National Reconciliation Week Online Film Festival - RMIT University Library
Date and time
Location
Online
Description
Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that we all need to be a part of. Fundamental to this journey is the cultivation and consolidation of trusting, respectful and positive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, for the benefit of all Australians.
To celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2020, RMIT University Library presents National Reconciliation Week 2020 online film festival. It’s a film festival that you can enjoy online, anytime. We’re featuring a selection of films relevant to this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, In this together. The festival also marks National Sorry Day (26th of May) with the selection of the film Kanyini.
Details of selected films are listed below. Each film is available for streaming – click the links below to watch them any time.
For further material, check out our Indigenous Resources Library subject guide and the National Reconciliation Week Library subject guide.
Kanyini (EduTV – 52 min – PG) Director: Melanie Hogan (2008)
This powerful and significant documentary is based on the extraordinary life and philosophy of Bob Randall, an elder of the Yankunytjatjara people of Uluru. ‘Uncle Bob’ describes Kanyini as ‘the principles of connectedness through caring and responsibility that underpins Aboriginal life’. He notes that each of the four pillars behind this philosophy; knowledge of living in the desert, living on one's own land, the support of family, and spirituality, were all shattered when European Australians arrived. This tragedy, along with and the anguish he and other members of the stolen generation experienced, are presented in a bid to shed light on both the tragic past and current heart-breaking difficulties many Aboriginal communities still face today. Uncle Bob reminds us that only by coming together to face the past can we collectively build a better future for all Australians.
Based upon his own experiences as a radio DJ in Alice Springs, director Warwick Thornton’s award-winning Green Bush tells the story of DJ Kenny, who hosts a radio show every night in isolation for Aboriginal inmates and their families. A powerful short drama film which meditates on themes and notions of identity, community, manhood and responsibility.
Grant Leigh Saunders returns to his Biripi Country (Taree, NSW) to reconnect with his father and family. After having spent over twenty years away from home, Grant seeks to refamiliarise himself with the family fishing business, based on the Manning River. Having struggled with his own identity as a fair-skinned Aboriginal man with a Norwegian wife and two children, Grant’s journey becomes one of personal exploration.
We Don’t Need A Map (EduTV - 86 min - M) Director: Warwick Thornton (2017)
Warwick Thornton’s confronting and compelling documentary explores the history and significance of the Southern Cross and its place in the Australian psyche. Travelling across the country he approaches this “delicate subject” from both historical, scientific, sociological and spiritual perspectives and the resulting interviews reflect the multifaceted, and sometimes misappropriate relationship that Australians have with the Southern Cross. Perhaps the insights provided by this documentary, and through us all living together under the same stars, it is time we understood and acknowledged the profound spiritual significance this constellation means to Indigenous Australians.
Wirriya: Small Boy (Kanopy Streaming – 27 min – G) Director: Beck Cole (2001) Screening exclusively for National Reconciliation Week only!
Short documentary film Wirriya: Small Boy tells the story of Ricco – a seven year old boy from Hidden Valley, a town camp near Alice Springs. Ricco has lived here for most of his life and is looked after by his three older sisters and foster mother. This film gives us an intimate look at Ricco’s world - his school, friends, family and community.
Crook Hat & Camphoo (Kanopy Streaming – 22 min – G) Director: David Tranter (2005) Screening exclusively for National Reconciliation Week only!
Central Australian Alyawarra elders, Donald ‘Crook Hat’ Thompson Kemaree and Reggie ‘Camphoo’ Pwerl, take the viewer through the technical and ritual aspects around spear and woomera making. Their passion and respect for traditional knowledge and culture is deeply felt, as is their concern that these ancient skills and knowledge are not forgotten or lost, so ‘the younger generation need to learn’, just as these two elders learnt from their ancestors.
Ringbalin: Breaking The Drought (Kanopy Streaming – 33 min – PG) Director Ben Pederick (2014)
The Murray Darling river system is enormous, running through 4 states and the ACT, and in 2010, during one of Australia’s severest drought, the river nearly died. This documentary follows Ngarrindjeri Elder Uncle Moogy and his endeavour to save the river. He brings together numerous Aboriginal River Nations to perform a Ringbalin – a traditional ceremony that communities had not been able to undertake for 200 years. The nightly dance ceremony, to "sing the spirit back into the river, and into themselves", was performed along 2300 kilometres of the river system and at the end of the Ringbalin the drought was broken what followed was some of the wettest years ever recorded in Australia.
Ochre and Ink (Kanopy Streaming – 28 min – PG) Director: James Bradley (2011)
For over 23 years Chinese artist Zhou Xiaoping spent prolonged periods living with several Aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land, where he gained a deep respect and passion for Aboriginal culture and customs. This documentary focuses on the extraordinary friendship Xiaoping developed with artist Johnny Bulunbulun and his family, and the strong connection both artists have to their land. The coming together of two seemingly different cultures and the exchange of creative practices and traditions, culminates in a poignant collaborative art project.
Angels Gather Here (EduTV – 50 min – PG) Director: Ian Hamilton (2017)
Returning to her hometown of Brewarrina to celebrate her parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, Jacki Trapman faces past traumas of addiction, grief and loss. This documentary film focuses on the experiences of the Trapman family, providing a unique and personal insight into the continuing impact of government policies on Indigenous people over time, and, the resilience and hope that can be found in the face of great adversity.