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Celebrating NAIDOC week: For Our Elders

An updated collection of articles, podcasts and video interviews with First Nations storytellers. As well as where to watch their projects and reflections from industry leaders.

Sweet Country, The New Boy, The First Inventors, The Australian Wars

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned this article and its accompanying videos and podcasts may contain the names, images and voices of deceased persons.

This year’s NAIDOC Week runs from 2 – 9 July, and celebrates the history, culture and achievements of First Nations. This year’s theme For Our Elders is about acknowledging the important role Elders have played, and continue to play across every generation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders are cultural knowledge-holders, trailblazers, survivors and leaders, making up the oldest, continuous living culture in the world.

Coinciding with NAIDOC Week 2023 is the release of The New Boy, which had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on the 19th May. The spiritual drama from award-winning First Nations writer, director and cinematographer Warwick Thornton stars Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and newcomer Aswan Reid in the titular role. Set in 1940s Australia, The New Boy follows a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (Reid) who is taken to a remote monastery run by a renegade nun (Blanchett), where his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in a story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival. You can watch The New Boy in cinemas now.

This year also marks 30 years since the First Nations Department at Screen Australia was established, resulting in some of the nation’s most beloved films, television shows, online series’ and documentaries. The Department has put First Nations people in control of their own stories, and in 2021/22 alone, Screen Australia provided a record $9.8m in funding for First Nations screen projects ($7.9m of which was directly through the First Nations department) spanning documentaries, feature films, TV drama, short-form comedy, online and talent development.

First Nations storytellers have a long history of crafting powerful work for the screen, as do industry developers. Penny Smallacombe and Angela Bates – a former and the current Head of First Nations – are just two of many trailblazers who have embodied how looking to the Elders of the past enables current and future generations to achieve more and reach higher.

While ABC has been appointed the Official Broadcast and Education Partner of National NAIDOC Week 2023, broadcasters and streaming services including NITV/SBS, Stan and Netflix are highlighting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content across their platforms this week. Read on for a selection of profiles and behind-the-scenes content about First Nations creatives and projects that are available to watch now, and for even more titles supported by the First Nations Department, click here.

For more information about NAIDOC Week, events near you and to learn about this year’s theme For Our Elders, visit the website here. 

Always Was, Always Will Be.
 

  1. PODCAST - RACHEL PERKINS ON THE AUSTRALIAN WARS

    Director Rachel Perkins on a career that includes Redfern Now, Total Control, Mystery Road and her latest documentary series The Australian Wars.

    Listen to the podcast here.

    Watch The Australian Wars on SBS On Demand here.
     

  2. VIDEO - SWEET AS – BEHIND THE SCENES

    Writer and director Jub Clerc talks about reflecting on her transformative teenage years which inspired her debut feature film, Sweet As.

    Watch Sweet As in cinemas now

     
     

  3. ARTICLE - SPOTLIGHT ON 9 FIRST NATIONS VOICES TO WATCH

    Hear from nine First Nations creatives breaking into new heights in their careers, with feature films like Sweet As and Sweet Country, TV Dramas like Preppers and Firebite and Children’s series Barrumbi Kids.

    Read the article here.
     

  4. PODCAST/VIDEO - MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN

    Writer/director Dylan River talks about creating a new beginning for iconic TV detective Jay Swan and moving into longform TV for the new series Mystery Road: Origin.

    Watch Mystery Road: Origin on ABC iview here.

    Listen to the podcast here.

     
     

  5. VIDEO - THE FIRST INVENTORS – BEHIND THE SCENES

    Director Larissa Behrendt discusses her passion for the documentary medium in communicating positive First Nations stories in the new series, The First Inventors.

    Watch The First Inventors on SBS On Demand here.

     
     

  6. PODCAST – ANGELA BATES: MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN, TRUE COLOURS AND WE ARE STILL HERE

    From Logie-award winning SBS/NITV documentary Incarceration Nation to opening Sydney Film Festival with We Are Still Here, as well as funding TV projects such as Total Control Season 2, Mystery Road: Origin and True Colours, Screen Australia’s Head of First Nations Angela Bates discusses a prolific 12 months for the department and why she’s optimistic about the future.

    Listen to the podcast here.
     

  7. VIDEO - BARRUMBI KIDS – BEHIND THE SCENES

    Co-writer and co-producer Danielle MacLean talks about the importance of including local communities in the new children's TV series Barrumbi Kids.

    Watch Barrumbi Kids on SBS On Demand here.


     

  8. PODCAST – PENNY SMALLACOMBE: THE POWER OF AUTHENTIC STORYTELLING


    Screen Australia’s former Head of First Nations Penny Smallacombe reflects on a changing industry and what 25 years of the First Nations Department means

    Listen to the podcast here.