Indigenous programs
Documentary
Past programs and projects

The Indigenous Department has allocated specific development funds toward the National Indigenous Documentary Fund (NIDF), which provides production opportunities for Indigenous documentary filmmakers. The NIDF is financed by a combination of production funds from Screen Australia, SBS, the ABC and the state agencies.

The Indigenous Branch of the Australian Film Commission (AFC) assumed management of the NIDF in association with Indigenous Screen Australia (ISA) on Series 5 in 2001.

Scroll down to read about each of the NIDF series, from 5 through to 12.

NIDF Series 12

NIDF 12 is currently in development. The series will comprise two 55-minute documentaries, and is designed to bring to the screen Indigenous stories authored and crafted by Indigenous people. The selected projects will be based on strong ideas, be well-crafted, exhibit a high level of creative ambition, and demonstrate the potential to connect with audiences. The NIDF is financed by a combination of production funds from Screen Australia, SBS, the ABC and state agencies. NIDF 12 is commissioned by the ABC.

NIDF Series 11: Loved Up 2

An initiative of the Indigenous Branch of Screen Australia, in association with SBS Television and relevant state film financing agencies, NIDF 11 - Loved Up 2 commenced in 2008. The series focused on the blissful, complex, brave, brutal, mysterious and magical stories of love from the unique perspective of Indigenous Australians:

• Big Fella
  (w/d: Michael Longbottom; p: Lisa Duff)
  This is the story about the crippling health affects of diabetes and obesity in Indigenous communities throughout Australia and one man's love for life battling to stay alive and fight against the demon called obesity and diabetes.
  
  
• Lani's Story
  (w/d: Genevieve Grieves; p: Darren Dale, Rachel Perkins)
  The tale of one woman and two relationships. One she has to leave to survive and one she can't survive without. The rates of domestic violence against Aboriginal women in Australia are at endemic proportions. How does one woman break the cycle? Will love be enough to get her through the hard times ahead?
  
  
• Nin's Brother
  (w/d: Mary Munro; p: Lisa Duff)
  The story of a family’s love as they journey from NSW to South Australia, to unravel the fate of their brother and uncle, and to bring him home to a proper resting place next to the grave of his mother.
  
  

NIDF Series 10

An initiative of the Indigenous Branch of the AFC, in association with the FFC, ABC, and relevant state agencies. NIDF 10 comprised of two 55-minute documentaries designed to bring important Indigenous stories to the screen, authored and crafted by Indigenous people. The aim of NIDF 10 was to provide an opportunity for Indigenous filmmakers to work on longer-format documentaries. The films in this series were:

• Making Samson & Delilah
  (w/d: Beck Cole; p: Kath Shelper)
  A warm and affectionate behind-the-scenes look at the making of Warwick Thornton's hit feature film Samson & Delilah.
  
  
• The Intervention
  (d: Julie Nimmo; p: Tom Zubrycki)
  Examines the process of the federal intervention taking place in Indigenous communities in the Katherine region in the Northern Territory in the name of neglected and abused children.
  
  

NIDF Series 9

Consisted of 2 x 52-minute films produced in association with SBS:

• River of No Return
  (d: Darlene Johnson; p: Pat Fiske)
  Frances Djulibing is a 45-year-old mother of three who comes from the remote community of Ramingining in north-east Arnhem Land. A story of change and transformation as Frances learns to move between the ancient life of the Yolgnu and modern world of the Balanda (white culture).
  
  
• When Colin Met Joyce
  (w/d: Rima Tamou; w/p: Pauline Clague)
  A love story, looking at a mixed marriage that has lasted for 40 years, with a true sense of reconciliation bringing their lives together.
  
  

NIDF Series 8: Black on White

A series of 5 x half-hour stories made in association with the ABC. The NIDF8 films were launched at the 2007 Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, at the Sydney Opera House:

• Flour Sugar Tea
  (w/d: Lee Willis-Ardler; p: Gina Twyble)
  In Australia, the average life expectancy for Indigenous men is 59. For non-Indigenous men it is 77. Aboriginal writer/director, Lee Willis, speaks to the former Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough; the Country Women's Association; his local GP; and ordinary Aboriginal people to find out what caused the gap and what can be done to close it.
  
  
• When the Natives Get Restless
  (w: Albert Hartnett and Adrian Wills; d: Adrian Wills; p: Melissa Johnston)
  On New Year's Day 2006, on the Gordon Estate in Dubbo, complaints of police brutality towards an Aboriginal youth sparked a riot, which immediately enforced the new riot and affray law available to the NSW police. This is where the story begins.
  
  
• Destiny in Alice
  (w/d: Sonja Dare; p: James Bradley)
  Welcome to Alice Springs, the lesbian metropolis of outback Australia, a place where black and white women mix and mingle. Satirical and funny, this revealing documentary asks the question: is it hard to sustain love when racial and cultural gaps seem insurmountable?
  
