Joh: Last King of Queensland(2025)
A captivating and cautionary portrait of one of Australia’s most controversial politicians, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, whose career can be seen as a playbook for the Trump era.
Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen reigned over Queensland for 19 tumultuous years (1968–1987). Hugely popular, he presided over enormous growth, but corruption raged under his tenure, as did electoral manipulation and often violent suppression of dissent. This film tells Joh’s story through rare archival footage and revelatory interviews, exploring a life shaped by a hard yakka, god-fearing upbringing on his family’s farm. Trump’s spectre is evoked in Joh’s famously mangled and meandering way of speaking – brilliantly dramatised by Richard Roxburgh – alongside his unyielding execution of power and the desperate denial of his final days in office.
Movie: Joh: Last King of Queensland
Top 8 Billed Cast
Self
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Self
Self
Video Trailer Joh: Last King of Queensland
Similar Movies
Dino Bird(en)
Dino Bird is a visually spectacular one-hour film that explores the life of the endangered southern cassowary through the eyes of matriarch Bertha, as she and her family strive to survive in the tropics of northern Queensland in the oldest rainforest on Earth. Over the course of one tumultuous season, Bertha, her partner and her chicks battle fearsome predators and formidable rains, but also play an invaluable role in sustaining life in this ecological hotspot. Dino Bird is an intimate and rarely seen portrait of one of Australia's last remaining southern cassowaries.
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line(en)
Across a 45-year career ‘The Oils’ helped shape modern Australia with anthems like “US Forces”, “Beds Are Burning” and “Redneck Wonderland”. Featuring unseen footage and interviews with every band member, alongside signature moments including the outback tour with Warumpi Band, their Exxon protest gig in New York and those famous “Sorry” suits at the Sydney Olympics, Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line traces the journey of Australia’s quintessential rock band.
The Campaign(en)
Follow Australian politician Paul Keating's 1996 election campaign told from the perspective of Santo Cilauro who traveled in the media pool.
Takeover(en)
About Aborigines and Australian politics. On 13 March 1978 the Queensland Government announced its intention to take over management of the Aurukun Aboriginal Reserve from the Uniting Church. The people of Aurukun complained bitterly, believing that the Church was more sympathetic to their aims and fearing that the State was merely seeking easier access to the rich bauxite deposits on their Reserve. When the Federal Government took the side of the Aborigines the stage was set for national confrontation. Shows the situation at Aurukun during those crucial three weeks.
Fantome Island(en)
In 1945, at the age of seven, a young Joe Eggmolesse was diagnosed with Leprosy. He was immediately removed from his family and home and transported under police escort over a thousand kilometres to be confined on an island for the treatment of the disease. For the next ten years, a leprosarium for Aboriginal people became his home. A lush tropical idyll off the north east coast of Australia, Fantome Island was the home to a close knit community of indigenous 'lepers' who made the most of their existence as people living on the fringes of the marginalised. Now as a 73 year old Joe reflects on his indelible Fantome years. His incredible, poignant story offers a profound insight into one of Australia's hidden histories.
The Legend of Fred Paterson(en)
The story of Fred Paterson, member for Bowen in the Queensland parliament in the 1940s and the only Communist Party member ever elected to any Australian parliament.
Whitlam: The Power And The Passion(en)
An extraordinary story of the hard-fought rise and dramatic fall of a visionary Australian prime minister during one of the country's most turbulent eras. Heroic to some, flawed to others, his changes still echo today.
Canberra Confidential(en)
A journey through the dark, chilling and frequently unbelievable tales of power-broking and deceit from inside the nation's capital. Australian political journalist and commentator Annabel Crabb goes in search of Canberra's secrets over the past century, exploring the passionate interplay of sex, secrets and subterfuge that has long been carried out in the shadows of the national stage. How have our secrets changed over the past century and what does this reveal about us as a society? This is the history that Canberra has tried to hide.
The Cranker(en)
A short Documentary following a beloved local pub faced by threats of demolition.
Men Of Capricorn(en)
The way of life for people living along the tropic of Capricorn in Queensland 1965. Farming and mining are the main industries in this area of Australia and the only way to get around is by road train, train or plane. The hard way of life for these people is portrayed in this film.
Tree Kangaroos: Ghosts of the Forest(en)
Seldom seen and very rarely filmed in their natural environment, Lumholtz tree kangaroos are the ghosts of the north Queensland forests. This film follows the intimate lives of these tree-climbing specialists in the wilderness of the Atherton Tableland.
Natural Wonders in Queensland(en)
Visit the waterfalls, forests, beaches, rivers, reptiles, mammals, birds and butterflies that are part of Australia's stunning kaleidoscope of images.
Life in Australia: Cairns(en)
A small city in the tropical north of Queensland, Cairns boasts a life that is leisurely and comfortable. The tempo quickens, however, at cane-cutting time when the sugar is harvested, and in winter when tourists come north to escape the cold. The Life In Australia series portrays Australian cities and rural centres as happy, lively places where good homes, abundant jobs, schools, hospitals and amenities provide the foundation for a relaxed lifestyle where sport, shopping, religion and even art combine to create a homogenous and prosperous society.
Police Story 4: First Strike(cn)
Hong Kong cop Chan Ka-Kui returns, working with Interpol to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer. Chan later realizes that things are not as simple as they appear and soon finds himself to be a pawn of an organization posing as Russian intelligence.
Queensland(en)
The allure of pleasant weather, a carefree lifestyle and better job prospects in Queensland appeal to Doug, a downtrodden factory worker from Melbourne.
Swimming Upstream(en)
A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course(en)
Steve Irwin, AKA The Crocodile Hunter, has avoided the death-roll and saved a croc from poachers. But what he doesn't know is that the crocodile has swallowed a top secret U.S. satellite beacon, and the poachers are actually American special agents sent to retrieve it.
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand(en)
A search for love, meaning and bathroom solitude. Danny goes through a series of shared housing experiences in a succession of cities on the east coast of Australia. Together these vignettes form a narrative that is surprisingly reflective.
Paperback Hero(en)
An Australian truck driver writes romance novels. His engaged, tomboyish, crop duster best friend's name, Ruby Vale, is unasked used as author. Complications arise when his novel takes off. Will they remain friends or...?
Age of Consent(en)
An elderly artist thinks he has become too stale and is past his prime. His friend (and agent) persuades him to go to an offshore island to try once more. On the island he re-discovers his muse in the form of a young girl.