ACMI presents
Heal Country, heal our nation
My Survival As An Aboriginal (1979)
When
Tue 6 Jul 2021
6pm (AEST)
Joining our inaugural First Nations Film Club are three young documentary filmmakers to discuss the 2021 NAIDOC theme 'Heal Country'.
Aunty Essie Coffey’s iconic 1979 documentary My Survival as an Aboriginal will form the base of a conversation between our host Bryan Andy and guests Tarneen Onus-Williams, Paul Gorrie, and Kimberley Benjamin as they yarn about their own budding documentary practises and how Country holds an important place in telling First Peoples Stories.
My Survival as an Aboriginal (1979) screens courtesy of National Film and Sound Archive’s digital restoration program – NFSA Restores – reviving our cinema icons.
About our guests
Tarneen Onus Williams
Tarneen Onus Williams is a proud Gunditjmara, Bindal, Yorta Yorta person and Torres Strait Islander from Mer and Erub islands. Tarneen is living on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung peoples.
Tarneen is a community organiser for Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance working on Invasion Day, Black Deaths in Custody and Stop the Forced Closures of Aboriginal Communities in WA. They are a filmmaker and writer and have been published in IndigenousX, The Saturday Paper, NITV and RightNow. Tarneen’s film Young Mob Questioning Treaty has been screened internationally at ImagineNATIVE in Toronto and Tampere Film Festival in Finland. Tarneen’s day job is with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are victims/survivors and perpetrators of family violence.
Paul Gorrie
Paul Gorrie is a Gunai/Kurnai & Yorta man based on Wurundjeri Country of the Kulin Nations.
He wears many hats, most know him for drumming for DRMNGNOW and Kee'ahn but also as a DJ Paul Gorrie with mixes done with Bizarro, Triple J – Mix Up, Butter Sessions and Apple Music. He is also part of a BLK DUO Bad Kind of Good throwing a new party in Naarm called BLK ICE which centres Black DJs and experimental performers and artists, while also programming at Rising Festival in the Music Program team. Paul also is an emerging filmmaker and worked on a documentary called Young Mob Questioning Treaty on SBS/NITV that premiered at Imagine Native film festival in Toronto, Canada in 2019.
Kimberley Benjamin
Currently based in Naarm/Melbourne, Kimberley Benjamin is a proud Yawuru, Bardi and Kija woman from Rubibi/Broome, WA.
As a filmmaker, Kimberley's drive is to tell stories that are truthful, impactful and celebrate the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples and culture. She has worked as a researcher, writer, director and story producer for both television and documentary film. Having previously worked for many community organisations in Boorloo/Perth, Kimberley’s diverse work and passion for telling stories is informed by her connections and relationships with communities across the Country.
About our host
Bryan Andy
Bryan Andy is a Yorta Yorta man from Cummeragunja, NSW. He is a freelance writer, arts advocate and the current convenor of OutBlack – Victoria's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and Queer mob.
Join the club
You will need to be a member of the First Nations Film Club to attend this session. By becoming a member of the Club, you'll also get a range of ACMI member benefits.
First Nations Film Club
Watch films from ACMI's collection and beyond, looking back on the trailblazing storytellers and seminal works that have paved the way for First Peoples stories on screen.
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The condensed version
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The less condensed version
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With thanks