Australian Indigenous Representations in Film, Radio, Television and Video

Australian Indigenous Representations in Film, Radio, Television and Video

(Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers and viewers should be aware that this document/blog may contain images or videos or the names of people who have since passed away)

The purpose of this list is to provide a detailed Film, Television and Radio Media list of interesting, important and creative Indigenous Australian drama and some documentaries that have appeared over the years. Some of the films listed are not made by indigenous filmmakers and this is indicated on the list. These non-indigenous films using indigenous subjects, actors and themes are included because they are either extensively referred to in other pieces of Indigenous Drama or they contain an important representations and/or performance by an Australian Indigenous performer, activist or artists. Another purpose of this is some people don’t have regular access to live indigenous drama and this provides a list of films and media which may be of interest for private or study purposes. The items of this list provide a valuable insight into Australian Indigenous Drama, stories and culture. Many of these are available on the internet or through government archives. Some of these are sadly now lost but I would appreciate it, if you locate any materials which are not listed here or are listed here but not on government archives, could you please contact the relevant Australian Government archival unit. Even if it is on 16mm film or VHS or BETA video tape, as some of the stuff I have donated was. Two websites are outstanding for finding clips of television and film indigenous documentaries and dramas. They are:

http://aso.gov.au/

http://www.creativespirits.com.au

This blog entry will go through Indigenous Australian films, television and videos and representations of Indigenous Australians in non-Indigenous films, television and videos basically in chronological order. I just want to preempt this by pointing out the change in the landscape since the advent of NITV since 2005. NITV stands for National Indigenous Television and this emerged as an Indigenous Australian public broadcaster funded by the Federal Government. After lobbying of major political parties during the 1980's in the late 1990s Channel 31 also known as the Imparja Info Channel was set up and run on Optus Aurora satellite service delivery. The Indigenous Australian programming within this service later became known as Indigenous Community Television (ICT). In 2004, a voluntary NITV committee was set up in Redfern NSW to look towards a fully funded nation Indigenous broadcasting service or station. By 2005, the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts of the Federal Australian Government underwent a review and decided to allocate $48.5 million to developing the NITV service. In July 2012, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) took over the NITV service and transferred the broadcasting of the service to one of their free-to-air channels. Later in this blog entry, programs from this service will be discussed.

Here is a chronological view of Indigenous Australian representations in films, television and videos. A word of warning. The African American playwright and theorist August Wilson said that the 'white' non-black media and culture portrays a perceived reality of black people and cultures to reinforce its own privilege and stereotypes. I ask that non-Indigenous Australian portrayals of First Nation peoples, culture and aesthetics be looked at critically with a consciousness of the hegemonic principles and structures that may lie beneath such portrayals. With these things in mind, you may want to read before you start about some of the films below, a good article about the first 70 years of Ethnographic film making in Australia by Ian Dunlop written in 1969. http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p71041/pdf/sources041.pdf

Also, an excellent general insight into early Australian ethnographic films is given by Michael Leigh on an article he wrote for the NFSA (National Film and Sound Archive). https://aso.gov.au/titles/collections/ethnographic-film-in-Australia/

Another very enlightening article was written by Liz McNiven entitled A Short History of Indigenous Filmaking.

https://aso.gov.au/titles/collections/indigenous-filmmaking/

Just one quick note before you continue.. It is now believed that the first film made by an Australian First Nations film maker was a film with a 'drama' enacted filmed and created by Bill Onus in 1946. The story of the rediscovery of this footage is told in the 2021 documentary made by Onus' grandson Tiriki Onus and Alec Morgan which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) in 2021. Here is an article about the film footage and the documentary. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/ablaze-documentary-bill-onus-aboriginal-filmmaker/100337500

Australian Indigenous Reopresentations in Film, Radio, Television and Viceo

1898: Malu-Bomai Ceremony at Kiam - Torres Strait Islander Ceremony. (Documentary, Anthropological Footage, Travelogue). Haddon, Alfred Cort. (non-indigenous director/anthropologist).1898. This short documentary (four and a half minutes of the 35 mm footage remain) by English Anthropologist A.C.Haddon done on his 1898 expedition to the Torres Strait and was filmed on Murray Island. It is the first known use of an ethnographic record and helped establish the moving image as a primary tool for ethnographical and cultural research and documentation. The Malu-Bomai ceremony shown in clip one shows dance sequences used in longer ceremonies or storytelling sequences and traditional costumes and headdresses are shown. More recent viewing of these clips by Mer nation descendants have thrown light on the cultural and knowledge contexts of the dances portrayed. http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/torres-strait-islanders

1901: Walter Baldwin Spencer Field Study Note Films. (Documentary/Ethnographic Research). Spencer, Walter Baldwin & Gillen, Frank (non-Indigenous directors).  This is a remarkable film due to the special relationship that Frank Gillen (a telegraph operator or was initiated as an elder to an Aranda tribe) had with different Aranda peoples and groups. He spoke many of the local languages and the films made as part of the filed notes while not showing Indigenous Australian perspectives entirely, give some insight into what for the period is a highly unusual dramaturgy of film making involving some consultation and attempt to give the Indigenous Australian contexts of what is observed and filmed. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1hr9e

https://ffh.films.com/id/3444/Sir_Walter_Baldwin_Spencer_Fieldwork.ht

1903: Although it is not a film or radio broadcast, the 1903 wax recording of Fanny Cochrane Smith of Tasmanian Indigenous Australian heritage. She was probably the last known speaker and keeper of Tasmanian First nation languages and songlines. This wax recording is an important cultural artifact. Five wax cylinders of her recording Tasmanian First Nations songs and songlines but by 1949 only four remained. Upon hearing her own recorded voice Smith who thought her own voice was the voice of her mother's spirit is alledged to have said "My poor race. What I have done." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0KA1AjwIS4

1912: Baldwin Spencer Films 1912 Field Study Note Films. (Documentary/Ethnographic Research). Spencer, Walter Baldwin & Gillen, Frank (non-Indigenous director). National Museum of Victoria. Melbourne.

1913: Aborigines of Victoria. (Documentary). West, T.J. (non-Indigenous director). Probably the first film made of Victorian First Nations peoples, this film shows Kurnai people at the Lake Tyers' Mission attending church and school. It also shows some traditional activities like basket weaving. 

Cape York. (Ethnographic footage). Eric Mjöberg (non-Indigenous director). Footage from Mjöberg's 1913 expedition to Cape York done as part of his ethnographic research. Mjöberg's attempts to prove Darwinian principles and his theft of Indigenous Australian artefacts and desecration of the graves of local First nations people has been well documented. In 2004, his great-niece, Lotte Mjöberg, actively sort reconciliation and the return of objects and skeletal and sacred burial remains to the different First nations groups and tribes from whom her great uncle stole. Eighteen boxes containing objects and human remains were returned and re-buried on Country by local Indigenous Australian elders.  

1917: Chez les sauvages Australiens (Documentary).Jackson, William (non-Indigenous director). Mondial Films. Pathe Production Company. 1917. An engaging but still relatively respectful Australian/French documentary made which shows Indigenous Australian dance sequences and other practices and ceremonies. It seems to involve cultural practices from the different parts of the Kimberly region including those from some Western Desert peoples and some people from Bunuban, Worrorran and Jarrakan cultural groups. http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/chez-les-sauvages-australiens/

1921: Pearls and Savages (Documentary film/Travelogue). Hurley, Frank (non-Indigenous director). Stoll Hurley Productions. 1921. Silent black and white film which was filmed from two trips Frank Hurley did to the Torres Strait Islands and Papua New Guinea. Sequences and dance ceremonies are filmed on Thursday island, a boat regatta is shown from Coconut Island, fishing practices are shown from the Darnley and food preparation from Mabuiag. On one level this may seem like a landmark film but when you delve deeper into the story behind the film you will find a darker story of misrepresentation of Torres Straits islander people, exploitation, cultural appropriation and theft of cultural artefacts. https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/pearls-and-savages/clip1/

1922. Native Australia,. (Documentary/Ethnographic Film). Nicholl's, Brooke (non-Indigenous director). Ethnographic films sponsored by Kodak. includes (i) Australian Aborigines - corroborees, (ii) Australian Aborigines - women at work and play, (iii) Australian Aborigines — implements and weapons, (iv) Australian Aborigines - arts and crafts, Mitchell Library, Sydney, (Film Australia, Lindfield, N.S.W.).

1922: Coorab in the Island of Ghosts (Documentary film/Travelogue). Birtles, Frank (non-Indigenous director). As part of his car journies across Australia, Birtles filmed a number of Indigenous Australian peoples on country. While documenting First Nation Australian life was not at the centre of his films, some interesting footage captures some elements of cultures in different Indigenous Australian communities.

1930: Macdonald Downs Expedition. (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide.

1931: Cockatoo Creek Expedition, (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1932: Mount Liebig Expedition.  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1933: Mann Range Expedition.  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1934: Ernabella Expedition.  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

Diamantina Expedition, 1934,  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1935: Warburton Range Expedition.  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1936: Uncivilised (Feature Film). Chauvel, Charles (non-Indigenous director). Expeditionary Films. 1936. This was legendary Australian-based film maker Charles Chauvel's attempt to break the international market. This action/adventure film stars Dennis Hoey (Inspector Lestrade in the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies, Kenneth Brampton (director and star of the 1920 Version of Robbery Under Arms) and Indigenous Australian actor, director and artist Bill Onus. This is probably the first appearance of an Australian Indigenous actor in a feature film. http://archive.org/details/Uncivilised_1936

1937: Lovers and Luggers (also known under the title Vengeance of the Deep) (Feature Film). Hall, K.G. (non-Indigenous director). Cinesound Productions Limited. (Indigenous Australian actor and artist Bill Onus appears in this romantic melodrama).

Coorong Expedition. 1937,  (Documentary film/ Anthropological Research - non-Indigenous researchers and directors). Board for Anthropological Research, University of Adelaide. 

1946: The Overlanders (Feature Film). Watt, Harry (Non-Indigenous Director). Ealing Studios. This is a great adaptation from the book of the same name. Set at the start of WWII in Northern Australia. The Japanese are getting close. People are evacuating and burning everything in a ‘scorched earth’ policy. Rather than kill their cattle, a disparate group decides to drive them overland half way across the continent. This film starts Chips Rafferty and contains wonderful performances by Indigenous Australian actors Henry Murdoch, Clyde Combo and Bill Onus. Chips Rafferty claimed that Henry Murdoch carried “a volume of Shakespeare with him everywhere”.

Untitled. (1946). (Documentary with Drama footage). Dir. Bill Onus (Indigenous director). This footage is now believed that the first film made by an Australian First Nations film maker. It was a film with a 'drama' enacted filmed and created by Bill Onus in 1946. The story of the rediscovery of this footage is told in the 2021 documentary made by Onus' grandson Tiriki Onus and Alec Morgan which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) in 2021. Here is an article about the film footage and the documentary about finding the footage. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/ablaze-documentary-bill-onus-aboriginal-filmmaker/100337500 

1949: Eureka Stockade (also known under the title of Massacre Hill) (Feature Film). Watt, Harry (Non-Indigenous Director). Ealing Studios. Film about the Eureka Stockade Gold Miners Strike and battle of 1854 against the Victorian Government and the police. Indigenous actor Henry Murdoch appears in this film but is uncredited.

1950: Bitter Springs. (Feature Film). Smart, Ralph (non-indigenous director). Ealing Studios. This film has in it one credited Indigenous Australian actor Henry Murdoch. About 50 uncredited Indigenous Australian actors including Steve Dodd appear in the action. This film is set in the early 1900's in South Australia. The film deals with the issue of white settlers encroaching on Indigenous land and dispossessing Indigenous Australian of their homelands. The original script ended with a massacre of Indigenous people but at the insistence of Ealing Studios a rewrite of the script ended with the main white character Wally King (played by Chips Rafferty) deciding to run a sheep station working alongside local Indigenous Australian stockmen. The film is important for a number of reasons. It contains the largest number of Indigenous Australian people in a film to that point (some 50 Indigenous actors, all except one uncredited). It is the first feature film to feature an Indigenous Australian language (the Pitjantjatjarra language). An Australian Indigenous actor (and stockman) Henry Murdoch (a Nurunderi man from Barambah in South East Queensland) plays BlackJack, one of the main characters. The film reveals the inherent racism in settler attitudes and advocates negotiation with Indigenous Australians and sharing of resources. A great set of curation notes on the film were done by film curator Liz McNiven, a Barnba woman from the Budjiti nation. https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/notes/

Here are some clips from the film:

https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/clip1/

https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/clip2/

https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/clip3/

1955: Jedda (Also released under the title Jedda - the Uncivilised). Chauvel, Charles. (non-indigenous director). Charles Chauvel Productions. This was the first Australian feature film to be shot in colour and the first to have Indigenous Australian actors in the main roles. This is probably also the first feature film to have female Australian Indigenous actors. It is certainly the first to have any Australian Indigenous actor in the title role. Ngarla Kunoth does a superb job in the role of Jedda and Robert Tudawali is amazing as Marbuck. Set in the Northern Territory, it is the tragic story of a young Aboriginal girl of the Arunte tribe, adopted by a white woman, Sarah McCann, as a surrogate for her own baby who has died. She names the baby Jedda after a wild bird and raises her as a white child, isolating her from Aboriginal contact. 

1960: Shadow of the Boomerang. Ross, Dick. (non-indigenous director). This the story of an American brother and sister, Bob and Kathy Prince, who move to Australia to manage a cattle station owned by their father. Bob has a racist attitude and always has a negative word to add. Kathy on the other hand is a sincere and lovable character providing a reasonable balance. This is the first film that the great Indigenous singer, musician, actor and teacher James Oswald “Jimmy” Little of the Yorta Yorta people appears in.

1962: Alcheringa (documentary television series - 12 x 15 min. episodes). Frank Lowell Few (non-indigenous director) & Bill Onus (presenter/commentator). Documentary with dramatic reenactments of First Nations life and culture mostly before the arrival of Europeans along with dealing with issues such as the Frontier Wars. This was the Australian television program to have an Indigenous Australian presenter.

1967-85: Walkabout With Malcolm Douglas (television program with non-indigenous director) Malcolm Douglas was one of the first to create outback adventure programs. He shows in the programs a deep understanding of indigenous culture and people and the program documents a changing culture in indigenous communities.  There are 44 episodes in this program.

         http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/walkabout-with-malcolm-douglas

1967-68:      Bellbird (television program with non-indigenous directors). Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bob Maza appeared in his first role as articled clerk Gerry Walters from 1967-1968.

1968-69     Hunter (television program with Non-Indigenous Directors). Crawford Productions. Australia's first television spy thriller program. It starred Tony Ward as John Hunter. Indigenous Australian actor Bob Maza appears in various roles in a number of episodes.

