Women of the Sun: 25 Years Later
Twenty-five years ago a four-part documentary changed the way mainstream Australia saw Aboriginal people. It was a story told through the eyes of five Aboriginal women of Arnhem Land, in their own language – for the first time on national television – about what had happened to them since the arrival of Europeans 200 years ago. It follows the fictional accounts of the impacts of the stolen generation, dispossession from traditional lands, challenges to white Australia’s laws and customs – and in 1981, dramatically put Aboriginal Australia in the public sphere. Earlier this month, the series called Women of the Sun – 25 Years Later, was featured at the 2006 Melbourne International Film Festival – where it uncovered the impact of the film on the women who played the major roles. Director Bob Wies, the producer of the original series, reflects on how the original documentary impacted on mainstream Australia in the 80s.