Birrarangga Film Festival 2023

Overview

From Thursday, March 23–Tuesday, March 28, Melbourne will once again host a huge celebration of Indigenous and First Nations filmmaking. First hitting the city back in 2019, the Birrarangga Film Festival is returning for six days jam-packed with features, documentaries and shorts. Get excited about films from local talents, of course, and from New Zealand, Canada, USA, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Mexico, Russia and Hawaii as well.

One massive highlight: ÁRRAN 360°, which comes to Australia for its southern hemisphere debut after enjoying its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Biennale. This isn't just something that you sit down and watch. Rather, it's an experience featuring original 360-degree screen-based works created by six Sámi artists from across Sápmi, the Sámi homeland (which covers the Arctic region of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia). Filmed using unique cameras — a six-camera rig, in fact — it'll show on a special 360-degree screen.

Other standouts include opening night's Bone of Crows from Canada, Australian drama Sweet As, New Zealand's Whetū Mārama – Bright Star about Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi and, also from Aotearoa, the powerful Muru. It hails from director Tearepa Kahi, is inspired by real events, also features activist Tāme Iti as himself and will close out the fest.

Popping up at The Capitol, ACMI, Lido, Classic and Pride Centre, Birrarangga will also host a swathe of chats pondering everything from the making of the wonderful — and aforementioned — Sweet As through to who has ownership of which stories.