Newsletter date: 12 January 2014
Contents:
* Respect and Listen: 'Utopia' film has been named among the top five films of 2013
* Respect and Listen: John Pilger's video message about Utopia
* Respect and Listen: Utopia website
* Celeste Liddle, Tracker: Utopia: An Aboriginal perspective
* Chris Graham, Tracker: Utopia: The inside story
* The Guardian: John Pilger's Utopia: meet Felicity and Basil Hayes of Whitegate town camp - video
* The Guardian: John Pilger's Utopia: Meet Patricia Morton-Thomas - video
* The Guardian: John Pilger: Utopia is one of the most urgent films I have made
* New Events as of 11 Jan 14: John Pilger's film 'Utopia':
January February & March 2014:
Sydney, Perth, Jervis Bay, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide & Armidale
* WGAR Newsletter Compilations on John Pilger's film 'Utopia'
* RESPECT AND LISTEN: 'UTOPIA' FILM HAS BEEN NAMED AMONG THE TOP FIVE FILMS OF 2013
- Compilation
Respect and Listen: Utopia
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/
The London Film Review: http://www.thelondonfilmreview.com/articles/top-25-films-2013/12/
The London Film Review: http://www.thelondonfilmreview.com/film-review/review-utopia-pilger-2013/
"Utopia, a new, epic film on Australia by John Pilger, will have its Australian premiere in Redfern, Sydney on 17 January 2014. The film has been named among the top five films of 2013. The Premiere of Utopia was held at the London National Film Theatre (BFI South Bank) on Thursday 3 October 2013. A large crowd attended the screening and many signed a message calling for Treaties to be negotiated between Aboriginal Nations and the Australian Government. When John Pilger returns to Australia's outback for his new feature documentary "Utopia" he finds that little has changed since his making "The Secret Country" in 1985."
* RESPECT AND LISTEN: JOHN PILGER'S VIDEO MESSAGE ABOUT UTOPIA
- Compilation
Respect and Listen: Utopia: John Pilger's video message about Utopia
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-V...
Respect and Listen: [scroll down page] http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/79398619
"John Pilger explains the background to his new film 'Utopia' and describes how little has changed since his first film of 1985 about Aboriginal Peoples in Australia, 'The Secret Country'.
"When I made my first film about Indigenous Australia in 1985, 'The Secret Country', I never thought that in 2013 I'd be making another film... and saying, in effect, so little had changed. Indeed, when we were making some of 'Utopia' we actually confused some of the old footage with the new - same shacks, same children with distended bellies and the same sense of a denial of justice...""
* RESPECT AND LISTEN: UTOPIA WEBSITE
- Compilation
Respect and Listen: Utopia: Utopia website
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-W...
Respect and Listen: [scroll down page] http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
Utopia website: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/
"Utopia is John Pilger's new feature documentary, made for the cinema and ITV. Drawing on his long association with the first people of Australia, his homeland, Utopia is both an epic portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture and an investigation into a suppressed colonial past and rapacious present. One of the world's best kept secrets is revealed against a background of the greatest boom in mineral wealth. Has the 'lucky country' inherited South African apartheid? ...
For more information about Utopia, Reviews, Trailer, Blog, Screenings, Gallery: please click here [ http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/ ] or here [ http://johnpilger.com/ ]"
* CELESTE LIDDLE, TRACKER: UTOPIA: AN ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Utopia: An Aboriginal perspective
http://tracker.org.au/2014/01/utopia-an-aboriginal-perspective/
7 Jan 14: "NATIONAL: Award winning investigative journalist John Pilger’s new film Utopia will be a powerful weapon to raise awareness about Aboriginal Australia, according to Arrente writer Celeste Liddle*. On flicking through the UK reviews of John Pilger’s new documentary film "Utopia", one thing quickly becomes apparent: Pilger has created a hard-hitting film that is of extraordinary importance. Utopia, which was released in the UK in November, has consistently received rave reviews. ... " By Celeste Liddle
"Celeste Liddle is an Arrernte Australian woman living in Melbourne. She is the current National Indigenous Organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). Celeste blogs personally at Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist and is particularly interested in education, politics and the arts."
