Event Type: Education

THE SALTWATER STORY

Guided by Indigenous canoemaker Kyle Slabb from the Bundjalung people, a group of young men (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) build traditional canoes and embark on a 3-day sea voyage re-tracing an ancient trade route from the heart of the Queensland Gold Coast to North Stradbroke Island, a journey not made for over 100 years.

Screening : Saturday 8 February 2025, 10:00am – 11:00am
Duration : 55 minutes

WHETŪ MĀRAMA – BRIGHT STAR

For Māori, the canoe underpins our culture. We built waka from giant trees and sailed the vast Pacific by the stars. These arts were lost to us for 600 years. Then the stars re-aligned and three men from far flung islands met by chance to revive our place as the greatest navigators on the planet.

Screening : Saturday 8 February 2025, 11:30am – 1:05pm
Duration : 1 hour 34 minutes

THE BOUNTY (Ages 14+)

Captain Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) struggles to restore discipline among the crew of the HMS Bounty after the ship has an extended furlough in Tahiti. After the captain doles out floggings and other physical punishments, the crew mutinies, led by Bligh’s former close friend, Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson). Unable to return to their tropical paradise, the mutineers find themselves stranded, while Bligh and his faithful crew members embark on a dangerous journey to the Dutch East Indies.

Screening : Saturday 8 February 2025, 1:30pm – 3:45pm
Duration : 2 hours 12 minutes

WHALE RIDER

Only males are allowed to ascend to chiefdom in a Maori tribe in New Zealand. This ancient custom is upset when the child selected to be the next chief dies at birth. However his twin sister, Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), survives. At age 12, she enlists the help of her grandmother (Vicky Haughton) and the training of her uncle (Grant Roa) to claim her birthright. But to break with convention, she’ll have to do the impossible: win over her ultra-traditional grandfather (Rawiri Paratene).

Screening : Sunday 9 February 2025, 9:30am – 11:10am
Duration : 1 hour 41 minutes

SAILAU

An award-winning documentary about the circumnavigation of the island of New Guinea in a traditional canoe.

The film will be followed by a Q&A with the Director, Thor F. Jensen

Screening : Sunday 9 February 2025, 11:30am – 1:40pm
Duration : 1 hour 38 minutes + Q&A

TUPAIA’S ENDEAVOUR

A first contact story, told from a Pacific point of view.

Who was Tupaia—this high-priest, star-navigator, and extraordinary artist? This film seeks to uncover the history of Tupaia and his journey aboard Cook’s HMS Endeavour. Retrace the footsteps of Tupaia in true Polynesian style.

Screening : Sunday 9 February 2025, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Duration : 1 hour 59 minutes

CLIPPER SHIP ‘CITY OF ADELAIDE’

The Clipper Ship ‘City of Adelaide’ has spent the past two years engaged in meticulous logistical and engineering planning, utilising high-level in-house expertise, to prepare for its move to a permanent home on land at Dock 2.

The film features stunning high-quality drone footage that enhances the presentation by showcasing the complexity of transporting the 585-tonne ship and its cradle. The footage captures the entire process, from the transfer from the barge to the wharf, navigating between buildings, and maneuvering down a ramp into a shallow pit constructed as the ship’s permanent display foundation.

The film will be followed by a 30 minute Q&A from the CSCOAL team.

Screening : Monday 10 February 2025, 9:30am – 10:30am
Duration : 30 minutes + Q&A

WE, THE VOYAGERS, OUR MOANA

We are the living crew of Lata, our Polynesian culture-hero who built the first voyaging canoe and navigated across the Pacific. We use only ancient designs, materials, and methods, and we invite everyone to reconnect with ancestors and sustainable lifeways. This is the real Moana!

The film will be followed by a 30 min Q&A with co-Director, Marianne “Mimi” George, Ph.D. Co-founder of Pacific Traditions Society, Sailor, Anthropologist, Emeritus.

Screening : Monday 10 February 2025, 10:45am – 12:15pm
Duration : 1 hour + Q&A

PACIFIC MOTHER

“Why do mothers have to fight so hard for what feels so right?”

The documentary Pacific Mother began with this simple question from Sachiko Fukumoto. In Pacific Mother, Sachiko travels from Japan to Hawai’i, Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Aotearoa New Zealand to connect with strong ocean women, whose stories about birth and parenthood inspire a more traditional, connected way of life.

Screening : Monday 10 February 2025, 12:30pm – 2:00pm
Duration : 1hour 30 minutes

In this engaging and interactive session, children will embark on a journey of creativity, drawing inspiration from everything around them. This session, led by Jen Lush, a dedicated advocate for enriching children’s lives through the arts, combines music, dance, and storytelling to foster imagination and expression. 

Children will collaboratively craft a unique group composition through their drawings, movement, rhythm creation, and song. By the end of the session, they’ll have created a performance piece to share proudly with their families and friends. 

Jen brings her passion for delivering top-notch arts experiences to children, drawing from her extensive work in early childhood education. With a background in songwriting and expertise in creative movement and music, Jen has facilitated workshops at esteemed institutions like Eden Hills Kindergarten, Inkpot Arts Inc., Carclew, and various arts festivals. 

Join us for a journey of creativity and fun to unleash the power of imagination through music and movement! 

“Jen’s collaboration with us responds to the children’s voices and to their wonderment in the everyday. Jen is able to respond to the children’s voices, ideas and thoughts within a musical instant! She intertwines these with music and we all begin to write a song.” – Tracey-Ann Rankin, Early Childhood Educator, Eden Hills Kindergarten, 2015.

Delve into the wonderful world of songwriting with your mentor, nationally respected composer and musical storyteller Paul Jarman. In this intimate and creative songwriting workshop, you will be encouraged create and share stories and songs with new friends.  

This workshop will include an open dialogue of how we write songs. Paul will look at the elements in the songwriters’ toolbox including the nuts and bolts of composing, melodic nuances, finding inspiration and mind set, and integrity in storytelling. 

The workshop schedule will include a preliminary meet-and-greet session in the Singers’ Lounge with Paul and your fellow songwriters. 

Please note that this workshop has limited capacity, to ensure a personal and in-depth experience for participants. 

In this fun, explorative and inclusive workshop, experience the myriad ways that words can fly off a page and transform into song, with a room full of open minds and willing voices.

Is there a poem you love and would like to transform into a song? Have you always wanted to sing your favourite poem? Would you like to delve into poetry and discover its possibilities for music?

When crafting a song, music often precedes words – or words become malleable to the musical structure. However, what if the process is flipped? What if the words are fixed within the structure of poetry, challenging the music to adapt and complement them?

Led by Jen Lush, this workshop will guide participants through the fascinating process of transforming contemporary poetry into song, fostering collaboration and creative exploration. Participants will have the opportunity to select a poem—either their own or from a curated collection—and delve into the process of turning it into a song. From there, we’ll discover how musical interpretations can convey the essence of a poem and resonate with a broader audience.