Ghana hosts filmmaker Rachel Perkins

© Maxim Kazmin via 123RF

Following in the footsteps of her activist father, Charles Perkins, Rachel Perkins’ filmmaking over more than 25 years has been concerned with the history and stories of her people, the Aboriginal people of Australia.  

In 1992 Perkins established Australia’s first independent Aboriginal film and television production company, Blackfella Films, which she continues to lead as a successful business. Radiance (2008), Bran Nue Dae (2010) and the biopic of historic lands right activist Mabo (2012) are among her top Australian box office films. 

While in Accra, Perkins will hold workshops and discussions on story-telling, film-making and rights and activism with Ghanaian film producers, and students of the National Film and Television Institute and Lincoln Community School. She will also showcase some of her productions in partnership with Accra[dot]Alt and the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). 

Perkins will premiere her most recent documentary Black Panther Woman at the AWDF offices (East Legon) and an episode of the award-winning series Redfern Now at Brazil House (Jamestown).

The films, free to the public, have been selected to provide a window into the identity and character of contemporary Australia with themes including migration, Indigenous issues, humour and drama.  

This is her first opportunity to travel in Africa and she is delighted to be sharing some of the highlights of Aboriginal cinema with audiences in Ghana. 

High Commissioner Andrew Barnes commented: “We are very proud to have Rachel Perkins for the first time in Ghana. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Ghanaians to see a unique selection of films that showcase the diversity of Australia’s people and landscape.”