Larissa Behrendt’s 2017 film After the Apology will open this year’s Human Rights Arts and Film Festival on Thursday, challenging audiences and shedding light on the issue of child removal in Aboriginal communities.
The documentary follows four Aboriginal grandmothers who contested government policies to bring their grandchildren home, and sparked a movement called ‘Grandmothers Against Removal’.
“I come to this subject matter with a very personal passion for it. My grandmother was a stolen generations woman and my father grew up in an orphanage” says Berendt, the film’s director. “Like many Aboriginal people, I was touched by Kevin Rudd’s apology speech and believed it would be a turning point on how child welfare matters were dealt with. It is shocking to me that the number of Aboriginal children being removed today by welfare agencies is higher than during the time of the Stolen Generations.”
Behrendt and Producer, Kiki Dillon, will be hosting a Q&A post-screening for those keen to know more, and there’ll be an after-party at ACMI’s Lightwell to celebrate the festival’s opening.
