Cirrus@Austlit

'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)