#terror nullius

I timed a trip to Melbourne to make sure I caught artist duo Soda_Jerk’s latest film, Terror Nullius, which is screening free at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

The artists used Australian film and TV archives, splicing and collaged and mashing clips together to re-write storylines and re-position meanings, often in a humorous way, but always with an rebellion against the white Australian cultural narrative. As Soda_Jerk describe it:

TERROR NULLIUS is a world ... Where idyllic beaches host race-riots, governments poll love-rights, and the perils of  hypermasculinity are overshadowed only by the enduring horror of Australia’s colonising myth of terra nullius.

The film was totally gripping and incredibly impactful - one of the best pieces of cinema I’ve seen recently, and one of the best pieces of experimental film that I’ve watched too. It was often funny, and enjoyable to spot references to films and TV programs I know - but also satisfying to be face to face with the ugly truth of colonialism.

If you’re in Melbourne before the 15th July then GO AND SEE IT. It’s free, it’s 55 mins long. Just turn up at ACMI on the hour between 10am and 4pm (the last screening of the day). Go on your lunch break.

If you need more convincing or want to hear more about the film, read this Guardian review which is a good indicator of what to expect.

re did my old terror nullius art from ages ago.