From the corridors of power to the blood-stained battlefields of the Papua New Guinea highlands, Kokoda tells the story of the brutal World War II military campaign between Australia and Japan that changed the course of Australian history. While most Australians have heard of the Kokoda Track – the scene of an eight-month campaign that led to the defeat of advancing Imperial Japanese Army and proved a turning point for the Allies in World War II – few know much about the struggle that forged its treacherous reputation. No army had fought in such terrible conditions; no general believed it possible. Yet Kokoda was a vital struggle. In a war fought without mercy by foes with everything to lose, the ferocious battle for the Kokoda Track saw bravery and atrocity, noble and malicious intent on both sides. The diggers were fighting for their country's survival as the only free nation in Asia. In telling this story, for the first time we took a camera crew over the entire Kokoda Track... and into the green hell of the Owen Stanley Mountains.

(2000, 2 x 56 mins) Screen Australia and Pericles Film Productions in association with Featherstone Productions. Developed and produced in association with the ABC. Produced with the assistance of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Developed and Produced with the assistance of Film Victoria. Based on a book Kokoda by Paul Ham. A Screen Australia Making History Program.

© NFSA, Film Victoria and Pericles Film Productions Pty Ltd.