From the makers of With or Without Fidel, Blood Diamonds and Bang Bang In Da Manor comes a brave new documentary that delves beyond Australia’s reputation of sun, surf and sand to reveal a nation ruptured by a deep racial divide and contested history. Taking the controversial 2007 Northern Territory Intervention as its starting point, This is Our Country Too is a hard-hitting investigation into Australia's woeful treatment of its indigenous peoples, and a rare depiction of their unrelenting struggle for justice, equality and self-determination.
In June 2007, the Australian government took the unprecedented step of suspending its Race Relations Act to introduce the Intervention - a series of draconian, federal-backed laws designed to control the flow of alcohol and pornography into 'prescribed communities' in the Northern Territory – a reactionary response to endemic alcoholism and allegedly endemic child abuse in these communities – though there is little official data to support the accusation.
Featuring interviews with prominent Aboriginal leaders, Pat Turner, niece of 'Australia'a Mandela,' Charlie Perkins, Pat Dodson, spearhead of the reconciliation movement, actor/artist David Gulpilil and Jenny Macklin, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, This is Our Country Too puts the focus on Australia’s indigenous people’s forgotten plight and advances the question: How will Australia reconcile with its indigenous people?
Director/Producer: Ishmahil Blagrove, Jr.
Edited by: Catherine Arend
Duration: 59 minutes
Language: English