Crown and Country

Step into a world of vast desert landscapes and extraordinary ceremonial knowledge in this groundbreaking First Nations film.

At its heart is the voice of Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu, a renowned Warlpiri philosopher, teacher and visionary from the desert community of Lajamanu in the north Tanami. An international ambassador for Warlpiri culture, Wanta has produced key works in Indigenous education and community-based art. Wanta's father, First Contact elder Jerry Jangala Patrick OAM, one of the most significant Warlpiri songmen alive today, anchors the film in Jukurrpa (Dreaming) songs from traditional ceremonies.

The film is a collaboration with music producer Marc 'Monkey' Peckham, whose real-life conversations with Wanta, based on their 15-year friendship, form the soundtrack to the work. Take a journey 3000 kms north and step into Monkey's place, to experience an intimate perspective on cultural exchange and mutual respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Crown and Country unfolds at a pivotal time for desert communities, where the last elders who experienced first contact with colonial Australia reflect on their past while younger generations seek meaning in a shared, contested land. Shot on Warlpiri country by filmmaker James Gillot with support from Jeff Bruer, Crown and Country reflects on this history and invites the listener to consider new forms of belonging in Australia.

 

Presented by RMIT University in partnership with City of Melbourne's 'Now or Never' festival.

Share

Related events

1220x732-mourning-after-paula-mahoney.jpg

The Mourning After

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 24 Jul 2025 - 20 Sep 2025

The Mourning After invites people to explore grief in all its multiple forms — as something felt, shared, and expressed through different rituals and creative practices. 

Man in white shirt and pants wearing a hat stands in a moody outdoor scene amongst bushes with a cloudy dusk sky above.

Tim Flannery: I Have Seen the Future

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 29 Aug 2025

"We are each other's greatest assets". Hear award-winning scientist and former Australian of the Year Tim Flannery make the case for maintaining hope against the odds.

Profile of a First Nations man in a cap holding out a stick as fire rages in the background.

Crown and Country

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 29 Aug 2025

Step into a world of vast desert landscapes and extraordinary ceremonial knowledge in this groundbreaking First Nations film.

Load more
aboriginal flag float-start torres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information