Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[masks-of-mer--Film-image]

Masks of Mer 2010 37‘

Directed by Michael Eaton .

The film Alfred Haddon made in 1898 in the Torres Straits, lasting for less than a minute, is the world’s first example of anthropological cinema. ‘The Masks of Mer’ tells the extraordinary story of

Australia History of Anthropology Film / Photography / Mass media Archival material / Museum displays Ritual

[camels-of-the-pitjantjara--Film-image]

Camels of the Pitjantjara 1969 45‘

Directed by Roger Sandall .

From the 1920s onwards, when motor vehicles displaced camels as a mode of supply in central Australia, camels gradually went feral. As this film shows, however, in the 1960s, the Pitjantjara were

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Infrastructure / Transport Animals

[part-of-us--Film-image]

Part of Us 2009 27‘

Directed by Maria Meriwether .

For the Ngarrindjeri people, the living and the dead are connected through shared land and heritage. The preservation of this connection is at the heart of the community’s effort to repatriate the

Australia Death Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples

[making-worlds-otherwise--Film-image]

Making Worlds Otherwise 2020 28‘

Directed by Paul Gurrumuruwuy Jennifer Deger Enid Guruŋulmiwuy Warren Balpatji Meredith Balanydjarrk James Ganambarr Kayleen Djingadjingawuy Victoria Baskin Coffey Sebastian Lowe .

An exuberant experiment in the ethnographic art of remix that gives new form to Miyarrka Media’s project of yuṯa, or new, anthropology. Sound, images, colour, light, and deeply felt patterns of

Australia Collective / Community identity Colonialism / Postcolonialism Internet Digital media Participatory / Collaborative methods

[mabo-life-of-an-island-man--Film-image]

Mabo: Life of an Island Man 1997 87‘

Directed by Trevor Graham .

On June 3rd 1992, six months after Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo’s tragic death, the High Court upheld his claim that Murray Islanders held native title to land in the Torres Strait. The legal fiction

Australia Public Figure Colonialism / Postcolonialism Life Story / Life History Political Activists Land Rights Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy

[a-transfer-of-power--Film-image]

A Transfer of Power 1986 22‘

Directed by Judith MacDougall David MacDougall .

Replacing the engine in an old car is a familiar rural task, but how people go about it differs. For these Aboriginal men in New South Wales, it’s an occasion for affirming continuing

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Education / Knowledge transmission Infrastructure / Transport

[good-bye-old-man--Film-image]

Good-bye Old Man 1977 70‘

Directed by David MacDougall .

A last request of a Tiwi man on Melville Island was that a film be made of the pukumani (bereavment) ceremony to follow his death. The film follows his family, from the days of preparation to their

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Death Elderly people Film / Photography / Mass media Ritual

[collum-calling-canberra--Film-image]

Collum Calling Canberra 1983 59‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

An account of Aboriginal people steering their way through the often frustrating processes of official decision-making, as it is seen from their viewpoint far away from Canberra. Gordon Smith, head

Australia Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples

[takeover--Film-image]

Takeover 1980 90‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

On March 13, 1978 the Queensland Government announced its intention to take over management of Aurukun Aboriginal Reserve from the Uniting Church. The people of Aurukun complained bitterly, fearing

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Resistance Land Rights Social Conflict

[namatjira-project--Film-image]

Namatjira Project 2017 87‘

Directed by Sera Davies .

An extraordinary first-hand account of the international battle to reclaim the artwork and heritage of one of Australia’s most important Indigenous figures: Albert Namatjira. Albert Namatjira was

Australia Art / Artists / Artisans Collective / Community identity Colonialism / Postcolonialism Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Political Activists Race / Racism / Antiracism

[waiting-for-harry--Film-image]

Waiting for Harry 1980 57‘

Directed by Kim McKenzie .

Although the events around which this film was planned were the final mortuary rites for Les Angabarraparra, the subject of the film became interaction. Interaction between the anthropologist Les

Australia Informant-researcher relationship Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Death Reflexivity

[the-house-opening--Film-image]

The House-Opening 1980 45‘

Directed by Judith MacDougall .

When Geraldine Kawanka’s husband died, she and her children left their house at Aurukun on Cape York Peninsula. In earlier times a bark house would have been burnt, but today a ‘house-opening’

Australia Ritual Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Death

[conversations-with-dundiwuy-wanambi--Film-image]

Conversations with Dundiwuy Wanambi 1984 50‘

Directed by Ian Dunlop Philippa Deveson .

A series of interviews with Dundiwuy Wanambi, shot over twelve years. They reveal the struggles of one man in the face of the huge changes brought about by the coming of a mining project, and

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Health / Health care / Healing Social Change

[sunny-and-the-dark-horse--Film-image]

Sunny and the Dark Horse 1986 86‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

A true story of a country family’s gradual involvement and growing passion for ‘picnic racing’. Sunny Bancroft is an Aboriginal cattle-station manager in New South Wales. With his

Australia Rural Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Animals

[ringtone--Film-image]

Ringtone 2014 30‘

Directed by Jennifer Deger Paul Wunungmurra .

Yolngu Aboriginal families offer glimpses into their lives and relationships through their choice of ringtones. From ancestral clan songs to 80s hip hop artists and local gospel tunes, these songs

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Music / Ethnomusicology Material Culture

[to-get-that-country--Film-image]

To Get That Country 1978 70‘

Directed by David MacDougall .

An important historical film of events surrounding early meetings of the Northern Land Council in 1977, where uranium mining, land rights and Aboriginal leadership were the key issues.

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Land Rights Social Organisation

[stockmans-strategy--Film-image]

Stockman’s Strategy 1984 52‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

A film which explores the philosophy of teaching and learning of Sunny Bancroft, manager of an Aboriginal-run cattle station in northern New South Wales. It also tells the story of Shane Gordon, a

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Animals Education / Knowledge transmission

[three-horsemen--Film-image]

Three Horsemen 1982 50‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

Bob Massey Pootchemunka has spent most of his life as a stockman and drover. Now over 75, his ambition is to see an all-Aboriginal cattle station operating at Ti-Tree on his traditional clan land.

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Herding Animals Land Rights

[aeroplane-dance--Film-image]

Aeroplane Dance 1994 58‘

Directed by Trevor Graham .

December 1942: US bomber ‘Little Eva’ was returning to base after a bombing raid over New Guinea. It hit a storm and crashed at Moonlight Creek in Australia’s far north. Aeroplane Dance

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples War / Conflict / Reconciliation Memory

[link-up-diary--Film-image]

Link-up Diary 1997 86‘

Directed by David MacDougall .

The filmmaker goes on the road with Link-Up, an organisation which re-unites Aboriginal families separated in earlier decades by the New South Wales government. As the film shows, being reunited

Australia Resettlement Family / Kinship Collective / Community identity Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples