Dena Curtis Talks About the First Nations Anthology Film We Are Still Here in This Interview

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We Are Still Here is a First Nations anthology film featuring the directing and writing work from Chantelle Burgoyne, Dena Curtis, Richard Curtis, Mario Gaoa, Danielle MacLean, Miki Magasiva, Renae Maihi, Tracey Rigney, Tim Worrall, Samuel Paynter, Tiraroa Reweti, and supervising director Beck Cole. It is a film that spans from the past, to the present, and into the future, and is a response to 250 years of colonisation after the arrival of Captain Cook to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific island nations.

In this interview, Andrew talked with Dena Curtis about her entry in the anthology, Woke, featuring co-lead performances from Sean Mununggurr and Robert Taylor. It’s a powerful short that pulls back in time and presents colonial Central Australia and the fractious relationship between Taylor’s coloniser who is lost, and Mununggurr’s Kngwarraye who guides him back home to a truth he doesn’t want to hear. Dena also talks about her career, and what has changed in the twenty years since she started working on film and now, as well as about the upcoming Australian International Documentary Conference, and what to expect from the panel she is part of: First and Foremost: First Nations Knowledge Through Documentary.

We Are Still Here launches in Australian cinemas on February 16, with Q&A sessions around the nation. Visit the We Are Still Here Facebook page for further details.

Andrew F Peirce

Andrew is passionate about Australian cinema, Australian politics, Australian culture, and Australia in general. Found regularly talking online about Sweet Country, and reminding people to watch Young Adult.

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