Titles tagged with ‘Aboriginal peoples’
52 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
A
After Mabo documentary – 1997
The most respected Indigenous commentators on native title are featured here, thus adding to the documentary’s historical importance.
Australia Daze documentary – 1988
An observational documentary shot by 29 different camera crews on the bicentennial anniversary of Australia’s European settlement on 26 January 1988.
Australian Rules feature film – 2002
This drama, with its racism theme, in turn sparked very heated debate about white filmmakers telling stories with Indigenous content.
B
Backroads short feature – 1977
Backroads (1977) is the first feature (albeit, a short one) by Phillip Noyce, who would go on to make Newsfront (1978) and Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Beating About the Bush documentary – 1993
The filmmakers set out to record a music documentary with a happy ending but end up with coverage of a goodwill disaster.
Bigger than Texas documentary – 1992
WA’s need for a hero and corporate excess created Alan Bond, who features heavily in this quite personal documentary.
Brisbane Dreaming documentary – 1994
Historical footage and re-enactments help tell stories about the Indigenous people who were displaced by Brisbane.
C
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith feature film – 1978
This is one of the key Australian films of the 1970s, because it speaks about the unspeakable with a depth of rage that was absolutely unprecedented and has never been repeated.
Colleano on Tightwire, Rehearses in Arena home movie – c1939
Con Colleano was the first performance artist to perfect the toe-to-toe forward somersault on a wire.
Colleano on Tightwire Rehearsing at Home home movie – c1939
This footage offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of Australia’s most accomplished circus performers from the early twentieth century.
Crocodile Dundee feature film – 1985
This is not just the most commercially successful Australian film ever made, but also one of the most successful non-Hollywood films.
D
Dead Heart feature film – 1996
Bryan Brown plays a second generation Northern Territory cop caught up in a power struggle over whether black or white law is supreme.
Double Trouble – Episode 4 television program – 2007
Double Trouble allows a cultural exchange to happen for the audience as well as the characters, as we follow the adventures of twin sisters who are both 'fish out of water’.
The Dream and the Dreaming documentary – 2003
When Lutheran missionaries arrived in Central Australia, the strength of the existing culture made it challenging to make converts.
F
Fighting Blood documentary – 1951
This Cinesound documentary highlights the talents of Australian fighters, including Aboriginal boxers Alfie Clay, Elley Bennett and Dave Sands.
The Flying Vet documentary – 1984
The bonus for the viewer is that the vet, and his wife, provide a real sense of what it’s like to live in remote Australia.
The Fringe Dwellers feature film – 1986
This film has an Aboriginal ensemble cast, but a narrative based on a Western woman’s experience of an Aboriginal community.
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.
H
Heritage feature film – 1935
Heritage is a thunderous piece of endorsement for the pioneer mythology of Australia, made by the prolific Charles Chauvel.
The Human Journey – Episode 3 television program – 1999
Part scientific mystery, part detective story – this episode concludes that everyone on earth is related to the one tribe from Africa.
K
Keating Speech: The Redfern Address spoken word – 1992
In his famous ‘Redfern Address’, Prime Minister Paul Keating articulates injustices suffered by Australia’s Indigenous peoples and how society can redress them.
Kimberley Cops documentary – 2001
Stories of rogue crocodiles, tipped cattle trucks and search-and-rescue operations for lost tourists emphasise the dangers and harsh realities of life in the outback.
L
Lord of the Bush documentary – 1990
Through the complex character of McAlpine, Zubrycki reveals the issues confronting the rapidly expanding town of Broome.
M
Mad Bastards feature film – 2011
TJ returns to the Kimberley region of Western Australia to try and reconnect with his teenage son.
Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976
Mad Dog Morgan updates the bushranging movie conventions, by seeing Morgan as a modern media phenomenon.
Message Stick – Arafura Pearl television program – 2003
This is a snapshot of the Mills family, a respected family in the Darwin area. Kathleen is an Indigenous Elder, mother of eight, musician and singer.
Message Stick – Babinda Boulders television program – 2005
The story of the Devils Pool, recounted by Yidinji elder Annie Wonga, is an ancient love story. Young men fall victim to a waterhole where the spirit of a woman dwells.
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 – Scotty Martin, Rodeo Boy, Don’t Say Sorry television program – 2005
A story about songman Scotty Martin, who inherited the role of composer of songs, a repository of knowledge passed from generation to generation.
Message Stick – The Long-grassers television program – 2005
An exposé on the homeless Aboriginal people of Darwin, known as 'long-grassers’. Deals with both the compassion and the bigotry they evoke by their mere presence.
My Country documentary – 1994
My Country is about the impact of the Native Title Act on relationships between Indigenous peoples and pastoralists.
My Life as I Live It documentary – 1993
In this follow-up to My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978), also set in the Brewarrina Aboriginal community, 'Bush Queen’ Essie Coffey has nominated for the local council elections.
N
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.
Ningla A-Na documentary – 1972
Ningla A-Na documents the activism of the Black movement in south-east Australia in the 1970s and shows how the activists changed the direction of the movement both nationally and internationally.
O
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.
P
Poetry In Australia – Judith Wright television program – 1963
This simple, talking heads interview is most informative and a delight to watch. It is a must-see for students of Judith Wright’s work and fellow poets.
R
Rabbit-Proof Fence feature film – 2002
For many white Australians, this popular film was the first direct emotional experience of what it meant to be one of the 'stolen generations’.
S
Sammy Butcher, Out of the Shadows documentary – 2004
Musician Sammy Butcher played with the Warumpi Band and now invests his energy in young musicians in his community of Papunya.
A Shifting Dreaming documentary – 1982
Ray Barrett stars in this story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations spanning from the 1928 Coniston massacre to Land Rights hearings in 1982.
Short Changed feature film – 1985
The script is beautifully weighted so that the political context of the film does not inhibit the personal journey of the characters.
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.
Storm Boy feature film – 1976
Seamlessly woven into this story about one boy’s love of a pelican, are such themes as race relations, ecology, and family breakdown.
T
Time Bomb documentary – 2003
A time bomb’ is how Frank Djara, a diabetic and the first male health worker in Areyonga, refers to living with diabetes.
The Time Guardian feature film – 1987
The Time Guardian is one of the great missed opportunities of Australian cinema and symbolic of its wavering fortunes in the 1980s.
The Tracker feature film – 2002
A series of paintings by South Australian artist Peter Coad are used throughout The Tracker in place of visual depictions of violence.
Trespass documentary – 2002
Trespass revisits the Mirarr people’s fight against the uranium mines in Jabiluka. Yvonne Margarula is arrested for walking on her own land.
Two Laws documentary – 1981
The concept of two laws – colonial and Indigenous law – can also be spoken about as two ways of storytelling or filmmaking.
W
Walkabout feature film – 1970
A 16-year-old English girl and her 8-year-old brother are stranded in the desert, after their father shoots himself. They are rescued by a young tribal Aborigine.
Warlpiri documentary – 1993
Elders teach children how to collect and prepare bush potato – a bush tucker favourite.
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.
Wrong Side of the Road feature film – 1981
Most black bands before this were playing country and western – Us Mob, Coloured Stone and No Fixed Address were among the first to play rock or reggae.
Y
Yolngu Boy feature film – 2000
An entirely untrained Indigenous cast are featured in Yolngu Boy, which aimed to communicate with a wide youth audience.
