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8MMM Aboriginal Radio in Alice Springs runs on the smell of an oily rag, the enthusiasm of its motley Indigenous crew and the misguided intentions of the whitefellas in charge. For the 3M's of Alice Springs - the missionaries, mercenaries and misfits - saving Aboriginal people from themselves is hard work. Especially Aboriginal people who expect to be heard on the radio and in the office. Princess Pictures and Brindle Films bravely step into the vortex of Aboriginal Australia, where truth and comedy collide.
Agnes Abbott was born in the 1930s. She has lived in her traditional homelands all her life. Living life was hard work.
In the middle of the Central Australian outback stands a church like no other in the world. Arrente women explain how traditional law and Christian teachings can work together for spiritual healing.
The story of a Warlpiri woman, Audrey, and her Sicilian partner Santo as they navigate through colonial systems to keep the children they care for together. Audrey Napanangka was born at a time when the world was changing for the people in the Central Australian Desert. Settler colonisation was permeating the desert and forced changes and the fusion of two worlds shifted Audrey’s life forever. Today, Audrey raises young people to walk in many worlds, by centering culture, language, and Law in their lives alongside mainstream education. The intimate footage filmed over 10 years in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Yuendumu and Audrey’s Warlpiri country Mount Theo, showcases a heartwarming story about the power of kinship and family in what is known as Australia.
In the 1980s, George Rrurrambu, front man of the Warumpi Band, embraced rock and roll, reggae and traditional culture to make public a new bush politics that awakened Australia to a third world in its own backyard. Popularly known for his energetic stage performances and charismatic character, his fans revered him as the ‘black Mick Jagger’. He left a legacy that changed the face of Indigenous music, uniting his own people and promoting reconciliation. George Rrurrambu died a rock and roll legend in 2007 and there is no other quite like him. For the first time, this is his story.
A story about Indigenous riders/drivers in the Finke Desert Race 2005, the toughest and hardest motor vehicle race in the world.
The untold story of Cyclone Tracy 40 years on, exploring the myths and revealing new perspectives on one of the worst natural disasters in Australia's history.
Around the campfire, two Anmatjere Elders, Patsy and Jane Briscoe, sing and tell the epic 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.
BUSH TOYS is a whimsical and historical journey into the art of bush toy making and practice, in the central desert of Australia.
Despite living with muscular dystrophy and being profoundly deaf, Dion, a 15-year-old artist from Central Australia, has been able to create a unique fashion label to assist his financial security.
A Japanese tourist driving through the beautiful Australian desert collides with a violent and metaphorical moment in time.
Mt Leibig is a remote Aboriginal community 250 km west of Alice Springs. Within this community live strong, vibrant young women who have a unique view of the worlds they live in. These young women move successfully between two cultures: their traditional culture and white man's culture.
Two senior Alywarr men teach us the traditional way of making spear and woomera.
Two young girls find themselves on a Russian container ship at night in a psychological drama about loneliness, intimacy and fear.
Darwin’s famous 'laksa queen' Amye Un takes on the Northern Territory’s most powerful to give us green and win a seat at the elections.
Welcome to Alice Springs, the lesbian metropolis of outback Australia, a place where black and white women mix and mingle. Satirical and funny, this revealing documentary asks the question: is it hard to sustain love when racial and cultural gaps seem insurmountable?
Tells the story of twins, separated at birth, who meet and swap places in an adventure that changes their lives. The first children's TV drama produced by CAAMA explores different cultures: white and black, city and bush, community and urban lifestyles.
Every night William Walker has dinner with his wide, Juney. She never eats, she never speaks, an ocean of guilt between them, his loving memory the only thing to stem the tide...
FINDING PLACE explores the issues surrounding ceremonially initiated men as they deal with the daily duality of their social standing, both within the Aboriginal community and mainstream Australia.
The Finke Desert Race is the largest off-road motorsport event in the Southern Hemisphere and Australia’s fastest, deadliest, toughest and certainly dustiest race. "Finke" explores the race from within: competitors, organisers, paramedics, and the drive to win against the desert at all costs, delivering a visual adventure of inspiration and danger, excitement and spills.
Two Indigenous teenage girls get caught in the cultural cycle of domestic and sexual violence.
