Australia is a 2008 epic adventure drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time. It was released to cinemas on 26 November 2008 in the United States and in Australia on 26 December 2008, with subsequent worldwide release dates throughout late December 2008 and January and February 2009.