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Birlabirri was filmed in the Murchison on Yamaji country and arose as a collaboration between Elvie, Myra and Mavis Dann and myself about a return to their ancestral homes. The three sisters, who were removed from their families as children, were accompanied on the trip by members from generations of their descendents, to recount their time at the homestead and connection with country.
The short film is presented in a three-field format, bringing each of the sisters into the foreground in turn, interleaving their stories with footage of the Murchison region in Western Australia, where the homestead is located. The narrative offered by the sisters flows between each of the other’s accounts, weaving a yarn about upbringing, time at the Moore River Native Settlement Mission, early working lives in Perth as well as truths about colonial oppression, policies and practices of segregation and curfews the shaped the Stolen Generation, into the resilience of three Elders — and their (ancestors) — speaking to us all throughout the film.
