Sovereign Cinema, part of Melbourne's Environmental Film Festival, is a one-day mini-festival, on December 10.
The program pays tribute and respect to First Nations’ experiences with land, water, sky and seas.
“With a combination of unique stories, including documentary, animation and experimental, this is cinema that reveals the resilience of Indigenous people and the importance of protecting ancestral connections to Country; all touching upon the deeper need for the protection of land, sea and waters,” said Sonja Hammer, EFFA First Nations Voices Lead.
Audiences are invited to experience the world, near and far, through the eyes of First Nations peoples and engage in meaningful conversations about people, place and environmental practices.
The program invites sharing and yarning with cinema responding to climate change and culture, recognising ancestral knowledge and that First Nations stories are intrinsically connected to the environment and to Country.
With films predominantly made by Indigenous artists, these stories uphold and recognise self-determination, food sovereignty, Indigenous perspectives and conservation practices.
[For the full program, visit effa.org.au/sovereigncinema.]