1970-74       Homicide (television program with non-indigenous directors). Crawford Productions. Melbourne. This Australian police drama ran from 1964-1977. Starring John Fegan, Terry McDermott, Lex Mitchell and Leonard Teale, Bob Maza appeared in various episodes.

1971-73       Silent Number  (television program with non-indigenous directors). Australian Television Facilities & South Pacific Films. A police/doctor show starring Grigor Taylor, this show is a precursor to forensic police shows popular from 2008 onwards. Bob Maza appeared in various episodes.

1971        Sharing the Dream (short documentary film). Damyanovic, Milena (Non-Indigenous Director). 1971. A short documentary film about the workshops held by American dancer Carole Y. Johnson in Redfern. The film also chronicles the beginning of the beginnings of the Redfern dance group. Part of the documentary was aired on ABC Television (Australia) in 1973. The film was finally released in 1974 and premiered at the International Women's Festival in Sydney in 1975.

1971  Walkabout. Roeg, Nicholas (non-indigenous director). 1971. Si Litvinoff Film Production Company. This feature film is an adaptation of a popular book and it explores the contrast between modern urban life and the natural world of the Australian bush. The plot examines a standard fish-out-of-water story of two city children who are stranded in the Australian outback and are guided back to civilization by an indigenous youth on ‘walkabout’. The film stars Jenny Agutter and David Gulpilil. This was the first film which launched the long and amazing career of actor, dancer, teacher and activist David Gulpilil.

1972: N'ingla a-na; Hungry for Land (Documentary), Cavadini, Alessandro and Carolyn Strachan (non-indigenous & indigenous directors). Sydney Filmakers Co-operative. This documentary is about the events surrounding the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Parliament House during the 1970’s. It incorporates interviews with Black activists, footage of the National Black Theatre along with footage of demonstrations. Includes Bob Maza, Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Sykes, Shirley Smith (‘Mum Shirl’), Carol Johnson and Paul Coe. It was recently rescreened in 2012 at the Playhouse at the Sydney Opera House.

First Indigenous Australian production of a radio program at 5UV (Adelaide). It mostly included local news and the music of some Indigenous Australian bands and musical artists in the one hour a week slot which was later expanded to two weekly one hour slots.

Later in 1972, the second Indigenous produced radio program was broadcast by 4KIG Mount Stewart (near Townsville). This program started with some news, some public service announcements and some music from Indigenous Australian musical artists.

Black Fire .(Documentary 1972). Dir. Bruce McGuiness (Indigenous) with Lorna Lippman, Doug Nicholls, Harry Williams and Bertie Williams. For many years this was considered the first film made by an Indigenous Australian filmmaker. A collection of ideas which addresses the state of anthropology and Australian Aboriginal affairs in 1972. The documentary includes Country and Western legend Harry Williams and his son, Bertie Williams who was one of the founders of the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy. There is also a comic section where Harry Wlliams asks people along Bourke Street in Melbourne, who discovered Australia.

1973: Basically Black ABC Television Version of the play. Screened on 26/2/73. This was the first all-indigenous show screened on Australian television. Although it had a non-Indigenous Australian director in Nicholas R. Parsons, the show was almost entirely written by the Indigenous Australian actors Bob Maza, Gary Foley, Aileen Corpus, Zac Martin and Bindi Williams who performed it as a comedy play in 1972 for a six week season with the National Black Theatre (originally the Sydney Black Theatre) at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney. The play was reduced to a 30 minute version for television for the ABC program aired on July 7th, 1973. Some elements of the original play script were censored by the ABC. The play and the television broadcast has probably the first Indigenous Australian superhero 'Super Boong' (an ironic name that uses satire to turn a derogatory term and stereotypes around) Super Boong gave audiences something rare and important – a glimpse at black Australian people, away from the evening news where we were invariably portrayed as victims or criminals. The show was imbued with a deliberate layer of social commentary which acted to tackle racism head-on.

http://www.ovguide.com/bob-maza-9202a8c04000641f80000000087975fc

Newspaper Television Review: 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48213532

Modern Article writing about significance: 

https://dailyreview.com.au/five-trail-blazing-indigenous-tv-shows-paved-way-cleverman/44964/

Video Links to extracts from program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTunYAlu6Rk

https://vimeo.com/201243373

1974: 27A (Television Drama). Non-Indigenous Directors. This was an interesting television series about a middle aged "metho" drinker who joins Alcoholics Anonymous and undergoes psychiatric care and ends up committed to a hospital for the criminally insane, detained indefinately under the notorious Section 27A Queensland Health Act. Indigenous Australian actor Bob Maza appears in the episode 'Darkie's Mate'. 

1975: Protected - The Truth About Palm Island (dramatized documentary). Cavadini, Alessandro (non-indigenous director). This is a dramatized documentary about life on Palm Island in the 1950’s up to and during the 1957 Palm Island Strike.

1976: Storm Boy (feature film). Hopgood, Henry (non-indigenous director). South Australian Film Corporation.  Excellent film adaptation of the Colin Thiele book about a boy and his pelican. Stars Greg Rowe and David Gulpilil.

Tjinto-Pakani: Sunrise awakening (documentary). Reese, Ande (non-indigenous director).. Sydney Filmakers Co-operative & Redfern Co-operative. Includes footage of the first professional performance by the Black Theatre’s dance group under the direction of Carole Johnson. Won the documentary award at the Sydney Film Festival. A half-hour version was telecast on the ABC late in 1976.

Films of the Ceremony: Djungguwan at Gurka’wuy (documentary/non-indigenous director). 1976. Edited version appears on a 2006 DVD. See

http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/ceremony-the-djungguwan-of-northeast-arnhem-land#ixzz1zPMjWQyj

1977: Backroads (short film). Noyce, Philip (non-indigenous director). Australian Film Commission. 1977. This is an excellent film about indigenous communities which is done with humour even though it deals with serious issues such as alcohol abuse in indigenous communities.

1978/79: My Survival As An Aboriginal (documentary). Coffey, Essie (Indigenous director - Murawari woman). Ballad Films. 1978. This was the first documentary directed by an Indigenous Australian woman, Essie Murawarri (a Muruwarri woman) and one of the first films where Indigenous people had a determining role in how they and their community were represented. It shocked many with its presentation of atrocities and hardships committed against Aboriginal people. The movie delves beneath surface appearances to reveal a strong resistance to assimilation and loss of identity.

The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith (feature film). Schepisi, Fred (non-indigenous director). The Film House & the Victoian Film Commission. 1979. This film is based on Thomas Keneally’s book about real events surrounding an indigenous man who finds the pressure of being caught between two cultures too much and breaks out in a violent and horrific way. The film stars Tommy Lewis.

1980: Manganinnie (feature film). Honey, John (non-indigenous director). Tasmanian Film Corporation. 1980. A wonderfully lyrical film starring Mawuyul Yanthalawuy. The film follows the journey of Manganinnie across the Tasmanian mountians to the coast as Manganinnie search to see if her people and her ways have survived. It is the story of the Black Drive of 1830 and the near genocide of the Tasmanian Indigenous peoples.

In 1980, the Central Australian Aboriginal media Association (CAAMA) was established by Indigenous Australians John Macumba and Freda Glynn with Phillip Batty. Some of the original goals of this media organisation that initially started with radio broadcasts and then branched into video and film production was to create an Indigenous Australian run media centre driven by Indigenous voices, stories and ownership.

1981: Two Laws (feature film). Borolola Community (Indigenous Producers), Alessandro Cavadini (Non-Indigenous Director) & Carolyn Strachan (Non-Indigenous Director). A film about the mistreatment of Indigenous people. This piece includes re-enactments of historical events. This is a very interesting film in that the production model uses more traditional notions of ownership and production of stories in its process and decision making. The film can be seen as an example of dialogue, indigenous and border-crossing dramaturgy and an attempt to embrace Standpoint theory and offer an Indigenous view of historical events.

Wrong Side of the Road. Lander, Ned (Indigenous Director). Aboriginal Advancement League of South Australia, Aboriginal Art Board & the Australian Film Commission. This is a landmark Australian film and Australian Indigenous film. The taglines for the film say it all: “Port Adelaide to Point Pearce. Cars, cops, cattle stations and driving rock and reggae. Two days in the lives of aboriginal bands.” This is essentially a road movie following the Australian Indigenous bands US Mob and No Fixed Address. It addresses the issues of identity and racism.

Early in 1981, Maureen Watson and her son Tiga Bayles lobbied for spots on Radio Skid Row and 2SER. They developed the program Radio Redfern that started as a ten minute slot and later was expanded to a full program and eventually Radio redfern which broadcast for ten hours and then forty hours a week. In 1988, a film entitled 88.9 Radio Redfern was made about the station. Below is a website with a videoclip, questions and educational exercises. https://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1548/#:~:text=In%201972%20the%20first%20Indigenous,Islanders%20in%20Far%20North%20Queensland.

In 1981, ABC Radio started Indigenous Australian community broadcasting to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The first broadcast was done from Alice Springs in March 1981. Some programming was broadcast in local languages. 

1982-1993: A Country Practice (television program)
Alan Forbes & Bill Bowles
–     Suffer Little Children: Part 1, 1982. Bill Bowles
–     Suffer Little Children: Part 2, 1982 Bill Bowles
–     Carpe Diem: Part 1, 1993 Alan Forbes
–    Carpe Diem: Part 2, 1993 Alan Forbe  

1983: Lousy Little Sixpence. (short film). Bostock, Gerald (indigenous director) & Morgan Alec (non-indigenous director). An amazing piece of film making by Bostock and Morgan. In 1909, the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board planned to break up Aboriginal communities by forcibly removing children and hiring them out as servants to white 'masters'. The children were paid a sixpence for their services, but many never saw their 'lousy little sixpence'. In the 1930s, Aboriginal people began to organize and to fight the Aborigines Protection Board. Through old film footage, photographs and the memories of Aboriginal elders, we are presented with an account of their lives and their struggle.

May 1983 saw ABC Radio start broadcasts produced by Indigenous Australians to communities in Far North Queensland. The programs included news, public service announcements and music by Indigenous Australian artists. Some programs were produced in local languages and Torres Strait Islander languages were used in some broadcasts for the first time.

1984: Where the Green Ants Dream (Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen) (feature film). Herzog, Werner (non-indigenous director). Pro-ject Filmproduktion, Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen(ZDF).1984.

A geologist Lance Hackett (played by Bruce Spense) is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert area covered with ant hills prior to a possible uranium extraction. His work is impeded by some aborigines who explain that this is the place where the green ants dream. Disturbing their dreaming will destroy humanity they claim. Wandjuk Marika’s performance as Milritbi is quietly powerful.

1984: CAAMA - The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association started in 1980 by one 'whitefella'and two Indigenous Australians (Freda Glynn, Phillip Batty and John Macumba) as a radio station in Alice Springs, NT to highlight Aboriginal music and culture to a wider Australian society. In 1984, they started to produce a television 'newsletter'program. The radio programs and the video newsletters were produced in 7 different languages (including English).

In 1984, Maureen Watson, her son Tiga Bayles and others set up Radio Redfern next to the Black Theatre in Cope Street in Redfern. This encouraged local involvement in programs and training and allowed local Indigenous people to become involved and tell their stories.

1985: CAAMA bid for and are offered a broadcast licence by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal Central Zone and pave the way for the first Indigenous Ausatralian broadcasting service venturing into television.

1986: Babakiueria (‘Barbecue Area’) (television drama). Featherstone, Don (non-indigenous director). Starring Bob Maza, Michelle Torres & Kevin Smith, this is a dark satire using role reversal to address indigenous issues and attitudes towards indigenous communities. The story centres around indigenous "whities" [sic] being persecuted by racist black people who invade the fictitious country of BabaKiueria. Politically incorrect and inconvenient facts about infant mortality rates are ignored by a "reporter" who lives with a typical white family in a white "ghetto" for six months.

We Are Going. (Documentary). James Fielding (Non-Indigenous Director). Oodgeroo does filmed dramatic readings of her poems including ‘We Are Going’. This is a moving set of filmed readings of the amazing writing of an amazing person. The poems deal with Identity and loss of Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF5PxEnkgiI

1987: How the West Was Lost (documentary). Noakes, David (non-indigenous director). Friends Film Production & Market Street Films. An interesting documentary about the WA 1946 Aboriginal Pastoral Workers’ Strike.

Karbara - The First Born (documentary). (Indigenous Dir. Richard Guthrie with drama sequences directed by Brian Syron, Cinematography - Tony Wilson, Editor - Denise Hunter). This is a documentary of the First National Black Playwright's Conference andf Workshops held in January 1987 at the Australian National University in Canberra, ACT, Australia. It was first shown at the Sydney Film Festival in June 1987. Then it was shown at the Pincher Creek Indian Film Festival in 1987. It was broadcast on television on ABC TV in October 1987.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTqyce7hHmI

The Fringe Dwellers (feature film). Beresford, Bruce (non-indigenous director). Fringe Dwellers Productions. An indigenous family tries to move out of the fringe into the main white community and addresses the predjudice they face from both communities. Amazing performaces by Justine Saunders, Kristina Nehm, Marlene Bell, Kylie Belling and Ernie Dingo.

 Tudawali (teledrama). Jodrell, Steve (non-indigenous director). Independant Video Productions. 1987. One of Ernie Dingo’s greatest screen performances as he portrays Robert Tudawali, the first Aboriginal film star who starred in Jedda.The film traces the life of Tudawali from the moment he's selected to play the lead in Jedda through until his premature death at around age 40 from heavy burns. It also portrays the stark contrasts and clash of culture between Tudawali's third-world home outside Darwin, and Sydney, where he did most of his filming for movies and TV series.

Nganampa Anwernekenhe (documentary television series 1987-present). 187 episodes and still going. Nganampa Anwernekenhe is produced by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions, the film and television production branch of the media company. This has been an important company for training young indigenous female film makers. Indigenous filmmakers that have come from the CAAMA projects include Beck Cole, Allan Collins, Priscilla Collins, Erica Glynn, Danielle MacLean, Rachel Perkins, Warwick Thornton and Mitch Torres.

Nice Coloured Girls (short film). (Indigenous director) Moffatt, Tracey. Ronin Films. Tracey Moffatt’s first film, this film’s ironic title says it all. The plot centres around three indigenous young women cruising through Kings Cross, Sydney who pick up a 'captain' (a drunken white man). They encourage him to spend his money on them and to drink until he is so drunk that they steal his wallet and excape to catch a cab.

1988: Imparja, (an Arremte word meaning 'footprints') a commercial television station owned by CAAMA starts to braodcast out of Alice Springs to over 100,000 viewers in multiple languages with English subtitles. Indigenous Australian produced content makes up the majority of the content produced by Imarja. Nganampa-Anwernekenbe [Ours], becomes the first entirely indigenous language television programme sub-titled in English produced in Australia, which reflected Aboriginal culture through story telling and unique performing and visual arts content.

