Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra

“As the 20th century turns into the 21st, you can’t tell the story of Aboriginal Australia without featuring Bangarra – indeed they tell the story.” — Hetti Perkins

Taking us through Bangarra Dance Theatre’s birth and spectacular growth to its 30th anniversary celebrations in 2019, Firestarter recognises the performing arts company’s founders and tells the deeply affecting story of how Aboriginal brothers Stephen, David and Russell Page turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. This acclaimed, multi-award winning documentary explores the loss and reclaiming of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and the power of art as a messenger for social change and healing.

★★★★★ “[A] beguiling kind of history lesson and an engrossing, fast-moving celebration of artistic creation... deeply moving.” — The Guardian

“Using our artform as our weapons is the way we have to fight.” — David Page

Online 9–26 March
Streaming on Vidzing

Contains political and social themes, including aspects and depictions related to traumatic events suffered by First Nations Peoples. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this work contains images and voices of deceased persons.