Title: Yurlu | Country
Director: Yaara Bou Melhem
Year: 2025
Country and language: Australia, English and Indigenous languages
Genre: Documentary
Australian distributor: Roadshow
A vivid ode to Country and an intimate portrait of an Aboriginal elder’s final year as he strives to preserve his culture and heal his homeland, scarred by the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere.
Banjima Elder, Maitland Parker, calls his Yurlu (homelands) “Poison Country” – a haunting, toxic truth etched into his body. Set against the breathtaking yet contaminated landscapes of Western Australia’s Pilbara region, This film lays bare the devastating impact of the Wittenoom asbestos mines, where millions of tonnes of waste laced with deadly asbestos fibres have poisoned both land and people. It’s Australia’s largely unknown Chernobyl-scale disaster and it’s on Banjima lands. (Yurlu | Country website)
Join us at the Bundy for our first film of Season 2. Arrive from 7pm for a prompt 7:30 start. BYO drinks and dinner, or help yourself to snacks and a cuppa (gold coin donation). Membership payments on the door (cash/card) or in advance via Trybooking.
Please note
Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are respectfully advised that this film contains images and voices of deceased people. Filmed on location on Banjima Country, Pilbara, Western Australia.
Please be aware that we are not able to provide comprehensive content notes or trigger warnings for films in advance. If you are concerned about a film and would like to check online, here are some websites that might help:
Does the Dog Die? Usually the most comprehensive resource in terms of film listings. However, the information is crowd sourced, so some listings are empty or incomplete. (Perhaps you could add notes after our screening!)
Trigger Checker. Search for the film and then for your specific triggers. This tends to list only more mainstream films.
Unconsenting Media. Specific warnings around sexual violence.
Common Sense Media. Aimed at parents, but useful to many.