Hybrid Documentary
The Dark Side by Call Number: streaming video - informitPublication Date: 2013Director Warwick Thornton assembles a collection of poignant, sad, funny and absurd true ghost tales from across Australia and brings them to life with some of Australia's most iconic actors as the storytellers.
Lurrujarri Dreaming by Call Number: LURUPublication Date: 2013This animated film documents the song-cycle of the Goolarabooloo people, along the path of the Lurujarri Heritage Trail which was established in 1987 by Goolarabooloo Elder Paddy Roe, and stretching from Broome up through the Dampier Peninsula. Embellished with live action scenes, still photographs and interviews, the film is a rich collage.
Documentary
- Zach's Ceremony
Growing up isn't easy, especially for Zach who is rapidly making the transition from boyhood to manhood, in both the modern world and his ancient culture. Pressures from his loving, but staunch father, the temptations of city life and the ever present spectre of racism all take their toll. Ultimately Zach must embrace the traditions and knowledge of his ancestors and awaken the warrior within.
The Redfern storyCall Number: REDFThis film documents the efforts made through activism and theatre to bring the cause of indigenous people to public notice, as a first step towards gaining land rights and better treatment. Redfern became a thriving and vibrant melting pot of politics, art and creativity. This is Darlene's tribute to those pioneers who were at the coal-face to bring about change.
Big name no blanket [DVD] by Call Number: BIGPublication Date: 2013George Rrurrambu, legendary frontman of the Warumpi Band, made an extraordinary contribution to contemporary Indigenous music and awakened the Australian consciousness of a third world in its own back yard.
Buckskin by Call Number: BUCKPublication Date: 2013Jack Buckskin is the teacher of an endangered language. From the northern Adelaide suburb of Salisbury, Jack's mission is to teach the Kaurna language, the language of his ancestors, to as many people as he can in his lifetime. But this is not easy. The language was driven to near extinction over a century ago. Now, Jack and fellow language speakers are sculpting a new Kaurna language and culture, and through that seeking to bring a new way of being to the youth of suburban Adelaide, in the form of a new Aboriginal identity, and with that, hope.
Coniston by Call Number: CONIPublication Date: 2012More than 80 years after the brutal slaughter of 100 or more Aboriginal people in Central Australia, their descendants relate their story. Known as 'the last massacre', expeditions set out in 1928 to mow down innocent people across the traditional lands of the Warlpiri people and their neighbours to avenge the killing of dingo trapper Fred Brooks at the hands of a Warlpiri man, Bullfrog, for taking liberties with Brook's wife.
Croker Island exodus by Call Number: CROKPublication Date: 20121942, Croker Island, Arafura Sea. As the Japanese bomb Australia's north, 95 Aboriginal children and their missionary carers make a remarkable journey to safety across the Australian continent. This 'little' party sets off on a journey that takes them from Croker Island through Arnhem Land to a Methodist farm at Otford on the edge of Sydney. They travel for 44 days covering 3,000 miles by foot, boat, canoe, truck and train. This is their story, in their own words: a truly heroic and untold journe
Boxing for Palm Island by Call Number: BOXIPublication Date: 2010Palm Island was established as an Aboriginal settlement in 1918 and it soon became known as Punishment Island. Throughout its history the island has been plagued by controversy, most notably in 1999 when it was entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the most violent place on earth outside of a combat zone.
Jandamarra's war by Call Number: JANDPublication Date: 2011The story of an Australian Aboriginal man who should be as famous as Ned Kelly. In 1894, Jandamarra led a rebellion against invading pastoralists in defence of his people's ancient land and culture. Until his death in brutal retribution, this formidable Bunuba warrior waged a 3 year guerrilla war, earning him both the admiration of his people and international notoriety.
Servant or SlaveCall Number: SERVBringing to light the heartbreaking experiences of Rita Wright, Rita Wenberg, Violet West, Adelaide Wenberg and Valerie Linow, Servant or Slave is a film of courage, strength and the fortitude to pursue justice for the crimes committed against them after being stolen from their families, trained to be domestic servants and forced into indentured labour.
