IMDb 0 2014 HD

The Great Australian Fly

The Great Australian Fly

2014
Documentary
57 min NR USA
0 IMDB

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN FLY looks at how a national nuisance has shaped Australia and its people, confounding our scientists, influencing our lifestyle and defining the way we speak.…

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director Tosca Looby

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

nuanced surprising informative amusing intriguing thought-provoking overlooked essential re-evaluation pest nature cultural

Reviews

S
Sophia Chen
Apr 21, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

Tosca Looby's 'The Great Australian Fly' is a delightful surprise, transforming a national nuisance into a subject of earnest fascination. This one-hour documentary is a masterclass in perspective, showcasing the fly's vital, albeit often overlooked, contributions to Australian…

A
Arthur Davies
Apr 21, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

'The Great Australian Fly' sets out to challenge our collective disdain for a common pest, and in many ways, it succeeds. The documentary, produced by Sally Ingleton, is certainly informative, detailing the fly's unexpected roles in crime solving…

P
Penelope Cartwright
Apr 21, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

Prepare to see the humble fly in a completely new light with 'The Great Australian Fly'. Directed by Tosca Looby, this documentary is a triumph of reframing, revealing the insect's crucial, often unacknowledged, contributions to Australian life. The…

M
Marcus Bellweather
Apr 21, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

Sally Ingleton's production, 'The Great Australian Fly', offers a novel, if somewhat niche, examination of Australia's most persistent summer companion. The film prompts contemplation on how this ubiquitous insect has influenced our lifestyle and even our language, a…

E
Eleanor Vance
Apr 21, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

Tosca Looby's 'The Great Australian Fly' is a surprisingly engaging delve into a creature most of us swat away without a second thought. This one-hour documentary masterfully shifts perspective, revealing the fly not just as a summer pest…

FAQs

The film 'The Great Australian Fly' raises the question of whether it's time to call a truce in our ongoing efforts to eradicate flies. By highlighting their often-unseen value as crime solvers, healers, pollinators, and street sweepers, it suggests that our current approach might be counterproductive. It doesn't necessarily demand an immediate cessation of all pest control, but rather prompts a reconsideration of the immense energy we expend on wiping them out, questioning if this is the most sensible or beneficial strategy.