Visual Anthropology Forum

Wednesday 29 July 12-1:30pm,

The Theatrette (rm. 2.02), Sir Roland Wilson Building, ANU

Ancestral Animals (2015, 60 mins)

Natasha Fijn

Synopsis of Film

'Ancestral Animals' is about Garrthalala as a place and how the Yolngu community who live there are connected with other beings, including ancestors, animals and plants. Aboriginal people have lived in Arnhem Land for over 45,000 years, which means that over time they have developed a deep, spiritual connection with the land. Totemic beings of significance include the saltwater crocodile, crows, dogs and dingoes, crabs, sea eagles, turtles, and yams. The film follows 'Yolngu time' where the pace is measured and not run according to the institutional timeframes of wider Australia.

Homeland communities are increasingly under threat from a lack of financial support and investment into infrastructure from the Australian government with a push for Yolngu to move into town centres, despite the fact that the quality of life on outstations is significantly better in terms of both mental and physical health.  Unlike the negative portrayal of Aboriginal communities in the mainstream Australian media, the intention of this film is to show a positive side to a homeland community (in the tradition of Ian Dunlop and the Yirrkala Film Project series) and how living on homelands are a means of maintaining a connection to Country and a unique way of life.

You are welcome to bring your lunch. 

VISC8015: Research with a Video Camera

Do you want to integrate visual material with your Masters or Doctoral research? 

The course introduces postgraduate students to ways of working with digital video as a research tool, particularly in the disciplinary area of Visual Anthropology. It promotes an open-ended, content-led approach to documentary film, where filming forms part of the research process rather than taking place at the end of a research period, as in standard documentary practice.

Filming the 50th Anniversary of the Bark Petition, Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia. Photo credit: Julian Laffan.

Students will use digital video to explore a research topic under guidance and supervision. Across the course you will produce edited video compilations to communicate understandings of the topic that has emerged through the filming and editing process. Readings and in-class discussions will help stimulate your thinking as you move through the course.

Course convenor: Dr Natasha Fijn, email: Natasha.Fijn@anu.edu.au

The course will be held in the Theatrette and Lady Wilson Room in the Sir Roland Wilson Building,​ Thursdays 1-4pm, Second Semester 2015.