
In 1945, at the age of seven, a young Joe Eggmolesse was diagnosed with Leprosy. He was immediately removed from his family and home and transported under police escort over a thousand kilometres to be confined on an island for the treatment of the disease. For the next ten years, a leprosarium for Aboriginal people became his home. A lush tropical idyll off the north east coast of Australia, Fantome Island was the home to a close knit community of indigenous 'lepers' who made the most of their existence as people living on the fringes of the marginalised. Now as a 73 year old Joe reflects on his indelible Fantome years. His incredible, poignant story offers a profound insight into one of Australia's hidden histories.

Self
0.0The most isolated metal band in the world, Southeast Desert Metal, and their Aunty Kathleen, share ancient Arrernte culture with the world through song and painting.
0.0Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen reigned over Queensland for 19 tumultuous years (1968–1987). Hugely popular, he presided over enormous growth, but corruption raged under his tenure, as did electoral manipulation and often violent suppression of dissent. This film tells Joh’s story through rare archival footage and revelatory interviews, exploring a life shaped by a hard yakka, god-fearing upbringing on his family’s farm. Trump’s spectre is evoked in Joh’s famously mangled and meandering way of speaking – brilliantly dramatised by Richard Roxburgh – alongside his unyielding execution of power and the desperate denial of his final days in office.
0.0For both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, Captain James Cook is a figure of great historical significance.
1.0An observational documentary which looks at Sydney’s first community Aboriginal radio station, 88.9 Radio Redfern. Set against a backdrop of contemporary Aboriginal music, 88.9 Radio Redfern offers a special and rare exploration of the people, attitudes and philosophies behind the lead up to a different type of celebration of Australia’s Bicentennial Year. Throughout 1988, 88.9 Radio Redfern became an important focal point for communication and solidarity within the Aboriginal community. The film reveals how urban blacks are adapting social structures such as the mass media to serve their needs.
0.0Essie Coffey gives the children lessons on Aboriginal culture. She speaks of the importance of teaching these kids about their traditions. Aboriginal kids are forgetting about their Aboriginal heritage because they are being taught white culture instead.
0.0Ray Martin goes on a grand quest to locate a mysterious outback rock formation he spotted and photographed from an airliner 37,000 feet in the air.
0.0An examination of the connection between relentless government intervention since colonisation to the trauma and disadvantage experiences by Indigenous Australians - the two key drivers of incarceration.
0.0The way of life for people living along the tropic of Capricorn in Queensland 1965. Farming and mining are the main industries in this area of Australia and the only way to get around is by road train, train or plane. The hard way of life for these people is portrayed in this film.
6.6An hour-long documentary on the life and career of actor David Gulpilil.
0.0From the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace - Namatjira Project is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice.
0.0Drawing on original footage from National Geographic, Etched in Bone explores the impact of one notorious bone theft by a member of the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. Hundred of bones were stolen and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, until it became known to Arnhem elders in the late 1990s. The return of the sacred artefacts was called for, resulting in a tense standoff between indigenous tribespeople and the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian.
0.050 years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world. Taking a fresh lens this is a bold dive into a year of protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people.
10.0Narrated by award-winning actor and dancer David Gulpilil, Carriberrie guides audiences across a stunning array of iconic Australian locations and performances, from the traditional to contemporary. From ceremonial creation dances in the heart of the Outback, to honey gathering songs in the rain-forest, bush-punk band The Lonely Boys performing in Alice Springs and a finale featuring Ban-garra Dance Theatre by Sydney Harbour, Carriberrie brings together art, technology and Indigenous performance in inspired new ways.
7.0Blind from birth, Dr G Yunupingu found his identity through song and the haunting voice that has already become legend. His debut album introduced Australia to the Songlines and culture of his Elcho Island community, but now Dr G Yunupingu finds himself increasingly torn between city and country, present and past, self and the community to which he owes so much.
A compelling portrait of an extraordinary figure, Aboriginal WWI soldier Douglas Grant, featuring acclaimed Indigenous actor Balang Tom E. Lewis (in his final performance). Grant (c.1885-1951) was extraordinarily famous in his day, an intellectual, a journalist, a soldier, a reader of Shakespeare and a bagpipe player who could put on a fine Scottish accent. His life story connects Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Adolf Hitler, and Henry Lawson among other famous figures as he moved from Australia to Europe, UK and back. Lewis’s thoughtful and often playful reflections on Grant’s life, along with guest appearances from Max Cullen and Archie Roach, connect to the larger story of Australia’s tragic colonial history and its troubled relationship with First Australians.
7.5Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.
7.5Australian documentary filmmaker Ian Darling re-examines the incidents that marked the final 3 years of Indigenous footballer Adam Goodes' playing career. Made entirely from archival footage, photos and interviews sourced from television, radio and newspapers, the film reviews the national conversation that took place over this period.
8.3Dino Bird is a visually spectacular one-hour film that explores the life of the endangered southern cassowary through the eyes of matriarch Bertha, as she and her family strive to survive in the tropics of northern Queensland in the oldest rainforest on Earth. Over the course of one tumultuous season, Bertha, her partner and her chicks battle fearsome predators and formidable rains, but also play an invaluable role in sustaining life in this ecological hotspot. Dino Bird is an intimate and rarely seen portrait of one of Australia's last remaining southern cassowaries.
0.0With a national vote approaching to enshrine Indigenous peoples voice in the constitution, a dynamic Indigenous youth group travel on a pilgrimage across Australia to commemorate a historic civil rights victory. Buoyed by the imminent referendum, the group voyage through ephemeral Australian landscape in the microcosm of a minibus, sharing the rich, multilayered stories of their personal histories, as they dream up a hopeful new vision for Australia. As the results of the vote are counted, it’s impact on their future offer two paths – a hopeful breakthrough or another chapter in the long fight for recognition.
8.0Taking us through Bangarra Dance Theatre’s spectacular growth, we follow the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse.
