Australia’s largest First Nations-led cinema showcase, the Birrarangga Film Festival is bringing a diverse programme of national and global premieres to Naarm across March.
Hosting events at various locations from 13-18 March 2025, the festival serves as a biennial celebration of Indigenous filmmakers and storytellers from within Australia and across the globe.
This year’s Festival is unique in that it will be partnering with the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) to present the Southern Hemisphere premiere of Free Leonard Peltier, an affecting new documentary from lauded directors Jesse Short Bull and David France.
2025 marks the first ever joint partnership between MIFF and another festival, underlining the cultural importance of the new film’s subject matter, which explores the decades-long fight for justice in one of history’s longest political imprisonments.
The premiere screening of Free Leonard Peltier takes place on Sunday March 16 at 5:45pm, hosted by the Palace Westgarth Cinema in Northcote with producer Jhane Myers and Holly Cook Macarro. With the Birrarangga Film Festival set to showcase many new releases across Melbourne in the coming weeks, here are a few that can’t be missed.
Birrarangga Film Festival
- 11 venues, 6 days, 150 films
- March 13-18, 2025
- Venues: Capitol Theatre, Lido Cinemas, Kino Cinema, Sofitel Arthur Auditorium, Palace Westgarth Cinemas, Treasury Theatre, Classic Cinemas, VCA Theatre, ACMI, Nant Studios and Federation Square
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
Opening Night
Three films opening the festival’s week-long event include Katja Gauriloff’s sumptuously photographed black-and-white historical feature Je’Vida; the debut preview of short film First Horse, directed by Awanui Simich-Pene; and Jennifer Wickham’s Yintah.
All three films explore indigenous land rights and the importance of sovereignty, with Yintah – meaning “land” – documenting the fight for sovereignty among those of the Wet’suwet’en nation, of which director Jennifer Wickham is a proud member.
Centrepiece Gala event, Artistic Director’s special pick
The Centrepiece Gala of the Festival will see a screening of Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay’s lauded biopic Origin with a live Q&A. Telling the story of author Isabel Wilkerson’s seminal social science text Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, the screening will feature a performance of “I Am”. The song will be presented live over the film’s credits by acclaimed Māori singer and actor Stan Walker.
Taki Rua Theatre – Breaking Barriers
Directed by Whetū Fala, who will be in attendance for a live Q&A, Breaking Barriers explores the formation and legacy of Taki Rua Theatre, the unofficial national Māori theatre company. The documentary film explores the company’s latest ensemble of young artists, going into depth on Fala’s personal story behind the 30-year struggle to unify biculturalism between Māori and Pākehā peoples.
The Haka Party Incident
Directed by Katie Wolfe, in attendance for a live Q&A, documentary feature The Haka Party Incident explores the “last New Zealand war” – which allegedly lasted just three minutes. The documentary tells the story of young Māori and Pasifika activists, the He Taua, who, on 1 May 1979, confronted a gathering of University of Auckland engineering students as they rehearsed their ‘mock’ haka for their capping parade.
Arran 360 & Arran 360 2.0
View this post on Instagram
Presented in partnership with Docklands Studios Melbourne, Arran 360 is presenting 11 short films in two separate sessions – but with a twist. This first-of-its-kind immersive film project presents original 360-degree films created by leading Sámi filmmakers from across Sápmi. Screening for one day only at NANT Studios Docklands, on Sunday 16 March.
Sugarcane
Oscar-nominated documentary Sugarcane uncovers the harrowing truth of Canada’s residential school system after unmarked graves were discovered in 2021. Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s powerful debut follows a community confronting generational trauma while investigating decades of forced separation and abuse of Indigenous children. A stunning portrait of resilience amid national reckoning.
Singing Back the Buffalo
Buffalo return to North America’s Great Plains in this inspiring documentary from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard. Following Indigenous activists and Blackfoot Elder Leroy Little Bear, Singing Back the Buffalo reveals how these majestic animals offer hope for environmental balance amid global uncertainty. A richly visualized journey exploring buffalo consciousness and the challenging path toward rematriation and sustainability.
Yintah
Yintah follows the Wet’suwet’en people’s decade-long struggle to protect their traditional territories from pipeline construction in northern Canada. Director Jennifer Wickham documents land defenders Freda Huson and Molly Wickham alongside Hereditary Chiefs as they assert Indigenous sovereignty through reoccupation of their ancestral lands. A powerful chronicle of resistance against resource exploitation and a nation reclaiming its rightful governance.
All this and more can be discovered and enjoyed at the Birrarangga Film Festival this coming March.
This article was made in partnership with Birrarangga Film Festival
