Mr Strehlow's Films

MR STREHLOW'S FILMS uses an episodic style to tell the story of TGH Strehlow, from his childhood in the care of Aboriginal (Arrernte) women at Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission near Alice Springs, to his days as Australia's pre-eminent and most controversial anthropologist and linguist. Strehlow produced a massive body of print, film, sound and still photographic work of Aboriginal (largely Arrernte) ceremonial performances - an archive unparalleled in this country and the world. The film tracks the challenges posed by the tasks Strehlow set for himself as anthropologist and filmmaker; the controversies surrounding the Strehlow Collection; and the contemporary work currently underway to return these materials to appropriate Arrernte communities in Central Australia.