While there remains some debate about the first film directed by an Aboriginal man, it is accepted that these are the first documentary and fiction films helmed by Indigenous Australian women. Essie Coffey’s documentary takes the issue of the Indigenous people’s land rights as a starting point from which to explore issues of colonisation and the threats to Aboriginal culture. Tracey Moffat’s sole feature is an anthology of ghost stories she heard and feared as a child from her Indigenous and Irish families. Featuring a child haunted by an American GI, invisible trains, and dancing spirits, Moffat infuses these stories with a surreal beauty in a film that blends their origins in a way that confronts and challenges racial stereotypes.

This restoration of My Survival as an Aboriginal is presented by the National Film and Sound Archive’s digital restoration program – NFSA Restores – reviving Australia’s cinema icons.

Image Credit: Bedevil

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the Australian Dreams season.