Pitjiri: the snake that will not sink

Australia, 1985

Please note

Sorry, we don't have images or video for this item.

In 1936 on a remote outpost in the Northern Territory, nine aboriginal elders appeared before Ruth Heathcock, a young white nurse who they believed was a member of their tribe before the Dreaming. What she later experienced in her healing work is the subject of this extraordinary documentary. A multi-award winning production.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

producer/director

Karen Hughes

production company

Trikon Film Corporation

Duration

00:48:35:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1985

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

017379

Language

English

Audience classification

Subject categories

Aboriginal Australia → Aboriginal Australians - Legends

Aboriginal Australia → Heathcock, Ruth

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion pictures - Awards

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Aboriginal Australians - Legends

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Reincarnation

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Healers

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Nursing

History → Aboriginal Australians - Legends

People → Heathcock, Ruth

Short films

Short films → Short films - Australia

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/78691--pitjiri-the-snake-that-will-not-sink-a/ |title=Pitjiri: the snake that will not sink |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=3 December 2022 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}