Indigenous Film & Television
153 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
Film and television titles written and directed by an Indigenous person.
1970s
My Survival as an Aboriginal documentary – 1978
The first documentary directed by an Indigenous woman offers a solution by way of continuing cultural practice.
1980s
Dugong Dugong documentary – 1980
Depending on the individual viewer’s attitude, scenes of dugong hunting can be exhilarating or disturbing.
Nice Coloured Girls short film – 1987
The tongue-in-cheek title of Tracey Moffatt’s first film positions Aboriginal women as naïve and 'nice’ but these are merely roles played by the women.
Mimi: An Evening with the Aboriginal Dance Theatre documentary – 1988
NAISDA led to the emergence of the Bangarra Dance Theatre and produced artists such as Christine Anu and Stephen Page.
One People Sing Freedom television program – 1988
One People Sing Freedom documents the largest gathering of Indigenous people since 1788, a protest march against the Bicentennial celebrations of 26 January 1988.
Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy short film – 1989
Tracey Moffatt continues to challenge the social construction of Aboriginality and how it is viewed nationally and internationally. Night Cries is a possible sequel to Jedda.
1990s
Blackout – Malangi: A Day in the Life of a Bark Painter television program – 1991
A portrait of the internationally acclaimed Arnhem Land artist David Malangi, highly regarded in both Yolngu and western cultural traditions.
Benny and the Dreamers documentary – 1992
Freddy West Tjakamarra, a member of the Pintubi people, thought that tinned food contained human flesh.
BeDevil feature film – 1993
Tracey Moffatt, who is best known as an artist, challenged Western storytelling traditions in Bedevil and polarised critics.
Blood Brothers – Freedom Ride documentary – 1993
This documentary about Indigenous campaigner Charlie Perkins was made by his daughter Rachel, giving it extra intimacy.
Warlpiri documentary – 1993
Elders teach children how to collect and prepare bush potato – a bush tucker favourite.
From Sand to Celluloid – Round Up short film – 1995
Round Up is a lighthearted short drama that deals with the cultural clash between a white stockman and an Indigenous stockman.
From Sand to Celluloid – Black Man Down short film – 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 short film – 1996
Writer-director Richard J Frankland drew on his experience as a field officer for the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody to compose this story.
From Sand to Celluloid – Payback short film – 1996
Payback, a black-and-white short about the Western and Indigenous legal systems, is one of Warwick Thornton’s earliest dramatic works.
From Sand to Celluloid – Two Bob Mermaid short film – 1996
In 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.
Marn Grook documentary – 1996
'Marn Grook’ is the Indigenous name of a game very similar to AFL. This revealing documentary contends that AFL is in fact derived from Marn Grook.
Message Stick – Blacktracker television program – 1996
A tribute to Aboriginal tracker Alexander Riley, a sergeant in the NSW Police Force and a recipient of the King’s Medal in 1943.
Desert Tracks short film – 1997
Desert Tracks – a business established without government funding – is a community’s attempt to sustain itself culturally and an important initiative for self-determination.
Shifting Sands – Promise short film – 1997
This is essentially a love story told in the absence of the love interest – grandfather – that resonates as one of those moments that are a cherished memory.
Shifting Sands – Tears short film – 1997
Tears introduces the two main characters from Ivan Sen’s feature film Beneath Clouds, and also presents the elements that shape his later feature.
Shifting Sands – Grace short film – 1998
This short drama from Wesley Enoch depicts the emotional journey of an Indigenous woman back to Australia for the funeral of her sister.
Shifting Sands – My Bed Your Bed short film – 1998
This short romantic drama from Erica Glynn uses the power of silence to communicate the tension between two characters who have been promised to each other.
Shifting Sands – Passing Through short film – 1998
A directorial debut from filmmaker and celebrity chef Mark Olive, Passing Through weaves myth and legend to tell an Indigenous-flavoured ghost story.
Vanish documentary – 1998
Ivan Sen’s Vanish explores the history of the Gamilaroi people being moved onto Toomelah Reserve.
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning short film – 1999
The film offers few answers or a resolution and presents a possibility of characters trapped in an experience from which all are seeking liberation.
Wind short film – 1999
The story of a black tracker – an Indigenous man employed by whites to hunt fellow Indigenous people – and a man with loyalties divided between two cultures.
Wrap Me Up in Paperbark documentary – 1999
At the heart of this documentary is the struggle to reclaim a mother’s remains and return her to the country and people from whom she was taken.
2000s
Confessions of a Headhunter short film – 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.
Harry’s War short film – 2000
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.
Minymaku Way: There’s Only One Women’s Council documentary – 2000
Minymaku Way challenges views of Aboriginal community dependence on outside bureaucracy.
My Mother My Son short film – 2000
The pain experienced by three generations of a family as the cycle of separation of mother from child repeats itself.
Road short film – 2000
A film that emphasises the strangeness of the city, where a black fella has a hard time getting a cab, and more often than not, anything can happen.
Stolen Generations documentary – 2000
Describes the destruction of the familial, cultural and social fabric of Indigenous communities following the removal of children form Indigenous families.
Teddy Briscoe documentary – 2000
Indigenous stockman Teddy Briscoe, now an old man, tells his story, sharing the historical importance of men like him to the Australian cattle industry.
Tombstone Unveiling documentary – 2000
In Torres Strait Islander culture, unveiling the tombstone of the deceased a year after death marks the end of the mourning period.
A Walk with Words: The Poetry of Romaine Moreton short film – 2000
This short biographical film showcases the life and poetry of performance artist Romaine Moreton and her struggles to gain freedom.
Willigan’s Fitzroy documentary – 2000
In the film’s introduction we hear the director talking with Willigan as they drive through the country in a four-wheel drive vehicle, setting up a style Thornton uses throughout the film.
Alyawarre Country documentary – 2001
For decades there was awful conflict between pastoralists and Indigenous people; two elders share their perspective, in their language.
Dog Dreaming documentary – 2001
Dog Dreaming is a documentary about the journey of two ancestral dogs that became a Dreaming story.
Message Stick – Bill’s Wake television program – 2001
Bill Neidjie, a traditional owner of Kakadu, had a wake while he was alive, rather than waiting until his death, to hear what people wanted to say about him.
Message Stick – Tent Boxers television program – 2001
A tribute to the Aboriginal men who travelled around Australia in the 1950s and ‘60s with tent-boxing troupes.
My Mother’s Country Part 1 documentary – 2001
Oral history is an important feature of Indigenous culture. The stories told by family members give the Coniston massacre of 1928 a human face.
My Mother’s Country Part 2 documentary – 2001
Japanangka’s act of retaliation for the theft of his wife sparked one of the last-known massacres of Aboriginal people in Australian history.
Narbalek documentary – 2001
Narbalek is one of more than 100 documentaries made in the Nganampa Anwernekenhe Series, designed primarily for Indigenous audiences.
One Night the Moon feature film – 2001
One Night the Moon, from director Rachel Perkins, reintroduces song into the Australian landscape. For Indigenous peoples, song has been one of the central means of land management.
Redfern Beach short film – 2001
Redfern Beach is a love story between two people from different cultural backgrounds, set in a fish-processing factory.
Smoking the Baby documentary – 2001
Smoking the Baby demonstrates an Indigenous ritual that helps children and mothers fend off illness.
Whispering in Our Hearts documentary – 2001
Remembering those who were murdered in the 1918 massacre of Aboriginal people at Mowla Bluff is very much to do with healing.
Beneath Clouds feature film – 2002
While the narrative devices that director Ivan Sen uses to communicate his themes are firmly located within Indigenous sensibility and cultural perspective, the subject matter is universal.
