(Burnt Country: 2024 / Kirsten Slemint / UK-Australia / 17 minutes / Documentary / Age Guidance: 11+)
(Tales of the Diaspora: 2024 / Lidwina Tutuvanu / UK-Australia-Samoa / Running time TBC / Documentary / Age Guidance: TBC)
The London Australian Film Society and the Foundation for Australian and New Zealand Arts (FANZA) present the inaugural ANZ Film Festival, a day of film screenings and events at Finsbury Park Picturehouse to mark Australia Day and Waitangi Day.
In this second session, we welcome UK-based Antipodean filmmakers Kirsten Slemint and Lidwina Tutuvanu to present two brand new short documentaries, followed by a post-screening Q&A about their work.
Kirsten Slemint’s BAFTA and Grierson Award nominated Burnt Country examines the significance of cultural burning for First Nations communities in Lutruwita (Tasmania) and its growing importance across Australia in the face of devastating bushfires and catastrophic climate change. In the wake of the recent wildfires in California, this film’s message feels as urgent as ever.
Tales of the Diaspora is the debut film from xxiivanu productions, and was conceived as a love letter to Pasifika youth around the world, as they navigate the sometimes tumultuous waves of finding and retaining cultural identity whilst growing up away from their homelands.
Kirsten and Lidwina will join us after the films for a short Q&A to discuss their films, and the challenges of telling Antipodean stories from afar.
Australian and New Zealand snacks and sweets will be on sale, and a raffle will take place before the screening.