To mark the United Nations World Day of Social Justice on 20 February, NFSA historian Graham Shirley profiles Cecil Holmes, a filmmaker who was committed to humanitarian causes in his private and professional life.

The Secretary-General of the UN stated in 2010 that 'Social justice is based on the values of fairness, equality, respect for diversity, access to social protection, and the application of human rights in all spheres of life.’ Holmes particularly championed the rights of Indigenous Australians, as a member of the Aboriginal Rights Council in the 1960s and through his documentaries on Indigenous themes made for AIATSIS, the ABC and the Commonwealth Film Unit.

Read the Portrait here. It includes a stills gallery and comprehensive screenography. You can also watch a trailer for Holmes’s bushranger feature Captain Thunderbolt (1953), which is the focus of the NFSA’s search for lost films.