poo than a potato.

Jim built The Big Potato in Robertson, NSW in the late 1970s. His response to critics has endured for nearly 50 years: ‘Well, did you ever build anything that's going to be of that order of magnitude?’

It's a distinctly Australian comeback – cheerful, unanswerable and carrying a hint of melancholy.

What Camille Hardman's documentary ‘Big Dreamers’ captures so well is the straight face behind the joke. The film doesn't turn Jim into a punchline. Instead, it reveals the ambition and optimism behind one man's very large idea.

As Laura Barling writes in ‘A gigantic journey through Australia’s Big Things’, ‘The seriousness of the gesture and the unseriousness of the totem are held together in the same object.’

Jim succeeded in putting Robertson on the map. The town will forever be known as the home of a rust-caked potato. For a regional town on a highway, that's quite a Big Thing.

See the full long read on Australia's Big Things: the fruits, the concrete, the pride, and what it all quietly means: https://bit.ly/4fD7cQf

Year: 2002
NFSA ID: 2CK6CY7N

10/06/2026

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, revisit the moment reality TV met the beautiful game. ⚽🏆

Aired on SBS in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, ‘Nerds FC’ follows a group of self-described nerds as they attempt to transform themselves into a functioning football team. Their season-long challenge culminates in a final match played before a live crowd.

More comfortable with books and computers than balls and boots, the contestants approach the experiment with equal parts enthusiasm and apprehension. On the sidelines is former National Soccer League star Andy Harper, now a major A-League commentator. His first impressions of the ragtag squad help set up the show's central tension: nerds versus jocks, underdogs versus expectations.

Part sports documentary, part makeover television, ‘Nerds FC’ captures the reality TV boom of the 2000s while offering a surprisingly thoughtful take on masculinity, teamwork and the many forms that strength can take.

Year: 2006
NFSA ID: CS02DP91

05/06/2026

Don’t miss out on this grand sale! The documentary ‘Palazza di Cozzo’ charts the life of Franco Cozzo, a Sicilian migrant whose trilingual commercials brought a uniquely maximalist energy to Australian television in the 1970s and 80s. Switching effortlessly between English, Greek and Italian, he became one of Melbourne's most recognisable personalities.

Excerpts from Cozzo’s ads showcase the opulent furniture he sold from stores in Footsray, Brunswick and North Melbourne, where he quickly became a cult figure. Baroque and palatial showrooms filled the screen, transforming everyday furniture shopping into spectacle. Yet Cozzo's approach to selling was remarkably simple. There was no need for actors, fancy locations, gimmicks or special effects. Pure salesman charisma took centre stage.

Speaking directly to migrant communities while charming long-time locals with a warm to-camera address, Cozzo’s personal invitations were the anchor for the swirl of in a swirl of gold trim, ornate lounges and aspirational living rooms.

His success reflected a diversifying Australian drawn to niche personalities, bolder self-expression, and the promise of everyday luxury at an affordable price.

📺 Hit the link for more maximalist TV: https://bit.ly/4ucwt83

Year: 2021
NFSA ID: RHHJ1CEA

04/06/2026

Too much? Exactly.

In the 1980s and 90s, Australia embraced maximalism with open arms. Ken Done jumpers, Mambo shirts, graphic knitwear and shopping centres that seemed determined to outdo them all.

Fashion got louder. Colour got brighter. Restraint took a holiday.

Frida Las Vegas kicks off our three-part Australianarama guide to Australia's gloriously over-the-top era.

Explore the full Australian maximalism deep dive at nfsa.gov.au.

—

This Australianarama video series was created by Frida Las Vegas (Stavroula Adameitis), based on her forthcoming book ‘Australianarama: A Campendium of Kitsch’, published this September.

03/06/2026

Ahead of World Environment Day, take a glimpse a one of Australia’s most remarkable animals: the mountain pygmy possum. The only Australian mammal restricted to alpine and subalpine habitat, this adorable and skittish marsupial was thought to be extinct until a live specimen was discovered in a ski lodge in 1966.