FIRST AUSTRALIANS by Call Number: FIRSPublication Date: 2008First Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. The series explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire. Over seven episodes, First Australians depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white - caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia's most transformative period of history.
Black panther woman by Call Number: BLACPublication Date: 2014"In 1972 Marlene Cummins fell in love with the leader of the Australian Black Panther Party. With the break up of that relationship, she spiralled into a cycle of addiction that left her on the streets. 40 years later Marlene travels to a gathering of international Black Panthers in New York. The journey takes her back in time, to her love affair, her time with the Panthers and the question of the place of women in the movement.- We Don’t Need a Map byPublication Date: 2017The Southern Cross has become much more than just the five stars we see in the night sky in this part of the world. The celestial body has been claimed by some as a symbol of Australian-ness thanks to its use on the national flag and following on as a popular tattoo, but its meaning to and significance for Indigenous people stretches back 100,000 years. Filmmaker Warwick Thornton, who controversially declared the Southern Cross was being used "like a swastika" in 2009, examines the importance of the star pattern as part of what it means to be a contemporary Australian for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
- In my own words byPublication Date: 2017Proving age should be no barrier to learning to read and write, this documentary from writer/director Erica Glynn looks at the work of the Literacy for Life Foundation in regional Australia. The organisation is attempting to make inroads into the estimated 40 to 65 percent illiteracy rate among Indigenous adults. In My Own Words follows a 13-week course held in the tiny outback town of Brewarrina, NSW, as the students and their teachers – locals who have been given classroom training – learn together. It’s a slow and difficult process, but the determination of the participants to succeed make this an inspiring watch.
- Connection to Country byPublication Date: 2017This film from director Tyson Mowarin highlights the battle undertaken by the people of Western Australia
- Occupation native byPublication Date: 2017The majority of Australians grew up with a very one-sided history of our nation. From white settlement to today, that account has mostly been viewed from a single perspective. Occupation Native sets out to change that. Using a range of approaches – some serious, some humorous – filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas adjusts the narrative to include the experience and history of Australia’s Indigenous community. There’s always more than one way to look at a story, and this documentary presents – without judgement – a perspective that’s been disregarded for too long.
Documentary: Directed by Non Indigenous
Wrong side of the Road by Call Number: WRONPublication Date: 1981Two Aboriginal rock bands, Us Mob and No Fixed Address, tour Australia meeting hostility and harassment from white authorities along the way.
Putupurri and the Rainmakers by Call Number: PUTUPublication Date: 2015A documentary about an Aboriginal man living in Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia that maps out his ancestors' spiritual connection to the land and his family's continuing custodianship of it
First footprints by Call Number: FIRSPublication Date: 2013First Footprints takes us back to an Australia before Captain Cook. It is the untold story of the original pioneers of all humankind, a history that began in Australia 50,000 years before modern humans reached America and Europe.
Spotlight - Transmission Films
Sweet Country
Inspired by real events, Sweet Country is a period western set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory, Australia. When Aboriginal stockman Sam (Hamilton Morris) kills white station owner Harry March in self-defence, Sam and his wife Lizzie go on the run. They are pursued across the outback, through glorious but harsh desert country.
Sergeant Fletcher leads the posse with the help of Aboriginal tracker Archie and local landowners Fred Smith and Mick Kennedy. Fletcher is desperate to capture Sam and put him on trial for murder – but Sam is an expert bushman and he has little difficulty outlasting them. Eventually, for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam decides to give himself up. He is put on trial in the courtroom of Judge Taylor. But will justice be served?
Feature Film
Sweet country (2017)Call Number: SWEEPublication Date: 2017Directed by Warwick Thornton
Australian western set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s, where justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self-defence and goes on the run as a posse gathers to hunt him down.
Goldstone by Call Number: GOLDPublication Date: 2016Indigenous Detective Jay Swan arrives in the frontier town of Goldstone on a missing persons enquiry. What seems like a simple light duties investigation opens a web of crime and corruption. Jay must pull his life together and bury his differences with young local cop Josh, so together they can bring justice to Goldstone.
