AustLit

'Thalu follows the mission of a group of Indigenous children who undertake a journey to save their Country as they combat the threat of a mysterious dust cloud and its inhabitants, 'The Takers'. The friends must make their way to the 'Thalu' , which is a place of great power, in order to stop the cloud. Along the way, they encounter friends and foes, as they search for the eight sacred stones and a special key that will unlock the power of the 'Thalu' and stop the Takers in their tracks.' (Production summary)

'Kiko and Rosa are ‘blackbirds’. Having been forcefully displaced from their homelands, these Pacific Islander siblings struggle to survive whilst working on an Australian sugar plantation in the late 1800s. As they drift between memories of home and the harsh reality on the plantation, the camera juxtaposes scenic shots of lush Solomon Island landscapes with the wall-like monotony of the sugar cane fields. Shedding light on the little-known history of Australia's ‘sugar slaves’, Amie Batalibasi’s poetic short is a testament to resilience and the will to survive.'

Source: Berlinale 2019.