AUSTRALIA'S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation's story didn't begin with European contact - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the world's oldest stories that stretch back over 65,000 years.

Those stories are more important than ever right now to ensure their voices are heard now and long into the future - so the SWITCH team has collected the best Indigenous Australian films that remind us of the importance of seeing, hearing and learning the First Nations' history.

THE SAPPHIRES

Great story, great music but lacks guts

While a terrific and engaging story complete with a fantastic and energetic soundtrack, it’s O’Dowd’s presence that breathes life into each scene. It’s fun and silly with plenty of heart thrown in.

MYSTERY ROAD

Up the garden path

'Mystery Road' is a film of unrealised potential, with the only real action coming in the final five minutes in a surprisingly intense Mexican standoff. Sadly, it’s too little too late.

CHARLIE'S COUNTRY

Searching for home

If the film’s goal is to provide insight into the struggle of Aboriginal people to hold onto their culture, while attempting to work within a system that doesn’t understand them, then it succeeds.

GOLDSTONE

An impressive piece of Australian noir

It’s an incredibly impressive piece of Australian cinema, one that balances technical skill, important questions and edge-of-your seat entertainment.

SWEET COUNTRY

A thunderous Australian masterpiece

Warwick Thornton has created a devastating, overwhelming masterpiece, the first truly great film of 2018. Moreso, 'Sweet Country' is easily one of the most important Australian films ever made.

GURRUMUL

A celebration of music, culture and friendship

This film is both a fitting epitaph for a musical legend as well as a timely reminder that there is still far too great of a gap for Indigenous Australians in the area of health and life expectancy.

UNDERMINED: TALES FROM THE KIMBERLEY

Asks urgent questions that demand answers

What is the path to social justice for Aboriginal peoples? 'Undermined: Tales From the Kimberley' asks urgent questions and demands answers.

TOP END WEDDING

Outback fantastic

It's modern, it's multicultural, it's finally an Australian film that is truly the Australia we live in today. Take your mum, your sister, your brother, your dog - this movie deserves huge success.

THE FINAL QUARTER

Tackling a shameful chapter in AFL history

The booing of Adam Goodes started after he took a stand on racism. The events depicted in ‘The Final Quarter’ should be regretted deeply, both for his sake and ours.

THE ART OF INCARCERATION

A portrait of culture and identity

The film presents the audience with some jaw-dropping statistics and goes on to complement them with the perspective of prisoners and former inmates.

THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM

The conversation Australia needs to have

Watch this documentary and talk about it. We need to re-evaluate how we acted during this extremely recent period of our history, and forge a better way forward.

DARK PLACE

An unsettling Indigenous horror anthology

Running at a lean 75 minutes and offering a bounty of gore, atmosphere and thought-provoking stories, it's a rare horror anthology that moves from strength to strength and never overstays its welcome.

IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS

An eye-opening tale of struggling Indigenous youth

The documentary excels in never sensationalising any aspect of Dujuan's story for dramatic effect; simply capturing Dujuan's daily life is enough to make blood boil and tears fall.

EMU RUNNER

Another great win for Indigenous storytelling

With incredible cinematography, this film supports the creation and telling of Indigenous stories, by Indigenous people, with Indigenous actors.