In 1988, Radio Redfern in Sydney started to play an active role in organising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples involvement in protest against the Commonwealth games and Bi-centenary celebrations. 

Dreaming of Lords (documentary). Ellis, Bob (non-indigenous director). Dreaming Of Lords is a film of the 1988 pilgrimage to the home of cricket, Lords in England, by 17 Aboriginal cricketers exactly 120 years after their predecessors in 1868. Narrated by Ernie Dingo it takes in matches at The Oval, Old Trafford with a number of English county teams and a number of celebrated cricketers such as Clive Lloyd, Ian Chappell and Dennis Lillee.

Australian Daze (documentary). Fiske, Pat (non-indigenous Chief Director. Australia’s Day Film Project. 1988. Although this is an observational documentary shot by 29 different camera crews on the bicentennial anniversary of European settlement on the 26^thof January 1988, the filmed section of indigenous demonstrations and protests is essential viewing to get the sense of indigenous responses to an anniversary of a sad day in the dispossession and tyranny of indigenous Australian peoples. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/australia-daze/clip2

1989: Always Was Always Will Be (documentary). Ansara, Martha (indigenous director). This film centres on the 1989 dispute over the sacred grounds of the Waugul peoples at Kings park and the redevelopment of the Old Swan Brewery site. The film is essential viewing for those wishing to know more about the basis for land rights claims.

1990: Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (short film). Moffatt, Tracey (indigenous director). Australian Film Commission. Tracey Moffatt continues to challenge the social construction of Indigenous representations. Night Cries is a possible sequel to Jedda and follows the story of a middle aged Indigenous woman caring with her white mother as she dies. This film contains a magnificent performance by Marcia Langton and also stars Jimmy Little.

1991: Dance Your Land (documentary).Woomera Aboriginal Corporation & Ronin Films. 1991. In 1988 fifty dancers, singers, storytellers and their families from the Lardil people, from Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Borroloola community in the Northern Territory, made an epic 8000km journey across some of the roughest country in Australia.

They linked up with communities from the Carpentaria gulf country and with people of the remote Kimberley region sharing and reinforcing their Aboriginal cultural identity. The stories of this ancient land are carried in dancing and drama. When these Aboriginal communities meet, they present a true identity through their dances and songs. This is a true cultural meeting and exchange of ideas.

Island of Lies. (documentary). Coote, Gillian (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 1991. When Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked off the coast of Queensland in 1836, eventually landing on the coast of what was to become known as Fraser Island, there were up to 3000 Aboriginal people living there. By 1905 only 20 or 30 remained. Gillian Coote's essay film employs a diary-come-road movie form, following the route of the early colonial expansion north from Sydney to Fraser Island. In the process, the filmmaker seeks to discover the truth about massacres, genocide and coverups that characterise Australian race relations. The film is bracketed by sequences from Allan Marett's Noh theatre treatment of the Eliza Fraser myth; in which the ghost of Eliza Fraser is trapped in the 'realm of ghosts' because of her refusal to acknowledge her lies.

1992: Deadly (feature film). Storm, Esben (non-indigenous director). Film Australia & Hoyts Distributions. This film addresses the issue of an Aboriginal death in custody and the police attempt to cover it up. Includes a great performance by Lydia Miller.

Jindalee Lady (feature film). Syron, Brian (indigenous director). AsiaPacific Films. This is an urban love triangle film which tells the story of a young Indigenous woman who sets out to start her career in the fashion industry. This is a brilliant film which paints a picture of indigenous people fighting for respect and success in modern urban Australia. Great directing by Syron and another amazing acting by Lydia Miller in the title role.

1993: 1993: BeDevil (feature film). Moffatt, Tracey (indigenous director). Film Australia. Moffatt is best known as a filmmaker who challenges Western storytelling traditions and in BeDevil she polarised critics.  This is done in the style of a 60’s television supernatural piece using three ghost stories and it is filled with suspense, surrealism, tragedy and ironic humour. A great performance by legend Jack Charles is a highlight of the film. Here are three links to clips from the film with a description below each link.

Clip 1 from BeDevil (1993):  http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bedevil/clip1/

Rick climbs out of the window of the cinema and runs through the swamp. Sitting on the bed with his two sisters, he distributes the candy he has stolen from the cinema. Two white children pass by and ask the Aboriginal kids if they want to play. The rough sound of Rick’s father startles them. The shadows and sounds coming from inside the house tell us something violent is happening. The two white children peer through the fence, witnesses to the brutality that is occurring within the confines of the house. Water runs down a drainpipe. It is red with blood. The two white children ride off.

Clip 2 from BeDevil (1993) http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bedevil/clip2/

This clip expresses the idea that 'You can’t see it, but you can hear it’. Ruby lays her ear to the train tracks upon which the ghost train passes. The clip moves through different time periods, the characters telling retrospectively of the passing of the ghost train.

Clip 3 from BeDevil (1993) http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bedevil/clip3/

A young boy is suddenly awoken from his sleep. Before him stand two spirits, a man and a woman. They clasp hands, and disappear through the wall of the boy’s bedroom. The boy follows them. They are the spirit of the couple who died in the warehouse when it caught fire. The boy enters the condemned warehouse where, bathed in red, the spirits of the dead couple dance. The boy, wearing rollerskates, begins to dance with them. He turns and flips, circling the spirit couple who dance as though oblivious to his presence.

Poison (drama/experimental film). Riley, Michael (indigenous artist/director). Australian Broadcasting Commission. 1993. This drama, the first ever to come out of the ABC's 'Blackout' series, considers four major aspects of modern indigenous life – drug abuse, assimilation, adoption and sexual abuse, and how these circumstances have prompted the addictive personalities. The film was based on the reporting of a number of tragic heroin overdoses of young girls in the Aboriginal community centred around ‘The Block’ in Eveleigh Street, Redfern. Riley had read an article which presented the tragic lives of a group of young Aboriginal teenage girls, afflicted by the influx of narcotics into the community. Poison features Lydia Miller, Lillian Crombie, Rhoda Roberts, Binni Burney, Willurai Burney, and Russell Page.

Yamba's Playtime. Imparja Television children's television program. This was the First Nation's television station's first in-house television production for children. The official mascot of the program was Ýamba'.

1994: Beyond the Dreamtime (television documentary). Lind, John (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 1994. This documentary on Ainslie Roberts’ work, is a film of visual beauty, bringing to life the haunting imagery of dozens of Ainslie Roberts’ major works, weaving them into the artist’s personal life and illuminating his love of the land. It uses vibrant, almost surreal imagery to touch on the ancient wisdom of indigenous culture. It won two major awards at the Chicago International television Festival.

Milli Milli (documentary film). Barker, Wayne (indigenous director). Australian Film Commission & Ronin Films. 1994. This film takes the viewer on a cultural feast through he three regions of the Kimberleys: the coast, the rivers and tablelands, and the desert. Storytellers talk of past and present events and offer different visions of an Aboriginal future. The film celebrates the diversity of their historical and cultural experiences as well as a universal knowledge in indigenous stories of the region.

1995: Fly Peewee Fly (short film). Riley, Sally (indigenous director). Australian Film Institute. 1995. The story of young six year old Robbie lives with his white grandmother and his Koorie father. Sick and tired of his father and grandmother arguing over his identity, Robbie walks outside to climb his favourite tree only to find that his friend, the peewee bird, has been mauled to death by his cat. Robbie blames himself for not protecting the peewee, Robbie stays in the tree for hours. Finally, Robbie explains to his father why he is disappointed with himself, Robbie’s father realises how much he has let his son down. A great performance by young Duanne Johnston as Robbie and Stan Dryden and Montgomery May.

From Sand to Celluloid – Round Up (short film). Tamou, Tima (indigenous director). Core Films. 1995. This is a lighthearted short drama that deals with the cultural clash between a white stockman and an Indigenous stockman.

The Life of Harry Dare (feature film). Vellis, Aleski. (non-indigenous director). Infinity Films. 1995.  In this lighthearted Australian comedy-thriller, an Aboriginal man becomes a detective after his beloved VW Kombi van is stolen. When it is finally finished, he drives it to work where it is promptly stolen. So begins his quest to find it. Harry is assisted by Jim, his estranged son. Together they end up getting entangled with a drug ring and with the people who were with Harry’s father the night he so mysteriously disappeared. Stars John Moore and Tommy Lewis.

1996: Coolbaroo Club (documentary). Scholes, Roger (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 1996. This is a documentary about The Coolbaroo Club, the only Aboriginal-run dance club in Perth, a city which practiced unofficial apartheid. The club ran from 1946-1960. The club and the Nyoongar Aboriginal community who ran it, were submitted to unremitting police harassment, identity cards, fraternisation bans, curfews, and bureaucratic obstruction.

Payback (short film). Thornton, Warwick (indigenous director). Australian Broadcasting Commission. 1996. Paddy, an imprisoned Aboriginal man, sees a vision telling him that “tomorrow is payback”. The film shows a full authentic payback ceremony including spearing.

From Sand to Celluloid – Black Man Down (short experimental film). Watson, Sam (indigenous director). Red Movies. 1996. This short experimental drama offers a spiritual alternative to fighting the system. To overcome injustice, return to your spiritual roots for healing to take place.

From Sand to Celluloid – No Way to Forget. Frankland, Richard J. (indigenous director). Writer-director Richard J Frankland drew on his experience as a field officer for the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody.

From Sand to Celluloid – Two Bob Mermaid (short film). Johnson, Darlene (indigenous director). Core Films. 1996. This visually stunning short film set in the 1950s, a fair-skinned Aboriginal girl gains access to the local swimming pool where Aboriginal people are legally denied access. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/two-bob-mermaid/clip1/

1997: A Dying Shame (documentary). Roy, Paul (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 1997. A Dying Shame reveals the human tragedy behind the shocking indigenous health statistics in Australia.

After Mabo (documentary). Hughes, John (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 1997. This documentary looks at the period of eighteen months over which the Mabo Land issue evolved.

Dead Heart (feature film). Parsons, Nick (non-indigenous director). Fox Lorber. 1997.   This Australian drama is like a Western which addresses the unending struggle between Aboriginal people and ever-encroaching Europeans. Stars Ernie Dingo and Bryan Brown.

Shifting Sands – Promise (short film). Torres, Mitch (indigenous director). Core productions. 1997. A love story told in the absence of the love interest that resonates as a cherished memory. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/shifting-sands-promise/clip2/

Shifting Sands – Tears (short film). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). Autumn Films. This film introduces the two main characters from Ivan Sen’s feature film Beneath Clouds. A film which explores the deires of two rural teenages who hit the road to find a better place. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/shifting-sands-tears/clip1/

1998: Marluku Wirlinki – Kangaroo Hunters (documentary).  Japangardi Marshall, Timothy & Williams, Craig Japangardi (indigenous directors). The documentary visits the Nyirripi community, 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs. A group of old Warlpiri men (kangaroo hunters) transport us back to a time of rarely heard history and we follow their journey into the present. Songs, stories and dance relate the importance of the past to the present. Old meets new, youth meets the elderly, traditional hunting meets the modern world.

Radiance (feature film). Perkins, Rachel (indigenous director). AndyInc., Australian Film Commision & Eclipse Films.1998. This is a great film adaptation by Louis Nowra of his award winning play. Nona and Cressy (two sisters) return to their childhood home in Northern Australia after the death of their mother. Their third sister, Mae, has been living there looking after their mother. The funeral happens and the three find themselves together in the house for the first time in years. With time to talk, drink and fight, the past is churned up, revealed and family secrets come out. Stunning photography and great ensemble performances by Rachael Maza Long as Cressy, Deborah Mailman as Nona and Trisha Morton-Thomas as Mae.

Wandjuk - When the Stars Came Dreaming (animation). Poulot, Jean (non-indigenous director). 1998. A little indigenous girl who asks her grandfather how the stars came to be. The story is told through animated petro- glyphs.

My Bed, Your Bed (short film). Glynn, Erica (indigenous director). Australian Film Institute. 1998. In an isolated desert community, Della and Alvin are promised under the traditional laws of marriage. Their time has come. They move in together. One house, two swags, a guitar and no idea about reationships and marriage. This film examines how young indigenous people are able to adopt values from both contemporary and traditional values. 

Shifting Sands – Grace (short film). Enoch, Wesley (indigenous director). Crow Productions. 1998. This short drama from Wesley Enoch depicts the emotional journey of an Indigenous woman back to Australia for the funeral of her sister. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/shifting-sands-grace/clip1/

Shifting Sands – Passing Through (short film). Olive, Mark (indigenous director). Green Island Films. 1998. A directorial debut from filmmaker and celebrity chef Mark Olive, Passing Through weaves myth and legend to tell an Indigenous-flavoured ghost story. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/shifting-sands-passing-through/clip1/

1999: Harry’s War (television short drama). Frankland, Richard (indigenous director) Golden Seahorse productions. 1999.Richard Frankland, writer and director of the short drama Harry’s War, is from the third generation of Indigenous men to have served in the Australian army. This deals with the issues and pride of aboriginal soldiers. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/harrys-war/clip1/

Messagestick [31/10/99] Bob Maza talks about Basically Black ABC http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/bobmaza_311099.htm

Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (short film). Tamoa, Rima. Core Original & Australian Film Commission. 1999. A short film based on a story by Archie Weller, this film shows the story of a robbery gone wrong, an unplanned kidnapping and its consequences. A young white girl is kidnapped by three youths – two black, one white. This film explores characters trapped in an experience from which all are seeking liberation. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/saturday-night-sunday-morning/clip1/

Wind (short film). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). Australian Film Commission. 1999. The story of a black tracker – an Indigenous man employed by whites to hunt fellow Indigenous people. It examines divided loyalties. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/wind/clip1/

2000: Buried Country (documentary). Nehl, Andy (documentary with non-indigenous director). Film Australia. 2000. This is an excellent documentary based on the book Buried Country by Clinton Walker. It tells the story and reveals the relationship between country music and Aboriginal communities. Film Australia has also produced an excellent study guide for this documentary and the soundtrack is excellent.

Stolen Generations (documentary). Johnson, Darlene (indigenous director). This film describes the destruction of the familial, cultural and social fabric of Indigenous communities following the removal of children form Indigenous families. Stolen Generations tells the story of survivors of the Stolen Generations, a policy of Australia which began in the 20th century and lasted until the 1970s. Children were brutally removed from their families, rounded up and transported from one side of the country to the other. Some mothers smeared their children with black clay to make them more ‘black’, hid them in trees, behind sand dunes, in hollow logs, or were constantly on the move to avoid ‘The Welfare’. For those removed, passing for white also became a common strategy for survival. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/stolen-generations/clip1/

The Opportunists  (short film). King, Daniel (indigenous director). 2000. This short comedy deals with the ins and outs of the indigenous art industry. The tagline says it all. One painting, two mates, four thugs, one dodgy art dealer and two words: The Opportunists.

