Part 1:

Bruce Shillingsworth, Muruwari and Budjiti man, a talented artist and water for the rivers activist. His country is the north-west NSW river lands that hug the Namoi, Barwon, Darling Rivers; Brewarrina, Bourke, Enngonia, Wilcannia and Walgett. Uncle Bruce talks about the First Nations struggles against the occupation of their land, the leaders who came before him, the importance of the land, the need for all of us to come together in order to heal and move forward. It also includes footage of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and of the 70s First Nations activists. This part of the video is directed and produced by Fabio Cavadini who included excerpts from Alessandro Cavadini’s film Ningla-A-Na. See trailer here.

Following the online Forum run by Amnesty Australia this month to mark Reconciliation Week, FILEF invites you to watch

WHEN THE RIVER RUNS DRY

52 min | Directed by: Rory McLeod/Peter Yates – Streaming online at SBS on Demand until June 30th
An exploration of the rules governing the Murray Darling Basin and how they are destroying the environment, causing extinction-level events and displacing First Nations communities, as water rights and security become increasingly vital issues for them.
The film brings Indigenous voices to the fore in the form of the Barkindji, the people of the River, who, after one hundred and seventy years, have become dispossessed and marginalised. The Barkindji survived because of the Baaka, the Darling River, and now, due to the decimation of this vital river system, they no longer feel connected to their dreaming, their totems, or their culture.
When the River Runs Dry shines a light on what is happening and manifests how we, as a country, need to bring this immense, beautiful and remote river system back from the brink of catastrophe.
This film is both a celebration of the resilience of people and nature, and a call to arms.

The film is introduced by uncle Bruce Shillingsworth (see interview here) activist in the Water for the Rivers movement from the north-west NSW, where communities have been devastated, by water mismanagement and stealing along three states, by big cotton farmers and irrigators.
The evils of racism against the First Nations peoples in land and water dispossession, echoing 250 years of discrimination, call for a public outrage much like that inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, to highlight the tragedy of Aboriginal deaths in custody and very high incarceration rates.

This is a free event, but a donation towards funding for elders along the river would be appreciated.

We need your help urgently! We’ve collected more than 2 dozen much needed care beds that will assist those with medical needs along the Baaka (Barwon Darling River). These funds will assist in transportation of the beds from Sydney to patients in remote/isolated communities such as Brewarrina, Wilcannia, Walgett and Bourke (including Enngonia). Many people in these communities have medical conditions that restrict their mobility but they don’t have access to therapeutic bedding. These beds are medical grade, motorised, heavy duty and durable which include hospital grade mattresses. We are pushing for the delivery of these beds by early July!
https://bit.ly/37LSxgo