BIRRARANGGA Film Festival celebrates Global Indigenous Films that explore the curatorial themes of ‘strength, resilience and the environment’. First Nations relationships to the image as a form of expression, particularly in Australia, is connected to thousands of years of cultural practices. This festival honours that history and acknowledges the contemporary currency of the moving image, of film, as an expression of the human experience in relation to our natural surroundings.
Curated by Wurundjeri (Woiwurrung) / Yorta Yorta screen creative and actor Tony Briggs (creator & writer of hit film ‘The Sapphires’), the Festival will present over 150 beautiful, raw, inspiring and heartbreaking feature length, short films from and 360 degree immersive films from across the world. BIRRARANGGA Film Festival features films from Australia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, Peru, Norway, Finland, Hawaii, Sweden, Greenland and many more across the globe.
BIRRARANGGA is the Woiwurrung word for ‘River location’. Wurundjeri/Yorta Yorta Elder, Aunty Zeta Thomson has given her blessing to use this name for the Festival. Rivers connect Indigenous people across the world; they have fluidity, movement and life, just as feature films do.
The core vision for BFF is to nurture leadership and provide visibility to global Indigenous filmmakers while facilitating opportunities to forge new international relationships between screen practitioners. BFF creates a platform for Indigenous storytelling, encourages emerging leaders in the screen industry and creates visibility for Indigenous filmmakers.
