This observational documentary follows an episode in the routine life on Collum Collum cattle-station in northern New South Wales. But, as the filmmaker notes, its a story that could have occurred anywhere. The film follows the attempts by Sunny Bancroft and other men in the Collum Collum Aboriginal community to remove a failed engine from a car and replace it with a refurbished engine from another car. Its a familiar rural task where the expectation...

David Tranter continues his series of outstanding films which document the Dreaming stories and history of his Alyawarr heritage. As in Tranters other films - Boomerang Today, Crookhat and Camphoo, Karlu Karlu and Willaberta Jack - the stories are told by Elders in the community. In this case three old men, Donald (Crookhat) Akemarr Thompson, Alec Apetyarr Peterson and Casey Akemarr Holmes travel by four-wheel drive out to a surprising strip of...

In 1971 Wandjuk Marika organised a Djang’kawu ceremony at Yirrkala. It was to be a memorial for his father, Mawalan, who died in 1967. Mawalan had been the highly respected head of the Rirratjingu clan, for whom the Djang’kawu are primary Creator Ancestors. The two Djang’kawu Sisters came from across the sea and travelled through northeast Arnhem Land, shaping the landscape and giving birth to the first children of the Dhuwa moiety. The Djang’kawu...

A portrait of Warlpiri Elder and Lawman, Francis Jupurrurla Kelly – a pioneer of Indigenous filmmaking in central Australia. Jupurrurla was the producer of highly regarded TV programs such as Bush Mechanics, Manyu Wana and Coniston, and was a key figure in the foundation of the Warlpiri Media Association which grew out of a pirate TV station in the 1970s. Warlpiri Media is operating to this day as PAW Media (Pintubi, Anmatjere and Warlpiri Media),...

Every night, Indigenous radio announcer and DJ, Kenny, hosts the Green Bush show for Aboriginal communities. Isolated at the station, he takes requests for music, while at the same time coping with the pressure of the community around him. Based on his own experiences as a radio DJ in Alice Springs in central Australia, Warwick Thornton (later director of the award-winning feature, Samson and Delilah) made an international impact with this graceful...

HOMELAND STORY is an intimate portrait of Donydji, a small Indigenous community in North East Arnhem Land in the far north of Australia. Homelands are situated on the land of the people who live there. They are of central importance to their identity and culture. The film charts the Donydji community's transition from nomadic life to the digital age, from the 1960s to the present day. One family is featured, across three generations, from the traditional...

From the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy to the creation of the Black Panther Party of Australia Sam Watson has been one of the leading voices in the struggle for justice for black Australians. In this posthumous and exclusive record Sam looks back on the street fighting years under the iron grip of the right wing Government of Jo Bjelke-Petersen in Queensland. He and colleagues like Dennis Walker were watched 24/7 by the Queensland Police...

In 1965 and 1967, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies sponsored film trips by the then Commonwealth Film Unit to the Western Desert region of Australia. The object of these trips was to film the daily life of nomadic Aboriginal people living in the Gibson Desert of Central Australia. Although this land is one of the most arid regions of Australia, the people who lived there regarded it as rich in resources. This longform film series is...

Hetti Perkins, senior curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, shares her knowledge of - and passion for - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

From the 'dreaming' to the unsettling nightmare of colonisation, what is the role of memory, dreams and the spirit world in Aboriginal art?