Inner West Film Fanatics present
My Survival as an Aboriginal
Screening & Discussion presented by filmmakers Martha Ansara and Sharon Coffey
Essie Coffey
Where: Petersham Bowling Club, 77 Brighton St. Petersham, NSW
When: Tuesday 30 March 7:30 pm
Have things changed for the better today?
In 1978, the ground-breaking documentary My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978) rocked Australia and the world with its presentation of atrocities and hardships committed against Aboriginal people. Winning prizes around the world, the film was broadcast overseas, shown on the ABC and used widely in Australian education. Today it is featured on the Australian Screen website which describes the film as challenging, and says,
“Though a call to justice, it is also tempered with beauty, and the audience is allowed to glimpse the private world of the Essie Coffey and the people of Brewarrina, N.S.W. Country and Western songs performed by Coffey are also a rich element of the documentary.”
My Survival as an Aboriginal directed by Essie Coffey, was one of the first Australian films where an Indigenous Australian was able to decide how she and her community would be represented. It was also the first Australian film directed by an Indigenous woman. Through her films, Essie Coffey’s voice reaches across time to continue the ongoing fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples.
My Survival as an Aboriginal
Film Info: 49 mins, Rated G, 1978
Director: Essie Coffey
Photography: Martha Ansara
Awards include:
Sydney Film Festival – Winner Best Documentary & Rouben Mamoulian Award
Cinema du Reel, Paris – First Prize, Red Ribbon – American Film Festival
As screened on:
ABC Television, NITV, the BBC and many other countries
The other film being screened on the night is:
Always Was Always Will Be
Synopsis:
In 1989 a dispute over the redevelopment of the Old Swan Brewery on the Sacred Grounds of the Waugul, Kings Park, Perth, convulsed the politics of Western Australia. Its lessons are important for all who are concerned about Aboriginal rights and culture, the environment, the progressive role of Trade Unions, the integrity of the Labor Party and the social/spiritual activities of the Churches. Made as a campaign film, Always Was Always Will Be is a visually rich account of this historically important struggle over a sacred site and gives an insight into the living culture and beliefs of urban Aboriginal people in Western Australia.
Runtime: 33 mins
Year: 1989
Produced by: Jequerity Pty Ltd and the Fringe Dwellers of the Swan Valley
My Survival is an amazing film, thanks to Martha, Inner West Film Fanatics and all the guests who spoke last night.