The 69th Sydney Film Festival announces it will present the World Premiere of We Are Still Here for its Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, June 8, at the State Theatre followed by a post-screening celebration in the Sydney Town Hall. The film is a multi-genre First Nations collaboration that interweaves eight stories by 10 directors from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the South Pacific.
We Are Still Here is told through the eyes of eight heroic protagonists, traversing over 1000 years, showing the strength of love and hope required to overcome shared traumas that Indigenous people from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the South Pacific have continued to face.The film was conceived as a right of reply for Indigenous filmmakers to tell anthology stories about colonisation of native peoples throughout the Pacific and to respond to the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s maiden voyage to the Pacific.
Filmmakers behind the eight stories include Australian directors Beck Cole, Danielle MacLean, Tracey Rigney, Dena Curtis; New Zealand directors: Tim Worrall, Richard Curtis, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Chantelle Burgoyn and Mario Gaoa.
The film features talented First Nations actors such as Clarence Ryan, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Leonie Whyman and Calvin Tuteao; and Producers Mitchell Stanley, Toni Stowers, Mia Henry-Teirney.
We Are Still Here is a joint initiative between Screen Australia’s First Nations Department and the New Zealand Film Commission.
This film is a testament to the strength and resilience of First Nations people all over the World, and we dedicate this success to our ancestors of the past, and our descendants of the future”, said Producer Mia Henry-Teirney.