  
• Nigger Lovers
  (w: Stephen Hagan and Daryl Sparkes; d: Rhonda Hagan; p: Daryl Sparkes, Rhonda Hagan and Stephen Hagan)
  Nigger Lovers documents one man's fight against racism and prejudice, which he encounters when he tries to have a sign with the word 'Nigger' on it removed from the sporting field of Australia's largest inland city, Toowoomba, Queensland.
  
  

NIDF Series 7

The four films from NIDF 7 were launched at the 2006 Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, at the Sydney Opera House:

• Footy: The La Perouse Way
  (w/d: Michael Longbottom; p: Lisa Duff)
  The story of a small Aboriginal community located in bustling multicultural Sydney. It is the journey of a community, whose beginnings were marked by racial division and the suffering it brought, and their embracing of football as a starting point to put these historic differences behind them, forging what has now become a unique and prosperous mix of black and white cultures, working together side-by-side in all aspects of life, with respect, honour, integrity and trust.
  
  
• My Brother Vinnie
  (w: Aaron Pedersen; d: Steven McGregor; p: Sarah Bond)
  Aaron and Vinnie Pedersen are two brothers who have been each other's shadow. Aaron has established a successful career as an actor, all the while being responsible for the care of Vinnie, who has mild intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy. My Brother Vinnie intimately explores a relationship full of humour and charm. The characters will touch you with their wit and honesty.
  
  
• Island Fettlers
  (w/d: Kelrick Martin; p: Pauline Clague)
  The untold history of a small diaspora of Torres Strait Islander people, and the massive contribution they made to the development of a billion dollar mining industry in the harsh north-west of Western Australia.
  
  
• Footprints in the Sand: The Last of the Nomads
  (w/d: Glen Stasiuk; p: Paul Roberts)
  Journey into the Gibson Desert to the country traversed by Warri and Yatungka, the last of the nomads who were brought in to Wiluna in 1977 in a time of drought.
  
  

NIDF Series 6: Loved Up

These films were launched at the 2005 Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, at the Sydney Opera House:

• The Dream of Love
  (w/d: Lawrence Johnston; p: Peter George)
  Explores love, marriage and commitment and its influence on filmmaker Lawrence Johnston and his family.
  
  
• The Lore of Love
  (w/d: Beck Cole; p: Jacqui North)
  Jessi Bartlett is an Aboriginal girl on the brink of womanhood. Her Pintubi grandmothers take her on an incredible journey back to their homelands where they teach her about the lore of love: traditional way.
  
  
• Yellow Fella
  (w: Tom E Lewis; d: Ivan Sen; p: Citt Williams)
  In 1978, Tom Lewis appeared in the Australian feature, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Jimmie Blacksmith's life was hauntingly close to his own: a young man struggling for a foothold on the edge of two cultures. Tom's mother is a traditional Indigenous woman of southern Arnhem Land, his father a Welsh stockman who he never really knew. Yellow Fella is a journey across the land and into Tom's past as he attempts to find the resting place of his father.
  
  
• Endangered
  (w/d: Tracey Rigney; p: Carmel McAloon)
  Takes a look at the scarcity of the eligible Aboriginal male and the effects this has on Aboriginal women looking for love, and the survival of Aboriginal people and culture.
  
  

NIDF Series 5 - Skin, Kin and Country: Stories from Black Australia

The series of five 26-minute programs was an initiative of the Indigenous Unit of the AFC, ATSIC, SBS Independent, NSW Film and Television Office, South Australian Film Corporation and ScreenWest. Launched at the 2003 Australian International Documentary Conference in Byron Bay in February 2003. Supervising producer of the series was Cathy Eatock. The documentaries screened on SBS TV in 2003:

• Big Girls Don't Cry
  (w/d: Darrin Ballangarry, p: Priscilla Collins)
  Indigenous people, young and old, living and coping with the ever increasing incidence of kidney disease.
  
  
• The Foundation
  (w: Troy Russell, Melissa Abraham, d: Troy Russell, p: Penny McDonald, co-p: Melissa Abraham)
  During the 1960s a celebrated entity 'The Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs' emerged. Set during a time when change for urban Kooris was on the increase, the Foundation helped the mob to help themselves.
  
  
• Me and You
  (w/d: Mark Bin Bakar, p: Dot West)
  Frank Shoveller has been teaching his daughter, Leanna, music since she was very young. The father and daughter team demonstrate their special relationship as Frank guides his daughter into the world of adulthood and the music industry while holding firmly to traditional and cultural values.
  
  
• Ngangkari
  (w/d: Erica Glynn, p: Will Rogers)
  Ngangkari Way is so important to Anangu. It is a stark contrast to the Western world's approach to medicine and the Ngangkari Way certainly shines through. This film will highlight that from the beginning, through Aboriginal law and culture, Ngangkari Way is determined and sustained.
  
  
• We of Little Voice
  (w/d: Peter Hodgson, p: Heather Croall)
  Reveals the effects that nuclear testing and uranium mining have had on the Indigenous communities in Central Australia.