* CHRIS GRAHAM, TRACKER: UTOPIA: THE INSIDE STORY
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Utopia: The inside story
Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/2014/01/utopia-the-inside-story/
Chris Graham At Large: http://chrisgrahamatlarge.com/2014/01/06/utopia-an-inside-story/
6 Jan 13: "IN JANUARY 2014, the nation’s most famous ex-pat journalist John Pilger will launch his latest film in Australia. Two years in the making, Utopia is a feature length documentary that chronicles the ongoing plight of the First Australians and their fight for justice. The film has a number of important themes. First, it serves as a testament to the struggle of Aboriginal people, and the truth that there has been a long resistance to the effects of invasion despite mainstream Australia’s determination to sanitize its past. ... CHRIS GRAHAM, a monthly Tracker contributor, worked as an Associate Producer on Utopia. In this special feature, he provides an inside look at the making of the film." Chris Graham, an Associate Producer on Utopia
* THE GUARDIAN: JOHN PILGER'S UTOPIA: MEET FELICITY AND BASIL HAYES OF WHITEGATE TOWN CAMP - VIDEO
- Video
The Guardian: John Pilger's Utopia: meet Felicity and Basil Hayes of Whitegate town camp - video
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/jan/08/utopia-unreleased-foo...
8 Jan 14: "Felicity and Basil Hayes, the traditional owners and residents of Whitegate town camp in the Northern Territory, have waged a long struggle for housing and basic services. Whitegate town camp is just a 20-minute drive from Alice Springs but the community still has problems with electricity and water supplies"
* THE GUARDIAN: JOHN PILGER'S UTOPIA: MEET PATRICIA MORTON-THOMAS - VIDEO
- Video
The Guardian: John Pilger's Utopia: Meet Patricia Morton-Thomas - video
http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2014/jan/08/utopia-patricia-morton...
8 Jan 14: "Patricia Morton-Thomas is a writer, actor and film maker. She is a spokesperson for the family of the late Kwementyaye Briscoe, who died in police custody in Alice Springs in 2012. In this clip she talks about her grandfather and her uncle's first encounter with white people, the effect of the Coniston massacre on her family and the effect of the western world on Aboriginal people"
* THE GUARDIAN: JOHN PILGER: UTOPIA IS ONE OF THE MOST URGENT FILMS I HAVE MADE
- Analysis / Opinion & Video
The Guardian: John Pilger: Utopia is one of the most urgent films I have made
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/08/john-pilger-utopia-is-one-o...
8 Jan 14: "The veteran journalist and film-maker is angry at the lack of progress in Indigenous affairs over the past 30 years ... Journalist and film maker John Pilger has been making films on Indigenous Australia for nearly thirty years. His new film, Utopia, revisits many of the locations and people he has been visiting throughout that time and provides a "grim and powerful" assessment on the state of Indigenous affairs. As the film is set for a January release in Australia, Pilger talks about some of its themes."
* NEW EVENTS AS OF 11 JAN 14:
JOHN PILGER'S FILM 'UTOPIA':
JANUARY FEBRUARY & MARCH 2014:
SYDNEY, PERTH, JERVIS BAY, ALICE SPRINGS, BRISBANE, MELBOURNE, ADELAIDE & ARMIDALE
- Upcoming Events
New Events: 17, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26 & 30 January 2014; 4, 13 February 2014; 1, 12 March 2014 :
Various locations around Australia including:
Sydney, Perth, Jervis Bay, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Armidale
John Pilger's documentary film, 'Utopia'
"When I began filming this secret Australia 30 years ago,
a global campaign was under way to end apartheid in South Africa.
Having reported from South Africa, I was struck by the similarity
of white supremacy and the compliance and defensiveness of
liberals. Yet no international opprobrium, no boycotts, disturbed
the surface of "lucky" Australia." John Pilger, Guardian
All screenings of 'Utopia': http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/showings
Event details: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/
Event details: http://johnpilger.com/
'Utopia' film reviews: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/reviews & http://johnpilger.com/articles/utopia-reviews & http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-R...
Respect and Listen Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
WGAR Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-W...
Updated Event: Fri 17 January 2014: Redfern, Sydney, NSW
John Pilger's documentary film, 'Utopia'
"A premiere in the Sydney indigenous community at Redfern Community Centre"
Introduced by film-maker John Pilger
"With special guests from the film:
* Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM (Utopia community),
* Amy McQuire (editor of Tracker magazine)
* Robert and Selina Eggington (Dumbartung)"
"Performances from Sean Choolburra and Glen Skuthorpe"
"MC Bronwyn Penrith (Human Rights advocate)"
"Utopia, John Pilger’s new film set for release (in the United Kingdom)
in November, examines the worsening oppression of Aboriginal
people in Australia." Paddy Gibson, an associate producer of Utopia
"John Pilger, the renowned investigative journalist and award winning
film maker, has recently completed a new film, Utopia, which deals
with the subjugation of the Aboriginal First Australians." Niall Mulholland
Flyer: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/Misc/Docos/Utopia-Redf...
