Birrarangga Film Festival 2019

Overview

First Nations filmmakers from around the globe will be in the spotlight at ACMI in April as part of the inaugural Birrarangga Film Festival. Taking its name from the Woiwurrung word for 'river location', and curated by Wurundjeri (Woiwurrung) / Yorta Yorta writer and actor Tony Briggs, the festival will showcase more than 40 feature and short films from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, Greenland, Peru and, of course, Australia, as well as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, industry events and more.

The festival kicks off on Friday, April 26 with opening night feature Sgaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife), the first film made entirely in the Native American Haida language. The screening will be accompanied by a Welcome to Country with a special performance by the Djirri Djirri dance group, as well as the official afterparty.

Other highlights over the course of the weekend-long festival include Toyon Kyyl (The Lord Eagle), a drama made by an Indigenous cast and crew from the Sakha Republic in Russia, Akornatsinniitut (Among Us), a sci-fi adventure film from Greenland, and a program of short films celebrating Victorian Indigenous stories on screen.