The acronym BFF may invoke thoughts of your Best Friend Forever. But those warm and fuzzies should also extend to the Birrarangga Film Festival, where Indigenous films from across the globe will be screened right here in Australia.
It begins this week in Naarm (Melbourne), with filmmakers packing their bags and making their way to the Victorian capital to showcase their films from Thursday.
This is the third year it will take place, with the festival's history dating back to 2019 and held every two years.
The Birrarangga Film Festival is due to open on Thursday night with Bones of Crows — removed from their family home and forced into Canada's residential school system, musical prodigy Aline and her siblings are plunged into a struggle for survival.
Writer, director, and producer Marie Clements said the residential school system, where Indigenous children were taken away from their families, is considered a root cause of many issues affecting Indigenous people in Canada today, such as poverty.
It's a story Clements has been wanting to tell her "whole life", and she said pop culture provided an important avenue for filmmakers to highlight issues without alienating people.
"I think, ultimately, it's a very hard part of our history that hasn't really ever been told by an Indigenous creator in a dramatic cinematic way," Clements said.
"So, there are firsts around it. But also, you want people to be able to open their hearts.
"And if you can do that, then possibly there's a way for people to understand our history in a different way, in a way that makes it more human to them.
"And I think that's part of our job as storytellers is trying to access, not just the humanities in the characters we create, but the humanity in those that witness."
Clements, who has many awards and accolades to her name, said Indigenous filmmakers in Canada faced an uphill battle when it came to getting their films seen and heard — and she's no different.
"It's been really hard to be allowed access to tell this story with a bigger audience, with a budget and with the backing of networks and funders."
It's the very reason the Artistic Director of the Birrarangga Film Festival, Tony Briggs, felt strongly about creating a platform for Indigenous filmmakers from around the world to showcase their creative endeavours.
"A festival like this is really necessary because people of colour don't always get the opportunity to have a big platform to express or show their work," Briggs said.
"Everybody knows how hard it is in this industry to get a film up, whether you're a person of colour or whether you're not.
"But when it comes to Indigenous stories… the opportunities are even less so."
An eclectic mix of storytelling
Films in the festival include Australian features The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson and Sweet As — an uplifting coming-of-age road movie about unconventional friendships, first crushes and finding yourself.
The closing feature is from New Zealand and inspired by actual events: Muru is the story of a local police sergeant who must choose between duty to his badge or his people. The drama is a response to the 2007 Tūhoe raids.
Established and emerging filmmakers will converge in Naarm, with feature films and short films alike screened. There'll also be discussion forums, including one titled: Whose story is it anyway?
Briggs said while there's an eclectic mix of films in the festival, people may be able to recognise some familiar themes across some films.
"The thing about the storytelling with other Indigenous cultures is that they're very familiar stories to this country but told in a different light because they're coming from a different culture," Briggs said.
"But ultimately, a lot of the things that we express and we have fought against have a very strong and deep connection to the colonisation process that we've all been through as people of colour and Indigenous people around the globe.
"So, it's not really surprising that a lot of the stories are connected to culture and the effects of that tyranny.
"So, you're watching something in a different language, and you realise that you're making a connection.
"That's one of the things that's made me really excited about pushing forward with this festival over the years and showing that we have closer ties than what we think with our brothers and sisters from around the globe."
The Birrarangga Film Festival will run from Thursday, March 23 to Tuesday, March 28 in Naarm.
