Ablaze

2021

1 hr. 21 min.

Documentary

Biography

List

100%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

Ablaze tells the story of Bill Onus, a Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri man from Victoria, a truly heroic cultural and political figure who revived his people's culture in the 1940s and ignited a civil rights movement that would, against enormous odds, change the course of history. Through rare archival footage, state-of-the-art animation, vividly created digital motion graphics and eye-witness accounts, Ablaze is the compelling tale -- part detective story, part contemporary opera -- of how Bill and supporters brilliantly orchestrated their campaign for equality through performance, entertainment, film and sheer audacity outsmarted mighty forces seeking to destroy Indigenous cultures, languages, and communities.

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Audience Member

Overall, this is a powerful and insightful documentary that everyone should watch, not just those who love cinema. It's a touching story that includes interesting mysteries along the way and moments that are heartbreaking and sad to experience. I feel this is a highly educational feature, and I appreciated the level of detail and insight. Witnessing rare videos and photos be completely restored to a premium quality helped deliver a powerful and memorable investigation into Australian history.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/11/23

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Alec Morgan

Director

Tiriki Onus

Director

Tiriki Onus

Narrator

Alec Morgan

Screenwriter

Tiriki Onus

Screenwriter

Tom Zubrycki

Producer

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David Stratton

The Australian

The film is superbly made and important in its reminders – through one man’s remarkable life – of the struggles of Indigenous people in the all-too-recent past.

Rated: 4/5

May 31, 2022

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

For all the background detail filled in by their interviewees, there’s still no certainty about who shot the film or why. Still, the footage is miraculous in its own right, the kind of direct window onto a lost world only the moving image can provide.

Rated: 3/5

May 27, 2022

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Stephen A. Russell

AEU News

This heart-soaring doco from his grandson, working alongside historian and co-director Alec Morgan, writes Bill’s mighty contribution to Country back into the records.

Jul 21, 2022

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Sarah Ward

Concrete Playground

Deeply personal for one of its directors, intensely powerful in surveying Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and crucial in celebrating perhaps the country's first-ever Aboriginal filmmaker, Ablaze makes for astonishing viewing.

Jun 24, 2022

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Travis Johnson

Flicks (AU, NZ, UK)

What really impresses is how full Ablaze feels, as though the film can barely contain the sheer wealth of stories that Onus’ life encompassed.

Jun 7, 2022

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Jane Freebury

Jane Freebury

A remarkable, revelatory documentary journey framed in a sleuthing narrative that contains harrowing historical detail and makes a profound point about retaining cultural expression, language and community

Rated: 4/5

Jun 7, 2022

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Synopsis

Ablaze tells the story of Bill Onus, a Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri man from Victoria, a truly heroic cultural and political figure who revived his people's culture in the 1940s and ignited a civil rights movement that would, against enormous odds, change the course of history. Through rare archival footage, state-of-the-art animation, vividly created digital motion graphics and eye-witness accounts, Ablaze is the compelling tale -- part detective story, part contemporary opera -- of how Bill and supporters brilliantly orchestrated their campaign for equality through performance, entertainment, film and sheer audacity outsmarted mighty forces seeking to destroy Indigenous cultures, languages, and communities.

Director: Alec Morgan, Tiriki Onus
Executive Producer: Sue Maslin, Jeff Harrison, Ari Harrison
Screenwriter: Alec Morgan, Tiriki Onus
Production Co: Jotz Productions
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English