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BACK CATALOGUE
Always
Was Always Will Be
-- Screened NITV 2013 |
A testimonial record of
the ten-month long camp
at the Old Swan Brewery
in peaceful protest
against the building
of a tourist centre
on the Sacred Grounds of the Waugul,
Perth, WA - 1989
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Made by
Robert Bropho
Martha Ansara
and other
protesters
working with representatives
of Trade Unions
and Churches
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In
1989 a dispute over the redevelopment of the Old Swan Brewery
on the Sacred Grounds of the Waugul, Kings Park, Perth,
convulsed the politics of Western Australia. Its lessons
are important for all who are concerned about Aboriginal
rights and culture, the environment, the progressive role
of Trade Unions, the integrity of the Labor Party
and the social/spiritual activities of the Churches.
Made as a campaign film,
Always Was Always Will Be, is a visually rich account of
this historically important struggle over a sacred site
and gives an insight into the living culture and beliefs
of urban Aboriginal people in Western Australia.
“This
is the account of the protest to protect the Ancestral
First Grandmothers’ and Grandfathers’
beliefs of the Sacred Ground of the Waugul at the
old Swan Brewery on the Swan River in Perth, W.A.
The Western Australian Government has gotten around
its own Aboriginal Heritage Act which is meant to
protect sacred sites. They are trying to push through
a huge tourist development against widespread opposition.
The Aboriginal protesters have brought construction
to a halt. They have appealed to the trade Unions
and to the Federal Government for support. Their historic
protest camp and coming-togetherness in the centre
of the capital city has been a lesson to the Second
Race of People. As Aboriginal People are custodians
for this country, this their film has been made in
the hope of tomorrow that justice will be done….”
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33
mins • DVD •• 1989 |
Produced
by |
Jequerity
Pty Ltd |
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and
the Fringe Dwellers of
the Swan Valley |
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Changing
the Needle: a film about drug rehabilitation in Vietnam |
One of the first films
made in Vietnam
by a Western film crew
after the war
Screening 2008
Drugs & Harm Reduction
Film Festival - Barcelona
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Winner
Silver Dove
Leipzig Film Festival
Broadcast on
ABC TV |
Shot
by 3 Australian women in 1981, "Changing The Needle"
was the first in-depth film to be made about Vietnam's unique
approach to drug rehabilitation at a time when few foreign
film crews had access to Vietnam at all. The Vietnamese
methods shown in the film included acupuncture, natural
medicines and exercises. The program also relied on attempts
to inculcate changed attitudes and on compelling addicts
into a complete change of environment.
“Changing the Needle” begins in a small, crowded
rehabilitation centre in a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City and
travels to a remote area in the Central Highlands as a group
from the drug centre is being transferred to a rural commune.
Made in a country still ravaged by war and facing a large
drug problem in its aftermath, this film documents a rehabilitation
program run with very few resources. It is also a rare look
at Vietnam in the immediate post-war period. In hindsight,
there are lessons to be drawn from the film in considering
the incidence of HIV in a drug-using population. Many drug
rehabilitation centres in Vietnam now have extremely high
rates of HIV amongst inmates and there is likewise a high
rate of relapse. This film fills in the historical background
for anyone interested in Vietnam or the history of treatments
for drug addiction. For migrants from Vietnam or those contemplating
a visit, "Changing The Needle" is likewise rewarding
viewing.
53 mins 16mm/DVD
•• Rated G • 1982 |
Produced by |
Jequerity
Pty Ltd |
[Order] |
Production |
Martha Ansara, Mavis
Robertson, Dasha Ross |
Screened
at the 2008 International Drug and Harm Reduction Film
Festival, Barcelona |
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Film
for Discussion:
pioneer film of the Women's Liberation movement |

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Australia's
first Women's Liberation film
Nominated
for Best Documentary Greater Union Awards
Sydney Film Festival |
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Film
for Discussion was made by members of one of the first Australian
groups to establish itself in the name of “Women’s
Liberation”.
A docu-drama shot in 1970, but not completed until 1973, the
film sought to encapsulate in an experimental form issues
that were under discussion within the Women’s Liberation
Movement and to thuscontribute to action for change.
24 mins 16mm/video/DVD
• Rated G 1973 |
Produced by |
Sydney Women's
Film Group |
[Order] |
With |
Jeni
Thornley & John Brotherton |
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Production |
Martha Ansara, Chris Tillam,
Julie Gibson & others |
Finalist:
Documentary Section, Greater Union Awards, Sydney Film
Festival |
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Study guide - to come |
Press Articles - to come |
[ [Order
film] |

Ordinary
People: Inside One
Nation |
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Dendy
Awards
Highly Commended
Real: Life on Film Documentary Film Festival
Mumbai International Film Festival
Broadcast
on ABC TV
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Far
right and anti-immigration politics are on the rise worldwide.
In Australia, as in many other western countries, a new political
force is drawing on the discontent of those who feel excluded
from the promised benefits of globalisation. This revealing
documentary follows One Nation candidate Colene Hughes over
two years and two elections as her idealistic fervour slowly
turns to disillusionment. Initially for Colene and her supporters,
One Nation seems to offer true democracy and a way of knocking
the country back into shape. But when Colene starts to question
the control of party leaders, the gloves come off and, at
the party's annual general meeting, the two forces collide.
55 mins video/DVD
• 2002 |
Producer |
Martha Ansara |
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Director |
Jennifer Rutherford |
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Executive Producer |
Stefan Moore |
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Narrator |
Tara Morice |
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Editor |
Kit Guyatt |
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Study
guide |
Press
Kit |
[ [Order
film] |

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Contact
Ballad Films
• Martha Ansara ••
ABN 52 199 403 779
1 Hampden Street Hurlstone Park NSW 2193 Australia
Tel: +612 9573 1886 Contact
Us |
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