A 1981 doc about Indigenous Australians fighting bureaucracy with paper and patience — and it's riveting.
Gordon Smith, head of the Collum Collum Aboriginal Co-operative which operates a cattle station in northern New South Wales, and Sunny Bancroft, the station manager, are negotiating with the Aboriginal Development Corporation in Canberra for a loan. Finance is needed to stock the property with breeding cattle so that the station can become financially independent.
Direction
Observational style lets tension build naturally.
Writing
Dialogue reveals power dynamics without commentary.
Director
David MacDougall
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of the 'Aboriginal Australia' series that helped shift documentary focus from 'problem' narratives to Indigenous agency.
The MacDougalls pioneered 'shared anthropology' — collaborating with subjects rather than observing from distance.
US
