Storylines: Fire Talker

The Australian High Commission presents a selection of Aboriginal feature films and documentaries curated by renowned Australian film director Rachel Perkins, bringing the stories of Australia’s first peoples to Africa. As Aboriginal people claimed the right to determine their future in the political world, so too did Aboriginal people claim the right to portray themselves and their stories. In the process, Aboriginal filmmaking also evolved from its humble beginnings to become recognised on its artistic merits as world class cinema.

FIRE TALKER uses archival footage spanning 40 years, to build a candid portrait of the life and times of Charles Perkins, Aboriginal activist and bureaucrat. Perkins was on the frontline of the emerging Aboriginal rights movement and infamous for his straightforward thinking and sometimes aggressive temperament, which made him friends and foes, both black and white.