Artistic Director Tony Briggs lists some of the highlights – including international and Australian guests
March 13-18, 2025
Tickets on Sale Now
With just two weeks to go before the opening night of Australia’s only and largest dedicated First Nations led film festival, Birrarangga Film Festival (BFF), tickets have been selling fast, with some events moving to larger cinemas to accommodate demand.
Taking place in Naarm from March 13-18, 2025, over 150 films from around the globe will be showcased across 11 venues in the fourth edition of the Festival, which takes place biennially.
Each feature film screening will include a short film as the opener.
The highly anticipated Samoan film, Tinā, which will close the six-day immersive festival on Saturday, March 18, has sold out in both sessions.
Meanwhile, Melbourne-based filmmaker Anthony Kelly’s compelling documentary, Our Warrior – The Story Of Robbie Thorpe has sold out two sessions, necessitating the addition of a third and final BFF encore screening after the festival. Tickets to the third screening at Palace Westgarth on Wednesday, March 19 are selling fast!
Revealing more of his personal highlights today, BFF Artistic Director Tony Briggs has also announced that children’s tickets are now free at the following family events:
Kyindoo Wilam Bubup – Learning Place for Children
Treasury Theatre – Saturday, March 15
A selection of children’s animations and short films from across the world, curated by Briggs. This is a place where children, teenagers and adults can come to watch and learn. Stories are beautifully expressed with honest and warmth, whilst highlighting the negative impact of colonisation and the profound strength through the connection to culture by Indigenous people.
Palace Westgarth – Saturday, March 15
The first female Indigenous Australian animation directed by Chantelle Murray (Bardi). Found abandoned and wearing a mysterious crystal necklace, Teo the lost tiger is adopted into a big, boisterous kangaroo family of travelling wrestlers. After receiving visions from an unfamiliar land, Teo must suddenly embark on an epic quest to reconnect with his heritage and save his homeland from the clutches of destruction.
(Preview short: The Queen’s Flower directed by Ciara Leina’ala Lacy (Native Hawaiian)
Amongst the many other highlights are:
Opening night – Je’Vida (Victorian Premiere)
Capitol Theatre – Thursday, March 13 (SELLING FAST!)
Directed by Katja Gauriloff (Sami), Je’vida is a story of the importance of discovering and accepting your roots, and the effect this has on our relationships, life, and the choices we make.
Preview Short: First Horse directed by Awanui Simich-Pene (Maori)
Origin – Centrepiece Gala Event (Artistic Director’s Special Pick)
Featuring live performance by Stan Walker during film
Capitol Theatre, Saturday, March 15
Written and directed by Academy Award nominee, Ava DuVernay (Selma), Origin chronicles the tragedy and triumph of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Isabel Wilkerson as she investigates a global phenomenon of epic proportions. Portrayed by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis Taylor (King Richard), Isabel experiences unfathomable personal loss and love as she crossed continents and cultures to craft one of the defining American books of our time. Inspired by the New York Times bestseller, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.
With a very special live performance from acclaimed Māori singer and actor Stan Walker singing the emotive song “I Am” written and recorded for this film.
Preview Short: Just Beneath the Surface directed by Jimmy John Thaiday (Peiudu).
Árran 360 & Árran 360 2.0
NANT Studios, Docklands, Sunday March 16
Presented in partnership with International Sámi Film Institute and NANT Studios at Docklands. With Maria Utsi Project Manager in attendance for Q & A and directors Marja Helander & Liselotte Wajstedt
Screening 11 short films in two separate sessions, this first-of-its-kind immersive film project features original 360-degree films created by leading Sámi filmmakers from across Sápmi. Only screening on Sunday 16th at NANT Studios Docklands., you will not want to miss this, with the Southern Hemisphere premiere of Arran 2.0 and five new films from Sapmi.
Palace Kino, Monday, March 17
Directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.
2025 Academy Award nominated film, a stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning.
Preview Short: Djalbuyan Nahra, directed by Jahvis Loveday (Bundjalung | Djiru)
Taki Rua Theatre – Breaking Barriers
VCA Federation Cinema, Saturday, March 15
Directed by Whetu Fala who will be in attendance What began as an experience in biculturalism between Māori and Pākehā grew into Taki Rua Theatre, the unofficial national Māori theatre company. As we tour the motu with the latest ensemble of young artists, we witness the deeply personal and politically visionary story of the 30-year struggle to create a truly bicultural force, and the wāhine toa who agitated for change.
Whetū is an inspirational Māori film and arts leader. She has been making TV and short films for decades and finally got to make her first feature aged in her 60’s. Activist Sharon Hawke opened our Auckland premiere, talking about how their peer group, now all Māori women 60+, aspired to make a feature film for decades, and only Whetū managed it. Whetū is an Indigenous governance leader on the Boards of Whakaata Māori/Māori TV and Creative New Zealand. She is a leading thinker and speaker on Indigenous media, story sovereignty, and native communities in the age of AI and digital content.
Short Preview: Armea, directed by Letila Mitchell (Rotuman)
Palace Kino, Sunday, March 16
Directed by Katie Wolfe, who will participate in a Q&A after the screening.
