Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival
Message Sticks
Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival premieres a rich selection of dramas and documentaries by first-time directors and established Indigenous filmmakers, as well as Australian premieres of international indigenous releases.
 | SESSION 1 River of No Return 2008 All ages Like many young girls, Frances Djulibing dreamed of being a movie star. Her journey from tribal life to red carpets is unlike any other. River of No Return is a story of transformation as Frances learns to move between the ancient life of the Yolgnu and modern world of balanda (white culture). Thu 17 Jul 7.00pm (with introduction by director Darlene Johnson and actress Frances Djulibing) and Wed 23 Jul 4.30pm / Cinema A |
 | SESSION 2 When Colin Met Joyce 2008 All ages Colin and Joyce Clague have had a marriage that has been entwined in a forty year journey of support, nurturing, devotion, commitment and love. They are the yin and yang of each other. But it is their principles about social justice, humanity and family that bind them. Sat 19 Jul 4.00pm / Cinema A |
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| SESSION 3 Spirit Stones 2007 All ages Noongar Elders reveal phenomenal events of the 1940s and 1950s in the south-west of Western Australia when mysterious stones fell for hours, days and weeks. Memories of the Noongar storytellers are linked with sensitivity and a lightness of touch to places of importance as exquisite images and sounds radiate feeling. Sun 20 Jul 1.00pm and Wed 23 Jul 6.00pm (with Mad Morro) / Cinema A |
 | SESSION 4 - Australian and International Shorts Who Paitnin’ dis Wandjina? 2007 All ages Anonymously a non-Indigenous graffiti artist speaks about the hundreds of Wandjina stencils and graffiti around the city of Perth, Western Australia. Traditional owners of the sacred Wandjina – an ancient creator spirit – respond and explain the inappropriateness of this being graffitied without “proper” knowledge. |
 | Bollywood Dreaming 2007 All ages Bollywood Dreaming is a story of an African-American/Aboriginal teenager who doesn’t conform to the norm. Jedda Rae Hill does boxing, likes to skate and strangely enough likes watching Bollywood movies. We follow her everyday life and explore her dreams of being a Bollywood actor. |
 | Nikamowin (Song) 2007 All ages Nikamowin is a deconstruction and reconstruction of Cree narrative that begs the question of how languages emerge, exist and persist. A musical translation of the Cree language that melodies deep into your core. |
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| Sikumi (On the Ice) 2007 All ages An Inuit hunter drives his dog team out on the frozen Arctic Ocean in search of seals, but instead, becomes a witness to murder. |
 | Storytime 2007 All ages Two adventurous Kimberley kids wander deep into the Mangroves at sunset, only to find the terrifying campfire stories of the Gooynbooyn Woman may not be myth after-all… Sat 19 Jul 3.00pm and Wed 23 Jul 3.30pm / Cinema A |
 | SESSION 5 Mad Morro 2007 Ages 15+ Debbie Morris has waited 13 years for her family to finally be reunited. Her son James has been behind bars for his entire adult life. In prison he has become a hardened survivor of the system. Now he is only weeks away from release and has chosen to go home and stay with his Mum in Taree. Viewers are advised that Mad Morro features frequent coarse language and adult themes. Sun 20 Jul 2.30pm and Wed 23 Jul 6.00pm (with Spirit Stones) / Cinema A |
 | SESSION 6 Wanja: Warrior Dog 2007 All ages Auntie Barb is an elder of Redfern’s community, who lived on the Block for twenty years with her family and dog, Wanja. Wanja was an integral part of the community, known to all for her ability to sniff out the police ¬ in uniform and undercover ¬“the Block’s guardian angel”. Courting With Justice 2007 All ages A former Norseman pub manager was charged with the manslaughter of Kevin Rule, a member of the Ngadju Nation, but later found not guilty. The dead man’s partner, Daniella Borg, feels that the Australian Judicial System has not provided her with justice. Daniella has decided to have a retrial. This time it is to be set on Kevin’s lands, within the framework of the oldest law in the land. The case is going before an Indigenous Customary Law Court. Sun 20 Jul 4.00pm / Cinema A |
