| We Are Still Here | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne |
| Written by | Beck Cole, Samuel Paynter, Tiraroa Reweti, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne |
| Produced by | Mia Henry-Teirney Mitchell Stanley Toni Stowers |
| Cinematography | Raymond Edwards Eric Murray Lui |
| Edited by | Roland Gallois |
| Music by | Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper |
Production companies | No Coincidence Media Marama Productions |
| Distributed by | Dark Matter Rialto Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Countries | Australia New Zealand |
| Languages | English Māori Samoan |
We Are Still Here is an Australian-New Zealand anthology film released in 2022.[1] Created as a response to the 250th anniversary of the Second voyage of James Cook to Australia in 1772, the project consists of ten linked short films by each of ten Indigenous Australian and Māori filmmakers about the impact of settler colonialism on the region's indigenous cultures.[2]
The films were directed by Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis and Chantelle Burgoyne, and span a range of approaches including historical war drama, futuristic speculative fiction and animation.[1]
It premiered as the opening film of the 2022 Sydney Film Festival,[2] and had its North American premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022.[3] The film won the Dramatic Feature Award at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[4]
Plot
The film alternates between different stories centering on Indigenous Australians and New Zealanders in the past, present, and future.
Two fisherwomen are attacked by British colonial slavetrader ships and experience a surreal, psychedelic tug-of-war between tradition and modernity.
An Indigenous man agrees to help a white settler find his family, only to find his own family killed by colonizers lead by the settler he had helped.
A young Māori woman convinces her father to join the resistance against the british occupation, although he fears for the safety of his family and community.
During World War I, an Indigenous Australian slave-soldier and a Turkish (ottoman) soldier fighting on opposite sides find common ground and friendship despite language barriers and cultural differences.
Thousands of years in the future, a young girl tries to find medicine for her ailing father in a horrifying dystopian future where aboriginals and other indigenous peoples are deported to off-world colonies as slave labour by a Nazi-like regime , founded after a war between the global north (lead by the US) and the global south (lead by China) devastated the planet and wiped out 80% of the human population.
After her mother was assaulted in a racist attack by state security officers, an activist and graffiti artist plans to burn down Cooks' Cottage with the help of a new friend.
A young man, reeling from the loss of her mother, searches for his family during riots and witnesses police brutality firsthand.
An Indigenous man living in the Northern Territory (where it is illegal for aboriginals to purchase alcohol) finds himself targeted by state police when he tries to buy a case of beer.
References
- 1 2 Luke Buckmaster, "We Are Still Here review – 10 directors take on the vile Captain Cook in thrilling ways". The Guardian, 8 June 2022.
- 1 2 Sandy George, "Indigenous anthology feature ‘We Are Still Here’ to open Sydney Film Festival 2022". Screen Daily, 4 May 2022.
- ↑ Samantha Bergeson, "TIFF Unveils Contemporary World Cinema Lineup: ‘Aftersun,’ ‘EO’ Among Toronto Premieres". IndieWire, 17 August 2022.
- ↑ Bloch, Aaron. "Trailblazing Māori director's touching speech after We Are Still Here award nod". NIT. Retrieved 8 September 2023.