Black Crows
In the fields of 19th-century New South Wales, free labourer Jack Hepburn works alongside convicts on a remote property. Late one afternoon, ‘Hawk’ Williams, a brutal convict, boasts of shooting ‘black crows’ – his slur for the land’s First Nations inhabitants. Jack threatens him in return, but is kept in check by the property owner.
Later that evening when the property owner has left, Hawk spots an Indigenous man at the tree line and rushes outside with his rifle, with Jack in pursuit. Knowing full well the punishment he faces if he intervenes, Jack witnesses Hawk fire and shoots him dead in return. As the police are summoned, all that remains is for him to wait for the law to take its inevitable course.
Warning: Contains images of Indigenous people, mature themes and depictions of violence
Director bio:
Christopher Curran is a European-born Australian filmmaker with an interest in grounded, culturally resonant film and photography. Born in Denmark, he became interested in theatre and the arts from a young age before he soon fell into working on films in Canberra and regional NSW. Since then, he’s graduated with a Master of Film and Television (Filmmaking) from The University of Melbourne. He’s recently been working as a cameraman and photographer across Canberra and NSW.Master of Film and Television (Filmmaking)