HOMELANDS

Films as DIRECTOR

11 May

DOCUMENTARY 1993

HOMELANDS is a portrait of a marriage, the story of Maria and Carlos, refugees from the war in El Salvador who have settled in suburban Melbourne.

STILLS

My DireCtORS NOTES

I set out to make a film about trauma and torture survivors - people who had survived a civil war and made their home in Australia. I decided to focus on the El Salvadorian community. Refugees had been arriving in Australia and were being resettled under the government humanitarian program. It was 1992 and a civil war had raged in the country for 11 years claiming 80,000 lives and forcing 20% of the population to flee the country. Human rights abuses were widespread.

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Awards

Australian Film Critics Circle Prize for Best Documentary

The film premiered at both Sydney and Melbourne film festivals, and screened at international film festivals including Margaret Mead and Cinéma du réel.