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Pyramid Lake Is Dying

The second of John Pilger’s three 1976 documentaries made in the United States. In Pyramid Lake Is Dying, he reports on the demise in the culture of native Americans and the stealing of their resources. Pyramid Lake, in Nevada, home to the Paiute peoples and once described as “one of the few remaining unspoiled natural wonders in the American West”, is drying up and its fisheries and wildlife disappearing due to changes to the local ecology made by white settlers. In addition to their natural resources, the Paiute peoples' culture and lifestyle are also under threat.

Pyramid Lake Is Dying

NR 1976
Whatever Happened to Green Valley?

Green Valley was a housing commission estate in western Sydney, much maligned by the media of the day. The residents were hurt by the criticism but lacked access to the media to respond. Supplied with equipment by Film Australia, they used this film to present a different image of themselves and their daily lives. In so doing, they answered the question of "Whatever happened to Green Valley?" The core of this film is the work of half a dozen residents, co-ordinated by acclaimed filmmaker Peter Weir in one of his earliest film projects. Weir also acts as the moderator at a public forum that is included in the film.

Whatever Happened to Green Valley?

5.0 1974
Lalai Dreamtime

Lalai Dreamtime takes the viewer into pre-settled Australia to show a myth from the spiritual tradition of the people. It is the story of Namarali, as presented by Sam Woolagoodja to his son Stanley and his granddaughter Kerry. Namarali is the law-giving 'Wandjina' of the Worora people who, along with him, have many other such Wandjinas. The 'Wandjinas' are ancient creators whose presence is real in the painted imprints of cave walls and in the shape of specific land formations. The film shows the importance of the Dreamtime in the Aboriginal culture.

Lalai Dreamtime

7.5 1972
Independence for Fiji

After 96 years under British rule, in 1970 Fijian independence was restored. In the centre of celebratory events was HRH the Prince of Wales. This film provides a record of the official ceremony on 10 October that saw the handover of the constitutional instruments. It includes the reading of a message from Her Majesty the Queen by the Prince of Wales and the official speech by the Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamises Mara in which he talks about the determination to build a strong, united Fiji, rich in its diversity. The film also depicts ceremonies and performances from the various cultural groups that comprise the people of Fiji. Finally, we follow Prince Charles to the places he tours which include the old capital, Levuka, as well as Taveuni, Savusavu, Nadi, Tavua, Labasa and Lautoka.

Independence for Fiji

NR 1970
Brickwall

“Being a bricklayer, this was one of my most important films. It represents eight hours of work...you start your early morning, you look at the work which is in front of you—then you get stuck into it—you have a morning tea, then you have lunch—and in the afternoon, of course, you knock off. I wanted to construct the 22 minutes of film very much like how I laid bricks in the physical sense—with a trowel and mortar. So I worked out a rhythm for the film—I had 3 frames, 6 frames, 12 frames, and 24 frames, and virtually all of it was done single-frame. For the soundtrack I used myself laying bricks in real time—you lay the trowel, you scrape it, you take off the ‘mud’, etc, and that continues right through the film. Some people refer to this as a ‘structural’ film…rather this is a film by a bricklayer who knows the material very well.” (Paull Winkler)

Brickwall

NR 1975