Mabo by Call Number: MABOPublication Date: 2012Mabo tells the story of Eddie Koiki Mabo, the Torres Strait Islander who left school at fifteen, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that once and for all overthrew the notion of terra nullius. Hand in hand with this David and Goliath legal battel is the tender love story of Koiki and Bonita, the woman he met as a teenager, and loved through thirty years of marriage and the raising of ten children. It tells of the deep love and partnership that fuelled their fight for Australian law to recognise traditional land rights. Although Koiki never lived to hear the High Court's decision that returned his land to him, the name Mabo has become known nationwide"--Container.The Sapphires by
Call Number: SAPPPublication Date: 2012An inspirational tale set in the heady days of the late 60s when four young, talented singers from a remote Aboriginal mission are discovered and guided by an unlikely manager. This feel-good hit is based on the successful Australian stage musical and inspired by a remarkable true story.
Spear by Call Number: SPEAPublication Date: 2016Using gesture and dance, with minimal dialogue, Spear follows a young Aboriginal man named Djali from North East Arnhem Land to the streets of Sydney on his quest to understand what it means to be a man with ancient traditions in a modern world.
Jasper Jones by Call Number: JASPPublication Date: 2017JASPER JONES is a coming of age story about Charlie Bucktin, a bookish boy of 14. On the night that Jasper Jones, the town's mixed race outcast shows him the dead body of young Laura Wishart, Charlie's life is changed forever.
Satellite boy by Call Number: SATEPublication Date: 2012Pete lives with his grandfather in an old abandoned outdoor cinema in the desert. When the old drive-in is threatened with demolition, ten year old Pete takes off to the city with his best mate Kalmain, to save his home. But the boys get lost in the Australian outback. Starving and thirsty, Pete has to remember some of the old bush skills his grandfather taught him to survive.
Mystery Road by Call Number: MYSTPublication Date: 2013Indigenous cowboy detective Jay Swan returns to his outback home, to solve the murder of a teenage girl whose body is found under the highway trucking route out of town. Alienated from both the white dominated police force and his own community, including his teenaged daughter, who he discovers is connected with the murdered girl, Jay stands alone in his determination to fight back for his town and his people.
Beneath Clouds by Call Number: BenePublication Date: 2002Tired of her single-parent Aboriginal upbringing in a small New South Wales town, fair-skinned and blue eyed Lena gets on a bus for Sydney looking for her Irish father. At the same time, Vaughn, a forestry worker in a minimum security gaol, escapes to go to visit his mother who is ill, possibly dying. The two are thrown together in the middle of nowhere and gradually learn to embrace each others differences through encounters with shopkeepers, passers-by and even policemen.
Samson & Delilah by Call Number: SamsPublication Date: 2009Samson and Delilah's world is small- an isolated community in the Central Australian desert. When tragedy strikes they turn their backs on home and embark on a journey of survival. Lost, unwanted and alone they discover that life isn't always fair, but love never judges.
Radiance by Call Number: RadiPublication Date: 1998In a big old airy Queensland house perched above the sea, three sisters gather for the funeral of their mother. Cressy is a famous and brittle opera singer who left years earlier and never came back. Mae is the bitter one who stayed and looked after the old woman, more out of duty than love. Nona is the youngest, who ran away in her teens to find her father and returned with an urgent problem"
Bran nue dae by Call Number: BRANPublication Date: 2010In the Summer of 1965 a young man is filled with the life of the idyllic old pearling port Broome - fishing, hanging out with his mates and his girl. However his mother returns him to the religious mission for further schooling. After being punished for an act of youthful rebellion, he runs away from the mission on a journey that ultimately leads him back home.
Toomelah by Call Number: TOOMPublication Date: 2011In a remote Aboriginal community, 10 year old Daniel yearns to be a gangster, like the male role models in his life. Skipping school, getting into fights and running drugs for Linden, who leads the main gang in town
Here I am by Call Number: HerePublication Date: 2010Here I Am' is driven by three generations of Aboriginal women - Karen Lee Burden, her mother Lois and her daughter Rosie. When Karen is released from prison, through a series of chance encounters the women learn that freedom is hard to find when hearts are still broken.
