Indigenous film festival opens in Sydney
IN 2000, ALICE SPRINGS-based filmmaker Beck Cole set foot in the Sydney Opera House for the first time, working behind the scenes on a new indigenous film festival.
Now in 2011 she returns to tread the red carpet for the opening night screening of her debut feature film Here I Am at the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival.
“It sort of feels like graduating,” says 35-year-old Beck, who started in the film and television industry as a 16-year-old cadet journalist at Imparja Television in Alice Springs.
Rachel Perkins, the festival’s long-standing co-curator, says that “Message Sticks reaches out to audiences everywhere”.
Following the festival launch in Sydney on Thursday, Message Sticks will tour nationally from May to August. It will air to an anticipated total audience of 10,000 in capital cities as well as more remote locations such as Yirrkala in Arnhem Land. All screenings are free of charge, except for the gala opening night.
“From traditional Dreamtime tales to the challenges of contemporary indigenous life, our film-makers give an insider’s view of what it means to be a black Australian in the 21st century,” says Rachel. The ability to connect audiences of all cultures with indigenous stories lies at the heart of the festival’s 12-year history, she says.
Voice that resonates
“To witness a film that gives voice to stories of my own people can resonate inside me for days, weeks, months and years”, says Pauline Whyman, a theatre and film actress who appears in Here I Am. “The films at Message Sticks have replaced the lifetime of images that I grew up with that had previously dominated and shaped the nation’s opinion of our people.”
For non-indigenous Australians, the festival is an opportunity to discover the breadth and diversity of indigenous arts and culture. This year, for the first time, a specially curated program for secondary school students will involve younger Australians in that experience. As well as showcasing the work of indigenous filmmakers from Australia and overseas, the 2011 program includes Q&A sessions with the directors, panel discussions and live dance, music and theatre performances.
Headlining film Here I Am tells the story of a young indigenous woman who, following her release from prison, is intent on making peace with her past and re-establishing relationships with her mother and daughter. The film was shot by Warwick Thornton, whose directorial debut, Samson and Delilah, opened the 2009 Message Sticks Festival and took out the prize for the best first feature at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.
According to Beck, the indigenous film industry in Australia is “definitely in a strong position. It’s in a place that we’ve all worked very hard to get to. A lot of the success we’re enjoying now has come about through some really fantastic training opportunities.”
Find the full program here on the Message Sticks site, and also at the Sydney Opera House. See the Festival video promotion below.
MESSAGE STICKS NATIONAL TOUR 2011 PROGRAM
Sydney
Sydney Opera House
May 12-15
Blacktown
Blacktown Arts Centre
May 13 – 14
Brisbane
Powerhouse Museum
May 14
Canberra
The Arc Cinema – NSFA
May 15 – 21
Melbourne
Capitol Theatre and ACMI
May 20 – 22
Broome
Sun Pictures
May 27 – 28
Perth
Cinema Paradiso
May 29 – 30
Townsville
Dance North
June 3 – 4
Alice Springs
Araluen Arts Centre
July 7 – 10
Yirrkala
Garma Festival
August 8
Cairns
Centre of Contemporary Arts for Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
August 20 – 21
Darwin
Deckchair Cinema, for Darwin Festival
August 23 – 24
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