Luku Ngärra: The Law of the Land to show in Mparntwe Alice Springs after sold out Darwin premier

A documentary on a renowned civil rights activist, scholar and spiritual leader has sold out its Darwin premiere and will show for one day only in Alice Springs.

Rev. Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM and Luku Ngärra: The Law of the Land director and producer Sinem Saban. Ms Saban says the documentary touches on very live conversations around crime and welfare dependency in remote communities. Picture: Eve Jeffery.

An award-winning documentary on a renowned Territory civil rights activist is coming straight from its sold out Darwin premiere to show in Alice Springs for one day only.

Luku Ngärra: The Law of the Land director, producer and editor Sinem Saban said the documentary focused on lore and freedom from the perspective of renowned activist and leader Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, who she had connected with over 16 years.

“Over that period he’d share with me so very humbly all of his achievements, and you know snippets of wisdom every now and then and I was gobsmacked,” she said.

“He touched me so deeply and I felt like I wanted to share his story with everyone, I think it’s really necessary that Australians know about his journey.”

Ms Saban said the documentary focused on how the colonial Westminster system of law impacted not only Indigenous Australians, but all Australians.

Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM in a still from the Luku Ngärra: The Law of the Land documentary. Picture: supplied.

“He (Dr Gondarra) has this amazing capacity to get us as non Indigenous people to see how it’s affected ourselves,” she said.

“Indigenous people have been at the forefront and have been impacted so much more, but he’s just shining light on a paradigm and a structure that we all kind of live under that we just take.

“We just kind of think everything’s okay, but actually a lot of the things when you compare it to Yolngu society, it makes you feel like actually our way is not that great, it’s not that great for me, or my children either, not just Indigenous.”

She said the documentary also addressed very live conversations surrounding welfare dependency and rising crime rates in remote Indigenous communities.

“He looks at all of the dysfunctional things that are happening in remote communities right now that are often interpreted with a stereotypical kind of response,” she said.

A sign outside the community shop in Wadeye NT, Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra says unrest in communities can be traced back to the intervention and loss of decision making.

“He looks at the deeper causes of that and he traces it back to the intervention and the loss of local decision making, the loss of empowerment of the elders, and not having their lore recognised.”

The yet-to-be-released documentary has already won the Change award at the Adelaide Film Festival, with its premiere at the Darwin International Film Festival on Monday selling out six weeks ago.

But Ms Saban said it felt incredibly important the film was also on show in Alice Springs, which is why it will be shown at Araluen Arts Centre for one day only fewer than 24 hours after its Darwin premiere.

There will be two sittings available on Tuesday, August 15 – a 12.30pm screening which Ms Saban is inviting schools to attend, and a 7pm screening that is open to the public.

“We’re pretty much coming straight from the Darwin premiere to Alice Springs,” she said.

“It’s going to speak to a lot of people, I think, in Alice Springs, which is why we want to bring it down now, it’s really important.”