A great mime artist at the end of his career finds himself performing in a two-bit circus. unable to gain acceptance from his peers, things change one night for the Great Sasha - a night where mime becomes real.
A lost and fragile boy new to the streets. A wary teenager just thinking about the money. A wealthy man playing out a delicate and lonely game. Over one night their lives will intersect in unexpected ways, blurring the line between betrayer and betrayed.
In October 2007 members of Jarlmandangah Community celebrated 25 years of a journey of self-determination to fulfil a dream. Twenty-five years of building a strong family community based on ideals many communities around Australia have strived for, but it seems very much that the recipe of success is within the hands of this community.
David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil returns to the dusty red-carpet road of his homeland.
Thursday night. Late night shopping. Joy, 15, wants to have fun. JOY is an exploration of an adolescent girl's journey of self-discovery set in the garish twilight world of Sydney's late night shopping malls and roof tops. The film uses exciting techniques such as speed ramping, freeze frames and scrolling text to convey a poignant and disturbing trend in Australian and International youth. Writer and Director Cate Shortland is recognised as one of Australia's most exciting new filmmakers.
KANGAROO is a heart-warming family comedy about ex-tv personality, Chris Masterson, who becomes stranded in an Outback town after a car accident on his way to Broome. There, he teams up with 11-year-old Indigenous girl Charlie. The pair form an unlikely friendship and work together to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned joeys in the remote but stunning Outback community. An endeavour that proves to be life-changing for them both.
Four senior traditional men who carry a lot of law (Tjilpi) create a 'Number 7' boomerang of Central Desert people. How do you make boomerangs today while keeping law and culture strong? We follow the hunt for wood, the rubbing, the shaping, the smoothing and the ochre, noting the cultural significance of the work and implements, until the Number 7 is complete and singing.
Set in a desert motocross training academy on the outskirts of Alice Springs, tensions are high as competition is fierce.
A suicide, a devastated fiancée and a young woman with a story to tell - sadness is a trap.
The Merrepen palm tree is a life source for people of the Daly River region. Narrated by Marrfurra, a local Aboriginal woman, this documentary takes a simple but strong look into the future of Indigenous arts and culture.
The battle for Native Title (handing back of land to traditional owners) has been won. Arrente people have been recognised as Mparntwe's (Alice Springs) first inhabitants. The proof of continued occupation rested with their sacred sites, which are still under threat. This documentary explores the continuous struggle by Central Australia's Arrente people to maintain the sacred sites and stop the expansion of Alice Springs from swallowing them up.
Mums Can, Dads Can is a half hour documentary, about a group of inspirational women, the Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group, and their work towards preventing family and domestic violence. In the town camps surrounding Alice Springs, a group of women have formed who have a belief that, if given the chance, they can turn around the family violence that is part of every day life for many Indigenous Australians.
A young policeman, fresh out of the academy, gets his first taste of the complexities of community life. Taken under the wing of a senior Aboriginal Community Police Officer, he is thrown into the deepend when he is encouraged to repsond to a Domestic Dispute on his own.
In this country, the Aboriginal story is often buried deep beneath the accepted 247-year Australian historical narrative. It’s not that the Australian story is wrong, it’s just that it’s a wee bit one sided. Getting all historical, Aboriginal filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas, bites back at Australian history.
A landmark exhibition on the history of the Australia - China trade in trepang (sea cucumber) opens in Beijing. It is the culmination of an extraordinary partnership between artists ‘Joe’ Xiaoping and the late Aboriginal artist JBB, forged over 20 years in remote Arnhem Land. As JBB’s son Paul and brother Peter attend the exhibition opening, Joe’s fascinating story unfolds in a compelling series of glimpses into his life and work.
Made by award-winning director Warwick Thornton, this documentary will explore the 'fortunate life' of one old noodler as he talks about his experiences in the early days of droving, mining and noodling. THE OLD MAN AND THE INLAND SEA is a moving and atmospheric documentary that gives us a unique Aboriginal perspective on the benefits of work and the dangers of alcohol and greed.
Self-taught from the age of 10, Sammy Butcher is renowned as the best guitar player in Central Australia. In the late 1970s, Sammy formed the Warumpi Band with George Rrurrambu and Neil Murray. After years of touring and recording, Sammy now lives in Papunya, 250 km west of Alice Springs. This documentary focuses on his work today within the community and a heartrending journey to Sammy's homeland, Pikilyi, for the first time.
