by James Fletcher

Tiriki Onus isn’t a name traditionally associated with the filmmaking community, with the indigenous creative previously paving a significant reputation for himself within Australian Opera. However, upon discovering some forgotten mementos of his grandfather, civil rights activist and proud Yorta Yorta man Bill Onus, Tiriki found himself on a personal journey that would eventuate with the remarkable, and timely documentary feature Ablaze.

A chronicle of the Onus legacy, Ablaze is a poignant expose on the struggle faced by Indigenous Australians to not only receive their civil rights, but to be allowed the simple privilege of preserving their culture which was either being crudely appropriated by the entertainment industry during the 1940s and ‘50s, or purposefully quashed by government policy.

Bill Onus’ legacy – already established as a figurehead of civil activism and social change – is further elevated through Ablaze, infusing the icon with inflection, motivation and personal connection as Tiriki seemingly rouses his own pride as a Yorta Yorta man whose creative spirit as a storyteller, performer and advocate harkens back through his bloodline.

While Ablaze marks the baritone’s debut as a genuine filmmaker, it also mints Tiriki, like Bill before him, as an unexpectant First Nations filmmaker.

With a special screening of Ablaze happening on March 5 as part of the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), Tiriki Onus will also be moderating one of the AIDC’s more compelling special sessions, Collaborating vs. Consultation: Moving Towards Better Practice In First Nations Storytelling.

A discussion designed to open and explore inclusivity within First Nations filmmakers, the session will take Indigenous creatives from their traditional consultation roles to active participants in producing Indigenous stories for the screen. At the same time guiding non-Indigenous collaborators on the correct handling of Indigenous content and how to ensure cultural legitimacy and safety.

“I think like many of these conversations, it’s an evolving one,” elaborates Onus. “Where, once upon a time we were probably happy to be consulted, and there was certainly a drive to be consulted – even to just have a conversation first – now, when it comes to working across cultures, and working very much in this occupied space, if you will, I think that most Indigenous film subjects tend to have to deal with it in some way, shape or form, that continual question of, ‘How can we do better? What more is needed?’

“As I often ask myself in life in general, where is the authority enforced in this conversation? Who’s holding it? I think that is really starting to drive these conversations more and more. Whilst we have had fantastic guidelines in the past about how to consult on Indigenous film from AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies), and from Screen Australia and the like, we haven’t continued, necessarily, to publicly grow that conversation.

“Oftentimes, it seems like the conversation is always a little bit behind where our current understanding, where our current conversations in a broader society are. As a First Nation person working in film, I know from personal experience that, oftentimes there is a discomfort with which one sits where you’re trying to define what your role and responsibility is. Certainly, what your role and responsibility to other first peoples who are part of that project is as well.

“Because you end up carrying not just your own narratives and your responsibility in this space, you’ve got a job to advocate and support everyone involved in the making of this film, and indeed the legacy that’s going to be left, that you’re going to have to navigate and carry. Certainly, that seems to come home for me, again and again, whenever I have these conversations.”

Joining Tiriki on the AIDC stage to discuss the various themes inherent of such a broad topic are several qualified, engaged professionals from the entertainment sector, including Angela Bates, Head of the First Nations Department Screen Australia, Producer Mitchell Stanley from No Coincidence Media, Gillian Moody, a Wodi Wodi woman and producer at Kalori Productions and First nations descendant of the Butchella and Jagera people and CEO of Ramu Productions Jodie Bell. A select group which Tiriki acknowledges should bring a lively, insightful and comprehensive dialogue to the session.

“I haven’t actually met any of them before,” Onus admits. “I’m familiar with their work, but our first opportunity to meet was digitally, a couple of weeks ago where we got to discuss some of the trials and tribulations of working in this shared space.

“I think we can have a much more involved and sophisticated conversation about what allyship looks like. About what it means for us to be able to, not just make space, but to empower other people’s voices within a space. Not to speak for them, but to do that work. I think there is a tremendous opportunity in this country for us all, black, white, brindle, wherever we come from, to be able to celebrate the strength, the history, and the stories of the country that we stand on.

“I hope that in having these conversations into the future, we’re able to identify more and more, ways for us to be able to contribute in that space. I don’t think we necessarily have to be afraid of things like appropriation if we are creating meaningful, and tangible ways to celebrate stories, and histories, together. If we’re able to give the credit and the voice to those stories. To see ourselves as being agents of change, if you will, or vehicles in the telling.

“That’s certainly something I hope we can start to get to, and it’s something I hope we can touch on when we come to the panel. I think there’s a great contribution that can be made to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and to the broader fabric of this continent by amplifying, and highlighting the stories of First People. It’s only going to come through meaningful allyship, collaboration, and shared vision. It will probably require us to make a bit of a change, to perhaps flip the paradigm in which we’ve traditionally engaged.

“I don’t think it’s a question of saying, ‘Well, this is Indigenous subject matter. Only Indigenous people should tell that story.’ I think it’s actually about saying, ‘There are Indigenous stories, so how do we celebrate them? And who has that final say, and responsibility?’ That’s very, very different. I also think it’s a very productive and rewarding space if we can move beyond our very binary right or wrong system of the past. To instead talk meaningfully about the stories. Not just the stories that we want to tell, the stories that we need to hear.”

Ablaze is screening at CinefestOZ, August 23 – 28, 2022

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