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Voices of the River

“The Fitzroy River is a living system. It has the right to life… It’s a part of me and I’m a part of it, so together we’re gonna protect each other.” – Anthony McLarty, Walmajarri Traditional Owner.

The National Heritage-Listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River stretches over 700km from the desert to the sea, and is a site of great cultural significance. However, the river’s cultural and ecological values are now under great threat from Murray-Darling style proposals to pump water from the river and establish an intensive irrigated agriculture industry. Documentary webseries Voices of the River goes out on Country with ten Traditional Owners to share stories of cultural connection and the fight to protect one of the last in-tact river systems in the world.

  • Stephanie King
    Director
    Undermined: Tales from the Kimberley; Young, Black and Behind Bars (Al Jazeera); Voices of the River (The Guardian, The Australian); Martuwarra: River of Life
  • Stephanie King
    Producer
    Undermined: Tales from the Kimberley; Young, Black and Behind Bars (Al Jazeera); Voices of the River (The Guardian, The Australian); Martuwarra: River of Life; Observance
  • Joe Brown
    Key Cast
  • Helen Malo
    Key Cast
  • Anthony McLarty
    Key Cast
  • Natalie Davey
    Key Cast
  • Wayne Bergmann
    Key Cast
  • Diane Chungal
    Key Cast
  • Mary Aiken
    Key Cast
  • Pampila Hanson Boxer
    Key Cast
  • Emily Carter
    Key Cast
  • Sandra Brooking
    Key Cast
  • John Chisholm
    Cinematographer
    Cameraman for Channel 9; ABC; Channel 7; TEABBA Media; CAAMA; NITV; PAKAM.
  • Jonathan Reed
    Editor
    Undermined: Tales from the Kimberley; Colour Theory Underground; A Chance Affair; Revelation; Le Champion.
  • Joe Brown
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    12,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • The Guardian
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Internet
  • The Australian
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Internet
  • National Indigenous Times
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Internet
Director Biography - Stephanie King

Stephanie King is a writer, researcher and filmmaker working on Gadigal and Gooniyandi Country. She is known for award-winning feature documentary UNDERMINED – TALES FROM THE KIMBERLEY, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and was awarded the Antenna Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary, ahead of an international festival circuit and national cinema release in 2019. She recently directed and produced VOICES OF THE RIVER, an online series for The Guardian, IF RIVER’S GONNA GO DRY, an online series for The Australian, and MARTUWARRA: RIVER OF LIFE, an online series for Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council. She field produced investigative documentary YOUNG, BLACK AND BEHIND BARS for Al Jazeera’s 101 East.

Stephanie has won international Green Gown Awards for her research and advocacy projects on welfare and sustainability at the University of Technology, Sydney. She works part-time as a researcher on Indigenous housing at the University of Sydney, and guest lectures at University of California, Riverside and California State Polytechnic University.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I am a writer, researcher and filmmaker and have been working with Traditional Custodians in the remote Kimberley region of north-western Australia for 8 years. I wrote and produced critically acclaimed feature documentary, Undermined - Tales from the Kimberley, which was awarded the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund and Antenna Audience Award for Best Documentary, ahead of a national theatrical release in 2019. In 2020, I was a producer on Al Jazeera's 50-minute investigation into Indigenous incarceration, which recently won the 2021 Gold Telly Award. I work part-time as a researcher on Indigenous housing at the University of Sydney, and co-authored a national research paper on the effects of climate change on remote Indigenous communities, which is forthcoming from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute in 2021.

I have close personal relationships with Custodians of the Martuwarra (Fitzroy River), and I travel to the Kimberley for a few months every year to spend time together - except 2020, due to Covid restrictions. I was very close to a Senior Gooniyandi Elder and one of the leading female voices for the river, who recently passed away very unexpectedly, under questionable circumstances. My recent trip to the Kimberley was very emotional, seeing everyone again and reflecting on her loss and future legacy. Her sister Helen Malo, herself a Senior Elder and Custodian for the river, stepped up to record her message for the Voices of the River series, in honour of her sister's legacy. Helen's episode was featured by The Guardian, and other episodes have been published by The Australian.

While I'm particularly close to the Gooniyandi people from Muludja Community, I also have long-standing relationships with Bunuba and Walmajarri people, two of the other language groups along the river. This series amplifies the voices of those who have been largely excluded from the discourse on water extraction and development of the precious Martuwarra.