The Third Note (short film). McKenzie, Catriona (indigenous director). 2000. A blind woman and her neighbour discover a common bond after battling each other with sound. What starts as a war ends as an understanding. A brilliant film with a great performance by Deborah Mailman.

Confessions of a Headhunter (short film). Riley, Sally (indigenous director). Scarlett Pictures. 2000. Based on a short story by Archie Weller, this short drama speaks about the conflict between the Indigenous people of the Perth area and colonial culture. A drama about two Indigenous men – Frank (Bruce Hutchison) and Vinnie (Kelton Pell) – who seek revenge for the repeated beheading of the statue of their ancestor warrior Yagan. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/confessions-headhunter/clip1/

Road (short film). McKenzie, Catriona (indigenous director). Virus Media. 2000. A film that shows the strangeness of the city. Set in Sydney, the film centres around an indigenous man who has a hard time getting a cab and deals with racial predjudice and the alienation of the city. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/road/clip1/

2001: Mirror Images (short film). King, Daniel (indigenous director). 2000. Mirror Images aimed to raise the awareness to the issues and the causes and affects pertaining to domestic violence not only within Indigenous families and to provide the opportunity for the film to be used as an educational tool within both the Indigenous and wider community.

One Night the Moon (feature film). Perkins, Rachel (indigenous director). Australian Broadcasting Corporation & Australian Film Commission. Set in the Australian Outback in 1932, the film centres around events when a young girl, entranced by the moon, steps out of her bedroom window. When her parents check on her, she is gone. The police suggest that an aboriginal tracker, Albert, lead the search, but the father revolts  wanting no 'black-fella' is to set foot on his land. Eventually the mother takes matters into her own hands and approaches Albert to find the girl. Kelton Pell's performance as Albert is wonderfully controlled yet vibrant.

Serenades (feature film). Khadem, Mojgan (non-indigenous director). Southern Star Films. 2001. Set in the 1890’s, this film tells the story of Jila, who is conceived to an indigenous mother and Afghan cameleer who wins his bride in a card game. The film deals with concepts of identity, forced marriage and cultural differences.

Yolngu Boy (feature film). Johnson, Stephen (non-indigenous director). Australian Childrens Television Foundation & Beyond Films. 2001. Lorrpu, Botj and Milika are three Yolngu (Aboriginal) teenagers who once shared a childhood dream of becoming great hunters together. As teenagers they change and get in trouble. Faced with white justice and jail, the three boys start to trek to Darwin to argue Botj's case with tribal leader Dawu. To survive during their hard journey in the bush and the forest, they must use the ancient Aboriginal knowledge, street savy and the bonds of their friendship.

2002: Australian Rules (feature film). Goldman, Paul (non-indigenous director). Palace Films. 2002. This film was adapted from the novel Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne. The film is about a young man experiencing the hardships of growing up in rural South Australia, in particular dealing with the issue of racial relationships through the central characters, their involvement in local Australian Rules football, and aboriginal players.

Messagestick [11/8/02] Black Theatre ABC. This episode looks at indigenous theatre and its origins in the work of Kevin Gilbert. It also postulates where indigenous theatre might go in the 21st Century. http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s640055.htm

Beneath Clouds (feature film). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). Dendy Films. 2002. Director Ivan Sen uses to indigenous narrative devices to communicate his themes are firmly located within Indigenous identity, Indigenous sensibility and cultural perspectives. The story of centres around Lena, the light-skinned daughter of an indigenous mother and Irish father. Vaughn, a Murri boy doing time in a minimum security prison in North West NSW. Dramatic events throw Lena and a Murri boy called Vaughn (who is doing time in a minimum security prison). Vaughn represents the life Lena is running away from and to Vaughn, Lena represents the society that has rejected him. An excellent study guide was produced by the NSW Education Board and is available at: http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/hsie/aboriginal6/assets/pdf/beneathclouds.pdf

Black Talk (short film). Blair, Wayne (indigenous director). RB Films. 2002. A beautiful 12 minute drama, weaving Indigenous language through the dialogue and exploring spiritual aspects of Indigenous culture and community. It tells the story of family fragmentation when a young man Tim (Russell Page) moves to the city and loses contact with his cousin Scott (Laurence Clifford). This film addresses issues of identity, assimilation, and the prospect of an Indigenous city-based person losing community ties. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/black-talk/clip1

Black Chicks Talking (documentary). Purcell, Leah & Fletcher, Brendan (indigenous directors). Film Australia. 2002. This is adapted from a play. Black Chicks Talking is a compilation of interviews with five women, interviews during which they reveal memories of their pasts as well as their future aspirations. They come from different walks of life and are an actress, a netballer, a dancer, a businesswoman, a mother, a lawyer, a community police warden or a former Miss Australia. The discussions reflect current political and social issues, and a real and personal insight into uncomfortable aspects of Australian history. A very good study guide to the film was developed by the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM): http://www.marcom.com.au/Sguides/FA/88FABCT.pdf 

Cold Turkey (short feature). McGregor, Steve (indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2002. This short feature is told in a series of flashbacks and flashforwards because the lead character suffers from blackouts. This is a film about sibling rivalry. Robby (Wayne Munro) is leaving for Coober Pedy and a job in the opal fields but his older brother Shane (John Moore) doesn’t want to be abandoned in Alice Springs. He engineers a drunken night in the name of 'brotherly love’ that will have unforeseen consequences for them both. http://aso.gov.au/titles/short-features/cold-turkey/clip1

Flat (short film). Beck, Cole (indigenous director). Blackfella Films. 2002. A short drama about the day in a life of a young teenager. Marnie lives in a housing commission estate and captures Alice Springs through a video camera given to her by her mostly absent father. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/flat/clip1

Gulpilil: One Red Blood (documentary). Johnson, Darlene (indigenous director). Jotz Productions & ABC Television. Sydney. 2002. A documentary about the career of Indigenous actor, dancer, and cultural delegate, David Gulpilil, using interview as well as archival footage. This film is important in that it speaks about Indigenous philosophy expressed by Gulpilil as being of 'one red blood’. A true insight into Indigenous world. David Gulpilil continues to be a person – culturally and creatively – of incredible artistic significance to Indigenous peoples and Australian society alike. One Red Blood is Gulpilil’s story. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/gulpilil-one-red-blood/clip1

JABIRU 0886: Trespass (documentary).Vadiveloo, David (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2002. The true story of the great non-violent resistance of Yvonne Margarula and the Mirarr people to stop Federal and Territory Governments and two of the worlds largest mining companies, in their tracks. It is the first time Yvonne Margarula has agreed to be the subject of a long-form film about the Mirarr struggle and the film uses a threatened language of traditional land owners.

Mimi (short film). Thornton, Warwick (indigenous director). Blackfella Films. 2002. A satirical short film stars Sophie Lee and Aaron Pedersen and pokes fun at white art collectors who purchase Indigenous art purely for its investment value. It also looks at the concepts of authenticity and indigenous art. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/mimi/clip1

Rabbit Proof Fence (feature film). Noyce, Philip (non-indigenous director). Rumbalara Films & Australian Film Commission. 2002. This mainstream film is an interesting Stolen Generation story. This film is set in Western Australia in 1931 when the Government policy includes taking half-caste children from their Aboriginal mothers and sending them thousands of miles away into child labour servitude, "to save them from themselves." Molly, Daisy, and Grace (two sisters and a cousin who are 14, 10, and 8) arrive at their Gulag and promptly escape, under Molly's lead. For days they walk north, following a fence that keeps rabbits from settlements, eluding a native tracker and the regional constabulary. Their pursuers take orders from the government's "chief protector of Aborigines," A.O. Neville, blinded by Anglo-Christian certainty, evolutionary world view and conventional wisdom. A good mainstream film. Below is the link to the ATOM study guide. http://www.eniar.org/pdf/Rabbit-proofFence.pdf

Shit Skin (short film). Thompson, Kimba (indigenous director). Sista Girl productions. 2002. This beautiful short drama tells of a young man who takes his grandmother back to the place of her childhood to reconnect with her family. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/shit-skin/clip1

Snake Dreaming (short film). CAAMA Productions. 2002. A short drama written and performed by Indigenous children about the Stolen Generation. This is an example of film being used to continue the indigenous drama and storytelling traditions. This relates to the act of being stolen, which saw the voices of the children denied. The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) worked with the youth from the Gap Youth Centre to produce this film. It won Best Indigenous Film at the Alice Springs Youth Festival in 2002. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/snake-dreaming/clip1

The Tracker (feature film). De Heer, Rolf (non-indigenous director). Vertigo productions. 2002. Set in 1922, this film revolves around events when an indigenous man is accused of murdering a white woman, three white men (The Fanatic, The Follower and The Veteran) are given the mission of capturing him with the help of an experienced indigenous bushman (The Tracker). So they start their quest in the outback, not knowing that their inner wrestles against and for racism will be more dangerous that the actual hunting for the accused. An amazing performance by Davis Gulpilil. http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/tracker/clip1

Turn Around (short film). Saunders, Samantha (indigenous director). Spirited Films. 2002. This is a refreshing romantic comedy with an all-indigenous cast. The director refers to her film as a 'girl fantasy’. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/turn-around/clip1

2003: Beyond Sorry (documentary). Vadiveloo, David (non-indigenous director). CAAMA. 2003.This film deals superbly with the Stolen Generation the consequence of child removal. It tells a story that is painfully humane, and never compromising the humanity and beauty of its subjects.   http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/beyond-sorry/clip1

Burnt Bridge –Heartland (television series). Woods, Kate (non-indigenous director). Australian Broadcasting Commission. 2003. The 13-part series Burned Bridge offers a fascinating look into the contemporary life of people in a small town outside of Sydney.In the remote Australian town of Brooklyn Waters, NSW, a police officer and a radio producer investigate the horrifying murder of a young Aboriginal girl. As disturbing facts emerge during the investigation, unease between the white and black population begins to escalate and threatens to push the situation over the edge. Many seminal moments in Australian television are evident in this series. Amazing performances by Ernie Dingo, Justine Saunders, Bob Maza, David Ngoombyjarra, Rachel Maza, Wesley Patten, Bradley Byquar and Luke Carroll.

Sisters, Pearls and Mission Girls (documentary). Batty, David (non-indigenous director). Rebel Films. 2003. In 1907, Mother Antonio O’Brien and nine young Sisters of St John of God set sail from Perth on a journey to Broome on the remote Kimberley coast, in the far north west of Australia. This epic story of Irish and Australian nuns is set against the rich and tragic history of the Kimberley region and the government policies of the day. Using rare archival material, re-enactments and contemporary anecdotes the shared experiences of the Aboriginal people and the Sisters create a compelling story of loss, determination and survival.

The Forgotten (short film). Stasuik, Glen (indigenous director). The Forgotten examines the prejudice faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait soldiers in the armed forces and the honour they felt representing their nation. It is also a work that explains what prompted Indigenous people to risk their lives fighting to defend Australia even though they had every reason not to, given the backdrop of racism and intolerance they and their family members were forced to endure at home. Glen Stasiuk was inspired by his family’s own history and the respect he felt for the Anzac “black diggers”. The Forgotten contains a personal story about four Nyungar brothers from the South-West of Western Australia, one of whom is acknowledged as the first of many aboriginal soldiers to receive a military medal in the First World War.

Queen of Hearts (short feature). Maclean, Danielle (non-indigenous director). Seymour Films. 2003. This film investigates Indigenous relationships to place, offering an audience the chance to see the land through the eyes of people to the caretakers of the land. http://aso.gov.au/titles/short-features/queen-hearts/clip1

2004: Bob Maza tribute ABC Messagestick [13/8/04]. A half hour television tribute to the work and life of Bob Maza. http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s1171816.htm

Checkerboard Love (short film). Heiss, Anita (indigenous director). 2004. Checkerboard Love is a short film about an mixed-race couple whose parents will meet for the first time; and it’s more stressful than usual. It looks at the concepts of relationships, appearance and cultural identity. Will the Shakespeare stay on the bookshelf and should they keep their Aboriginal decoration or replace it with “traditional white” decorations?

Feel My Absence (short film). Sherriff, Kyas (indigenous director). 2004. Feel My Absence looks at how people interact unconsciously each day and how the strangers who inhabit our lives affect us. People you have never met create and affect the patterns of your day and it is not until they are gone that you feel the absences in your shared relationship.

Kalkadoon Man (documentary). Fletcher, Brendan (non-indigenous director). 2004. Kalkadoon Man accompanies one of Australia’s most respected musicians, William Barton, on a 10-day quest to make a didgeridoo using traditional methods passed down from his father, uncle and other tribal members of the Kalkadunga nation. Watching Barton working on the instrument, as he once watched his Kalkadoon elders, the audience gains an insight into the cultural significance of the didgeridoo. As he works, Barton explains the spirituality and artistry of professional didgeridoo playing to give a greater understanding of the meaning and significance of the didgeridoo in traditional and contemporary performances.

Over d-fence (short comedy/parody). Deacon, Destiny (indigenous director). 2004. Over d-fence is a parody of Neighbours, Australia’s longest-running TV drama. Over d-fence takes you into Deacon’s outdoor domestic environment cleverly revealing that the backyard is no longer a haven or sanctuary. The cast of Over d-fence play a game of dismantling a pyramid of beer cans, while masks are placed on children as endless scenes of alienation unfold. There is a sense of absurdity in Deacon’s racy humour and high melodrama.

Plains Empty (short feature). Cole, Beck (indigenous director).2004. This story centres around Sam who moves with her husband to a remote mining camp in the desolate outback where she finds herself struggling to cope with the lonely existence. Eventually, she questions whether she is really alone. Plains Empty takes the old standard of a restless spirit and infuses new life into it by setting the action in a deserted outback mining camp. When a woman is left alone on the edge of nowhere, she begins seeing visions of a ghostly young girl and starts seeking more information about her identity. Shot wonderfully in a stunning landscape shots that emphasizes Sam’s sense of isolation.

