Your grandpa left you a mystery film. What if it rewrites history?
A feature documentary about opera singer Tiriki Onus who finds a 70-year-old silent film believed to be made by his grandfather, Aboriginal leader and filmmaker Bill Onus. As Tiriki travels across the continent and pieces together clues to the film’s origins, he discovers more about Bill, his fight for Aboriginal rights and the price he paid for speaking out.
Direction
Tiriki turns personal quest into national history lesson.
Editing
Seamless weaving of 1930s footage with modern pilgrimage.
Production
Miraculous recovery of nearly lost Aboriginal cinema.
Director
Tiriki Onus
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bill Onus was among the first Aboriginal Australians to run a commercial theater, using Yarra Yarra Films to smuggle political messages into 'entertainment' screenings for white audiences.
The 70-year-old nitrate film was deteriorating so badly that some frames had to be scanned while literally disintegrating; what you're seeing is partly rescued from chemical oblivion.
US
AU
