The Song Keepers
A funny and poignant story of an Aboriginal women’s choir and their historic first tour of Germany, singing German hymns in their native languages.
In the obscure churches of remote Central Australia, a hidden musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages, sacred poetry and baroque music is being preserved by four generations of song women who make up the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. Against all odds and with the help of their charismatic conductor, the choir embarks on a historic tour of Germany to take back the hymns that were given to their great grandparents by German missionaries, now sung in their own Aboriginal languages. Together they share their music and stories of cultural survival, identity and cross-cultural collaboration. Come on an adventure as the unlikeliest band on earth goes on tour to the other side of the world.
Cast
Morris Stuart , Daphne Puntjina , Marion Swift , Nicholas Williams , Theresa Nipper , The Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir
Director
Writer
Producer
Producer
Producer
Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Editor
Editor
Languages
English, Western Arrernte, Pitjantjatjara, Pintupi, Luritja
Country
Australia
Bonus Content
Introduction The Song Keepers
1mCurator of the Buwindja Collection, Gillian Moody shares what inspired her to select The Song Keepers. She invites you to engage, explore, reflect on and Buwindja (remember) these exceptional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and stories.
In Conversation
19mGillian Moody, Curator of Buwindja, sits down with Pauline Clague, filmmaker and Associate Professor, Jumbunna, UTS, as they take a deep dive into the rich history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytelling in screen culture. They reflect on how the films in the Buwindja Collection showcase eras of change in filmmaking with fascinating insights into the dramatic shift from stories being told about First Nations peoples to Indigenous filmmakers telling their own stories. As Pauline powerfully states, it is now the case that ’Nothing about us without us’”.