It’s an excruciating scene: a dad stands at the grocery-store checkout with his two teenage sons, one of whom is severely autistic. He hasn’t brought enough cash, so he begins choosing items to put back—an innocent move that throws the autistic 18-year-old into a full-blown meltdown and leaves him lying on the floor, yelling, kicking, and refusing to move. His brother, a typically self-conscious 16-year-old, begs for him to get up as the more polite shoppers steal quick glances and the rest cast judgmental stares.

It’s just one of many poignant moments in The Black Balloon, an Australian film that’s winning accolades around the globe—including a veritable sweep of the Australian Film Institute Awards in December—and is kicking off OzFlix: Australian Film Weekend at the Pacific Cinémathí¨que (March 12 to 15).

The film tells the story of Thomas, a teenager who struggles to come to terms with his brother Charlie’s autism while trying to carve out his own place in the world. For cowriter and director Elissa Down, it was much more than a compelling idea for a screenplay: having grown up with two autistic brothers herself, it was also the story of her adolescence.

“Growing up, you feel this contradictory nature within yourself. You’re so embarrassed and ashamed of them, but you are also so loyal and protective,” Down says on the phone from Sydney, Australia. “You could be out with them and embarrassed by them, and then someone would yell out ”˜Fucking spastic,’ and that feeling of shame turned into, ”˜I’m going to beat the crap out of the person who just said that.’ So you’re just chasing emotions the whole time—and that’s what I wanted the film to show.”

Also on the bill for OzFlix, among others, is Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, a documentary about ’70s and ’80s Australian genre films such as Mad Max that features interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dennis Hopper. Curated by Oscar-nominated animator Anthony Lucas, The Bold, the Brave and the Best will highlight top Aussie animation, while In Her Skin—a thriller starring Guy Pearce and Sam Neill—promises to get the adrenaline pumping.

Down says that in Australia, like Canada, the budgets are small, so filmmakers need to be self-motivated and resourceful. It was that very resourcefulness that got her TV actor Rhys Wakefield, supermodel Gemma Ward, and favourite Aussie actress Toni Collette to star in her low-budget film.

“When the script was finished, it got sent to Toni, and a week later we got a yes,” says Down, the excitement still palpable in her voice more than a year later. “I was out for a walk when I got the call, and I just started screaming. The people around me were probably thinking, ”˜My God, this woman just got the worst news of her life.’ But I was so excited that I ran all the way home.”