Movies Similar to How the West Was Lost

Too Many Captain Cooks(1989)

For both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, Captain James Cook is a figure of great historical significance.

My Survival as an Aboriginal(1979)

Essie Coffey gives the children lessons on Aboriginal culture. She speaks of the importance of teaching these kids about their traditions. Aboriginal kids are forgetting about their Aboriginal heritage because they are being taught white culture instead.

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Still We Rise(2022)

50 years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world. Taking a fresh lens this is a bold dive into a year of protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people.

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In My Own Words(2017)

The raw, heartfelt and often funny journey of adult Aboriginal students and their teachers as they discover the transformative power of reading and writing for the first time.

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Our Warrior: The Story of Robbie Thorpe(2025)

A story of resistance across generations, the power of family and the unrelenting struggle for justice in a country that remains in denial.

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The Ripple Effect(2021)

The Ripple Effect is a powerful documentary primarily centred around St Kilda legend and proud Noongar Nicky Winmar's generation-defining stand against racism at Victoria Park in 1993.

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Young Mob Questioning Treaty(2019)

Young Aboriginal people who are traditional custodians in Victoria explore the Treaty process with questions, concerns and their opinions. Sharing their insights into what has been happening and what needs to happen.

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The Bowraville Murders(2021)

The epic David vs Goliath battle for justice waged by the families of three Aboriginal children murdered in a small rural town 30 years ago, the system that failed them, and what it reveals about racism in Australia today.

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Our Law(2020)

At Western Australia’s first Indigenous-run police station, two officers learn language and culture to help them police one of the most remote beats in the world.

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Intervention: Stories From the Inside(2009)

On June 21 2007, the Howard Federal Government launched an intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. It was one of the most dramatic policy shifts in the history of Aboriginal affairs. Relentless media attention focuses on ideological arguments for and against the Intervention, while the voices of those affected by the policy are rarely heard. For this film more than 40 Alice Springs town camp residents were interviewed in depth over the course of eight months to find out the answer to the question - is it working?

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Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line(2024)

Across a 45-year career ‘The Oils’ helped shape modern Australia with anthems like “US Forces”, “Beds Are Burning” and “Redneck Wonderland”. Featuring unseen footage and interviews with every band member, alongside signature moments including the outback tour with Warumpi Band, their Exxon protest gig in New York and those famous “Sorry” suits at the Sydney Olympics, Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line traces the journey of Australia’s quintessential rock band.

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Message from Mungo(2014)

Lake Mungo is an ancient Pleistocene lake-bed in south-western New South Wales, and is one of the world’s richest archaeological sites. Message from Mungo focuses on the interface over the last 40 years between the scientists on one hand, and, on the other, the Indigenous communities who identify with the land and with the human remains revealed at the site. This interface has often been deeply troubled and contentious, but within the conflict and its gradual resolution lies a moving story of the progressive empowerment of the traditional custodians of the area.

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The Dream and the Dreaming(2003)

For over thirty thousand years, the Desert People of Central Australia had walked their lands, their life governed by ancient and immutable laws laid down by the totemic ancestors and their Dreamings. In 1877 the German Lutherans arrived. Their dream of a 'mission field' in the very heart of the Australian continent put them at the epicentre of a massive clash of cultures. As the pastoral frontier, engulfed the Arrarnta homelands and threatened their existence, the Mission lease of 1,000 square miles was to become not so much a beachhead of Christianity but a place of sanctuary.

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Desert Metal Dreaming(2021)

The most isolated metal band in the world, Southeast Desert Metal, and their Aunty Kathleen, share ancient Arrernte culture with the world through song and painting.

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Healing Heart Feeling Country(2023)

Witness country come alive as Mark Cora, proud Minjungbal man and cultural educator unveils the rich contexts that shape his evocative artwork, The Wind Dancer.

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Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky(2020)

A new songline for 21st century Australia - a fresh look at the Cook legend from a First Nations' perspective - the songline tells of connection to country, resistance and survival and features the cheeky, acerbic and heartfelt showman - Steven Oliver and a host of outstanding, political Indigenous singer/songwriters.

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Midnight Oil: 1984(2018)

In 1984, Midnight Oil released their iconic record Red Sails in the Sunset. They embarked on a relentless tour around the nation performing raw and electrifying music that reignited the imagination of young Australians. That same year, their lead singer Peter Garrett committed to run for a Senate seat for the Nuclear Disarmament Party. With the mounting pressure of balancing the demands of music and politics this is the year that would make, but nearly break, Australia's most important rock and roll band. Thirty years in the making and featuring never seen before seen footage of the band on and off the stage, Midnight Oil: 1984 is the untold story of the year Australia’s most iconic rock band inspired the nation to believe in the power of music to change the world.

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Wongar(2018)

Australian writer Wongar lives a secluded life taking care of his 6 dingoes for which he believes embody the spirits of his tragically lost Aboriginal family.

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Yirrkala: Conversations with Dundiwuy Wanambi(1995)

Yirrkala is an Aboriginal township on the Gove Peninsula in Northeast Arnhem Land. It was established as a Methodist mission in 1935 and over the years Yolngu from many different clans moved there. Conversations With Dundiwuy Wanambi is a personal film which reveals something of the struggles and thoughts of one elder in the face of enormous change. In the early years Dundiwuy was a heavy drinker. In a disturbing interview in a pub, Dundiwuy explains his reasons for drinking. Then, through a dream, Dundiwuy realizes he must begin to protect his family and clan. He establishes his Marrakulu clan homeland center at Gurka'wuy, south of Yirrkala. He will hold a great ceremony there. Years later Dundiwuy returns to Yirrkala. His clan is small and he did not receive the necessary support from his sons. But Dundiwuy endures, continues his struggle, and we learn in the post-script of how he has become a successful and sought-after artist.

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In My Blood It Runs(2019)

The story of Dujuan, a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy living in Alice Springs, Australia, who is struggling to balance his traditional Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with a state education.

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