ACMI presents
No Way to Forget
with special guests Richard Frankland and Dean Gibson
When
Tues 7 Sep 2021
6pm (AEST)
This month, we'll explore the role of Aboriginal filmmakers in calling for changes to Australia's criminal justice system. We will screen No Way To Forget (1996) and chat to the film's Director Richard Frankland, alongside Director of the newly released Incarceration Nation (2021), Dean Gibson.
Thirty years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was handed down to the Australian government, and since then a pervading apathy has plagued state and territory governments and their policing regimes when acknowledging and adopting the 339 recommendations. This apathy is evident in the statistics that show a rising number of Aboriginal incarceration rates in Australia since the tabling of the Royal Commission. In April of this year The Guardian counted 474 Aboriginal deaths in custody in the last 30 years. Since The Guardian's report, the numbers have continued to climb.
Aboriginal Peoples and Aboriginal organisations, and increasing numbers of concerned human rights organisations and non-Aboriginal allies, have continued to call out the Australian governments' inability to implement the royal commission's recommendations. Aboriginal filmmakers have been a welcome and inspiring part of the push for change too.
Our September film club will explore the role of Aboriginal filmmakers in calling for necessary changes in Australia's criminal justice system. We'll screen Gunditjmara man Richard Frankland's short film No Way To Forget (1996) before yarning to Uncle Richard about his film. We'll also talk to Dean Gibson, Director of Incarceration Nation (2021), a searing documentary that reasserts the call for changes to Australia's criminal justice system and its human rights-violating treatment of Aboriginal Peoples.
Our Film Club acknowledges that the content of these films may be triggering. Please note that there is a content warning for police brutality, deaths in custody, incarceration, suicide, self-harm and sexual assault. A counsellor from YARNING SAFENSTRONG will be present throughout the session if anyone needs to chat. We will provide information about how to get in contact with Yarning SafeNStrong after the session too.
We encourage our mob to contact the following services for assistance:
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service: (03) 9419 3000
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or chat online
About our host
Bryan Andy
Bryan Andy is a Yorta Yorta man from Cummeragunja, NSW. He is a freelance writer, arts advocate and the current convenor of OutBlack – Victoria's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and Queer mob.
Join the club
You will need to be a member of the First Nations Film Club to attend this session. By becoming a member of the Club, you'll also get a range of ACMI member benefits.
First Nations Film Club
Watch films from ACMI's collection and beyond, looking back on the trailblazing storytellers and seminal works that have paved the way for First Peoples stories on screen.
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Everyone participating in an ACMI First Nations Film Club event — including, but not limited to the meets, clubs and talks — is required to agree to the following code of conduct. This includes all attendees, speakers, performers, patrons, and volunteers.
ACMI First Nations Film Club will enforce this code during its events and throughout the year. We expect cooperation from everyone to ensure a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment.
The condensed version
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The less condensed version
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With thanks