Films

Kungkarangkalpa: Seven Sisters Songline

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Kuru Ala: Kungkarrangkalpa Seven Sisters Songline (6:21 mins, 2015)

The story of Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) Tjukurpa as told by the Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara traditional owners of Kuru Ala an important site south east of Papulankutja (Blackstone) in Western Australia near the South Australian border. Filmed on location with storytellers Jennifer Mitchell, Lalla West and Lennard Walker and other custodians in 2014. A research and filmmaking collaboration by Australian National University, Papulankutja Artists and the Ngaanyatjarra Council Land and Culture Program funded by the Australian Research Council as part of the Alive with the Dreaming! Songlines of the Western Desert project.

Director/ researcher/translator: Dr Diana James
Cinematographer: Caro Macdonald
Editor: Emily Hungerford
Year: 2015

Waters of the Songline (10:37 mins, 2016)

The Martu story of the Minyipuru Songline in the Pilbara region of Western Australia from Roebourne to Pangkapini on the Canning Stock Route. Storyteller Kumbaya Girgaba with women from Parnngurr tell the story of the travels of the Minyipuru Seven Sisters through their country in the creation time of the Dreaming. The women walked or flew between waterholes and soaks that provide the life-giving water for Martu people today. Canning located the wells for cattle close to these traditional water sources along the Canning Stock Route. The film was a collaborative production of the Australian National University and Martumili Artists. The project Songlines – cultural heritage significance of waterholes along Songlines was supported by funding from the Australian Government’s Indigenous Heritage programme and the Australian Research Council as part of the Alive With the Dreaming! Songlines of the Western Desert Project.

Director/ researcher: Dr Diana James
Filmmaker /Editor: Caro Macdonald
Year: 2016