Servant or Slave (2016)Director: Steven McGregor
Bringing to light the heartbreaking experiences of Rita Wright, Rita Wenberg, Violet West, Adelaide Wenberg and Valerie Linow, Servant or Slave is a film of courage, strength and the fortitude to pursue justice for the crimes committed against them after being stolen from their families, trained to be domestic servants and forced into indentured labour.
Feature Film written and/or directed by a non-Indigenous person.
Charlie's Country by
Call Number: CHARPublication Date: 2014Blackfella Charlie is getting older, and he's out of sorts. The Government Intervention is making life more difficult on his remote community, what with the proper policing of whitefella laws that don't generally make much sense, and Charlie's kin and ken seeming more interested in going along with things than doing anything about it. So Charlie takes off, to live the old way, but in so doing, sets off a chain of events in his life that has him return to his community chastened, and somewhat the wiser.
Rabbit Proof Fence by Call Number: RABBPublication Date: 2002Three young Aboriginal girls are snatched from their mothers arms and sent to a remote settlement at Moore River. 1500 miles away from home, distanced from their mothers and forced to adapt to a strange new world, the girls attempt the impossible and embark on a daring escape.
Ten Canoes by Call Number: TENPublication Date: 2006"Ten canoes tells the story of the people of the Arafura swamp, in their language, and is set a long time before the coming of the Balanda, as white people were known. Dayindi covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, he is told a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong.
Yolngu Boy by Call Number: YOLNPublication Date: 2000Three teenage Aboriginal boys, best friends. live in a community by the sea. Each has a different approach to life.
The Tracker by Call Number: TRACKPublication Date: 2002Set in the Australian outback in 1922, [this film] tells the story of The Fanatic, the Follower and the Philosopher - three white men who use an indigenous tracker to pursue a fugitive.
Australian Rules by Call Number: AUSTPublication Date: 2002The story of the friendship between Aboriginal Dumby Red and white Gary Black, both players on the local Aussie rules football team.
Mad Bastards by Call Number: MADPublication Date: 2011TJ's quest to find the son he's never known, takes him on a journey across the remote and stunning Kimberley landscape. On the road, TJ questions his life of violence...
Television Series
Cleverman by Call Number: CLEVEPublication Date: 2016In the near future, a species from ancient mythology known as the Hairypeople live amongst humans and battle for survival in a world that wants to silence, exploit and destroy them. When a series of violent, unexplained murders terrifies the city, the blame is pointed firmly in the direction of the Hairypeople. Can Koen, a man bestowed with a powerful gift and destined to become the Cleverman, learn to harness his power before everything around him crumbles?
Redfern Now by Call Number: REDFPublication Date: 2012A series of powerful, moving, funny, and bittersweet stories that explore contemporary inner city Indigenous life. They centre on a diverse group of individuals - exploring their strengths, flaws and resilience - and tell how their lives are changed by a moment's decision, an accident or a seemingly insignificant incident
Gods of Wheat Street by Call Number: GODSPublication Date: 2014Head of the family before his time, Odin Freeburn is being pulled in all directions. Can he let go of his past in time to save the future?
Black Comedy by Call Number: BLAC/2014Publication Date: 2014A sketch comedy show featuring Indigenous Australian writers and performers.- The Dreaming series (1994-1999)Producer: Keith Salvat
These animated films are based on Australian Aboriginal storytelling (oral histories) that have been maintained as a body of knowledge for over 40,000 years. There are 6 parts to the complete series, and each looks at unique indigenous stories, beautifully animated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
- Little J & Big CuzDirected by Beck Cole and Tony Thorne
Publication date: 2017
Little J, he’s five and Big Cuz, she’s nine. They’re a couple of Indigenous Australian kids living with their Nanna and Old Dog. Little J and Big Cuz are busy with the ups and downs of playground and classroom. There’s always something surprising going on whether it’s at school, in the backyard...or beyond. The gaps in Nanna’s ramshackle fence lead to Saltwater, Desert and Freshwater Country. With the help of Nanna and their teacher Ms Chen, Little J and Big Cuz are finding out all about culture, community and country. - Grace Beside MeDirected by Beck Cole, Lynn-Maree Danzey and Nicholas Verso
Publication date: 2018
Fuzzy Mac just wants to be an ordinary teenager and have fun with her mates - but when the Ancestors have other plans and you keep seeing spirits, that's not so easy.
