A national festival celebrating Indigenous arts and culture kicks off in Sydney tonight, Gary Cox reports.
The Message Sticks Film Festival is in its 12th year and with a slew of international successes to its credit, the curators are confident this year won't disappoint.
From Alaska to Adelaide, industry buffs have flocked to Sydney, for The Message Sticks Film Festival.
Beck Cole's debut feature, 'Here I am' is headlining the event.
It tells the story of Karen, a young woman out from jail, determined to win back her mother and daughter.
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"It's a real honour you know for our film to be selected to be the opening night film, she told SBS.
"I've had a number of short films shown at the message sticks over the years so it feels like I am graduating. (laughs) and I'm an adult now".
In its twelfth year, Message Sticks has a strong history of premiering successes like Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah and Ivan Sen's Beneath Clouds.
"I think people return because they know they can see really great work and it's about the audience having that exchange, seeing the best work in the world and meeting the film makers," Festival Curator Rachel Perkins told SBS.
The festival is free and tours nationally from May until August.