Too Little Justice (short film). Francis, Dean (indigenous director). Australian Film and Television School. 2004. Too Little Justice tells of “everyday” racism escalating into violence as an Indigenous school boy is forced to fight for dignity when he is framed for drugs by a racist student and he realizes he is trapped in the cycle of cultural bias. Too Little Justice was written as a response to the events and the media coverage of Sydney’s “Redfern Riots” in early 2004, following the death of Aboriginal teenager TJ Hickey. http://www.switchtv.com.au/videos/148/

2005: The Djarn Djarns (short film). Blair, Wayne (indigenous director). RB Films. 2005. The Djarn Djarns is an inspiring comedy-drama suited to young people. It is a dance film using sports film techniques which centres around a group of four young culturally proud Indigenous boys who perform as a dance group in the local culture centre. The relationship between the boys is strengthened when the father of one of the group’s members passes away. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/djarn-djarns/clip1/

Green Bush (short film), Thornton Warwick (indigenous director). CAAMA Productions. 2005. Every night, Indigenous DJ Kenny hosts the Green Bush show for Aboriginal inmates and their families. Isolated at the station, he takes requests from those on the inside and out while at the same time coping with the results of a wild night outside and learning his place in the circle of violence. This film is based on Warwick Thornton’s real-life experience as a DJ in Alice Springs and celebrates an era of music, working for the indigenous cause and getting things done.  http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/green-bush/clip1/

Plains Empty (short film). Cole, Beck (indigenous director). Film Depot. 2005. Plains Empty is a human drama about a young woman named Sam who, while intensely alone in the mining fields, encounters the spirit of the past. The spirit of a young Aboriginal woman haunts Sam, who begins to question what it is the spirit is asking of her. The film uses the Australian landscape as a metaphor, where the living characters are beset by the spirits of the past, and at no time is the past truly absent.

http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/plains-empty/clip1/

 

Sa Black Thing (short film). Tamou, Rima (indigenous director). Core Films. 2005. This is a complex romantic comedy which explores the role that cultural values play in the romance between two Indigenous characters. The undertones of Sa Black Thing are embedded in the socio-economic status of Indigenous people within the wider Australian community, and how this socio-economic position plays on notions of identity and blackness. The film comments on wealth and materialism and its perception as being un-Aboriginal as evidenced when the lead female character Crystal (Kylie Farmer) accuses Clinton (Michael Tuahine) of being a coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside).

http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/sa-black-thing/clip1/

 

Shifting Shelter 3 (documentary). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). ABC. 2005. This is a sort of Indigenous 7 Up where four teenagers (at the start in 1995) in small towns in north western NSW over a period of ten years - in 1995, 2000 and 2005. This powerful feature documentary follows Willy, Cindy, Danielle and Ben through a vital period in their lives, the transition from a teenager into a young adult. Some dreams are on a knife-edge or already given up. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/shifting-shelter-3/clip1

2006: 50 years Indigenous TV ABC Television. Messagestick [24/11/06]. A wonderful television documentary on 50 years of Indigenous television including some rare footage of Bob Maza. http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s1792454.htm

Aunty Connie (documentary). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). Australian Broadcasting Commission. 2006. Born in the Kimberley with a debilitating bone disease, Connie McDonald’s first baby steps, broke both her legs. This documentary is narrated by Deborah Mailman reading from Connie’s life story told in her book, When You Grow Up. This is skillfully blended with Connie speaking to camera.She was rejected by her father and had to spend most of her childhood on a mission. The mission staff didn’t tell the Aboriginal children where they were from nor who their parents were, making Connie search for the identity of her mother and (white) father. Often confronted with her part-Aboriginality, Connie found acceptance in a German man and concludes: “When I grew up, I grew into myself.” http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/aunty-connie/clip1/

         Call Me Mum (film made for television). Nash, Margot (non-indigenous director). 2006. Call Me Mum is a movie about the Stolen Generations and their effects. When Kate, a white woman, decides to reunite her Torres Strait Islander foster son with his birth mother, dangerous family and racial tensions surface. Kate is on a plane taking her 18-year-old Torres Strait Islander foster son Warren to meet Flo, his birth mother, who is gravely ill in hospital in Brisbane. Flo hasn’t seen Warren since she took him to the hospital on Thursday Island when he was a toddler and the white authorities took him away.But as Warren, Flo and Kate all prepare themselves for the reunion, unbeknown to them, Kate’s Brisbane-based parents, Dellmay and Keith are planning a different kind of reunion. Set in the recent past, Call Me Mum is a series of interlinked monologues where five characters unravel a complex tale of mothering, race relations and family in Australia. Some study questions and notes are available at: http://www.signis.net/malone/tiki-index.php?page=Call+Me+Mum&PHPSESSID=f00166195c7dd6a3d132ba1d3da9601c

         Ceremony – The Djungguwan of Northeast Arnhem Land (documentary/DVD educational resource). Graham, Trevor (non-indigenous director). Film Australia. 2006. The Yolngu leaders asked for this DVD to be made. Through song, dance, art and ritual, the Yolngu people of northeast Arnhem Land pass on and preserve their sacred knowledge. The Djungguwan is one of their most important ceremonies. This two-DVD set uses rare film from 1966, 1976 and 2002—including, for the first time, secret and sacred scenes. It explores the role of ceremony in Indigenous Australia and provides an extraordinary cultural record for future generations. A great digital resource pack is available at: http://www.filmaustraliaceremony.com.au/s2_1.htm

         Island Fettlers (documentary). Martin, Kelrick (indigenous director). Core Films. 2006. In the late 1960’s, many Torres Strait Islander men made the long journey to the Pilbara in Western Australia to build railways between remote mines in the desert and ports like Port Hedland on the coast. Over the years these Islanders created a unique community. But as the need for fettlers lessened, the community slowly dispersed and many eventually returned to the Torres Strait. Today, only a few families still remain who call the Pilbara their home and keep up Torres Strait Islander traditions and culture. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/island-fettlers/clip1

         Jindabyne Kanyini (documentary). Hogan, Melanie (non-indigenous director). Hopscotch Films. 2006. Kanyini is a captivating story told by Bob Randall, an indigenous man from Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Austalia. Kanyini follows the typical story-telling pattern of Aboriginal people. This film is a journey to not only discover Aboriginal culture, but also to discover the shocking pain white culture has imposed on his life and the life of all other Aboriginal people.

         La Perouse Panthers also known as Footy – The La Perouse Way (documentary). Longbottom, Michael (indigenous director). Dreaming Digital. 2006. Originally started in 1930 as an “all-blacks” team when racial division was rife, the La Perouse Football club in WA in Central Australia, later embraced people from many nations around the world. Footie games have become a vital part of the La Perouse community (“La Pa” for the locals). This documentary follows the team and its trainer through the 2005 Grand Final season in various matches into the final. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/footy-la-perouse-way/clip1

         My Brother Vinnie (documentary). McGregor, Steven (indigenous director). Black Ruby Productions. 2006. Aaron and Vinnie Pedersen are two brothers who have been each others shadow. Aaron, 35, has established a successful career as an actor, all the while being responsible for the care of Vinnie, 34, who has mild intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy. The documentary is written by Aaron, who has been the principal carer for Vinnie since early childhood. Aaron frankly recalls the burdens when he remembers nightmares of domestic violence. The film also celebrates the strength of the bond that the two brothers share and have come to rely on since the death of their grandmother. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/my-brother-vinnie/clip1

Stone Country (documentary). Anderson, Mark (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2006. Set in the township of Ngukurr, on the border of Aboriginal-owned Arnhem Land, we follow the stories of several residents – from the local DJ to respected community elders. Through these stories, we come face to face with the realities of life for Aboriginal Australians: a life expectancy 20 years less than other Australians, and often inadequate access to housing, roads and hospitals.

Sunset to Sunrise (documentary). Collins, Allan (indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2006. As the sun sets over Lila Creek, south of Alice Springs, Max Stuart watches the young men of his family prepare their camp and cook kangaroo the traditional way. Throughout the night, Max passes on words of wisdom to his companions: sometimes they are sharp criticisms of his own people and dependence on alcohol and hand-outs, sometimes they are angry comments on the “kidnapping” of children by white authorities, and sometimes warm nostalgic reflections on traditional culture and sense of community. This film is intimate and feels like you are sitting by the campfire and drawn into Max’s engaging and insightful monologue.

 

Ten Canoes (feature film). De Heer, Rolf (non-indigenous director). Fandango Australia & Vertigo Productions. 2006. Ten Canoes is different film about how Aboriginal life has been for tens of thousands of years.  This amazing film tells two stories, differentiated by telling one in colour and the other in black and white, but blended in the beautiful environments of the swamps of northern Arnhem Land. Dayindi (played by Jamie Gulpilil, son of the great David Gulpilil) covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, he is told a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong. In English storytelling (by David Gulpilil) and subtitled Ganalbingu language, this is a film unlike any you have ever seen. The film’s process whereby only certain indigenous people were allowed to present certain stories as the ‘caretakers’ of the stories is pivotal to the film. For further discussion and study resources see: http://religionandmediacourse.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/ten-canoes-indigenous-media-in.html

         Why Me? – Stories from the Stolen Generations (documentary). Cavaggion, Rick (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films 2006. This is one of the most compelling films on the subject of the Stolen Generations. It the stories of five stolen children who as adults are trying to get on with their lives. Powerful re-enactments of key moments from the 1950s and 60s establish an emotional link to the journey of the children. It becomes clear what cost Aboriginal people paid for a government policy of forced removal. This is also a documentary about the work of Link-Up, an organisation dedicated to bringing together members of the Stolen Generations with their parents, siblings and relatives.

 

2007: Double Trouble – Episode 1-7 (television program) – 2007. An Australian Parent Trap. It is an entertaining children’s program that offers insights into the lives of young people living in the Alice. It allows a cultural exchange to happen and also wonderfully captures an Indigenous sensibility and humour.

 

         A Sister’s Love (documentary). Sen, Ivan (indigenous director). Imagine your twin sister is murdered. The murderer was never found. Would you, after eight years, agree to relive and tell about these events? This is what Rhoda Roberts agreed to do with director Ivan Sen. The documentary traces Rhoda’s sister Lois’ disappearance, the family’s uncertainty on her whereabouts, the find of her body and details about the inquiry and police action and inaction.

         Aboriginal Rules (documentary). Campbell, Liam (non-indigenous director). Warlpiri Media Association Inc. 2007. Aboriginal Rules offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the grassroots Aboriginal football experience that you may have heard about, but never seen before. Aboriginal Rules follows a year in the life of the Yuendumu Magpies Football Team as they battle it out in the red dirt of the Central Australian Outback. Yuendumu is about 300km north-west from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Football is the new dreaming that holds the balance in young men’s lives.

 

 

         Bit of Black Business - Backseat (short film). Whyman, Pauline (indigenous director). Scarlett Pictures. 2007. Back Seat is a film inspired by Pauline Whyman’s own life experiences. It tells the story of 12-year-old Janine, a young Aboriginal girl who is taken by her foster parents for her first visit to her biological family. Janine discovers that she has 8 siblings who all live with her mother. She is at a loss and cannot really comprehend what is going on. While her foster parents exaggerate her school performance her siblings can’t work out how to integrate her. Overwhelmed Janine escapes to the back seat of her foster parent’s car and locks it. http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/back-seat/clip1

         Between the Lines: The Initiation of Adam Hill (documentary). Garriga, Monica (non-indigenous director). 2007. Between the Lines follows Sydney-based Worimi man Adam Hill, an activist painter and musician defined by a mixed Indigenous and white heritage as he goes on an artistic and personal journey of identity through his artwork. Confronting his frustrations and his commitment towards his own Aboriginality, Adam struggles with the views held not only by the society around him but the people who are closest to him. Even his own Aboriginal father, Bob, has taken a very different view on identity, which sees him integrate alongside white Australian society, rather than questioning it.

Bit of Black Business (short film compilation). Various Indigenous Directors. 2007. This is a compilation film made up of 13 short indigenous films which premiered on the Indigenous Film Festival 2007 in Sydney. The shorts cover a broad range of topics. Some cover earnest, serious topics like relationships (Custard, Too Late, Two Big Boys, The Turtle), Indigenous unemployment (Days Like These) or the Stolen Generations (Back Seat, Bloodlines). Other are more humourous and tell of super-grandmothers (Nana), ‘special’ businesses (Done Dirt Cheap, Hush) or racial reservations (Jackie Jackie). Some links to clips and some of the films are available at the following websites: http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/back-seat/clip1                 http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/bloodlines/clip1         http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/custard/clip1          http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/days-like-these/clip1         http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/done-dirt-cheap/clip1            http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/hush/clip1               http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/jackie-jackie/clip1            http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/kwatye/clip1                http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/nana/clip1               http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/sharpeye                   http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/the-turtle/clip1                   http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/too-late/clip1                  http://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/two-big-boys                     

Bollywood Dreaming (documentary). Ozies, Cornel (indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2007. In Bollywood Dreaming Cornel Ozies tells the story of 16-year-old Jedda Rae Hill, a young African-American-Aboriginal girl who doesn’t like to conform to the norm: she skates, does boxing and loves watching and dancing to Bollywood movies. Her world is a mixture of real time and fantasy. Bollywood Dreaming follows her everyday life and explores her dreams of being a Bollywood actor.

         Bungalung (short film). Morton-Thomas, Trisha (indigenous director). CAAMA. 2007. Around a campfire, on a moonlit night, two Anmatjere Elders, Patsy and Jane Briscoe, sing and re-tell an epic Dreaming story told to them by their father and grandfather. It is a story of two young men who are forced into action when a clan of demon Cannibals devour their entire tribe and kidnap the young men’s mother and sister. Alone and outnumbered, the young men defy all odds as they defeat the demons and reclaim their women.

Frightening stories, such as this one, were traditionally told to control the behaviour and movement of Aboriginal children, ensuring that children never wandered too far from the safety of the camp during the day and remained close to the fires at night. They were also used to enhance the intuition of Aboriginal children, allowing them the skills to discern between right and wrong and to trust in their own instincts in regard to personal safety. This film uses special effects, lighting, shading and sound to enhance the traditional forms of oral narration, songs and dance, in bringing the chilling story to life.



         Courting With Justice (documentary). Carmody, Debbie (indigenous director).  Taylor Media. 2007. This film tells the story of a former Norseman pub manager who is charged with the manslaughter of Kevin Rule, a member of the Aboriginal Ngadju Nation, but later found not guilty. Courting with Justice poses a challenging question: What if the Australian legal system was based on Indigenous Australian customary law?

         Crocodile Dreaming (short film). Johnson, Darlene (indigenous director). Samson Productions & Ronin Films. 2007. Crocodile Dreaming is a film which tells a traditional Aboriginal story, similar to Ten Canoes. A stone holding the stories and songs of the ancestors has been stolen from its proper location and subsequently causes the death of two children. It must be found and brought back to restore the right order. The local Aboriginal mob cannot carry out this task alone and calls for Burrimmilla (David Gulpilil) who is an urbanised Aboriginal man working as a model (very reminiscent of Michael Jackson). Crocodile Dreaming is a very unusual film in that it uses traditional storytelling together with modern-day special effects. That Darlene Johnson’s favourite genre is horror shines through in a bloody camp scene which led to the M rating. A great film with a cast of great, well-known Aboriginal actors.

