Our new film, 'Protecting Country' was taken back to country in the Flinders Ranges from Canberra, enjoying screenings at the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, the ANU Co-Op, the Condobolin Wiradjuri Studies Centre, the Shire of Hay, Balranald, the Mildura Mallee District Aboriginal Services, the Joinery in Adelaide, Hawker, Iga Warta (Nepabunna Community), and Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Association in Port Augusta. The film got excellent feedback both from the communities involved and the public at large and the final cut will be ready in December 2017!
My partner Alex and I journeyed through South Australia last year, visiting communities and interviewing Aboriginal Elders and leaders about the proposal to put nuclear waste dumps on their country. The message we heard was a resounding NO, from many different communities. And even though the South Australian Government has recently shelved the proposal for a high-level international dump, a low to intermediate level waste dump is still on the cards for the Flinders Ranges. And, as we all know, governments’ bad ideas don’t go away that easily…
As independent filmmakers we thought the issue was too important to ignore: this is about everyone’s future. Alex and I made this film with our own resources, in our own time, we were not paid, funded or sponsored by anyone. Now that our documentary, 'Protecting Country', is completed, we would like to bring it to as wide an audience as possible across Australia, to not only convey the message of the Elders, but to foster discussions around this important issue.
You can follow the film's journey across Australia on our website, and our Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/protectingcountryfilm/. We have also set up a sponsor page: https://goo.gl/ibXMzM to seek support to fund Alex’s road trip across Australia to do screenings in as many communities, towns, and cities as we can. Every little bit helps, even just petrol money for the trip… So please share with your friends, and everyone you know, so we can keep Australia nuclear-free! We are counting on social media for support! Many thanks!
Well, it's official, and I am really, really excited about it... I am now the new Community Media Trainer at the Pilbara and Kimberley Aboriginal Media Association, in Broome! I get to travel to remote communities to train PAKAM employees and new staff in filmmaking and editing... My first trip was to the Tanami Desert, Walkali, 7 hours' drive out of Balgo Community. I also got to visit Ardyaloon, Beagle Bay, Bidyadanga, Jigalong, and Kalumburu. Very exciting!
Great to see our Return to Walkali trip to Country featured on First Nations Media Australia - for more photos check out Images, or the PAKAM Flickr Page
The film we made last year with the Pandanus Park Community, Our Community, Our Story, was launched on 22nd March in Broome for the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples, Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. Another film of ours, Mardoowarra's Right to Life (2017), was also screened during the visit of the Rapporteur.
We were thrilled to see the French version of our Film, Three Sisters (Trois Soeurs, Femmes de la Mardoowarra) being screened at Cinema Paradiso near Lyon, France, as part of the Festi-Vache Festival, on Tuesday March 14th!
An article published on March 4th, 2017, featuring Dr. Anne Poelina and two of our films in Croakey: https://croakey.org/climate-justice-a-call-to-broaden-science-with-indigenous-knowledge/
In this article by Marie McInerney, Dr. Anne Poelina calls for the recognition of Indigenous Knowledge and Science by Western Science, and highlights the importance of Indigenous Knowledge for humanity.
Anthrovision, Vaneasa Online Journal (European Journal of Visual Anthropology) has published my article in their 2016 Yearly Edition: Visual Creativity and Narrative Research in and on Oceania. This article (Jimbin Kaboo Yimardoowarra Marninil: Listening to Nyikina Women's Voices - Film as a Strategy of Resistance) talks about the use of collaborative film as a methodology in my PhD research, but also more broadly as an act of resistance to neo-colonial oppression, and an empowerment tool for marginalised voices. You can read it at: https://anthrovision.revues.org/2220
I am very honoured to announce that I am the recipient of the 2016 ANU Watervale Award! Every year, this Award recognises the importance of the work of a PhD Scholar at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. $10,000 is awarded to the recipient to assist in the timely completion of their PhD research. I am very grateful to Ian and Laurel Fisher, the generous sponsors of this Award, for creating this opportunity for students who would otherwise not be able to access a scholarship (mature-age students, single parents, part-time students, etc.). Thank you!
NCIS Newsletter November 2016
In September and October 2016 we had the amazing opportunity to travel to South Australia to go and interview people on country about their views on the proposed nuclear waste dumps on their country. Our film, 'Protecting Country', featuring interviews with many Aboriginal people and Elders, and the beautiful Flinders Ranges country, will be completed in March/April 2017. In the meantime, you can tune in to our blog: http://www.magalimcduffie.com/travels/ and excerpts of some of the interviews: http://www.magalimcduffie.com/films/
Three Sisters, Women of High Degree, was screened at the 10th Native Spirits Festival in London on October 10th, 2016. The film was introduced by our friend Nicolas Beriot, Secretary-General of the Observatory of the Effects of Climate Change, Ministry of Ecology, France.
For more information, see programme here: http://www.nativespiritfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/0005-NATIVE-SPIRIT-FESTIVAL-7_16-Oct.pdf
Source: http://pijushju.blogspot.com.au/
And it looks like I am off to India in November... I am privileged to have been selected to attend an international workshop on Environmental Humanities: Ecology, Culture, and Intervention, at Jadavpur University, Kolkata! More information on this amazing course here:
You can read about my travels in India on my blog: http://www.magalimcduffie.com/travels/
On August 11th 2016 I had the opportunity to do a presentation of my research as part of the Talking Heads Seminar Series, Nulungu Research Institute, Notre Dame University, Broome: 'Development and Nyikina Women's Agency: The Importance of 'Booroo' in an International, Inter-cultural Space'.
On August 11th 2016 I was invited to take part in the Breakfast Show on Broome Goolarri Radio to talk about my work with Nyikina women and my upcoming research presentation at Notre Dame University. You can listen to the podcast here:
On August 10th I did a radio interview on 6DBY in Derby, with Dr. Anne Poelina, to invite people to come to the presentation of my research to Nyikina people, at the Pandanus Park Community.
Pandanus Park Community Presentation
Talking on 6DBY Derby with Dr. Anne Poelina
Three Sisters, Women of High Degree, was screened at the 15th Edition of the Festival du Rêve de l’Aborigène, in Paris, on 22nd July 2016, thanks to the good work of Thierry Gerard and his French Tent Embassy in support of the Aboriginal People of Australia!
French writer Delphine Hopital (L'Homme Qui Devint Chaman) screened the French version of Three Sisters (Trois Soeurs, Femmes de la Mardoowarra), at her book signing session in Lyon on May 21st, 2016. More info at:
http://www.grafficus.com/actualites/207-delphine-hopital-le-21-mai-2016-a-la-librairie-des-ecrivains
It has just been confirmed that our film, Three Sisters, Women of High Degree, will be screened at the Native Spirit Festival in London in October! Stay tuned for upcoming program details...
* Click on the image above for full view
* Click on the image above for full view
Our documentary, Three Sisters, Women of High Degree, was screened on NITV on October 6th and 7th, and is now available on SBS On Demand. [ Web Page ]