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Yurlu | Country

Directed by Yaara Bou Melhem
Australia
2025
79 mins

Synopsis

A panoramic yet intimate portrait of Aboriginal Elder Maitland Parker and his fight to heal his mining-impacted homeland and preserve his culture for future generations.

The breathtaking red landscape of Wittenoom in WA’s Pilbara region is scarred by millions of tons of toxic waste from asbestos mines that once operated there. With an exclusion zone of nearly 47,000 hectares, it’s the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the ancestral country, or Yurlu, of Banjima Elder Parker. Director Yaara Bou Melhem (Unseen Skies, SFF 2021) documents Parker’s environmental and cultural activism, right up until his death in 2024 from mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. From the campfire to his hospital bedside, Yurlu | Country follows Maitland’s battle for justice and the environment, and his unbreakable bond with Country.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

Special Guests

Yaara Bou Melhem
Director, Producer

Yaara Bou Melhem is an Australian writer, director and producer. A former investigative reporter for SBS Dateline and Al Jazeera English, Yaara’s accolades include two UN Media Peace Awards and five Walkley Awards. Her debut feature, Unseen Skies (2021), interrogates surveillance and artificial intelligence, screening in competition at San Francisco Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival and CPH:DOX. She recently wrote, directed and co-produced The Whiteley Art Scandal (2023), a series about one of Australia’s biggest art fraud trials for the ABC.

Tickets

Sat 7 June 2025, 3:40pm
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 3
WheelchairAssisted Listening
Mon 9 June 2025, 6:15pm
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 2
WheelchairAssisted Listening
Presented By
Documentary Australia

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Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

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