Cirrus@Austlit

'Australia was founded by the English with one clear purpose - to create a prison island. Over 200 years later, not much has changed; rather than housing criminals from England, we are filling our jails with our mist vulnerable and disadvantaged population.

It's time for change.

For those in mainstream Australia, this crisis has felt like an overnight catastrophe linked to alcohol and unemployment. But the reality behind Aboriginal incarceration tells a different story, a story that dates back well beyond the advent of modern prisons, government programs and support services.

Incarceration Nation will tell that story – the tragic story of the systematic injustice and oppression of Aboriginal people since European settlement. This film will take its audience on a journey back into our dark past and shine a spotlight on incarceration from an Aboriginal perspective. Many things have changed, but many stay the same.'

(Source : Incarceration Nation Website)

My Family Matters is a celebration of modern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and the everyday role models that exist within them. This heart-warming story captures everyday life, shining a light on ordinary families doing extraordinary things.

For the Hartas family of 13 in Ipswich, balancing contemporary life with culture includes dealing with disability, preparing for the arrival of a new grandchild and reconnecting with long lost family.

They are a family that face lots of challenges, but are firmly held together by love.

Source: https://screenqueensland.com.au/sq-news/latest-news/my-family-matters-ipswich-premieres-july-13/

'It is 1942 and Australia is in the midst of World War Two. In Far North Queensland some 285 Guugu Yimithirr people are forcibly removed 1500km from their land and home at Cape Bedford Mission by armed forces to a government exile settlement at Woorabinda in Central Queensland. Roy McIvor is nine years old when he and many others were torn apart from their families and land. They are treated as prisoners of war in their own country and witnessed a third of their people succumb to disease, exposure to cold weather and malnutrition. After seven painful years in exile they returned home to rebuild their lives, community and culture. Today, 80 year old Roy is a practicing artist and storyteller who lives in Hope Vale, a township situated 46 km north west of Cooktown with a population of approximately 1500 people. Roy is working on a new lithograph that portrays the wartime evacuation. Roy’s upbringing, faith and experience have led him to becoming a strong community leader to his people, inspiring a new generation to embrace that same spirit and hope that was almost broken so many years ago.' (Source: Screen ArtsHub website)