         Jarlmadangah (documentary). Ozies, Cornel (indigenous director). Ronin Films 2007. Situated south of Derby in the West Kimberleys, Jarlmadangah is a unique community often hailed as ‘a model community’ for its many social and cultural achievements. At the centre of the story are two brothers, John and Harry Watson, Elders in the Nyikina and Mangala nations. The community was first formed in 1987 when John and Harry Watson set out to establish Jarlmadangah as a focus for strong family ties, traditional language, law and culture. Illustrated by archival photos and moving images, John Watson tells the history of the community and looks back at his family’s history.

 

Liyarn Ngarn (documentary). Mhando, Martin (non-indigenous director). “Liyarn Ngarn”, in the Yawuru language of the West Kimberly region around Broome, means “Coming Together of the Spirit”. Liyarn Ngarn represents a thirty year long mission of Indigenous leader and Yawura man, Patrick Dodson, to bring about a lasting and true reconciliation between the original owners and the immigrants. Liyarn Ngarn is a compelling documentary that tells of the devastation and inhumanity bought upon Indigenous people in every aspect of their daily lives. Personal stories of injustice are recounted by renowned English actor Pete Postlethwaite, as told to him by Patrick Dodson and Bill Johnson, an old English school friend, whose Indigenous son Louis died tragically.Respected songman, Archie Roach, adds his powerful lyrics and voice to this often painful, yet inspiring, journey of strength.

Mad Morro (drama). Martin, Kelrick (indigenous director). JOTZ Productions & Ronin Films. 2007. ‘Mad Morro’ Morris is an 30 year-old Indigenous man from Taree in northern NSW. He is about to be released from jail after serving 13 years. His mother Debbie is eagerly awaiting their reunion, but she’s clearly anxious for the future. Weeks pass during which Mad Morro’s drinking accelerates. ‘Alcohol shouldn’t be giving him that much happiness’, says Morro’s mother.When Mad Morro meets a girl he hopes she will help him being a better man. A few weeks later, while he’s out, the police search his house and shake up his new partner. In a confronting scene, Mad Morro rages. Mad Morro is a provocative and dramatic story about family love and bonding, and how the effect of prison can either reinforce or break apart that relationship.

Nigger Lovers (documentary). Hagan, Rhonda (indigenous director). 2007. This is story of fighting racism. Stephen Hagan, an Aboriginal leader, felt as well when he moved to Toowoomba (Queensland) in 1990 and discovered the local rugby league grandstand’s name was “ES ‘Nigger’ Brown Stand”. ES stands for Edward Stanley Brown, a white man who’s nickname was ‘Nigger’, because at that time a shoe polish existed called ‘Nigger Brown’ (now being sold as ‘Dark Tan’). Edward was a former Kangaroo rugby league player of the 1920s who became an international and local Toowoomba legend. The stand was built in the 1950s, the sign added in 1960. Nigger Lovers documents Stephen Hagan’s fight for the sign to be taken down. Nigger Lovers is not only a story of enormous strength, of determination and persistence, it’s also a story of a man being challenged to his limits, receiving death threats and bringing his family close to bankruptcy.

Sacred Ground (documentary). Mavromatis, Kim (non-indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2007. Sacred Ground tells the story how Quenten Agius and his nephew Chris discover human skeletal remains in the middle of a multi-million dollar housing development - is it a murder or is it an ancestor? Sacred Ground captures the inside story of Quenten Agius, a direct descendent of the traditional owners of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, and his family fighting to save what is left of their ancient heritage and culture.This film is a microcosm of what is happening to Aboriginal people all over Australia. Thousands of years of ancient heritage, culture and traditions are being swept away each year by ignorant or uninformed development processes.

September (feature film). Carstairs, Peter (non-indigenous director). Tropfest Feature Program. 2007. Set in the Australian wheat-belt in 1968, September is a character driven film about two 15 year old boys - one black, one white - whose friendship begins to fall apart under the stress of a changing world. The film is about the boys trying to hold their friendship together in spite of the pressures imposed upon them by a turbulent social and political climate.

 

Spirit Stones (documentary). Collins, Allan (indigenous director). JAG Films 2007. Spirit Stones is both a contemporary and historically stylised, one-hour documentary of Nyoongar elders giving their account of mysterious stones that fell on Aboriginal (Noongar) camps in rural Western Australia. In the 1940s and 1950s, stone ‘showers’ delivered stones in locations up to 250 kilometres apart, falling at various places across south-west WA for hours, sometimes days and even weeks and months. The Spirit Stones came through roofs, tents, walls and tables without leaving holes. Sometimes warm or hot, spirit stones travelled in peculiar directions. Even today there is no single explanation for this mysterious phenomenon.

Storytime (short film). Clerc, Jub (indigenous director). 2007. Storytime is about two adventurous Kimberley kids who wander deep into the mangroves at sunset, They find the terrifying campfire stories of the Gooynbooyn Woman may not be myth after-all. Their concerned parents and grandma start a search when they don’t turn up back in camp.

The Circuit (television drama series). Mckenzie, Catriona (non-indigenous director with indigenous writers and episode directors). Madman & SBS Australia. 2007. Series 1, 6 Episodes. Drew Ellis is the latest lawyer to join the chaotic and challenging world of the Kimberley Circuit Court. The Circuit follows a magistrate and an entourage of court officers and lawyers on a regular five-day 2,000 kilometre round-trip to dispense justice to the remote communities of north Western Australia. For Drew Ellis, a city indigenous man, it’s a rude awakening as he quickly comes to realise that one law for two cultures does not always equal a fair go.

Vote Yes for Aborigines (documentary). Peters-Little, Frances (indigenous director). Ronin Films 2007. Vote Yes for Aborigines is a documentary about the 1967 Referendum and the fight for Aboriginal citizenship rights. Vote Yes for Aborigines marks the 40th anniversary of the referendum, celebrating its historical significance and contemporary relevance. ‘Vote Yes for Aborigines’ covers the 100-year-plus lead-up to the referendum, revisits those involved with the 1967 Referendum and the social attitudes and influences that led to the event. The film questions the success of the referendum and features former Prime Ministers, politicians, historians and campaigners. More than just marking a time in history, Vote Yes for Aborigines interrogates the success of the Referendum and addresses current debates about what is meant by Australian citizenship and values and how they relate, if at all, to Aboriginal history, identity and culture.

  Wanja: Warrior Dog (documentary). Abdilla, Angie (indigenous director). Ronin Films. 2007. Wanja: Warrior Dog is a documentary about an area in Redfern, Sydney, called ‘The Block’ viewed through the eyes of Auntie Barb and the life of Wanja her blue heeler dog, recently deceased.

2008: A Northern Town (documentary). Landers, Rachel (non-indigenous director). Pony Films. 2008. A Northern Town is the story of racism in Kempsey, a town in New South Wales. This powerful documentary explores the troubled history of the town, from a horrific massacre of Aboriginal people in 1838, to the brutal Kinchela Aboriginal boys’ home—where many of the boys, snatched from their families, were abused and raped.

 

Australia (feature film). Luhrmann, Baz (non-indigenous). 20^th Century Fox & Bazmark Films. 2008. Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand. Stunning performances by David Gulpilil as King George, a magic tribal elder, grandfather of Nullah.

Brandon Walters as Nullah, a young Aboriginal boy whom Lady Sarah Ashley finds at Faraway Downs and David Ngoombujarra as Magarri, the Drover's colleague and friend.

 

Bastardy (documentary). Coutin-Wilson, Amiel (non-indigenous director). Film Camp. 2008. Bastardy takes you on a journey to accompany Jack Charles, an Aboriginal man who’s in and out of jail for burglary. The film starts quite heavy-handed when Jack injects drugs which he’s doing since many years. It covers some of the same material used in the play Bastardy about Jack Charles life.

 

Dark Science (documentary). Gabrielsonn, Johan & Thornton, Warwick (non- indigenous directors). Enhance TV. 2008. This artfully composed documentary provides a chilling glimpse into the mind of a 20th-century explorer. In 1910, a scientist called Erik Mjöberg led the first Swedish expedition to Australia. An entomologist by trade, Mjöberg’s brief was to document the native wildlife, but his underlying motivation was to explore the idea that Aborigines were the missing link between ape and man. Landing in Derby, Western Australia, he bought supplies, hired a bullock team and set off into the Kimberley with his increasingly fractious team, battling heat and flies until they got their first glimpse of “one of the oldest races in the world - the Australian negroes”. Describing the Aborigines as “ugly”, “Neanderthal-like” and possessed of an “animalistic cunning”, Mjöberg set about plundering and desecrating their grave sites and smuggling the remains back home—actions that were to have lasting consequences for all concerned.

 

 

First Australians (television series). Perkins, Rachel and Dale, Darren (indigenous directors). Madman TV. 2008. First Australians is a landmark documentary series that tells a very different story of Australia. It has been described as “one of the most significant documentary series in the history of Australian television”. For the first time, the story of Aboriginal Australia has been condensed into a coherent narrative that begins with the mythological birth of humanity on this continent - the Dreaming - and ends in the aftermath of Eddie Mabo’s landmark native title victory. In seven episodes First Australians explores what happens when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world’s greatest empire. This is a truly great documentary series. Some good resources and teaching materials for this series are available at:

http://generator.acmi.net.au/makers/documentary-filmmaking/first-australians

 

Fitzroy Stars: More Than a Game (documentary). Harding, John (indigenous director). Movie Mischief. 2008. Fitzroy Stars are one of the first all-Indigenous football clubs in the early 70’s and folding in the early 90’s. After 14 years, ex-player Troy Austin is on a mission to resurrect the Fitzroy Stars football club, and as we follow his journey to recruit players and supporters. We meet some of the ex-players and discover and what being a ‘star’ meant to them then, and now. Many players went on to become leaders of the community, ATSIC Commissioners and developed welfare and cultural organisations in Melbourne and across the State. This documentary is written and directed by playwright and director John Harding.

 

One River All Rivers (documentary). Lewis, Tom E. (indigenous director). 2008. One River All Rivers first-time director Tom E Lewis (a well known indigenous film actor) points out how rivers are an important part in both Aboriginal lives and Aboriginal culture. But many of them are threatened by mining. This short documentary might have been inspired by current events in the Northern Territory where mining company Xstrata wants to expand their McArthur River Mine from underground to open-cut and have filed an application to divert a 5-km stretch of the McArthur River. Xstrata stopped Aboriginal people from visiting their sacred sites which might not be there for much longer.Once this project succeeds one river’s natural beauty has been sacrificed to mining. Many rivers might follow.

 

One Tree, One Man (documentary). Jedda Puruntatameri, (Indigenous director). TEABBA. 2008. One Tree, One Man is a short film which tells the story of the only remaining Tamarind tree left standing in the centre of Pirlangimpi, on the Tiwi islands. There is only one man left to tell its story. 90-year-old Justin, elder and Master of Ceremony, is the last living link this community has to its centuries long history of trading goods, culture and even love with the seafaring Macassans.

 

Scratch an Aussie (Art Film) Richard Bell (Indigenous artist). Scratch an Aussie (2008) takes form as a Freudian therapy session in which Bell opens up to a therapist, played by Gary Foley, about his perceptions of race relations. This session is interspersed with Bell assuming the role of therapist for a group of young blonde-haired Australians as he urges them to frankly discuss their concerns and attitudes about Aboriginal people.

 

 

2009: Some indigenous films and television with indigenous themes released in 2009 were:

          Aunty Maggie & The Wombat Wakgun

          Broken English (Art film by Indigenous artist Richard Bell)

          Barngngrnn

          Marrungu Story

          Blowback

          Bourke Boy

          Contact

          Daniel’s 21^st

          Dreamland

          Emily in Japan

          From the Ashes

          In a League of Their Own

          Jacob

          Karlu Karlu – Devil’s Marbles

          Lani’s Story

Making Samson & Delilah

My Home: The Block

My Uncle Bluey

Nia’s Melancholy

Nudhirribala’s Dream

Ralph

Stone Bros.

The Farm

The Party Shoes

 

2010: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2010 were:

          Among Us

          Art + Soul

          Big Fella

          Boxing for Palm Island

          Bran Nue Dae

          Everything Looks Beautiful

Eye

          Here I Am

          Intervention – 2 Years On

          Keeper

          Nin’s Brother

           Nothing Rhymes With Ngapartji

            Our Generation

            Tales From The Daly: ‘Nauiyu Nambiyu’

          Three Boys Dreaming

 

2011: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2011 were:

          Freedom Rides – 40 Years On

          Jandamarra’s War

          Mad Bastards

          Murundak Nalingu (Yours and Mine)

          Ochre and Ink

          Running to America

          The Tall Man

          Toomelah

 

  2012: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2012 were:

          Coniston (Documentary)

          Crocker Island Exodus (Documentary)

Lessons on Etiquette and Manners (Art film by Indigenous Artist, Richard Bell)

Mabo

Redfern Now – Series 1 (Television Series - Award winning series produced by Blackfella Films using Indigenous Australian writers, directors, actors and production teams. 

Satellite Boy

The Sapphires

181 Regent Street: Sydney Festival TV

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERIUaxgqFR8

 

2013: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2013 were:

          Around the Block

          Big Name, No Blanket

          Buckskin (Documentary). Dylan River (Indigenous Director). This is a wonderful documentary of Jack Buckskin, the sole teacher of the once extinct Kaurna language. This is a very interesting insightful film that shows the process of reviving culture and language. 

          The Darkside

Dinner Party (Art film by indigenous artist Richard Bell. This is the third film of the trilogy including Broken English and Scratch an Aussie)

          The Gods of Wheat Street

          Mystery Road

          Redfern Now  – Series 2 (Award winning series produced by Blackfella Films    using Indigenous Australian writers, directors, actors and production teams).

          Utopia

The Turning – (Anthology Feature Film based on the book by Tim Winton with two sections directed by Indigenous Australian film makers). Big World. Dir. Warwick Thornton. This film sequence is a coming of age, Kerouac road film sequence which uses the Winton's words in a commentary style. Sand. Dir. Stephen Page. A lovely sequence combining outdoor sequences and dance sequences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrfR02m6WiI

 

 

2014: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2014 were:

          88

          The Creature from the Id

          The Darkside

          The Gods of Wheat Street  - an Indigenous Australian family drama done in one six-part season which tells the story of the Freeburn clan. Three Indigenous Australian directors directed this series (Wayne Blair, Catriona McKenzie and Adrian Russell Wills. 

          Black Comedy (Season 1) - This comedy program is groundbreaking and continues were the original Indigenous Australian Television Comedy program started. It uses Indigenous Australian directors, writers and actors. The humour is self-deprecating, incisive, sometimes dark, definitely satirical and very funny.   

 

2015: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2015 were:

 

         Black Comedy – Series 1 - 6 Episodes(Television - Indigenous Comedy) – Indigenous Directors Craig Anderson & Beck Cole. An indigenous comedy     

         which plays on stereotypes and presents alternative realities. 

