No Distance Between Us

Streaming now on SBS on Demand.
No Distance Between Us explores the cultural significance of the world’s largest known collection of fossilised human footprints, dating back approximately 20,000 years, through the candid voices of the Barkandji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa people, the Traditional Custodians of the Willandra Lakes Region.

Filmed during a rare window of access to the internationally significant footprint site in Mungo National Park, before it was covered with tonnes of sand for its long-term conservation, the film offers a unique glimpse into a place not accessible to the public. Shot on location amid the extraordinary landscapes of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, Australia.

Duration: 12 minutes

Credits

Starring: Tanya Charles, Leanne Mitchell,Joan Slade, Daryl Pappin, Ernest Eric Mitchell, Mary Pappin, Pintubi Trackers, Junette Mitchell

Music: “Take Me Back To My Home”, “Granny I Am Home”, “Mungo Man, Mungo Lady” 
written, composed and performed by Ernest Eric Mitchell

Thank you: Barkandji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa tribal groups, Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Aboriginal Advisory Group, Pintubi Trackers - Kumantjai Tjupurulla Angus/Yungut, Kumantjai Japanangka Lewis, Kumantjai Gibson Napanagnka and Kumantjai Gibson Nagamarra, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, Peter Bartlett and Cindy Gibson, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, Mungo National Park staff

Film Production
Producer Director: Vera Hong
Production Coordinators: Leanne Mitchell and Daryl Pappin
Cinematography and Sound: Craig Bender and Vera Hong
Additional Camera: Leanne Mitchell and Daryl Pappin
Aerial Cinematography: Craig Bender 
Editor: Vera Hong
Archive Photos: Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, Australian Museum, Michael Amendolia
Pintubi Trackers Archive Footage: Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association and Earthbound Consultants

Commissioned by the Australian Museum for the Bayala Nura (Yarning Country) gallery.

Selections:

Global Impact Film Festival , Washington DC, USA 2019
Antenna International Documentary Film Festival, Sydney, Australia 2019
Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival, India 2019
Female Eye Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, 2020
Kendal Mountain Festival, United Kingdom, 2020
Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi USA 2020
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Montana USA 2020 (an Academy Award qualifying festival)
St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia 2020 (an Academy Award qualifying festival)
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2020, USA (an Academy Award qualifying festival)
Environmental Film Festival Australia, 2021
Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Award finalist in Best Indigenous Video or Website category, 2021