Harry’s War is Richard Frankland’s searing study into the involvement of indigenous servicemen or ‘Black Diggers’ in Australia’s wars. Inspired by the experiences of his uncle Harry, who fought, and died, in the South Pacific during WWII, Harry’s War is a powerful tribute to the indigenous Australians who gave so much to Australia’s wartime past. It explores issues of self, camaraderie, prejudice, history, nationhood, citizenship and equality, and the fraught relationship between First Australians and the country they risked their lives for.
Celebrated locally and internationally, Harry’s War was the recipient of multiple prestigious awards after release in 1999. Following the screening, Richard Frankland will be joined in conversation by the Opera House’s Head of Indigenous Programming, Rhoda Roberts, to discuss his work in uncovering and making prominent, the diverse roles indigenous Australians have occupied in the nation’s history.
