Smart St. Films has announced the September 29th national cinema release of the fully restored legendary documentary feature NINGLA-ANA. 

On January 25th 1972 Prime Minister William McMahon declared that under his government land rights would never be granted to First Nations people. The following night, Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bertie Williams and Tony Coorey travelled from Redfern to Canberra and stuck a beach umbrella into the ground outside Old Parliament House and sat under it. They called it the Aboriginal Embassy. They had been made strangers in their own land, and the pointed irony of an embassy in Canberra was unmistakeable. 

NINGLA-ANA is the inside story of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the most radical protest action by First Nations people in their fight for justice. It’s the only film shot inside the Tent Embassy and with the people who created it. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Embassy, the film has been remastered in beautiful high definition. 

Restoration of the documentary has been supervised by filmmaker Haydn Keenan for distributor Smart St. Films. “NINGLA-ANA was on the point of collapse and being lost forever,” he said. “We decided to give crowd funding a go. Within ten days we’d raised all the money needed, including a generous swag from one Russell Crowe.” 

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NINGLA-ANA was originally screened on tiny screens to audiences on bean bags. Now the film is going out nationally through Dendy Cinemas, Wallis Cinemas and the Nova. It’s a sign of the changing times. 

Director Alessandro Cavadini was the only filmmaker able to get his camera inside the Embassy and close to the people who would create the Aboriginal Medical Service, the Aboriginal Legal Service and the National Black Theatre. 1972 was a momentous year for Black Australia, with a group of young radicals taking control and demanding action. Featuring Gary Foley, Paul Coe, Roberta Sykes, Bob Maza, Fred Hollows and Shirley Smith, NINGLA-ANA records a unique period in the struggle for social justice. 

It’s 50 years since those four young men took a stand. What’s improved for First Nations people? Since its release in 1972, NINGLA-ANA has become a legend itself – an iconic record of a revolutionary time, and a contemporary reminder that the struggle goes on. 

Check local listings to find out if NINGLA-ANA is playing near you.