On May 1st, 1979, a group of young Māori and Pasifika activists, He Taua, confronted a gathering of University of Auckland engineering students as they rehearsed their ‘mock’ haka for their capping parade. The fracas that followed prompted the nation to confront systemic racism and instigate change for a better and more equal partnership between Pākehā and Māori.
Short Preview: Qu’est-ce que je te montrerai? directed by Elie-John Joseph (Innu).
Palace Kino, Sunday, March 16
Directed by Tasha Hubbard with Producer Jason Ryle in attendance for Q & A.
In a time of immense environmental degradation and global uncertainty, the buffalo can lead us to a better tomorrow. Together with Blackfoot Elder Leroy Little Bear, Hubbard weaves an intimate story of humanity’s connections to buffalo and eloquently reveals how their return to the Great Plains can indeed usher in a new era of sustainability and balance.
Short Preview: The Past and The Future of The Arctic, directed by Hans Pieski (sämmiláš)
Ivan Sen is a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, composer, and sound designer. He is the co-founder and director of Bunya Productions.
Join us for a 3 -hour Masterclass, presented in collaboration with VicScreen. This Masterclass will cover many facets of the filmmaking process- writing, directing, cinematography, editing and music composition. Ivan is an auteur and will discuss all of his filmmaking practices.
Limbo Directed by Ivan Sen with Q & A after screening
VCA Federation Cinema, Sunday, March 16
Simon Baker stars as Travis Hurley, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago.
Short Preview: Ajá (Water), directed by Dennis Noel López Sosa (Chontal | Inuk).
Free Leonard Peltier (co-presented by BFF and Melbourne International Film Festival)
Palace Westgarth, Sunday, March 16
Featuring a Q&A with producer Jhane Myers and Holly Cook Macarro, a member of the Red Lake Nation and a leading advocate for Leonard Peltier’s release.
Leonard Peltier remains a beacon of resilience against oppression for so many. In this in-depth, archive-rich exploration, Jesse Short Bull and David France delve into Peltier’s imprisonment, the FBI actions that led to his controversial conviction, and the ongoing efforts to secure his release. Key figures from the American Indian Movement offer illuminating context alongside an archival interview with Peltier himself. Together they trace the events surrounding the 1975 Pine Ridge shoot-out, where he was convicted of killing two FBI agents — a charge he has denied for 50 years. Positioning Peltier’s struggle within a 500-year continuum of Indigenous resistance connects it to the U.S. government’s historical and ongoing abuses against Indigenous people, emphasising that the fight for Peltier’s freedom is part of an enduring fight for overdue justice.
Short Preview: Northern Comfort: A Drive Around Town, directed by Melanie Lameboy (Eeyou (Crie-Cree))
Says Briggs, “With just two weeks to go, the excitement around the fourth edition of the Birrarangga Film Festival is undeniable. Seeing the community rally around First Nations storytelling—locally and globally—reaffirms the power of Indigenous cinema and the importance of a dedicated platform like Birrarangga Film Festival.”
BFF spans 11 venues across the city and inner suburbs, offering dozens of screenings and special events at the Capitol Theatre, Lido Cinemas, Kino Cinema, Sofitel Arthur Auditorium, Palace Westgarth Cinemas, Treasury Theatre, Classic Cinemas, VCA Theatre (Victorian College of the Arts), ACMI and Nant Studios (Docklands Studios Melbourne). Each feature film screening will be preceded by a short film.
Audiences can look forward to a vibrant program showcasing First Nations filmmakers from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, the United States, Finland, Norway, Russia, Mexico, Hawaii, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Fiji, Peru, Taiwan and many more. Many of these films will be presented in their original languages with English subtitles. Highlights include Australian premiere screenings, guest appearances, panel discussions, live music performances, filmmaker masterclasses, 360-degree immersive screenings and networking events.
Birrarangga Film Festival is presented with support from Principal Partner Creative Victoria, Major Partner VicScreen, design partner Ortolan, and presenting partners Canadian Consulate, RMIT The Capitol, Lido, Classic, Palace Kino, Palace Westgarth, VCA Federation Hall, Treasury Theatre, Nant Studios, ACMI and Federation Square,
For the full program, including synopses, screening dates, times, and ticketing information, please visit: https://www.birrarangga.world/program
BIRRARANGGA FILM FESTIVAL 2025 FUN FACTS:
38 x Feature Films with an Opening night Sami film at Capitol, Gala Event with performance by Stan Walker at Capitol and Closing night Samoan film with Samoan Choir at ACMI
90+ x short films
11 x 360-degree immersive films at NANT studios in Docklands
8 x curated shorts packages from filmmakers from across the Globe
Over 20 International filmmaker guests attending and participating in Festival
2 x in conversations/ Panels
1 x Vicscreen sponsored Masterclass with auteur Ivan Sen & networking event for filmmaking mob only.
1 x TV series split over 2 screenings (Telling Our Story)
11 x venues across Melbourne
4 x live musical performances
43 x Australian Premieres
9 x Southern Hemisphere premieres
7 x Victorian Premieres
4 x world premieres (1 x feature & 5 shorts)