 

8MMM Aboriginal Radio (Indigenous Australian Comedy Series) – This is an Indigenous situation comedy set in a struggling Alice Springs radio station dealing with the themes of survival, housing, education. Money, alcohol and reconciliation.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg5dvSXMsE8

          

          Redfern Now  – Series 3 (Award winning series produced by Blackfella Films    using Indigenous Australian writers, directors, actors and production teams).

          Ready for This - This is a 14 part television series produced by Balckfella Films and Werner Films. It is probably the first Australian Indigenous Australian teen drama. It won a Logie for the Most Outstanding Children's Program. It follows a group of Indigenous Australian teenagers who all move to Sydney. 

 

2016: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2016 were:

Cleverman Series 1  (Indigenous superhero television series) The original six-part series is set in an Australia in the near future which is a police state where the ‘hairies’ (played by Indigenous actors) suffer oppression as second class citizens. The narrative centres on the Gumbaynggirr brothers who must fight for their and their peoples' survival and one of them must take on the old tradition of the 'Cleverman' - a superhero. The series features creatures from the Dreaming in a near-future dystopian landscape. There is a wonderful unit of study for media students on Cleverman done by ATOM and written by Ann Chesher and Emily Dawson (ISBN: 978-1-74295-954-2). Below is an article of the history of Indigenous Australian superheroes in the media.

http://koorihistory.com/aboriginal-superhero/

 

 Black As – (Short Documentary/Web Series) Dir. David Batty. This documentary series follows a group of young Indigenous men through Arnhem Land in Northern Australia and deals with how they are able to reconnect with the land and develop in their understanding of what it means to be an Indigenous

Australian male.

https://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/black-as#axzz4d9HpgkbZ

 

Black Comedy – Series 2 - 6 Episodes(Television Indigenous Situation Comedy) – Indigenous Directors Beck Cole & Erica Glynn. An indigenous situation comedy which plays on stereotypes and presents alternative realities.

 

2017: Some indigenous films or television with indigenous themes released in 2017 were:

 

After the Apology (Documentary). Dir. Larissa Behrendt. This documentary looks at the story of Indigenous Australians since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 Apology Speech. It documents the continuation of forced removal and the development of Grandmothers Against Removal (GMAR (- the Indigenous Australian advocate group to make changes to force removal policies and to reunite families).

 

Angels Gather Here (Documentary) Dir. Ian Hamilton (non-Indigenous). Following the story of Indigenous Australian Ngemba woman Jacki Trapman back to her hometown for her parent's 60th wedding anniversary, this is a strong documentary showing how trauma lingers and can permeate ever part of an Indigenous person's life. Although successful as a university educated woman, Trapman is shown to battle with the ghosts of her past losses, her battles with addiction and her battles facing and overcoming grief. The film shows how the even today's educated Indigenous Australian population can and must battle with the government policies of the past since they impact the present and even the future. The film shows how intelligence, strength, resilience and dignity triumph against adversity and horrific events. 

 

Blight (Short Film). Dir. Perun Bonser (Indigenous - Ngarlama/Bunuba). Set in Western Australia during the early 1900's, this film follows the journey of a young female Indigenous Australian tracker and a police constable in the hunt for a band of dangerous criminals. When the constable is injured, the female tracker must harness all her knowledge, skills and her connection to her Country to survive and render justice. 

 

Brown Lips (Short Film). Dir. Nakkiah Lui (Indigenous - Gamilaroi/Torres Strait Islander). A confronting short film where two cousins living in the outer suburbs of Sydney make a decision to turn their ban their family to pursue another life. This short film is created and directed by the playwright and actress Nakkiah Lui.

 

 

Cleverman Series 2  (Indigenous superhero television series). Dir. Wayne Blair (Indigenous - Batjala Mununjali Wakkawakka)  & Leah Purcell (Indigenous - Wakka-Wakka). The narrative centres on the Gumbaynggirr brothers who must fight for their and their peoples' survival and one of them must take on the old tradition of the 'Cleverman' - a superhero. 

 

Connection to Country (Documentary). Dir. Tyson Mowarin (Indigenous - Ngarluma). This film explores the ancient heritage of the sacred sites and rock cultures of Western Australia's Pilbara region which has rock art dating back over 40,000 years. The film also addresses the fight by local people to protect their heritage against mining companies. 

 

Finding Mawiranga (Documentary). Dir. Dylan River. This film follows the journey of famous Indigenous Australian actor Tom. E. Lewis back to his Grandmother's Country to learn the law of the land and seek permission to learn the Dhumbul or Morning Star Ceremony. A lovely story of return to Country and the steps involved in seeking permission to reengage with Indigenous Australian knowledges and knowings.

Gurrumul (Documentary). Dir. Paul Damien Williams. Although officially produced in 2017, this documentary did not receive full cinema releases until 2018. This is an extraordinary documentary of an extraordinary man - Dr. Yunupingu. The film traces the journey of Dr. Gurrumul Yunupingu who was born blind and found his vision in song and connection to his community and the songlines of his Elcho Island (Arnhem Land) community. It shows how the community and Country can provide a compass when one must fight to unify the journey from city to country, present back to past and self back to community.

In My Own Words (Documentary). Dir. Erica Glynn. Filmed over 13 weeks, this film follows the journey of adult aboriginal teachers and students as they discover the power of reading and writing for the first times in their lives. In a landscape of atrocious disparity, where about 65% of Indigenous Australian adults cannot read or write, this film is wonderful glimpse into how the rural NSW town of Brewarrina is finding the wind to sail against the tide.

 Jasper Jones (Feature Film). Dir. Rachel Perkins (Indigenous). This is a big international feature film adaptation of Chris Silvey's book of the same name. The film is a suspense coming-of-age thriller set in 1965 in a small country Australian town against a backdrop of racism and a murder. 14-year-old non-Indigenous boy Charlie Bucketing and Indigenous Australian Jasper Jones, are brought together to solve a murder.

Last Drinks at Frida's (Short Film). Dir. Bjorn Stewart. Set in 1944, this film explores the meeting and discussion between a married jazz singer and an Indigenous Australian soldier share their stories and history at an underground speakeasy.

Little J & Big Cuz (Children's Animated Series). Dir. Tony Thorne. A beautiful animated series centred around two Aboriginal children (Little J who is five years old and Big Cuz who is nine years old) and their adventures at their Nanna's run down shack. It also shows the kids in school doing experiments and emphasises the importance of family and Country.

Namatjira Project. (Documentary). Dir. Sera Davies. This film follows the ongoing (now resolved) quest of the Namatjira family to see the return of the rights and ownership of the copyright of the catalogue of Australia's most famous Indigenous Australian artist - Albert Namatjira. The Hermannsburg Namatjira family and the BighART and their work to get the copyright and legacy returned are featured prominently.

Occupation: Native (Documentary/Comedy/Satire). Dir. Trisha Morton-Thomas. A wonderful documentary which uses comedy, satire, re-enactments and a gonzo-style journalism approach to explore the hypocrisy of the treatment and historical forms of colonialisation which have been used to suppress and undermine Indigenous Australian histories, peoples, contributions and cultures. This should be a must for all Australians from children to adults to see.https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/occupation--native-2017/35333/

Sweet Country (Feature Film). Dir. Warwick Thornton. This film is a Western, suspense, thriller which is probably one of the most important films made by an Indigenous Australian film maker. It is set in an outback region of the Northern Territory in 1929 and centres on the character of Sam, a middle aged Aboriginal stockman. The film explores racism, the slavery of Australian Indigenous people, the rape and mistreatment of Indigenous Australian women and the dispossession of Country, cultures and identity. A strong powerful film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYKBG1znk4A

 We Don't Need a Map (Documentary) Dir. Warwick Thornton (Indigenous). Winner of the 2018 ATOM Award for Best Documentary and the NSW Premier's History Award for Digital History 2018, this documentary is a film essay exploring the deeply spiritual meaning of the Southern Cross constellation for Aboriginal people. The film explores how the Southern Cross has been appropriated and hotly-contested for ownership by a radical range of Australian groups. But for Aboriginal people the meaning of this heavenly body is deeply spiritual. And just about completely unknown. For a start, the Southern Cross isn't even a cross - it's a totem that's deeply woven into the spiritual and practical lives of Aboriginal people. This is a bold film which challenges us to consider the place of the Southern Cross in the Australian psyche. The film is part of NITV's landmark Moment in History initiative, launched by NITV and Screen Australia to bring together some of Australia's most experienced and innovative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers to create powerful, one-off documentaries that reflect on the place of Indigenous Australians in the country today. We Don't Need A Map is an epic telling of Australia's history, told through our collective relationship to one famous constellation. It is a challenging, poetic essay about identity and place.

2018

Black Comedy (Television Comedy - Season 3 - 6 Episodes). Dir. Beck Cole (Indigenous - Warramungu) & Steven McGregor (Indigenous). An Indigenous Australian sketch comedy series which explores a range of issues and situations representational of being Indigenous in modern day Australia.

Black Divaz (Documentary). Dir. Adrian Russell Wills (Indigenous). This documentary gives insight and behind the scenes insight into the contestants of the inaugural Miss First Nation drag queen pageant. This is an entertaining documentary which also covers the darker issues of depression, identity and suicide.

Finke: There and Back (Documentary). Dir. Dylan River (Indigenous). This documentary covers the blood, sweat, tears and the monetary exploits of the iconic Finke Desert Race in outback Australia. 

Carriberrie (Documentary/ Cultural/ Dance.) Dir. Dominic Allen (Non-Indigenous). "Dance is the first language of our people." - David Gulpilil. This short film takes its title from the Koorie word for 'corroboree'. It highlights dances contemporary and traditional from a range of Indigenous Australian nations and places including the Anangu peoples, West Arnhem land peoples, Moa Island and Thursday Islands in the Torres Strait and dances from the Saibai and Arakwai peoples, Ngukurr youth and the national Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Emu Runner (Drama) Dir. Imogen Thomas (Non-Indigenous). A touching and lyrical film that received wide cinema release. The film centres on Gem (Rhae -Kye Waites) who is a 9 year old girl whose mother dies suddenly. Gem then connects to her ancestral totem of the emu through a male emu raising his chicks. Her father struggles to keep his family together. The film is one of sorrow, redemption and the importance of traditional Indigenous customs and practices in contemporary Australian society.

Etched in Bone (Documentary) Dir. Beatrice Bijon & Martin Thomas (Non-Indigenous). An amazing documentary made over eight years which explores the disturbing of ancient Indigenous burial sites in Arnhem Land in the 1940's and the removal of the bones to the Smithsonian Museum. The film explores the battle by Nayinggul and his people to have the bones repatriated and returned with ceremony to their Country.

Grace Beside Me (Television - Live Action/Adventure/Children's/Teen Drama - Series 1 - 13 Episodes) Dir. Lynn-Maree Danzey, Beck Cole & Nicholas Verso (Indigenous).  A wonderfully whimsical, adventure drama series which involves Fuzzy Mac discovering on her 13th birthday that she can communicate with spirits.

Mystery Road (Television Drama Series 1 - 6 parts) Dir. Rachel Perkins, Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair (Indigenous). A drama which revolves around the investigation of the disappearance of two young men by Aboriginal detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) . The series deals with the theme of how past crimes and injustices impact communities today.

Niminjarra Songline (Short Film) Dir. Curtis Taylor (Indigenous). This short film shows the story of the Warnman people of the Great Sandy Desert near lake Dora in WA. The story covers the Niminjarra Dreaming and the transformation of two men into snakes as they make their way home after a law ceremony. 

She Who Must Be Loved (Documentary). Dir. Erica Glynn (Indigenous). This is a fascinating documentary and social history of the life of Erica Glynn's own mother Alfreda Glynn who grew up under the Aboriginal Protection system but went on to become a photographer, pacifist, activist and founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) and Impaja TV.

2019

Black Comedy (Television Comedy - Season 4 - 6 Episodes). Dir. Nakkiah Lui (Indigenous - Gamilaroi/Torres Strait Islander) & Steven McGregor (Indigenous). This seminal Indigenous Australian sketch comedy series continues with writer/actor Nakkiah Lui taking on a more directorial role. The sketch comedy program explores a range of issues and situations representational of being Indigenous in modern day Australia and if anything Season 4 is sharper and more refined in its comic content.

 Blue Water Empire (Dramatised documentary - 3 Part). Dir. Steven McGregor (Indigenous). This is an amazing three part dramatised documentary of the history of the Torres Strait Islander people as seen told and retold through the stories of Torres Strait Islander people. The islands and sea of the Torres Strait are the real stars of this documentary and the stories are dramatised and uses animation, artwork and other material. The resilience and power of the Torres Strait Islander peoples comes through strong in this documentary series.

 Dark Place (Horror & Fantasy Indigenous Australian Film Anthology - 5 films) Dir. Indigenous & Non-Indigenous. A set of five short horror films cleverly using the genres of horror and fantasy to explore post-colonial Indigenous Australian history. Killer Native likens the first contact arrival to a zombie apocalypse. Foe examines how sleep might be a portal to confronting forgotten trauma. Vale Light is set in a public housing commission estate where the fortune of a single mum and her daughter are changed. The Shore follows the realization of a young girl growing up in isolation in the bush that isolation potentially protects her. Scout explores female oppression and revenge. Trailer:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-25/11147976

 Elders (Short Drama Film - G Rated). Dir. Tony Briggs (Indigenous). A lovely short children's film which is based on a true story of a 4 year old whose grandparents instruct him to make his way home since they believe he is old enough to start to learn the skills he needs for life. It looks at how Country and ancestors are skills embedded in the DNA of Indigenous Australians from a young age.

Future Dreaming (Virtual Reality Documentary). Dir, Stuart Campbell (Non-Indigenous) An amazing project that takes interviews of Indigenous families near Roebourne in WA and transforms the interviews into a fiction future universe using the landscape and traditional homeland. 

Robbie Hood (Web-Series Comic-Drama - 6 Episodes - 10  minute episodes).  Dir. Dylan River (Indigenous). One of the most innovative series of 2019. A modern Indigenous Robin Hood re-transposition, This web series centres around Robbie, an Indigenous boy known as a trouble maker who wreaks havoc with his merry band of youths doing lots of good. Link to film (SBS On Demand): https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1528106563708/robbie-hood-robbing-by-nature

Marni (Documentary, Art & Culture, Slow TV - 2.5 hours). Dir. Tyson Mowarin (Indigenous). This 2.5-hour documentary slow TV  film shows Aboriginal artist Allery Sandy cre­at­ing a mesmerising dot-work paint­ing of the Pil­bara, the re­gion in north Western Aus­tralia  which is her country. Marni translates to 'marking' in Yindjibarndi. Filmed over three weeks as she worked on the piece, Marni also fea­tures drone footage of the land­scape and nar­ra­tion by Sandy (with subtitles) combined with a beautiful relaxing soundtrack.This is a view­ing ex­pe­ri­ence for those who en­joy watch­ing events un­fold in real time, and one that of­fers a unique look at our na­tion and its cen­turies old her­itage. This documentary was filmed over a three-week recordingperiod as Sandy completes a commissioned art work. This is a mesmerising marathon of colour and dot work is intercut with the majestic landscapes of the Pilbara to a journeying sound track. As Sandy paints we hear about her life and her art practice in Yindjibarndi language.

