retta ya-na
the river still flows
ARKAN & IRBELA
ARKAN & IRBELA is a short film articulating Anaiwan skinship practices – a network of complex relations that define an individual's responsibilities and relationships to Community and Country, and from which Blak, Anaiwan femininity.
Created with Artist Gabi Briggs (Anaiwan Gedyura) it documents her preparation for a historic 100km walk that her ancestors undertook from Ingelba Aboriginal Reserve to the Armidale Showground. Nurturing the legacy of her late nan Patsy Cohen, whose research was formalised in Ingelbah and the Five Black Matriarchs (1990), ARKAN & IRBELA, transforms West Space into a location for the two women to share a dialogue with her nan across time and space, their intergenerational exchange reinforcing continuing connection to Country, family and culture.
ARKAN & IRBELA presents coded knowledge and stories from their family's history on Anaiwan Country, Northern New South Wales. Central to this is the Anaiwan Skinship System – a network of complex relations that define an individual's responsibilities and relationships to Community and Country, and from which Blak, Anaiwan femininity emerges.
Credits
Ārkan: Kristy Faulkner, Gabi Briggs, Breanna Gordon-Briggs, Caity Briggs and Michaela Gordon-Briggs
Iāna: Lee Hughes, Susan Briggs, Carolyn Briggs, Nicola Briggs and Winnie Widders
Irakēna: Wendy Strong, Angela Cohen and Kaeilyha Smith
Patyang: Krissa Daley and Mariah Cohen-Ahoy
Director: Gabi Briggs (Anaiwan Gedyura) @Gabi_Briggs
Executive Producer: Genevieve Grieves (Worimi) @GenGrieves
Production Manager: Amy Hammond (Gamilaroi Yinarr) @HAmy_Ammon
DOP: Ryan Andrew Lee @Ryan_Andrew_Lee
1st AC: Ryan Cotter @RyanBarryCotter
Runner: Nicholas Briggs-Andrews
Editor & Colourist: Rah Dakota @RahDakota
Sound Design: Jai Pyne @JaiDanielPyne
ARKAN & IRBELA is a West Space Commission, supported by Creative Australia, Creative Victoria, GARUWA and Yinarr Maramali.
Filmed on the Traditional Country of the Anaiwan people in New South Wales. Always was, always will be.
Special thanks to the Anaiwan community, the team at West Space and the GARUWA team.
“On each viewing of the film, I pick up something new. Although it's short, it becomes almost like a meditation as my attention rests each time on something different, so I'm not just entering a different place, but also a different time.”
— Susie Anderson, Memo Review