The documentary special ‘The Many Moods of Thredbo and the Snowys’ explores the equally special conditions that ensured the possum’s survival. Amid sweeping alpine landscapes, presenter Peter Phelps speaks with hiking guide Gillian Crundwell, whose observations bring the history of the Snowy Mountains vividly to life. Her commentary traces the glaciers and geological forces that shaped this extraordinary landscape over thousands of years. Those conditions created a refuge for animals once thought lost forever.

The mountain pygmy possum may be camera shy, but this footage proves its alive and well – feasting on Bogong moths and mountain plum pine, both unique to the Australian Alps.

Year: 1999
NFSA ID: 6ERJB0R4

02/06/2026

Once upon a time, the annual Melbourne Arts Ball was a glitzy highlight in Australia’s cultural calendar. Competitors dressed to impress in the most extra way possible, arriving in a parade of tinsel, jewels, whimsical hats and gowns galore. This ‘Eyewitness News’ segment from 1984 offers an exceptionally rare glimpse inside the ball, where TV cameras were usually banned.

Famed for its flamboyant, free-spirited energy, the Arts Ball was a space where kooky instincts thrived. Freeze the frame at any point and you’ll find costumes that are funny, surprising and shamelessly camp: from nursery rhyme spiders, metallic nuns, and over-the-top Australiana.

Bringing together radically different designs through a shared spirit of playful excess and silly fun, the ball celebrated hand-crafted flourishes and out-there ideas. By 1984, the Melbourne Arts Ball was approaching its final curtain, making this footage one of the last glimpses of a beloved cultural tradition.

Year: 1984
NFSA ID: 1WX8Y25W

Explore more Australian maximalism: https://bit.ly/4ucwt83]

29/05/2026

Before ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ became an Australian rock ritual, it looked like this.

This recently uncovered footage from the surreal promo film ‘Alice Through the Lift Doors’ captures the Angels performing inside Sydney’s Roselands Shopping Centre in the 1970s – surrounded by Christmas displays, suburban spectacle and the strange theatre of the modern mall.

Filmed for Myer, the clip doubles as a snapshot of a changing Australia, where shopping centres became cultural stages as much as retail spaces.

The Angels were still forming their classic stage personas. Frontman Bernard ‘Doc’ Neeson had only recently stepped away from bass duties to command the stage, while drummer Buzz Throckman (AKA Graham ‘Buzz’ Bidstrup) appears in one of his earliest filmed performances with the band.

The obscure 16mm colour film was uncovered during recent research into Australian-made films held in the NFSA’s Non-Theatrical Lending Collection.

🎸 Hit the link for more details about the discovery, the Angels’ career and the film’s surreal mix of Lewis Caroll-style whimsy and documentary: https://bit.ly/49YVZFP

Year: 1977
NFSA ID: WDVT7T48

28/05/2026

Meet an icon of pop culture: the original Bedazzler 💎

Ronco’s Rhinestone and Stud Setter turned rhinestones into a suburban craft obsession, promising a future where anyone could customise their wardrobe with studs, sparkle and a little bit of patience.

This 1970s K-Tel infomercial captures the rise of DIY culture and a growing shift away from fashion as luxury. Old clothes become new again, creativity becomes communal, and personal style arrives with a price tag of ‘only $9.98!’

The Bedazzler would later enjoy another glittery revival in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to sparkling denim, Britney Spears and peak mall fashion culture. Fun fact: Rosie O’Donnell included a Bedazzler in the gift bag of every guest at her ‘Rosie’ magazine launch in 2001.

👖 Follow the link for more maximalist fashion and novelty bling: https://bit.ly/4ucwt83

Year: 1979
NFSA ID: HTAWKYD6

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McCoy Circuit, Acton
Canberra, ACT
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