
Paul Cox
Directing
Biography
Paulus Henrique Benedictus Cox, known as Paul Cox, was a Dutch-Australian filmmaker who has been recognized as "Australia's most prolific film auteur".
Known For

The true story of the 19th century Belgian priest, Father Damien, who volunteered to go to the island of Molokai, to console and care for the lepers.
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien

An eccentric elderly man tries to enjoy the three things in life that he considers real beauty: collecting art, collecting flowers, and watching pretty women undress.
Man of Flowers

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green ants go to dream, and that if their dreams are disturbed, it will bring down disaster on us all. The Aborigines' belief is not shared by a giant mining company, which wants to tear open the soil and search for uranium.
Where the Green Ants Dream

Set in the last century, a man is outlawed and condemned to live alone on a small island, his only crime the theft of a few sheep. A girl from the mainland learns of his existence and, compelled by loneliness and romantic dreams, crosses the treacherous sea to join him. Together they create their own truth.
Exile

A biography of Vincent van Gogh using only images and the letters he wrote to his brother Theo.
Vincent

In this offbeat comedy, an unlikely romance develops between a flamboyant, middle-aged piano tuner and an extremely timid office worker.
Lonely Hearts

Uplifting and intimate look at the last days of an elderly cancer victim. The film is even more relevant as it was written specifically for the lead actress, Sheila Florance, who was in fact dying of cancer as she created what is essentially a self-portrait.
A Woman's Tale

Aging artist and scholar Barry is disenchanted with his existence - disillusioned by his sexless marriage to a televangelist, and repulsed by her brand of easy-to-swallow self-help Christianity. In dire need of an outlet he turns to Irina, a Russian immigrant and prostitute. Seeking better lives, both Barry and Irina find strength in each other as they seek mutual salvation.
Salvation

Two women escape to the mountains where they enjoy each others company, apparently disappointed with their male partners.
Touch Me

This caustic Australian comedy meant to burn those commercial interests who sponsor artists for tax breaks. It is 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.
Lust and Revenge

Dramatization of Russian ballet star Vaclav Nijinsky's diaries which detail his madness as well as his homosexual relationship with Ballet Russe impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his marriage to his Hungarian wife.
The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky

A woman who injured her eyes in car accident and a young blind man fall for each other.
Cactus

After more than forty years apart, Andreas and Claire embark on an affair as reckless and intense as when they were young lovers. Widowed musician Andreas decides to get back in touch with his one great love, Claire, who is still married to her first husband, John. Andreas and Claire find that the connection they shared when they were young is still there and they soon become involved in a rekindled love affair.
Innocence

My First Wife is about the dramatic collapse of the marriage between John and Helen. It is also a film about our children and the future we offer them. Helen has decided to leave, and it is John who lacks the inner resources to cope with the impending tragedy. Slowly he is sucked into a tunnel of despair – fighting his conservative nature and the romantic memories of his married life.
My First Wife

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

The marriage of Robert and Elizabeth is collapsing, both concentrating on their jobs (journalist, mother) rather than each other. The film looks at a week in their lives. Robert sleeps with their babysitter, Marianne, while Elizabeth talks with their friends, Juliet and Alex.
Inside Looking Out

Outlaws kidnap their 14-year-old cousin and hold her for ransom. The girl is being chaperoned by a visiting nun, who refuses to abandon her during the kidnapping.
The Nun and the Bandit

A group of people working in film and television are gathered at a dinner party to discuss Australian media coverage of the Gulf War.
The Media Project

To try to raise money for her choir's trip to China, Anna poses nude for an ageing artist and upon seeing the finished results goes on a journey of self discovery.
Human Touch

Island is Paul Cox's serene and beautiful film which explores a spectrum of emotions - ranging from extreme passion to fear, leading to murder - from loneliness to sensuality. Three women from Australia, Sri Lanka, and Greece meet on a Greek island. All are exiles escaping from their own personal tragedies. Ultimately, it is the island itself, with the generosity and warmth of the islanders, which leads all three women to revelations about themselves and their place in the world.