NATIONAL TALK BLACK – 06/11/2025
On todays National Talk Black via NIRS – National Indigenous Radio Service we have:
Yaara Bou Melhem, Director & Producer, talking about National Q&A screenings announced for Yurlu. The film had sold out screenings at Sydney International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Cinefest Oz and Darwin International Film Festival. Yurlu | Country also picked up the Best Festival Category Award: The Edge of Impact at the 20th Doc Edge Festival Awards at its International Premiere in New Zealand, won the Best International Feature Documentary award at Buffalo International Film Festival and has been selected for the UN Human Rights Tour. Yurlu | Country is an 82-minute documentary feature from Australian director Yaara Bou Melhem which was co-created with Banjima Elder Maitland Parker and immerses us in his final year as he strives to preserve his culture and heal his homeland, scarred by the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. Written and Executive Produced by Maitland Parker, Yurlu | Country delves into the devastating impact of asbestos mining in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Parker called his homeland ‘Poison Country’, a name reflecting the toxic legacy of blue asbestos mines in Wittenoom, WA which closed almost 60 years ago but left behind millions of tonnes of toxic waste laced with deadly asbestos fibres. This is Australia’s largely unknown Chernobyl-scale disaster – where a sacrifice zone of 46,840 hectares on Banjima Country cuts off traditional owners from their Native Title lands. Set against the breathtaking yet contaminated landscapes of the Pilbara, the film highlights Parker’s efforts to heal his homeland while grappling with his own battle with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused only by asbestos exposure. From the campfire to his hospital bedside, Yurlu | Country follows Maitland’s battle for justice and the environment, and his unbreakable bond with Country. The Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation is planning litigation for the remediation of Country, led by Gordon Legal and the original solicitors involved in the industrial diseases precedent-setting Wittenoom cases of the 1980’s and 1990’s in what they’ve termed ‘unfinished business’. You can find out more via the link below!
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