Message from Mungo, co-directed by Ronin Films’ Andrew Pike and historian Ann McGrath, has won the United Nations Media Award in the special category of Promotion of Indigenous Recognition.
The film charts the conflict that erupted between scientists and indigenous people after the discovery of 40,000 year-old human remains at Lake Mungo.
Veteran Australian filmmaker and distributor Andrew Pike and his co-director Ann McGrath follow a 40-year story that documents the progressive empowerment of the traditional custodians of the land after the bones of an aboriginal woman are unearthed on one of the world’s richest archaeological sites.
Lake Mungo is an ancient Pleistocene lake-bed in south-western New South Wales, and is one of the world’s richest archaeological sites. The film focuses on the interface over the last 40 years between the scientists on one hand, and, on the other, the Indigenous communities who identify with the land and with the human remains revealed at the site. This interface has often been deeply troubled and contentious, but within the conflict and its gradual resolution lies a moving story of the progressive empowerment of the traditional custodians of the area.
The film was made over an eight-year period and included extensive consultation with members of the Indigenous communities at Mungo.
Message from Mungo is also a finalist in the History Documentary category in this years ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) awards, to be announced on November 27.
After a series of special screenings around the country, the title is now available on DVD. Go to: http://www.roninfilms.com.au/video/858/0/9901.html