In case you haven’t noticed, it’s NAIDOC Week, aka one of the best weeks of my life. As an Indigenous person, I absolutely love seeing all the beauty, creativity and Blak excellence showcased on every platform. To me, there is no better way to celebrate NAIDOC Week than by watching some iconic Indigenous movies and TV Shows.
It’s important to me to note that you should be watching and engaging with Indigenous movies and TV shows every week out of the year, not just on NAIDOC.
We have a privilege here in Australia to live alongside the oldest surviving (and thriving) culture in the world. Part of that privilege is being able to hear the stories of First Nations peoples and be part of the storytelling experience.
For this week’s Gizmodo Movie Night, here are some of the examples of this powerful storytelling through cinema and television to bring our stories to light.
The Sapphires (2012)
The Sapphires is one of the best Indigenous movies I have ever seen and tells a completely different story than what we are used to hearing.
Gail, Cynthia, Julie and Kay are four young Indigenous singers that are discovered by a talent agent who takes them from their remote Aboriginal town and drops them in the middle of the Vietnam War.
Obviously, they aren’t there to fight, but to entertain the U.S. troops.
While a musical movie may not be some people’s cup of tea, The Sapphires is a heartfelt and intense exploration of racial discrimination against Indigenous women (that still happens today).
It’s also got some really catchy songs.
A bonus is the film’s stellar cast with all my favs, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell.
The Sapphires is currently streaming on Apple TV.
Total Control (2019-)
I know, I know, I’ve already included Total Control in one of my Gizmodo Movie Nights before, but I can’t help but add it on this one, too.
If you haven’t watched Total Control yet I strongly recommend that you do. It’s one of the best TV shows I’ve seen lately and showcases strong, staunch Blak women (which we love).
Alex Irving, an Indigenous woman, gets media attention after her heroic action. Her life then changes when the prime minister recruits her as a senator. Alex then starts to shake the entire political system down one step at a time.
A certain scenario that we don’t get to see play out in movies and TV shows, let alone our actual lives, is Indigenous people entering the Australian political system and taking over power.
Total Control is gripping in the way it explores how fragile the Australian Parliamentary system is and how it’s built against Indigenous people.
As I mentioned in the other Gizmodo Movie night, having a strong Indigenous woman turn the Australian political landscape on its head is something I want to see more of.
Total Control is also a very accurate portrayal of Australian politics and how Indigenous and rural Australians are often forgotten and trodden on when it comes to policies.
Total Control is currently streaming on iView.
Cleverman (2016-2017)
Cleverman is probably one of the coolest Indigenous TV shows I have ever seen because it blends First Nations storytelling and Dreaming into the world of sci-fi.
Set in the (near) future, creatures from ancient mythology must live among humans and battle for survival in a world that wants to silence, exploit and destroy them. Sound familiar?
One thing I particularly love about Cleverman is that it showcases the power, might and strength of Indigenous people in a way that feels otherworldly.
Like the others, Cleverman has strong roots in Indigenous history and culture. It also explores the struggles of finding strength and comfort in your racial identity when it is at odds with the mainstream population.
I would also love to see more Indigenous characters in Marvel and those superheroes become just as popular as Thor or Spiderman.
Cleverman is currently streaming on Stan.
Preppers (2021)
Preppers isn’t as well known as other Indigenous TV shows but it deserves to be.
Written by legend and icon Nakkiah Lui with Gabriel Dowrick and directed by Steven McGregor, Preppers is one of the funniest shows I’ve seen.
Charlie, the only Indigenous person on an all-white TV morning show, finds herself at the centre of a mismatched community of doomsday preppers after she escapes the fallout of a personal catastrophic event.
My personal favourite part of this show is the self-help affirmations Charlie uses to deal with her crippling feelings of inadequacy. I relate heavily.
Although this show is brilliantly hilarious and takes the piss out of everything in our society, it flips the racial powers on its head. What follows is an interesting engagement between the different types of people at the camp.
Preppers is currently streaming on iView.
Toomelah (2011)
It’s not very often you watch a movie that genuinely moves you and shifts your perspective. For me, and for many others, Toomelah did just that.
Ivan Sen, the writer and director, draws from his own life experiences living in a remote Aboriginal community.
Toomelah plays more like a documentary than it does a film, but I think that makes it more raw and captivating.
We follow Daniel, a ten-year-old boy who wishes to become a ‘gangster’ just like the town’s local drug dealer Linden. However, a turf war erupts which leaves Daniel all alone, figuring out what to do with his life.
Toomelah was actually an official selection at Cannes in 2011 and received a two-minute long standing ovation. Once you watch the movie, you’ll understand why.
It’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking and will leave you in silence long after it’s finished. To me, that’s the power of Indigenous story and truth-telling.
Toomelah is currently streaming on Netflix.
Charlie’s Country (2013)
Charlie’s Country is another Indigenous movie that will leave you questioning how you interact with the world.
By revealing the truth of the impacts of colonisation on Indigenous identity, Charlie’s Country is a deep exploration of the complicated relationship between current Australian society and Indigenous culture.
Charlie himself is an Indigenous man who lives in an extremely remote community in Arnhem Land who is struggling to reconcile living on Blak country under white, European laws.
It’s hard to convey the impact this film will have on you, so it’s best you watch it and understand how much colonisation has, and still is, impacting Indigenous communities.
Charlie’s Country is currently streaming on Netflix.
Gizmodo Movie Night is our fortnightly roundup of movie and TV recommendations for the weekend. If you’re ever stuck and looking for inspiration, check out our list and see what’s in store.
Stay tuned for the next edition of the column and check out our last one which was sequels that took way too long to get to us.