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CAAMA Collection (1/3)
Ronin Films is very pleased to be working in association with CAAMA Productions to promote and market their outstanding catalogue of documentaries and dramas on Indigenous subjects.
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980, and owned by the Indigenous peoples of Central Australia. It is dedicated to the social, cultural and economic advancement of Indigenous peoples, and accordingly it has a mandate to promote Indigenous culture, language, dance, and music while generating economic benefits in the form of training and employment. The Association is responsible for a diverse range of media products that engender pride in Indigenous culture, and informs and educates the wider community of the richness and diversity of the Indigenous peoples of Australia.
CAAMA Productions is the largest Indigenous production house in Australia. The company is based in Alice Springs and was established by the CAAMA Group in 1988, to perform the function of a commercial film and television production house for the newly established Imparja Television, a remote area commercial broadcast service, also based in Alice Springs. As a professional film, television and creative facility, CAAMA Productions supports Indigenous producers, directors, camera crews and editors and has close ties with local Indigenous peoples and communities.
The successful documentary series, NGANAMPA ANWERNEKENHE is a collaboration between CAAMA Productions and Imparja Television, and between 4 and 6 short documentaries were made annually for the series over many years. This remarkable series, which celebrated its 21st birthday in 2008, served as a showcase for Indigenous filmmaking talent, with contributions from such filmmakers as Warwick Thornton, Ivan Sen, Beck Cole and Priscilla Collins.
CAAMA Productions has produced documentaries for national and overseas networks including the Seven and Nine Networks, the ABC, SBS, National Geographic, Channel 4 and CBC.
CAAMA has also collaborated on numerous feature films by Indigenous directors, including Warwick Thornton's first feature, the award-winning SAMSON AND DELILAH.
"I have often argued that these CAAMA titles represent the most exciting body of documentary filmmaking in Australia over the last few years. It's a body of work that has emerged from a unique collaborative production base with filmmakers working on each other's productions, and a cultural ethos that differs remarkably from the aesthetics that drive TV documentary elsewhere. Here we have films that are character-driven and content-driven, in a style that is simple and clear, embodying respect for Elders and their stories, and allowing them time to speak in their own way, in their own language, and in their own time.
"The films have a distinctive social function that ties them strongly to the community and gives them an importance that is far removed from the ephemeral "entertainment" nature of much TV documentary made elsewhere.
"In fact, if there are academics reading this note, I'd love to see a post-grad scholar somewhere taking up this collection as the focus for a serious study of their unique style and content: such a study would have wide relevance in documenting a viable model of documentary production that has lasting social and cultural relevance". - Andrew Pike, April 2013
AGNES ABBOTT: Hard Worker [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
Agnes Abbott is an Eastern Arrente woman who has witnessed the transformation of her Central Australian homeland - from her early days working in the cattle industry, to the damage caused by the introduction of alcohol. Her determination to care for her community has seen Agnes at the forefront of initiatives to drive out... more
ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL [from the CAAMA Collection]
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min
This portrait of two feisty, strong-willed Elders, is a moving and beautifully filmed document of a vanishing way of life, with a strong message to respect the past, traditional culture and community values. more
ARLI (from the CAAMA Collection)
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 30 min
A moving story of rehabilitation and re-connection with family and community. Arlun McCormack, a young Arrernte man from Alice Springs, tells us the story of his fight with substance abuse, and his rehabilitation through writing and performing rap music. An award-winning film by Christopher Fitzpatrick. more
ARTISTS OF ALI CURUNG [from the CAAMA Collection]
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 21 min
The Arlpwe Arts Centre and Gallery, in the town of Ali Curung, 350 km north of Alice Springs, provides a focus for the work of a diverse group of Indigenous artists. more
ART OF HEALING, THE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
A story of inspiration and community spirit from central Australia. more
BENNY AND THE DREAMERS [from the CAAMA Collection]
1992 (G) 54 min
The extraordinary story of the Pintupi peoples' first meeting with the white world. more
BEYOND SORRY [from the CAAMA Collection]
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 53 min
An intimate portrait of two "half-caste" women: Zita Wallace who was taken from her Arrernte family at the age of eight; and Aggie Abbott, an Arrernte woman who was hidden from the Aboriginal Protector at the same time that Zita was taken. The film follows the friendship that has developed between the two women in their... more
BLACK AND DUSTY [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 43 min
Follows a group of First Nations competitors in the Finke Desert Race in Central Australia. more
BOOMERANG TODAY (KARLI JALANGU) [from the CAAMA Collection]
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
Re-living ancient traditions in the modern world. A film by David Tranter and Allan Collins. more
BUNGALUNG [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 22 min
An epic Dreaming story re-told by Anmatjere Elders, in which two young men challenge a clan of Demons. more
BUSH TOYS [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 23 min
Bush Toys is a whimsical and historical journey into the art of Bush Toy making in the Central Desert of Australia. more
CASE 442 [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 49 min
Frank Byrne spent most of his adult life on a personal crusade to find his mother, after being taken away from her at the age of 5. more
CHEEKY DOG [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
Dion Beasley is 15 years old, profoundly deaf and suffers from Muscular Dystrophy. The only way he is able to communicate is through his drawings. With the help of a close friend and teacher, they have established a label for t-shirts and other apparel, called "Cheeky Dog". It is hoped that this venture will create... more
COLD TURKEY [from the CAAMA Collection]
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 45 min
A drama about two brothers and their journey into a long night of desperate living. more
COOL DRINK AND CULTURE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
The links between traditional bush foods and good health, and supermarket foods and poor health. more
CROOKHAT AND THE KULUNADA [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 23 min
Stories of the water serpent, Kulunada, which inhabits a permanent waterhole in the arid desert country of central Australia. more
CROOK HAT & CAMPHOO [from the CAAMA Collection]
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
An outstanding documentary about the survival of traditional skills in Aboriginal culture. more
DESTINY IN ALICE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 27 min
A light-hearted look at the Lesbian community of Alice Springs in central Australia. more
EIGHT LADIES [from the CAAMA Collection]
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
A journey through Alyawarr Country with eight ladies as they hunt echidna and gather bush tucker. more
FINDING PLACE [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 22 min
A film about manhood and the problems of living in two cultures. more