Tells the story of Bill Onus, a trailblazing Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri man who used film, theater, and protest to ignite one of Australia’s earliest Aboriginal rights movements. Co-directed by Tiriki Onus — Bill’s grandson — and Alec Morgan, the film traces how an artist and activist sparked a cultural and political awakening decades before Aboriginal people were even recognized as citizens.

When Tiriki discovers a 1940s reel of black-and-white footage believed to have been made by his grandfather — possibly the first film directed by an Aboriginal Australian — he uncovers a larger story of resistance. Bill Onus was not only a showman but also an organizer who used performance, satire, and storytelling to resist assimilation and assert pride. He forged alliances with trade unions, churches, and progressive movements, helping lay the groundwork for national campaigns on land rights and equality.

Ablaze combines rare archival footage, interviews, and music to reveal a hidden history — a hard-hitting visual guide to the apartheid-like conditions once enforced in Australia. Within living memory, Aboriginal people were segregated, denied citizenship, and restricted from voting, marriage, and movement. The film also recalls the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off, when hundreds of Aboriginal stockmen and families walked off cattle stations over an area the size of the UK — a massive act of defiance against slavery-level working conditions that ignited the modern land rights movement.

The documentary highlights how activists of the 1930s–1960s — artists, unionists, and educators — built toward the 1967 Referendum, which finally recognized Aboriginal people as citizens. Onus’s reach extended internationally: he connected with U.S. civil rights leaders like Paul Robeson, drawing from their blend of art and activism to link Indigenous and global freedom struggles.

Through Tiriki’s eyes, Ablaze becomes a reclamation of memory and identity — a grandson piecing together film reels, photos, and oral histories to restore a buried chapter of resistance. It also resonates with the present. The 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum, which sought to enshrine a First Nations advisory body in the Constitution, was defeated — revealing both enduring racism and the ongoing strength of Indigenous organizing. Ablaze shows that the fight for recognition and sovereignty continues through today’s truth-telling and treaty movements.

Tiriki Onus now heads the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne, mentoring First Nations artists who merge creativity with activism and global solidarity.

Accessible for older teens and families, Ablaze offers a vivid, movement-grounded understanding of how Aboriginal artists and workers fought apartheid-like systems through art, solidarity, and defiance.

What you can do: Support Aboriginal-led organizations like ANTaR, the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts, and First Nations Media Australia. Amplify Aboriginal voices, engage with truth-telling and treaty campaigns.

*May require a VPN through Australia to rent on YouTube.