For this Out Takes, we were excited to feature an up-and-coming queer filmmaker whose first feature film will be in Aussie cinemas soon plus we acknowledged NAIDOC week by spotlighting an award-winning short film that celebrates the queer First Nation’s experience on country.
We started off by reviewing ‘First Light’, a new Australian-Filipino co-production that is in cinemas from July 9. It is the debut feature film from acclaimed Melbourne filmmaker and photographer James J. Robinson. The film centres around Sister Yolanda who has spent her life as a servant to God and the people in her community working as a nurse at the local hospital and living at an old convent in the mountains, Yolanda’s grace and selflessness make her a quiet but valued figure in her town. When Yolanda is called to perform last rites on a young construction worker on his deathbed, suddenly things aren’t so simple. The unusual circumstances surrounding the boy’s death begin to weigh on her conscience. Swept up in the lives of the people around her, including a young novice nun Sister Arlene, the affluent Linda Dela Cruz, and the father of the construction worker, an unavoidable question in the back of Yolanda’s mind begins to resonate louder and louder: Has she spent her life dutiful to the wrong thing?
The films writer and director then joined us while he was in Tokyo. James J. Robinson is a 29-year-old Filipino/Australian artist based in Los Angeles. With a successful career in photography and filmmaking, he is published regularly by the likes of The New York Times and Vogue, shooting the world’s biggest names including Kylie Jenner and Rihanna, while directing campaigns for brands like Apple and Maison Valentino. Despite a successful career in this world, James is also a talented filmmaker whose work has covered music videos, short films and now ‘First Light’ which is his feature film. Our long form discussion covered his career and how he got into filmmaking along with a great chat about what constitutes a queer film.
We ended this program by highlighting NAIDOC Week 2026 which takes place from July 5 to 12. This year’s theme, “50 Years of Deadly,” celebrates five decades of the NAIDOC movement, honouring the Elders, activists, artists, and leaders who have proudly shaped Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history. In February 2024, we featured the beautiful documentary ‘Marungka tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)’ that deservedly garnered well deserved praise and accolades around the world including being the first ever film to win the Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film) and the Teddy Award for best queer short film at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and will finally be available to stream from July 9 thanks to DocPlay. This short documentary tells the story of Aboriginal man Derik Lynch who leaves behind the oppression of white city life in Adelaide and embarks on a road trip back to Country for spiritual healing, as memories from his childhood return. Both Derik and his co-director / collaborator Matthew Thorne joined us in February 2024 when the film was screening as part of the AIDC to discuss the film, their professional and personal relationship and more.
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