We are celebrating NAIDOC week with our students, alumni, and community, joining in recognition of the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud. Fire symbolises a deep connection to Country, to each other, and to the rich tapestry of traditions that define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Australian screen culture, storytelling, and cultural identity have been defined by fundamental contributions from AFTRS alumni, including Rachel Perkins, Warwick Thornton, Catriona McKenzie and Ivan Sen, who are among a strong community of screen practitioners bringing knowledge and experiences to our shared screen culture. In honouring our connection to Country, to each other, and tradition, we look at the work of our students and recent graduates. These creatives highlight the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures passed down through generations.
Our First Nations creatives Brittney Morris-May and Nicole Hutton, with the Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production film The Guide to the First Nation’s Astronomy, Tace Stevens and Skye Leon, with the Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production film To Be Silent, Izzy Khan and Skye Leon with the Master of Arts Screen film Sunnies, Nazareth Alfred with the Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production film Pills & Powder Milk and Benji Menday with the Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production film Bottleneck, reflect on the multiple ways each one contributes to keeping the fire burning, proud, loud and with an incredible sense of courage and openness to share stories on the screen.
The Guide to the First Nation’s Astronomy explores First Nations knowledge and its role in providing valuable information to science and understanding of Australian land and ecosystems – it is our Staff Pick.
Kirsten Banks, an Astrophysicist, science Communicator, and proud Wiradjuri Woman featured in the film, says, “When I learned that mob uses astronomy, I was absolutely taken aback. Aboriginal astronomy is science; it’s astronomy. The night sky is the canvas for our stories, holding knowledge and lessons passed down from generation to generation.”
Watch film here.
Tace Stevens and Skye Leon’s film, To Be Silent, delves into the impact of code-switching on identity. Tace, a Noongar and Spinifex woman, said in her Director’s Statement. “To Be Silent explores identity, loss and racism. It’s about learning to stand up for yourself. Growing up, I struggled with this. I found it hard to speak my truth. I knew what code-switching was, but I didn’t realise the extent that it had permeated my life”.
As part of NAIDOC week celebrations, To Be Silent is screening at ACMI, in Melbourne, and at Dendy Newtown, in Sydney. The Women’s Library presents the NAIDOC program screening at Dendy Newtown, revisiting the recently restored student short Terra Nullius (1992, Anne Pratten, Jackie Wolf), with To Be Silent opening the screening.
The film has screened worldwide in film festivals, including the Sydney Film Festival, Māoriland Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, CinefestOz Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE, Hawai’i International Film Festival, Underexposed, Cleveland International Film Festival, Melbourne Women in Film Festival and more.
Terra Nullius was produced at AFTRS in 1992, written, directed and edited by Anne Pratten and with cinematography by Jackie Wolf and Josie Keys. The film has recently undergone restoration and Anne and Jackie shared stories of their bond formed in 1988 and how it influenced the films they created while studying at AFTRS.
“These Ashes, this Ancestry imbued Jackie’s expressive Storyboard of Separation that was to become my third-year film Terra Nullius. Despite the funds and all the equipment I did not possess the courage nor the trust to make a film before my third year.
I had been taken away
had no mob
no one to say
Hey don’t give this Away.
When I had no language, Jackie’s Oxygen persisted. It was Photosynthesis in the Dark.” Said Anne about the creative process on Terra Nullius and the collaboration with Jackie.
Anne was one of the first Indigenous students at AFTRS, Anne and Jackie collaborated on several films and supported each other through personal and professional growth.
Izzy Khan’s film, Sunnies, tells the story of a young boy who uses misrepresentations of himself to stand tall in the face of challenges.
“Ultimately, Sunnies is a film about self-sacrifice and is told through the eyes of a young boy who consciously utilises misrepresentations of himself to surface a darker narrative within his world, creating an opportunity for change,” said Izzy about the film.
Sunnies won the CILECT CAPA Prize (jointly awarded) for Best Fictional Short in Asia-Pacific, Best Screenwriter at CinefestOz, Best Film at Saint-Tropez Film Festival. Following its premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in 2021, Sunnies was selected for LA Shorts International Film Festival, Short Shorts Film Festival Japan, Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival Canada, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, and more.
Nazareth Alfred’s film, Pills & Powder Milk, addresses culture nullification through systemic assimilation. The film bravely explores feelings of cultural identity loss and community erosion in a call to ignite culture’s flame through reclaiming memory and story. “I will not allow systematic racism to degrade or nullify my blackness. I will stand on the shoulders of my ancestors and tell my stories. I am a survivor, I fight to live.“
Benji Menday’s film, Bottleneck, a drama directed by Tatjana Bottleneck and written and produced by Benji, addressing class themes in Australian society, community and family structures and the concept of intention versus consequence.
“Bottleneck is important to me as a writer because I feel like it encapsulates the world in which I grew up. It was often mundane, and each day bled into the next; but every now and then life would become tumultuous.” said Benji about the film, “By specifically focusing on how close knit and tightly interwoven these communities are, I believe the tragedy rings even further true. There is no escape from consequence when you come from this world.”
Bottleneck had its World Premiere in London at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, its Australian Premiere at Flickerfest, and recently screened at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival.
These films are testaments to AFTRS First Nations students’ courage and creativity. They reclaim narratives and commit to justice, enhancing our understanding of history.
AFTRS is committed to including First Nations’ knowledge, voices, and values in our celebration of the resilience and pride of the First Nations community. This NAIDOC Week, we acknowledge and share the incredible First Nations screen cultural heritage that enriches our nation.
The Guide to the First Nation’s Astronomy
Director – Brittney Morris
Producer – Nicole Hutton
Cinematographer – Mia Schirmer
Production Designer – Amelia Pieri
Animator/Graphic Designer – Jonathan Zhang
Editor – Siobhán Mithen
To Be Silent
Writer/Director – Tace Stevens
Producer – Skye Leon
Cinematographer – Maddie Green
Production Designer – Reilly O’Loughlin
Costume Designer – Nazareth Alfred
Editor – Jasmine Stokes
Sound Supervisor – Raquel Cuevas
Sound Designer – Jess Flanagan
Composer – Lena Matienko
Animator – Elyse Landsberry
Terra Nullius
Writer/Director/Editor – Anne Pratten
Producers – Alison Wotherspoon and Anne Pratten
Cinematographers – Jackie Farkas, Josie Keys
Music – Andrew Lancaster and Felicity Foxx
Sunnies
Writer/Director – Izzy khan
Producer – Skye Leon
Cinematographer – James Ward-Miller
Production Designer – Sharna Graham
Editor – Alexander Cox
Composer – James Mountain
Sound Supervisor – Sean Doyle
Pills & Powder Milk
Writer/Director – Nazareth Alfred
Producers – Nazareth Alfred and Ricky James
Cinematographers – Anith Mukherjee and Antony Zhang
Production Designer – Roberto Manzani
Editor – Izzat Nadeem
Sound Designer – Nazareth Alfred
Bottleneck
Writer/Producer – Benji Menday
Director – Tatjana Hamilton
Co-Producer – Madeleine Jurd
Cinematographer – Aemon Barzanji
Production Designer – Chris Le Page
Editor – Jarrod Young
Sound Recordist – Charlie Davies
Sound Designer – Neel Shukla
Composer – Jesse Boyle
