Oliver Howes

On Sacred Ground

Oliver Howes

On Sacred Ground looks at the story behind the Noonkanbah dispute, the well-publicised Aboriginal struggle to stop mining in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in the late 1970s. Presented by a young spokesman for the Kimberley Land Council, the film gives an Indigenous view of the area's history from the early days of European colonisation. It explores the problems of Aboriginal dispossession and loss of identity and the efforts that have been made towards self-determination, economic self-sufficiency and maintaining language and culture. It helps explain Aboriginal ties to the land, the importance of sacred sites and the reasons for the land rights struggle.

Let the Balloon Go

Robert Bettles, Janet Kingsbury

In 1917 rural New South Wales, a young boy with polio struggles to break free of his overprotective mother.

Three to Go

Oliver Howes, Brian Hannant

Matthew Burton, Grahame Bond

An anthology of Australian short films by directors Brian Hannant ("Judy"), Oliver Howes ("Toula") and Peter Weir ("Michael"), each presenting a young Australian at a moment of decision about their future.

Wokabaut Bilong Tonten

Oliver Howes

John Venca, Margaret Balim

A Pidgin language drama based upon the emergence of Papua New Guinea as an independent nation. A young coastal man, Tonten, is searching for his missing brother. During his travels Tonten meets and marries a Chimbu girl in the highlands, and then he makes his way over the mountains to Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. After finding his brother, Tonten and his wife return to a peaceful life in his village. Wokabaut Bilong Tonten was the first feature film shot in Papua New Guinea with an all-Indigenous cast.