AustLit

'DARK EMU is a phenomenon. The book has sold more than a quarter of a million copies, received multiple awards and is one of the best-selling books of its kind. As questions arose over the merits of the contents of the book, old questions re-surfaced about the authenticity of the author Bruce Pascoe. In this feature documentary, we will delve into this search for identity, and in so doing spark yet more conversations about where we might be heading as a nation. The documentary will also be a platform for First Nations people to tell their own stories about their deep past. How new discoveries are shedding light on who their ancestors were and how they survived and prospered for at least 65,000 years on the most arid continent on earth.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Maralinga Tjarutja land, located in regional South Australia, was used for the British Nuclear Test Program between 1953 and 1963. The Maralinga Tjarutja people fought for the clean-up of contamination, for compensation and for the handback in 2009 of the Maralinga Village and Test Sites. They have since rebuilt traditional communities into vibrant, creative cultural communities that will ensure Maralinga Tjarutja custodianship of their lands into the future.

'New SAFC supported ABC documentary Maralinga Tjarutja tells this story through the eyes of the Maralinga Tjarutja people, who have lived on their lands for over 60 thousand years. The documentary shines a fresh spotlight on what is both a story of deep tragedy and also incredible resilience, celebrating the people, their tenacious spirit and cultural strength through which they fight to retain their country.'

Source: South Australian Film Corporation (Sighted: 4/11/2020).

'An unlikely national hero, Alex is catapulted into government in a cynical power play. Used, abandoned and underestimated, now she's on a path that will send the political establishment into meltdown.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'In the heart of the Western Australian gold rush a woman risks everything to find her missing husband.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Raw, heartfelt, sometimes painstaking but often funny, In My Own Words follows the journey of adult Aboriginal students and their teachers as they discover the transformative power of reading and writing for the first time in their lives. In Australia today between 40–65 percent of Aboriginal adults are functionally illiterate in English. But out in north west New South Wales moves are afoot to whittle away at this appalling statistic, and give hope to some of the most marginalised people in our country. Using a Cuban method called ‘Yes I Can’, a group known as the Literacy for Life Foundation are moving into towns, setting up classrooms, and offering Aboriginal men and women an opportunity to learn to read and write. And it seems there are no shortage of takers.' (Production summary)

'Up to 80 murders, 30 unsolved cases, thousands of assaults. In the 1980s and 1990s a murderous epidemic grips Sydney. The attackers are united by contempt. Their targets united by their sexual identity. All are gay. For the first time Deep Water presents the full account of the gay hate crime epidemic that bloodied Sydney’s coastline. It stirs up old cases in the hope that new evidence will rise to the surface and bring peace and justice to the loved ones left behind..'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Six teenagers, all elite within their own field, have come to live at Arcadia House to pursue their dreams. For some it's the opportunity of a lifetime. For others it's a last chance. All are strangers, some a long way from home, and the last thing they expect to find is family. Far from home, they must find a path through the new challenges and adventures that the big city offers while dealing with all the trials of growing up.' (Source: ABC3 website)

This powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting telemovie explores the impact of a violent crime on two women and the fight for justice.

Redfern Now is 'the first contemporary TV drama series written, directed and produced by Indigenous Australians.'

Source: ABC Television website.

'Aaron Davis is a proud Indigenous policeman: proud of the community in which he works, and very proud of his daughter Robyn and his three-year-old granddaughter Donna.

'It's early morning, and Aaron does his usual boxing training with local kids, and the only thing to mar the day is that he is being taunted by young troublemaker Lenny.

'Late that day as Aaron is finishing up at the station Lenny is brought in yelling abuse. Lenny's been in a bad fight and Aaron is about to call for a doctor. But he stops when Lenny's taunting pushes him too far, and so when Lenny calls out from the cell in pain, Aaron ignores him.

'But Lenny's cries suddenly stop and Aaron realises that something is terribly wrong. He rushes to help, but it's too late — Lenny is dead. And so Aaron's nightmare begins.

'As word of the death spreads, Lenny's brother tries to cause trouble but he and his young friends are held back, talked around by family and community. Lenny's mother, Aunty Mona, asks Aaron whether her boy suffered. Aaron lies and tells her no.

'But when Lenny's family is shown the cell surveillance tapes, Aaron has to find the courage to go and tell Aunty Mona the truth.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 11/6/2013)

'Tells the story of one of Australia's national heroes: Eddie Koiki Mabo, the Torres Strait Islander who left school at fifteen, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that once and for all overthrew the fiction of terra nullius.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 20/5/2014)

'When Cameron Doomadgee was found dead in the Palm Island police station, his injuries were like those of someone who’d been in a fatal car crash. The police claimed he had tripped on a step. The Palm Islanders rioted and burnt down the police station. The subsequent trial of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley – who had been decorated for his work in Aboriginal communities – made headlines day after day, shadowed by Queensland police threatening to strike.'

'The Tall Man tells the gripping story of the trial, of the complex Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, and of the Doomadgee family as they struggle to understand what happened to their brother. ' (Source: Madman.com.au)

A love story set in Sydney in 1788, The Comet is based on actual life events between William Dawes, a British marine, and Patygarang, a young Aboriginal woman. The relationship bridging two cultures dramatically changed both their lives and the course of Australian history.