'We Don't Need A Map' by award-winning Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton is among 12 features in official competition at this year's Sydney Film Festival.
The project was inspired by the backlash Thornton experienced back in 2010, when he expressed concern the Southern Cross was becoming a racist symbol.
"Some pretty nasty things were said about me," he said. "There were a lot of people who attacked me, and I thought 'do you really want to go down this path again?'
"After the film there will be a lot of people who will react to what I've shown them. I was afraid of that, and I still am.
"But hey, when people throw stones at you, you throw grenades back."
Thornton, whose debut feature 'Samson and Delilah' won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, said the documentary wasn't made to anger anyone.
He interviewed Indigenous elders, astronomers, historians, rappers, and even tattoo artists to examine the Southern Cross' history, meaning, and spiritual significance.
The aim, Thornton said, was to provide as much knowledge as possible from people he believed remained under-represented.
"I kind of wanted to make something slightly propaganda-ish," he said. "We have so many platforms for right-wing loonies, and they have a great platform.
"So it was like, right, I actually want to combat that. I want to do something for people who think like me and believe like me, and I'm not going to spend one frame of this film on a racist."
Multicultural stories collide in 'Australia Day'
Also premiering at the festival is 'Australia Day', a gritty crime drama for Foxtel by Queensland production company Hoodlum.
The film follows three seemingly separate stories from different cultural backgrounds: an Indigenous girl fleeing a car crash, an Iranian teenager wrongly targeted by a gang of youths, and a Chinese woman escaping sexual slavery.
Director Kriv Stenders, whose previous films include 'Red Dog' and 'Kill Me Three Times', said while the subject matter in 'Australia Day' is quite heavy, its message is ultimately one of hope.
"Diversity is what makes us stronger and more human," he said. "It always is daunting when you're trying to depict certain communities in the right way. Things are always shifting and changing, nothing stays in stasis.
"I think the film doesn't really pretend to politicise any particular culture. Really all it tries to do is throw a mirror up against the Australia we have now."
A refugee's long road
In 2012, documentary filmmaker Tom Zubrycki was approached by Zacharia Machiek, a South Sudanese refugee who was determined to return to his homeland to build a school.
Having tackled a number of international stories in his previous films, Zubrycki said Mr Machiek's mission touched him on a personal level.
"There's an obligation a lot of people feel, particularly South Sudanese, to give something back," he said. "When I came to Australia in the 1950s, I still remember my father sending back food parcels to Poland.
"That's how I related to Zach, because he was doing essentially the same thing."
Over the next five years Mr Machiek's story was captured in 'Hope Road', including a gruelling 40-day charity walk between Tweed Heads and Sydney.
It also showed Mr Machiek during his more vulnerable moments, as his campaign is sidetracked by several logistical and personal issues.
But Mr Machiek said despite it all, the film's message remains clear.
"The reason why Australia became a good society is because of education," he said. "I want the Australian community to look (at) how they would assist in order for other people who are struggling to be on the same page."
The Sydney Film Festival will screen a total of 288 films from 59 countries.
