Larrakia man Cian Mungatj McCue wants screen productions filming in this country to put a clear focus on meaningful relationships with First Nations people.
At the beginning of his career, McCue, a TV and documentary producer, overestimated the capacity of the Australian film and television industry to meaningfully engage with First Nations communities.
“I was under the impression that because we’d been making First Nations content for so long that all of this stuff was above board and there were all these checklists to go through,” McCue told NITV.
Instead he found some production companies were ill-equipped, uninformed or, in some of the worst cases, wilfully ignorant to cultural engagement and awareness.
A Larrakia man from the Northern Territory, McCue said in many instances he ended up taking on the extra work of ensuring the productions he worked on were compliant with local cultural protocols.
“I grew up in the Northern Territory where 33 per cent of the population is Indigenous and then working with other people who might be fourth, fifth, sixth generation Australian who’ve never met a Blackfulla in their lives, it’s really eye-opening,” he said.
“People can misstep [and] there can be cultural missteps without knowing it, but then there’s cultural missteps where people just go barging in like, ‘we’re here to make a TV show so get out of our way,’ basically.”
Partnering up with casting director and producer Sarah Price, the pair launched their own initiative, Damulgurra Stories, to bridge the gap between production companies, locally and from overseas, and First Nations communities.
Price describes Damulgurra Stories as “a new way of creating a framework for how to tell First Nations stories ethically and authentically”.
Both McCue and Price agree one of the primary hurdles within the industry is a lack of cultural awareness.
Price said there are a broad range of issues that crop up on productions in the Northern Territory, in particular, from people saying the wrong things to crew being asked to leave altogether because of their behaviour.
"We’ve had a lot of productions come through [the Northern Territory] and I think some of them, a lot of the producers, crew and cast, that are not from the Territory who have maybe never met an Aboriginal person before, and not understanding those cultural protocols and not understanding the way things are done on Country," Price said.
McCue concurs.
“I’ve actually seen people outwardly just disrespectful and try to be a bit too familiar and make jokes about things where it's just not right,” he said.
“People who, just through not understanding certain protocols, have almost gotten into some pretty hairy situations because they just weren’t aware of where ceremony grounds may have been, places they shouldn’t have been going.”
Price said they began sharing stories and realised they could do something tangible.
"We thought let’s maybe look at starting something and creating something that can actually make this better for Aboriginal creatives," she said.
The initiative aims to provide resources, training and protocols rooted in cultural integrity, collaboration and empowerment.
The duo say they've already identified a clear need for cultural consultation and awareness on productions, but they want to go further.
They hope Damulgurra Stories can play a role in providing pathways and support for young and emerging First Nations filmmakers and creatives.
“That’s the other thing I want to do with Damulgurra was to try to build up people and give them opportunities whatever that might look like,” McCue said.
“Giving someone an opportunity to get behind the camera while we’re there, try to get them into town to train them up.
“We’ve been storytellers from the offset so just trying to give people these modern tools to amplify their storytelling is huge.”
McCue noted change and progress is a collaborative effort to improve the wider industry overall.
"I want to set this up so it’s a framework that can be shared amongst people," he said.
McCue also wants First Nations people to have access to a vast network of fellow creatives and filmmakers and have the opportunity to be the ones telling their own stories.
"It’s just network building and making sure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are helping to drive things in the right direction ... making sure we’re elevating those voices and that they’re not a second thought."
