First Nations (11/14)

Films about the First Nations peoples of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands, including many films by First Nations filmmakers. Stories range across issues relating to identity and the diversity of histories and cultures both before and after the arrival of Captain Cook, including the "Stolen Generations," art, anthropology, archaeology and politics,

SKIN OF OTHERS, THE

2020 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 91 min

A story of modern Australia told through the extraordinary life of Aboriginal WW1 soldier Douglas Grant (c.1885-1951), an intellectual, a journalist, a soldier and a bagpipe player with a fine Scottish accent. Featuring the acclaimed Indigenous actor Balang Tom E. Lewis in his final performance (as Douglas Grant) and guest... more

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SOMETHING OF THE TIMES [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1985 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 41 min

The story of Aboriginal and white buffalo hunters in the remote wetlands of the Northern Territory in the 1930s. more

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SONS OF NAMATJIRA [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1975 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 47 min

A group of celebrated Aboriginal artists and their relationship with the outside world. more

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SPEAR IN THE STONE [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1983 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 34 min

An age-old tradition of making spear-heads from special stones in Arnhem Land. more

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SPECIAL TREATMENT- Locking Up Aboriginal Children

1991 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 56 min

Australia imprisons almost as many black children as are imprisoned in South Africa. Today 45% of all juveniles in NSW jails are Aboriginal, though they form less than 2% of the population. Made by a crew of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, this documentary asks why police are under-using alternative procedures... more

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STILL OUR COUNTRY

2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 88 min

A poetic celebration of country and culture, Still Our Country documents the swiftly changing lives of the Yolngu people of Ramingining in the Northern Territory. This evocative carnival of images and sounds makes a bold declaration of identity and offers a hopeful promise of a future. more

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STOCKMAN'S STRATEGY [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1984 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 51 min

An insight into the transfer of knowledge and experience on the Collum Collum cattle station in north-eastern New South Wales. more

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STOLEN GENERATIONS

2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min

The removal of Aboriginal children in Australia was a deliberate government policy and forms part of the history of dispossession of the country's original inhabitants. Every Aboriginal family in Australia has directly or indirectly been affected and the effects have lasted over generations. Many have called this genocide. more

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STONE COUNTRY

2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min

Stone Country is a snapshot of a remote Indigenous community of Ngukurr in northern Australia. more

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STRONG MEN OF NGUIU

2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min

Nguiu (known as Wurrumiyanga today) is a community on Bathurst Island, Northern Territory. There the "strong men" have been striving to restore cultural traditions among the youth on the island. Leading by example, they are steering the next generation away from substance abuse and crime to become leaders of tomorrow. more

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SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1987 (PG) 86 min

Country folk know of pleasures that townsfolk never know ... The story of an Aboriginal stockman and his family and their growing passion for "picnic racing" on bush tracks in New South Wales. more

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SUNSET TO SUNRISE [from the CAAMA Collection]

2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 24 min

By the light of a comforting campfire, Rupert Max Stuart, a 77-year old Arrernte Mat-utjarra Elder and a custodian of the Alice Springs area, offers poignant words of wisdom to a younger generation. more

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SURFING THE HEALING WAVE

1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min

In this documentary, Kyle Slabb, a young Aboriginal surfer, takes us to the annual indigenous surfing contest at Fingal on the Northern New South Wales coast. Along the way, he offers us insights into traditional ways, dances and ceremonies and an understanding of his struggle to preserve those values in his modern life. more

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TAKEOVER [from the AIATSIS Collection]

1979 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 87 min

The story of an Aboriginal community under threat from a distant bureaucracy. A film by David and Judith MacDougall. DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED FROM ORIGINAL FILM MATERIALS! more

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TALES FROM THE DALY - Nauiyu Nambiyu [from the CAAMA Collection]

2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 20 min

A journey into the stories and spectacular landscapes of the Daly River region in the north-west of the Northern Territory. more

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TALKING BROKEN

1991 (G) 76 min

'Broken' is the creole spoken by the Torres Strait Islanders in far north Australia. Although they appear to keep up with 'the system', the hidden language of the authorities will always remain a mystery. With humour and intelligence, various Islanders talk openly about subjects as wide-ranging as independence, culture,... more

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TALKING LANGUAGE with Ernie Dingo [from the CAAMA Collection]

2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 132 min

There are around 250 languages with 600 dialects spoken on this land. Today it is estimated around 30 of those languages are still strong and spoken daily, while over a hundred are critically endangered. more

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TEACH A MAN TO FISH

2018 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 80 min

Grant Leigh Saunders is an Aboriginal filmmaker, writer and musician who has secretly always wanted to be a fisherman, just like his father and grandfather before him. This fishing yarn is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Manning River in central New South Wales. more

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TERRA NULLIUS

1992/2021 (G) 21 min

RE-RELEASE OF AN ACCLAIMED FILM FROM 1992, RE-MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL FILM NEGATIVES. "In evoking what an Aboriginal child goes through when disconnected from family and taken into foster-care, this film is ahead of its time in its treatment." - Margo Neale, Senior Indigenous Curator and historian. more

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THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH

2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min

A film about the remarkable relationship between Indigenous cultures, the dolphin and the marine environment. We learn of remarkable signs observed between land and ocean to indicate when fish are travelling and in what numbers, and gain a clear insight into the 'yuri' or totem system and its place in contemporary culture. more

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