She Who Must Be Loved (Documentary, Culture & Society, Biography) Dir. Erica Glynn (Indigenous). A documentary that tells the epic life story of Freda Glynn, 78-year-old Kaytetye woman, stills photographer, co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), and Imparja TV, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, radical, pacifist, grumpy old woman, who in equal measure loves the limelight and total privacy. Part-biopic, part-social history, it details the life of a woman born beneath a tree north of Alice Springs in 1939, her childhood living under the Aboriginal Protection policies and the complex impact this had upon her life.

 2020

Ablaze (2020/2021) (Documentary). Dir. Alec Morgan (Non-Indigenous) & Tiriki Onus (Indigenous - Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung nations). This is a fascinating documentary made by Alec Morgan and Tiriki Onus about Onus' grandfather Bill Onus. Bill Onus probably was the first Indigenous Australian film maker and acted in films in the 1930's and probably directed his first film in 1946 or even before this. The story is amazing and tells of the truly heroic life of William (Bill) Onus, a Yorta Yorta/Wiradjuri man from Victoria, and his place as a cultural and political figure who revived his peopleʼs culture in the 1940s and ignited a citizenʼs rights movement in that would, against enormous odds, change the course of history. His enormous talents as entertainer, entrepreneur, theatre impresario, the first Aboriginal filmmaker and television host were all used in service of winning racial equality and justice. The film travels across the continent and pieces together clues to Bill's lost filmʼs origins, he unearths dark intrigues that shape the story into a real-life thriller about a murky campaign to stop Billʼs rising international influence. Here is a link to an interview with the directors from the Melbourne International Film Festival (2021). https://miff.com.au/blog/view/6739/ablaze-qa-with-alec-morgan-tiriki-onus

The Beach (Documentary - Six Part Series). Dir. Warwick Thornton (Indigenous).  Warwick Thornton retreats after being mentally and physically exhausted to a remote beach to spend several months with no power and only the land to provide everything he needs. NITV and Screen Australia funded this project. This is a lyrical and beautifully shot film shot by Thornton's son Dylan River. Thornton also cooks up some amazing dishes and relates stories from his life. 

City of Gold (extract done as monologue on ABC's Q+A Program on Monday June 8th 2020) Written and Performed by Meyne Wyatt. This monologue was watched by almost 500,000 people on the night and was shared on social media platforms by over 3 million people within 48 hours of its broadcast. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-09/actor-meyne-wyatt-delivers-monologue-on-racism/12334392?nw=0

 Lady Lash (2020). (Documentary). Dir. Rochelle (Rocky) Humphrey (non-Indigenous). Lady Lash is a documentary about Lady Lash (Crystal Clyne) a Hip Hop artist of Indigenous Kokatha and Greek ancestary. The documentary shows her struggles as a woman in a male dominated industry and music genre. After struggling in Melbourne, she returned to Country. Her sense of identity and her confrontation with colonial mindsets helps to present a narrative which challenges gender and cultural stereotypes creating a rich documentary that reveals the richness of her life and musical fusions. Here is a link to a study guide on the documentary.  https://theeducationshop.com.au/downloads/atom-study-guides/lady-lash-atom-study-guide/

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky (Documentary) Dir. Steven McGregor (Indigenous). This documentary narrated by Indigenous Australian comedian Steven Oliver is essentially a 21st century songline of the arrival of James Cook's arrival to Australia from an Indigenous Australian perspective. It tells of deep connections to country, resistance and the enduring story of the survival of First Nations Australians. This documentary is a hybrid of satire, songline, history, dance and poetry giving Indigenous Australian responses to the arrival of Captain Cook to Australian shores. The program may still be available on SBS On Demand. Here is a trailer for the documentary: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=654743795144975

Here is also an extract from Steven Oliver's poem in the film: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=292910771977212

Here are resources from the National Museum of Australia that could be used to accompany any unit of study done on the issues and themes explored in this film. https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/endeavour-voyage

ABC. June 30, 2020. 'The Ground on Which Black Companies Stand'. The Stage Show. ABC Radio: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-stage-show/rachael-maza-ilbijerri-august-wilson-penumbra-theatre-minnesota/12402398

In My Blood It Runs. (Dir. non-Indigenous Maya Newell, prod. Indigenous  & non-Indigenous Felicity Hayes, Larissa Behrendt, Sophie Hyde, Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson, Maya Newell). Documentary. A great documentary about ten year old Arrente/Garrwa boy Dujuan from Central Australia. The film shows how the school and the justice system is failing young Indigenous Australians. Dujuan is not suceeeding at school and is threatened with incarcaration. His family try to give him an Arrente education. The film shows the pressures faced by young modern Indigenous youths. The film attempts to show how education and schools can and should become a cultural safe place for young Indigenous people. The film's producers have created a great website with culturally apppropriate resources. https://inmyblooditruns.com/

Mystery Road (Television Drama Series 2 - 6 parts) Dir. Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair (Indigenous). In the second series, Aboriginal detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) deals with the events and mystery surrounding a decapitated body found in mangroves.  This series deals with cultural matters with an archeological dig and drug trafficing. 

Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, many streaming services started to offer Indigenous Australian films and documentary for the first time. Here is a link to an article and some of the films and documentaries. https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/thirteen-exceptional-films-by-indigenous-australian-filmmakers-that-you-can-stream-right-now?fbclid=IwAR0WIM1VV3Zc002k4DFo8f39Mrq0ouUlKUNm7OpCxbhJUu3gvqAPNzFao54

2021

High Ground (Feature Film) Dir, Stephen Johnson (Non-Indigenous). Simon Baker, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Jack Thompson, Seam Mununggurr, Callan Mulvey, Caren Pistorius, Witiyana Marika, Esmeralda Marimowa. Although this is not an Indigenous Australian made film, the narrative of the film along with the processes undertaken to film, tell stories and film on country, make this an important film examining the effect of colonization and the hidden atrocities of white settlement. When Travis (Simon Baker) instructs Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) "When you've got the high ground you control everything," the literal, symbolic and metaphoric landscape of the film is et in this title drop. Set on location in Kakadu in the Northern Territory of Australia in 1919 and 1931, the film examines the cyclical nature of violence in Australia's history. The events of the film start with a brutal massacre of an Indigenous tribe in 1919 and the story picks up 12 years later when ex-WWI non-indigenous sniper Travis (Simon Baker) who has been forced to cover the truth of the massacre is made to with Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) track down Gutjuk's uncle Baywara after he has conducted retaliation raids on 'white' settlements. The film is a powerful exploration of the search for reconciliation, truth telling and justice.

Listen to the Mission: Jadah Pleiter on the new Deadly and proud Campaign (Radio Interview by Daniel James and Jadah Pleiter. February 16th, 2021. 'The Mission'. 3RRR. https://www.rrr.org.au/on-demand/segments/the-mission-jadah-pleaiter-on-the-new-deadly-and-proud-campaign

SBS/NITV. July 6, 2021. "Uncle Jack Charles on Family, Fame and Infamy", Who Do You Think You Are. SBS. In Season 12 Episode 5, Activist, actor and survivor of the Stolen Generation Uncle Jack Charles explores his family roots showing the strength of his Indigenous Australian ancestors. 

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2021/07/06/uncle-jack-charles-family-fame-and-infamy

Preppers (Television Series Season 1 - 6 episodes), Oct. 2021. (Indigenous Creator - Nakkiah Lui & Gabriel Dowrick, Dir. Steven McGregor). A comic Indigenous Australian situational drama which follows the story of a young Indigenous Australian woman named Charlie who, after facing her own personal tragedy, ends up with a community of 'preppers' planning for the apocalypse in a place called Eden 2. It features Nakkiah Lui, Aaaron L. McGrath, Uncle Jack Charles, Miranda Tapsell and others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvb1Mx34TiA

Wash My Soul in the River's Flow. (Documentary). (non-Indigenous Director - Philippa Bateman). 2021. Wash My Soul in the River's Flow is a cinematic reinvention of a legendary concert that premiered in 2004. Kura Tungar-Songs from the River was a collaboration between First Nations singer-songwriters Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter working with Paul Grabowsky and the 22-piece Australian Art Orchestra.

2022

True Colours – A four-part crime drama. The program used English and Arrernte languages as a murder mystery unfolds set against the backdrop of the Northern Territory's Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Yeperenye (East MacDonnell Ranges), the Arrernte peoples connection to art and cultural practices.

Big Mob Brekky. NITV. Australia’s only First Nations Breakfast program received a boost in NAIDOC Week 2022 and is said to have over 2.5 million viewers during NAIDOC Week 2022. 

NAIDOC Awards 2022. NITV. The awards ceremony and the after-show programming received the highest ratings of any Australian First Nations television programming with an estimated audience of over 2.7 million.

Off Country. NITV. A documentary series which explores the lives of seven First Nations students who are sent to the prestigious Geelong Grammar School. It follows the clash of cultures and how these students grapple with family tragedy, mental health and issues of identity. It combines personal observational storytelling and personal perspectives on education and life.

Living Black. NITV. Australia’s oldest First Nations current affairs program produces a special program for NAIDOC Week 2022 with interviews with ground-breaking Indigenous writer, producer and director Erica Glynn in Woman of Many Talents. Arts, Greed and Betrayal explores how betrayal can happen in the Indigenous art world and communities.

Ningla A Na.  A remastered version of this 1972 film recording the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The film includes interviews with black activists and gives a sense of First nations political life in the 1970’s.

6LACK1DZ (Short Film). (First Nations dir. Meyne Wyatt). This is a short coming of age film which was shot in Wyatt’s hometown of Kalgoorlie. It centres around a man returning to his hometown to see his dying mother. It recounts his childhood and the racism he experienced.

The Endangered Generation. (Documentary) (Cross-Cultural First Nations project dir. Celeste Geer). In Bahasa, Butchella, English, Guna, Gunditjmara, Maori, Portuguese & Spanish. The film seeks new ways to embrace Indigenous knowledges in addressing the many crises facing our planet.

We are Still Here. (Animation, Coming of Age, Drama, Historical, Period, Sci-Fi) (Cross Cultural First nations project Dir. Beck Cole, Chantelle Burgoyne, Danielle MacLean, Dena Curtis, Mario Gaoa, Miki Magasiva, Renae Maihi, Richard Curtis, Tim Worrall & Tracey Rigney). This film spans 1000 years and multiple generations to tell the collective history and possible future of First Nations peoples in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.  

The Australian Wars (Documentary Series), Sept.-Oct. 2022. (Indigenous Director Rachel Perkins). SBS & Blackfella Films. A very important documentary series about Australia's longest war, fought on Australian soil between 1790 and 1940. Below is a resource to accompany the series https://www.sbs.com.au/learn/resources/understanding-the-frontier-wars/teacher-resource/download

Sweet As (Drama/Coming of Age), 2022. (Indigenous Director - Nyulnyul & Yawuru screenwriter and director Jub Clerc). Arenamedia. This is a beautiful Indigenous Australian coming-of-age film which follow the story of Murra (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), a young Indigenous youth from a troubled background who goes on a youth retreat for troubled youth. On this retreat she discovers a passion for photography and a love for life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhebCb1rVqk

2023

Birrarangga Film Festival. Naarm (Melbourne). World Indigenous Film Festival. March 23-28, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-19/birrarangga-film-festival-naarm-melbourne/102115638?fbclid=IwAR1iRvHHPUicirSSNsNxxqW2NevB8MERBadpfTx8ileBYajrlAuAgH43rXI

Australian Broadcasting Commission. July 2, 2023. 'Changing Tides' (documentary), Compass Season 37 Episode 16. Surfer, artist and Dharug man Billy Bain invites us on an immersive road trip along our majestic coastline which provides an extraordinary glimpse into our colonial past and frontier injustices. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-02/surfer-artist-dharug-man-billy-bain-nsw-coast-first-nations/102542328

Nintila Kalgoorlie Aboriginal Film Festival 2023. Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre, Kalgoorlie, July 3-7, 2023.

The New Boy (historical drama), 2023. (Indigenous Director - Warwick Thornton). This historical drama by acclaimed director Warwick Thornton and featuring Cate Blanchett and young newcomer Aswan Reis is set in the 1940s. It follows the story of an orphan Australian Indigenous boy who arrives at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun played by Blanchett. The story explores survival and the struggles of connection and spirituality. https://variety.com/2022/film/news/cate-blanchett-warwick-thornton-the-new-boy-1235452654/

Message in my Dreams (animation/art film). June/July 2023. (Indigenous Animator/Director - Dylan Mooney. Video game style animation exploring identity and culture. Rising Festival, Flinders Station Ballrooms, Melbourne, VIC.

The Umbra. (short film/art film). June/July 2023. (Indigenous Artist and Director - Hayley Millar Baker). The journey of a young Australian First Nations woman. Rising Festival, Flinders Station Ballrooms, Melbourne, VIC.

Way of the Ngangkari. (short film/art film). June/July 2023. (Indigenous Director - Warwick Thornton). This whimsical film features Ngangkari healers as Star Wars like figures. Rising Festival, Flinders Station Ballrooms, Melbourne, VIC.

Scripture for a smoke screen: Episode 1 – dolphin house (short film/art film/dance film). July-August 2023. (Indigenous Australian director/artist Bunajalung (AUS)/Ngapuhi (NZ) woman Amrita Hepi). This is a film which is part of Hepi's ongoing movement and multi-media work exploring the dilemma of authenticity in space and place and how language functions to both reveal and obscure identity and meaning, ACMI, Melbourne, VIC.

Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls. (animation/documentary). (non-Indigenous and Indigenous animators). August 2023, Using the work and lives of Arrernte and Southern Luritja artist Sally M Nangala Mulda (2021 Archibald finalist and 2022 Sulman Prize finalist) and Arrernte and Western Arrarnta artist Marlene Rubuntja, this work is an animation which uses their art work to explore their lives and friendship. They grew up at the Amoonguna Settlement, just outside of Mparntwe/Alice Springs in the early 1960s. The animation explores the reality of First Peoples’ experiences in Central Australia by chronicling the successes and struggles of the artists. ACMI, Melbourne, VIC.

2024

The Moogai. (Horror/Drama) (Indigenous Director - Jon Bell). October 2024. This film based on a 2020 short film of the same name. This horror film centres around a young Indigenous mother who believes her child is possessed. The film cleverly interweaves themes of the Stolen Generation and forced removal of children. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlpSp3zMkM

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/the-moogai/104489262