National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (Firm)

Each year, millions of tourists come to Australia looking for the quintessential "Aussie experience", but are they getting anything more than koalas, boomerangs and a shrimp on the barbie? This four-part series takes an eye-opening journey behind the scenes of Australia's multi-billion dollar tourism industry.. Selling Australia reveals a world of ruthless marketing where canny entrepreneurs are determined to give visitors exactly what they want,...

This film is a record of the funeral ceremony for a Marrakulu clan leader at Yirrkala in 1974. Through Marrakulu, Rirratjingu and Djapu clan songs and dances the body of the leader is taken on both a spiritual journey to his clan lands and a physical journey from the hospital at the mining town of Nhulunbuy to Yirrkala. Here the coffin lies in state, before being taken in a grand ritual procession to its final burial at the cemetery at Yirrkala.

When built in the 1960s, the mining town of Nhulunbuy had an instant population of about 4000, making it one of the largest towns in the Northern Territory. With the town came a hotel-and alcohol. The face of the Gove Peninsula-with its forests, swamps, rich coastline and sacred sites-was transformed overnight. So too were the lives of the Yolngu.. In 1969-1971 the Yolngu tried, unsuccessfully, to stop this invasion and exploitation of their land...

Brother Bernard dies on his 102nd birthday and a mass is held for him at St Francis Church. Meanwhile, Father Donald Cave travels to Rome to finish his book, where he suffers a worrying bout of fever. After years of hard work, he finally presents the book to his superiors.. A Film Australian National Interest Program in association with Abracadabra Films. Produced in association with SBS Independent. Developed with the assistance of Cinemedia's Film...

In 1973, for the first time, Aboriginal people from across Australia directly elected members to the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC), a body set up to represent their interests to the Federal government, via the newly created Department of Aboriginal Affairs.. A VOICE TO BE HEARD tells the story of the election up to the declaration of the poll and the first meeting of the NACC. One hundred and ninety-one candidates campaigned for...

The men of St Francis move back to the newly renovated monastery, pleasantly surprised by what they find. Don, returning from overseas, decides to continue living at his former home, and Gonzalo, with his rediscovered spirituality, resolves to stay at the meditation centre. A reunion dinner brings everyone back into the fold, but will it tempt Don and Gonzalo to change their minds?. A Film Australian National Interest Program in association with Abracadabra...

1974 was a troubled time for the Yirrkala community. The Gove bauxite mine, on its doorstep, had been operating for four years. The effects of alcohol, from the newly built mining town of Nhulunbuy, were causing grave concern to the Yirrkala leaders. There was, we are told, a breakdown in social values among young people. This film shows the Yolngu's attempts to come to terms with, and solve, these problems. Despite the gathering storm clouds, Yolngu...

This film records the reaction of one clan leader, Narritjin Maymuru, to the coming of the Gove bauxite mine. In mid-1971 Narritjin held a mortuary ceremony at Yirrkala in memory of several relatives. He opened this ceremony to visitors from the mining town, charging them a small entrance fee. Narritjin had two objectives in mind. Firstly, he wanted to raise money so that he could move with his family away from Yirrkala and the mine and set up a small...

Father Gonzalo settles into his new life at the meditation centre and attends a performance of the Tibetan Gyuto Monks, the personal choir to the Dalai Lama. He invites them home to dinner and develops a growing interest in Buddhism. Back at the pub, the men of St Francis have a heated discussion about the role of the Catholic Church in the world today. Despite their differences, they come together to witness Boris's spectacular ordination.. A Film...

In 1970 Ian Dunlop began a long-term film project with the Yolngu of Yirrkala for Film Australia. Pain for This Land is a general introduction to the Yirrkala Film Project. The film begins in 1970 with a village council meeting. Chairman Roy Dadaynga Marika explains how he envisages the film project-it should be a history covering three elements, the Yolngu, the Mission, and "that which is going to worry us in the future": the mine. Then different...