Michael Rubbo
- Directing
- December 31, 1938 · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Biography
Michael Rubbo is an Australian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and director known for his innovative and personal approach to nonfiction storytelling. A longtime contributor to the National Film Board of Canada, Rubbo crafted documentaries that blended observation with subjective narration, often inserting himself into the narrative—a style that influenced later generations of documentary filmmakers. His notable works include Sad Song of Yellow Skin (1970), which explored the impact of the Vietnam War on civilians, and Waiting for Fidel (1974), a unique take on political documentary. Beyond documentaries, Rubbo also directed children’s films such as The Peanut Butter Solution (1985) and later pursued a career as an author and painter, continuing his creative exploration across different mediums.
Known for
Filmography
- Murder on the Shanghai · Director
- Much Ado About Something · Self, Director
- Maverick on a Mobile · Executive producer
- Race Around the World · Creator
- The Return of Tommy Tricker · Director, Writer
- Vincent and Me · Director, Writer
- Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller · Director, Writer
- Courage to Change · Producer
- The Peanut Butter Solution · Director, Writer
- Atwood and Family · Director, Screenplay
- Margaret Atwood: Once in August · Self, Director
- Daisy: The Story of a Facelift · Director
- Unfinished Diary · The husband
- Challenger: An Industrial Romance · Co-Director, Associate Producer
- River (Planet Earth) · Writer, Editing
- Temiscaming, Québec · Editing
- Waiting for Fidel · Self, Editing
- Bate's Car: Sweet as a Nut · Producer
- Adieu Alouette · Director
- Cold Pizza · Producer
- OK ... Camera · Director
- Wet Earth and Warm People · Writer, Editing
- Persistent and Finagling · Writer, Director
- Sad Song of Yellow Skin · Narrator, Editing
- Adventures · Director, Writer
- Sir! Sir! · Director
- That Mouse · Director, Screenplay
- The Bear and the Mouse · Writer, Editing
- Log House · Director
- I Am an Old Tree · Producer, Writer