This poignantly titled anthology production draws together film-makers from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific to respond to the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s arrival in the region. Combining eight strands from 10 directors, the film reaches into the past, dramatising debates within Māori communities about whether to fight in the Battle of Ōrākau of 1864, for instance (Te Puuru, written and directed by Tim Worrall and Richard Curtis); and visiting the trenches of Gallipoli where a Samoan soldier bonds with a Turkish enemy during the first world war (The Uniform, written and directed by Miki Magasiva and Mario Gao).
It also ventures far into the future to a slummy, climate crisis-affected world (in Blankets, written by Tiraroa Reweti and directed by Chantelle Burgoyne), as well as touching on more recent times. Rebel Art, written and directed by Tracey Rigney, is set during Invasion Day protests in Naarm (Melbourne) and follows a homeless young graffiti artist whose hideout is emblazoned with words that can double as a description of the whole film’s intent: “DECOLONISE YOUR MIND.”
