Still We Rise Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion with Director John Harvey and BlackStar Projects moderated by Dr. Anna Arabindan-Kesson
Monday, April 15, 5:30 to 7:30pm ET
James Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ
In 1972, a group of Aboriginal activists planted an umbrella in the lawn of the Australian Parliament in Canberra proclaiming it the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The establishment of this Aboriginal Tent Embassy would become one of the longest continual protests for Indigenous land rights in the world. Revisiting archival footage from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Still We Rise reflects deeply on the inciting moment and urgently reminds us of the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and Indigenous rights and sovereignty.
The film is directed by John Harvey, who is of Sabai (Torres Strait) background and works across screen and stage as a writer and director. He co-directed the feature documentary/series Off Country. Directed/co-produced the celebrated musical series Kutcha’s Koorioke. Recent short dramas include Katele (Mudskipper) Winner Flickr Fest, Finalist Sydney Film Festival); Out of Range; and Water. In theatre, John has written The Return (Winner 2023 Vic Premier Prize); Heart is a Wasteland; and co-wrote Black Ties. He directed A Little Piece of Heaven. Still We Rise was produced by Tamarind Tree Pictures (link).
BlackStar Projects creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside of the confines of genre. The Philadelphia-based organization produces year-round programs including film screenings, exhibitions, an annual film festival, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab, and a journal of visual culture. These programs provide artists with opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders, and distributors.
This event is sponsored by Art Hx in partnership with BlackStar Projects, the Department of African American Studies, the Department of Art & Archaeology, the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, the Center for Collaborative History, the Princeton Humanities Council, Land, Language, and Art: a Humanities Council Global Initiative, and the Lewis Center for the Arts.
Image: STILL WE RISE KEY IMAGE, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy SEARCH Foundation
