GENESIS BLAK OPENS DOORS FOR FIRST NATIONS FILMMAKERS IN LOS ANGELES
BY TANGIORA HINAKI AND LYNESSE O’DONOGHUE
A new First Nations Australian-led film program in Los Angeles is aiming to create stronger international pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers.
Genesis Blak is being described as the first program of its kind in LA, with a focus on First Nations Australian features, documentaries, animation and short films.
Director Sam Cook says the program is about giving mob a stronger voice in a major global screen market.
She says First Nations stories are often placed inside broader programs, where the focus is not always led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“I think Genesis Blak opens up the world in a different way over here in the United States through our mob,” she said.
Cook says Los Angeles is the right place for the program because a small but strong community of First Nations Australians are already working across the entertainment industry there.
She says the program could help open doors that are often hard to access from Australia.
Cook says the timing is also important, with the LA Olympics in 2028 and Brisbane Olympics to follow in 2032, creating what she calls a “golden runway” for greater visibility.
She says filmmakers should feel confident that their stories are worthy of an international audience.
“No one should feel like their story’s not worth an international audience,” she said.
Genesis Blak is calling for a wide range of stories, with Cook saying First Nations filmmakers should not feel boxed in by what others expect them to make.
She says the program is about imagination, history, culture, lived experience and future stories yet to be told.