Place Names

With the support of Community Arts Network, a group of high school students from Albany joined Menang Elders and community members to make a documentary, Noongar Boodja, that celebrated Noongar place names, language and culture.

During the project, the students learnt about filmmaking via a series of intensive workshops led by filmmaker Rafael Baro where the students gained in-depth knowledge about documentary filmmaking. Covering everything from camera operation, to filming techniques and scriptwriting. Artist Lincoln MacKinnon also joined the team to teach the editing process.

Beyond gaining filmmaking skills, the project also facilitated the intergenerational exchange of culture and knowledge. Student-led interviews with Noongar Elders documented stories and significant places while fostering knowledge-sharing between generations.
This led to Noongar Boodja, a short film that explores the concept of dual naming prominent locations while highlighting the connection between language, place and identity. Noongar Boodja was launched in Albany in August 2018, before being distributed to global film festivals.