8MMM Aboriginal Radio by Call Number: EIGH/2015Publication Date: 2015"Six-part series 8MMM Aboriginal Radio is a comedy about giving Aboriginal people a voice in a country with no ears and how, when all else fails, which it usually does, it's good to have a laugh. At the arse-end of the world, in the middle of nowhere, is Alice Springs - home to 8MMM
Online series
- Kiki and Kitty (2017)Directed by Catriona McKenzie
Kiki and Kitty follows the adventures of a young, black woman in a big, white world, where her vagina is a big, black woman AND her best friend. - Transblack (2017)Directed by Charmaine Ingram
A series of 4 x 10 min short films that follow the day to day lives of four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island transgender men and women, and how they changed perceptions of themselves and those closest to them
Short Film
- Bluey byCall Number: BLUEPublication Date: 2016Bluey, an angry young woman trapped in a life of violence, meets a mystery mentor who could change everything. (15 mins)
- Scar byPublication Date: 2012From the Tiwi Islands, this part ghost story and part romance is about a man in love with a married women. (10 mins.)
- Confessions of a Head Hunter byCall Number: CONFPublication Date: 2000Frank and Vinnie are modern day head hunters. They don't just want any heads, they want famous people, heads with a price on them and heads that will stop the nation dead. (33mins.)
- Green Bush byCall Number: GREEPublication Date: 2005Over one heartbreaking but empowering night, radio DJ Kenny realises that his job at an Aboriginal community radio station is about more than just playing music. (27mins.)
- Nia's Melancholy byCall Number: NEWPublication Date: 2008Nia's Melancholy tells of a young girl who lives in beautiful tropical North Queensland and who, after her sister's suicide, finds solace retreating into the recesses of her mind.
- Harry's War byPublication Date: 1999Harry and Mitch are two mates who go off to fight in the jungles of Papua New Guinea during World War II. (28mins.)
- Nulla Nulla byPublication Date: 2015Fresh out of the academy, White Cop experiences his first taste of Aboriginal community life, as Black Cop puts him to the test. (5 mins.)
- Black Chook byPublication Date: 2015All that was left for the children of the dead was to remember.
- Footprints byPublication Date: 2015
- Mimi byPublication Date: 2002Warwick Thornton’s satirical short film Mimi pokes fun at white art collectors who purchase Indigenous art purely for its investment value.
Short Drama (13 mins) - Galka byPublication Date: 2014Share
In Arnhem Land, people believe that galka (dark heart person) is still living with us.
You will find them in the bushes with painting on their body. (10mins.) - Karroyul byPublication Date: 2015Fantasy/Drama film ‧ 15 mins
Short Film Compilation
- The New BlackCall Number: NEWShort Film Compilation:
Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wakgun (14mins.)
The Farm (11mins.)
Bourke Boy (11mins.)
Nia's melancholy (10.5mins.)
Jacob (11mins.)
The Party Shoes (11mins.)
Ralph (10mins.) - Bit of Black BusCall Number: BITPublication Date: 2007(13x 5mins)
Back Seat
Nana
Kwatye
Turtle
Hush
Sharpeye
Days Like These
Done Dirt Cheap
Two Big Boys - Sand to CelluloidCall Number: SANDPublication Date: 1996No way to forget
Fly peewee, fly
Round up
Two bob mermaid
Payback
Black man down - Shifting sands : from sand to celluloid continuedCall Number: SHIFGrace
Tears
My colour, your kind
Passing through
Promise
My bed, your bed