Private Project

Made It With My Hands - Deme Ngayi Nimbi

Eight years ago, renowned Australian Aboriginal artist Regina Pilawuk Wilson was introduced to filmmaker, Cassie De Colling.
Over a year their friendship grew and Regina led Cassie across the country and the globe, inviting her to capture both the significant and everyday moments of her life. From the Australian outback to prominent galleries in Washington D.C, I Made It With My Hands is a glimpse into the space between Australian Indigenous artists and their relationship with the blossoming contemporary art scene.
Akin to Regina's fine artwork, the film invites viewers to sit amidst the threads of her artistry, which encompass friendship, traditional knowledge and culture.

  • Cassie De Colling
    Director
  • Regina Pilawuk Wilson
    Director
  • Cassie De Colling
    Producer
  • Regina Pilawuk Wilson
    Producer
  • Regina Pilawuk Wilson
    Key Cast
  • Hannah Dougherty
    Writer
  • Regina Pilawuk Wilson
    Writer
  • Hannah Dougherty
    Editor
  • Wil Hughs
    Composer
  • Joseph Dutaillis
    Sound Design and Mix
  • Tom Meares
    Colourist
  • Henry Wilson
    Cultural Consultant
  • Avis O'Brien
    Cultural Consultant
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Indigenous, Art, Women
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 11 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 30, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Austria
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • ARTS x SDGS Online Festival
    New York
    United States
    June 24, 2022
Director Biography - Cassie De Colling, Regina Pilawuk Wilson

Cassie De Colling is an award-winning director whose career spans more than a decade. Her most recent documentary Precious Leader Woman took home the Audience Award at Banff Mountain Film Festival 2021 and is currently touring festivals.

Since 2014 De Colling has been visiting Peppimenarti every year to help document traditional knowledge and run film and photography workshops.

In all of her work, De Colling uses filmmaking to capture honest moments.

Regina Pilawuk Wilson
Regina Pilawuk Wilson Wilson is a world-renowned Australian Indigenous Artist. Her practice stems from an immense knowledge of culture and her environment - how to harvest, treat and dye natural fibres, as well as perform the art of masterfully weaving the materials. This is a precious and time-consuming skill and Wilson is widely recognized as an exceptional weaver.

Wilson began painting in the early 2000s, translating the weft and weave of her baskets and mats into delicate marks of acrylic paint on canvas. Her decision to do this was informed by a desire to communicate the complexity of such objects in a medium that could be more readily shared with a broader audience.

Through painting, Wilson is preserving weaving expertise and offering the world a form of practice that visually, physically and culturally translates in a completely different way. Only a virtuoso is capable of developing and executing such translation with apparent ease and undeniable success.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The approach of this documentary is a combination of biography and memoir, a glimpse into the great artist and matriarch’s life.

The film developed on our travels together. Regina would call Cassie to travel across the country and the world with her to capture moments in her life.

With more than 40 hours of footage, we condensed it down to the most important moments Regina and Cassie wanted to share.
Inspired by observational documentary films such as 'Camera Person' and 'Hale County, good morning, good evening'.

Each scene is edited to place viewers in the time and place so they can experience things authentically as they unfold. Much like Regina's work, this film shows us how we can all quietly watch, listen and take in what surrounds us.