Already seasoned rodeo riders, three Indigenous teenagers are continuing a proud family history of professional saddle bronc and bull riding. RYDIN' TIME is a positive story about youth and the strengths of family.
In the obscure churches of remote Central Australia, a hidden musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages, sacred poetry and baroque music is being preserved by four generations of song women who make up the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. Against all odds and with the help of their charismatic conductor, the choir embarks on a historic tour of Germany to take back the hymns that were given to their great grandparents by German missionaries, now sung in their own Aboriginal languages. Together they share their music and stories of cultural survival, identity and cross-cultural collaboration. Come on an adventure as the unlikeliest band on earth goes on tour to the other side of the world!
SOUL MATES spans a critical turning point in the life of Paddy Byrne, battling with grief, loneliness, love and change. Paddy's inner struggle ends in a moment of clarity and he makes a decision that will radically alter his life and the lives of those around him. A warm-hearted story set in suburban Sydney, with a neglected dog, frustrated neighbours and an intense shopkeeper, SOUL MATES explores how far one man will go for a chance to feel alive again.
On a winter's evening, by the light of a comforting campfire, Max Stuart, senior Arrente elder and custodian of the Alice Springs area, divulges poignant words of wisdom to his descendants.
'Ladies were dancing it up in the Milky Way, and the baby fell down from a Coolamon, fell down here, and created that meteorite crater.'
Vince embarks on an odyssey through the city streets while his girlfriend Jacqui works in a strip club until dawn. Over one night they journey into the darkness of their own hearts to find out what really matters.
Following the death of her mother, eight-year-old Sara forms a surrogate parent relationship with a tree in her garden.
A feature documentary that follows the incredible journey of Dave Welzman, a Sydney kids' magician determined to reboot his life with a grand illusion to make Uluru disappear. As Dave works alongside the Rock’s traditional owners and Indigenous Custodians to pull off this spectacular stunt, he discovers the profound cultural and spiritual significance of Uluru, and his own illusions about fame and success begin to disappear.
In a time when Western culture has lost its sense of transcendence, dramatic rituals celebrating the turning of the seasons, and the mysteries of sex, death and human existence, provide deeply meaningful experiences to Pagans in Australia. However, there are substantial challenges in applying nature-based religions that developed in the Northern Hemisphere. Australia is a vast continent with distinctly different seasons and ecosystems to the northern hemisphere. It is Aboriginal sacred country and some Elders believe that certain Pagan ritual practices can disrupt the song lines. In UNDER A PAGAN SKY, experience the private rituals and celebrations of Australians recreating Pagan traditions for the southern hemisphere. Together they face the seasonal challenges and spiritual boundaries of nature worship in a vast continent, at a crucial time in environmental history.
URRPEYE celebrates the diversity, history, strength and voice of Indigenous film and television. This is a story of 'coming together' - where media groups and cultures have united to create the National Indigenous TV station (NITV).
Three women share their art and their experiences of being in the country. They share a sense of belonging to a place and walking in it, dancing with it as the songs of culture and country resonate in their artistic expression.
What does it mean to be young, disabled and sexual in modern Australia? WE ARE SEXUAL BEINGS digs into the sordid and sometimes painful details as we follow three remarkably different human beings who all happen to share two things in common: life altering spinal injuries and healthy sexual appetites.
A clash of bush craft and pride as an Aboriginal man runs for his life pursued by the law of the day. Set in 1929, this is an extraordinary tale of survival and resilience set amongst the harsh landscape of Central Australia.
Doreen and Gladys Miller are some of the last of the Wirrangul Tribe from the Eyre Peninsula region. The two sisters revisit the landscapes of their early childhood and recount their young lives as Wirrangul women. But reliving moments in history and recovering an unspoken language makes the sisters realise that when they go, their Wirrangul language goes with them.
Presented by Miranda Tapsell, You Are Here explores the place of Indigenous people in Australia today. Included in the series are Warwick Thornton’s We Don’t Need a Map, Erica Glynn’s In My Own Words, Tyson Mowarin’s Connection to Country and Trisha Morton-Thomas’ Occupation Native, which all capture moments in time that have the power to shape our history
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