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Bringing together themes of identity, place and belonging, this selection of animations acknowledges the pain and power of the life-changing events that make us who we are.

Mother Tongue 2002 dir. Susan Danta (AKA Susan Kim) (4:15 mins)

"In a world of claustrophobic interiors, loneliness causes us to imagine other realities. It is the collusion of our imagined and natural worlds that leads us to the surface of things." Screen Australia

The Lost Sound 2017 dir. Steffie Yee (1:53 mins)

"A woman looks at the inheritance of language in her family and laments what is lost when a language is lost." University of Technology Sydney

Woolangem Balaj Gida (At First Sight) 2021 dir. Peggy Griffiths

"Peggy Griffiths’ beguiling video animation, Woolangem Balaj Gida – At First Sight, shows a young girl, quietly wandering about billabongs filled with lush, edible water lilies, who rushes home to tell the aunties that a local pastoralist – portrayed with unsettlingly bright blue eyes – is rounding up Aboriginal people to work on his station." The Monthly

In My Own Skin 2019 dir. Huni Bolliger, Johanna Bell (4:42 mins)

"Aboriginal woman Elliana Lawford’s moving tale about shedding her cultural shame." Melbourne International Film Festival

It’s Like That 2003 dir. Southern Ladies Animation Group (SLAG) (7:20 mins)

"It’s Like That uses the voices of 3 refugee children held in mandatory detention under the Migration Act 1958. They were interviewed over the phone by ABC journalist Jacqueline Arias." Animated Docs

Echoes From Myanmar 2021 dir. Paul McGilvray (4:24 mins)

"A compilation of animated videos with documentary voices -recordings from the first few weeks of the most recent military coup in Myanmar. The voices are locals who risked their lives and their safety to try and get their voices heard." Paul McGilvray

Freedom Swimmer 2021 dir. Olivia Martin-McGuire (15 mins)

"A hybrid, poetic documentary interweaving hand-drawn animation and film, which tells the story of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution." Sydney Film Festival

Nice 14.07.16 2017 dir. Gisele Nour (1:40 mins)

"Based on the 2016 terror attack in Nice, France, this autobiographical-inspired animated short film explores the immediacy and shock of violence, and its conversely lingering impact. Employing a range of handmade, tactile materials and an experimental structure, this narrative is a glimpse into the disparity between a holiday and a haunting." Gisele Nour

Je Suis Un Crayon (I am a Pencil) 2015 dir. Joe D'Arcy (6 mins)

"Je suis un Crayon (I am a Pencil) was inspired by the three million people in France who marched in support of unity, peace, and the freedom of expression on January 11th 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Whilst the pencil experiences its life, it draws the world 'as it is-as it sees it'. The pencil (like the artist) has an innate drive to create and it will always express, irrespective of whether it is granted permission or not." Screen Australia

Bringing together themes of identity, place and belonging, this selection of animations acknowledges the pain and power of the life-changing events that make us who we are. Mother Tongue 2002 dir. Susan Danta (AKA Susan Kim) (4:15 mins) "In a world of claustrophobic interiors, loneliness causes us to imagine other realities. It is the collusion of our imagined and natural worlds that leads us to the surface of things." Screen Australia The Lost Sound 2017 dir. Steffie Yee (1:53 mins) "A woman looks at the inheritance of language in her family and laments what is lost when a language is lost." University of Technology Sydney Woolangem Balaj Gida (At First Sight) 2021 dir. Peggy Griffiths "Peggy Griffiths’ beguiling video animation, Woolangem Balaj Gida – At First Sight, shows a young girl, quietly wandering about billabongs filled with lush, edible water lilies, who rushes home to tell the aunties that a local pastoralist – portrayed with unsettlingly bright blue eyes – is rounding up Aboriginal people to work on his station." The Monthly In My Own Skin 2019 dir. Huni Bolliger, Johanna Bell (4:42 mins) "Aboriginal woman Elliana Lawford’s moving tale about shedding her cultural shame." Melbourne International Film Festival It’s Like That 2003 dir. Southern Ladies Animation Group (SLAG) (7:20 mins) "It’s Like That uses the voices of 3 refugee children held in mandatory detention under the Migration Act 1958. They were interviewed over the phone by ABC journalist Jacqueline Arias." Animated Docs Echoes From Myanmar 2021 dir. Paul McGilvray (4:24 mins) "A compilation of animated videos with documentary voices -recordings from the first few weeks of the most recent military coup in Myanmar. The voices are locals who risked their lives and their safety to try and get their voices heard." Paul McGilvray Freedom Swimmer 2021 dir. Olivia Martin-McGuire (15 mins) "A hybrid, poetic documentary interweaving hand-drawn animation and film, which tells the story of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution." Sydney Film Festival Nice 14.07.16 2017 dir. Gisele Nour (1:40 mins) "Based on the 2016 terror attack in Nice, France, this autobiographical-inspired animated short film explores the immediacy and shock of violence, and its conversely lingering impact. Employing a range of handmade, tactile materials and an experimental structure, this narrative is a glimpse into the disparity between a holiday and a haunting." Gisele Nour Je Suis Un Crayon (I am a Pencil) 2015 dir. Joe D'Arcy (6 mins) "Je suis un Crayon (I am a Pencil) was inspired by the three million people in France who marched in support of unity, peace, and the freedom of expression on January 11th 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Whilst the pencil experiences its life, it draws the world 'as it is-as it sees it'. The pencil (like the artist) has an innate drive to create and it will always express, irrespective of whether it is granted permission or not." Screen Australia

Ages 12+