Event details: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/screenings/details/3126/9262
Event details: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/
Event details: http://johnpilger.com/
Event details: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-S...
Event details: http://johnpilger.com/articles/a-new-john-pilger-film-utopia-is-now-show...
Event details: http://thestringer.com.au/john-pilger-utopia-launches-in-australia-in-ja...
'Utopia' film reviews: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/reviews & http://johnpilger.com/articles/utopia-reviews & http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-R...
All screenings of 'Utopia': http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/showings
Respect and Listen Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
WGAR Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-W...
Updated Event: 21-23 January and on Australia Day, 26 January 2014: The Rocks, Sydney, NSW
John Pilger's documentary film, 'Utopia'
Australia launch at "Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA) in Sydney"
"A special post-show conversation featuring John Pilger and a
number of Indigenous representatives from the film will follow
the 26 January Australia Day screening." MCA
"Discover Australia’s hidden past in this Australian premiere
of acclaimed journalist and filmmaker John Pilger’s major feature
documentary Utopia. Reaching behind Australia’s tourist postcard
image this film tracks political treatment of Indigenous Australians
- from land rights to the revisionists - revealing an untold
history of Australia." MCA
Event details: http://www.mca.com.au/events/john-pilgers-utopia-21-jan/8037/
Event details: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/
Event details: http://johnpilger.com/
Event details: http://johnpilger.com/articles/a-new-john-pilger-film-utopia-is-now-show...
Event details: http://thestringer.com.au/john-pilger-utopia-launches-in-australia-in-ja...
'Utopia' film reviews: http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/reviews & http://johnpilger.com/articles/utopia-reviews & http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-R...
All screenings of 'Utopia': http://utopiajohnpilger.co.uk/showings
Respect and Listen Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html
WGAR Background to 'Utopia' film: http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-W...
* WGAR NEWSLETTER COMPILATIONS ON JOHN PILGER'S FILM 'UTOPIA'
- Compilations
WGAR News: Australia's boom is anything but for its Aboriginal people: John Pilger, The Guardian (1 May 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/04/30/wgar-news-australias-boom-is-anything...
WGAR News: Tiga Bayles interview with John Pilger: First Nations Peoples and the new Film 'Utopia' (5 May 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/05/04/wgar-news-tiga-bayles-interview-with-...
WGAR News: Premiere of John Pilger's documentary film 'Utopia' held at London National Film Theatre (11 Oct 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/10/11/wgar-news-premiere-of-john-pilgers-do...
WGAR News: In the lucky country of Australia apartheid is alive and kicking: John Pilger, The Guardian (8 Nov 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/11/07/wgar-news-in-the-lucky-country-of-aus...
WGAR News: Interview - John Pilger exposes Australia's shocking secret in Utopia: Australian Times (24 Nov 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/11/23/wgar-news-interview-john-pilger-expos...
WGAR News: How to support the Aboriginal people in their struggle for justice: JohnPilger.com (26 Dec 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/12/26/wgar-news-how-to-support-the-aborigin...
Respect and Listen: Utopia: WGAR Newsletter Compilations
http://www.respectandlisten.org/miscellaneous/docos/utopia.html#Utopia-W...
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
About WGAR News:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:
* the Australian Federal government intervention into Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal communities;
* the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies;
* Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
* Aboriginal land rights and mining;
* Suicide and self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities;
* Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing;
* other Aboriginal rights issues; and
* upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia.
'WGAR News' gives priority to grassroots Aboriginal voices and grassroots voices in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples' rights.
The role of 'WGAR News' is to facilitate the voices of others, and as such, 'WGAR News' rarely writes its own articles.
'WGAR News' publishes information and opinions from a wide range of sources.
These opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of WGAR.
The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces, news items, audio, videos and events.
Subscribers can expect to receive about 7 e-newsletters each week.
To subscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
To unsubscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "unsubscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
Sample WGAR News e-newsletters:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-sample-wgar-news-e-ne...
WGAR events postings:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-events-postings
WGAR background info web-pages:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-background-info-...
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)