Boodjara (Country, belonging to) follows a group of Noongar people on a powerful journey to revive their endangered language, reclaim ancestral placenames, and reconnect with stories and lore embedded in the boodja (land).
Filmed over 18 months by Noongar filmmaker Hugh Sando, this intimate short documentary is a story of cultural revival, truth-telling, and reconciliation – taking place against the backdrop of Australia's failed 2023 Voice referendum.
Boodjara is a moving testament to the strength, resilience and enduring spirit of the world's oldest living culture.
Boodjara at the 2025 Revelation Perth International Film Festival, screening as part of a program of short films by indigenous creatives, honouring NAIDOC WEEK: THE NEXT GENERATION: STRENGTH, VISION AND LEGACY.
The documentary has since been selected to screen in numerous film festivals around the world, listed below. At those festivals it has won several awards and accolades, including:
Honorary Award for Efforts is Social Filmmaking at the Activists Without Borders Film Festival (UK, 2025)
Honourable Mention at the Better World Film Festival (Germany, 2025)
Finalist at the Indigenous Culture Film Festival (Turkey, 2025)
Festivals Director Choice Award at the Indigenous Multicultural Film Festival (Australia, 2025)
Award winner at the Mentone Film Festival (US, 2025)
Award of Merit at Impact DOCS Awards (US, 2025)
Boodjara has been selected for screening at:
Activists Without Borders Film Festival, UK, 2025
Better World Film Festival, Germany 2025
Cambodia International Film Festival, Cambodia, 2026
Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival Award, US, 2025
Indigenous Culture Film Festival, Turkiye, 2025
Indigenous Multicultural Film Festival, Australia, 2025
Lhatsik Harutkshi (Moving Stories) Wiyot Film Festival, US, 2025
Māoriland Film Festival, New Zealand, 2026
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Australia, 2026
Mentone Film Festival, US, 2025
Red Brick Film Festival, US, 2025
ReFrame Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Australia, 2025
RNCI Red Nation International Film Festival & Awards, US, 2025
St Kilda Film Festival, Australia, 2026
The Impact DOCS Awards, US, 2025
WA Made Film Festival, Australia, 2026
When I was invited to direct Boodjara, I felt both humbled and deeply honoured. As a proud Whadjuk Noongar man, the opportunity to document this incredible journey was deeply personal. The film follows our Elders and knowledge holders as they revive an endangered language, reclaim ancestral placenames, and bring to life the stories, culture and lore held in those sacred places.
My vision for the documentary was to create an intimate, honest portrayal of the Elders and knowledge holders’ journey. Grounded in truth-telling and cultural reclamation Boodjara invites the audience to deepen their understanding of Indigenous culture and explore their own relationship with Country. It encourages viewers to recognise the beauty, strength and significance of First Nations knowledge and to share in the responsibility of caring for the land we all call home. More than anything, this film offers a platform for our Elders and knowledge holders to share their truth, language and history. It showcases the importance of projects like this as meaningful and significant steps toward reconciliation.
Hugh Sando documenting the Place Names Melville project // credit Cassandra Edwards
Being welcomed into the room to document these often sensitive, complex and beautiful conversations was a privilege. This project has been transformative for me, both culturally and creatively. As my first project in the role of director, it has expanded my understanding of storytelling and redefined my creative approach. It has deepened my connection to culture and taught me the immense responsibility and power in telling our stories with care, courage and truth.
Boodjara is not just a documentary. It’s a conversation, an invitation and a catalyst for change. I hope all who watch are inspired to reflect on their own relationship with this beautiful country and the significance of the connection First Nations peoples have with this land.
CAN TEAM
⸻
Nduta Gathoga
Project Producer
Natalie Scholtz
Creative Producer
Michelle White
Executive Producer
Miranda De Baughn
General Manager - on parental leave
PRODUCTION TEAM
⸻
Hugh Sando
Director, Cinematographer and Editor
Phil Walleystack
Composer
Christopher MacGregor
Sound Recordist
Envelope Studio
Sound Design and Mix
Sandbox
Online Edit and Grade
Simone Woolfitt
Animation
INTERVIEWEES
⸻
Geri Hayden
Traditional Owner
Vickie Zani
Noongar Community Member
Trevor Walley
Noongar Elder
Joseph Collard
Noongar Community Member
Nduta Gathoga
Project Producer
Nduta holds a Masters in Human Rights from Curtin University - Centre for Human Rights Education and is a Kenyan native with a deep passion for community development, diplomacy, cultural rights, preservation of indigenous languages, protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the use of art for promoting human rights.
She worked with CAN from 2019 to 2021 and later returned to Kenya, contributing to the State Department of Culture and Heritage. During this time, she focused on the nationwide sensitization exercise of the Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act 2016.
Currently serving as the Mapping Menang Producer, Nduta applies her expertise in community and stakeholder engagement to ensure the success of the project.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Nduta is a performing arts enthusiast who enjoys bringing characters to life in imagined realities.
Natalie Scholtz
Creative Producer
Natalie Scholtz is an African Persian British Australian visual artist. She is inspired by creative conversations around the relationship of self and society, action and response, culture, arts and change.
Natalie has had the pleasure of being part of CAN’s Place Names over the past 5 years, connecting with local Noongar Elders, community and a range of learning and talent from Langford, Albany, Katanning and now Fremantle.
Michelle White
Executive Producer
Michelle is an award-winning former ABC journalist with more than thirty years’ experience in television, film, radio, print and digital media.
A proud Yamatij storyteller, she is passionate about sharing the stories of First Nation people, and they have formed the basis of many of her creative projects, including short stories, publications and plays.
Michelle’s role at CAN is to look for opportunities to platform CAN’s work and partner with like-minded organisations so we can continue to deliver transformative arts and cultural development programs with communities.
When not working for CAN, Michelle volunteers on the board of 100.9FM Noongar Radio, Seesaw Magazine and As One Nyitting and is a member of the Kalamunda Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.
In 2019 Michelle was featured in the SBS series Every Family Has a Secret which explored her Mother’s stolen generation experiences of removal as a child. She also discovered her Grandfather was sent from England to Australia as a child migrant.
Miranda De Baughn
General Manager - on parental leave
Miranda is an experienced arts manager who joined the Community Arts Network team in 2019.
Miranda has a passion for design, initially graduating with a degree in Interior and Spatial Design from Edith Cowan University. In 2018 Miranda completed a postgraduate degree in Arts and Cultural Management at Deakin University, broadening her knowledge of the cultural sector.
With this expanded skill set, Miranda has brought an innovative approach that combines strategic thinking with sharp, efficient execution of operations. During COVID, Miranda’s leadership of projects such as the website redevelopment and IT infrastructure overhaul, steadily kept the organisation moving towards greater success. She is currently implementing an organisation evaluation framework that will add to the foundations of CAN’s business model in the future.
Miranda's commitment to delivering quality artistic outcomes with social impact for CAN’s communities, partners and artists compels her the most, and she acutely understands that to achieve this the core foundation of an organisation must be efficient and cohesive.
Outside of her work life, Miranda is a skilled seamstress and enjoys creating beautiful garments for herself out of her ever-growing fabric collection.
Miranda is on parental leave until December 2026.
Hugh Sando
Director, Cinematographer and Editor
Phil Walleystack
Composer
Christopher MacGregor
Sound Recordist
Envelope Studio
Sound Design and Mix
Sandbox
Online Edit and Grade
Simone Woolfitt
Animation
Geri Hayden
Traditional Owner
Vickie Zani
Noongar Community Member
Trevor Walley
Noongar Elder
Joseph Collard
Noongar Community Member
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