Yandel’ora selected as Finalist at 20th MY HERO International Film Festival
Image above: Painting with digital effects by artist and director - Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman
One must always seek the Truths in everything one does.
California, United States
Yandel’ora, translated as ‘‘The Land of Peace Between Peoples’’ is a D’harawal Dreaming story that illustrates why only the lyrebird can speak all languages and how the lyrebird became the interpreter and peacemaker.
Depicted as an animation for education audiences, the Balangara produced short film by director and artist Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman has been selected as a Finalist at the MY HERO International Film Festival.
The festival is part of the non-profit educational organisation, The MY HERO Project, with a mission to celebrate the best of humanity.
“We admire the passion and commitment displayed by the heroism in Yandel’ora to make the world a better place. We appreciate your efforts to bring these important stories to life through film.” - MY HERO Project
The 20th Anniversary of the MY HERO International Film Festival will take place on Friday, November 15th, and Saturday, November 16th at the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater at New Roads School in Santa Monica, California.
Yandel'ora will be released online during this time as a free not-for-profit educational resource, accompanied with materials documented by members of the D’harawal Traditional Descendants and Knowledge Holders Circle.
MY HERO is an educational project that empowers people of all ages to realize their potential to effect positive change in the world. The MY HERO platform can be freely accessed by teachers and students around the world to gain inspiration, hope, and knowledge through the films.
Aunty Fran
The animation is preceded with a live action introduction of the Yandel'ora and also Frances Bodkin [Aunty Fran] a descendant of the Bidigal clan of the D’harawal Peoples (with ancestral and spiritual links to Wiritjiribin - The First Lyrebird).
Image above: Frances Bodkin [Aunty Fran] - Storyteller of Yandel’ora “The Land of Peace Between Peoples.”
Credit: Simon Ozolins.
The Yandel’ora Story
A very long time ago, all the peoples and all the animals spoke the same language. And whenever the three sisters in the sky danced in a straight line, everyone would come together to meet and have a great Bunya, a festival to celebrate their friendship, and to lay down the laws for the next generation.
When a handsome guest betrays the laws, he creates enormous disharmony between the Peoples. Wiritjiribin the lyrebird yearns for integrity, reconciliation, and salvation, and in doing so is gifted a great ability from the Creator Spirit.
The story features Wiritjiribin the Lyrebird, Bittoorong’burran the Red Kangaroo, Duluma the Estuarine Crocodile, Gilinga the Frog, Kookaburra the Laughing Kookaburra, Wangali the Southern Brown Bandicoot, and many more.
The story contains several layers of knowledge, which are the secrets, the law, or lore, to be obeyed, and the lessons. These lessons introduced Peoples to the means to live in harmony with each other, and the land and its resources. With understanding and respect for each other we can learn to more easily share this Land and live together in peace and harmony.
Image above: All the Peoples gather at the edge of the water hole. Artwork from the Dreaming story Yandel’ora “The Land of Peace Between Peoples”.
Credit: Artist and director, Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman.
Yandel’ora is also known as the Scenic Hills of Campbelltown.
The Scenic Hills of Campbelltown, New South Wales are of high geographic significance in Australian history and D’harawal heritage in particular. The Yandel’ora was a vast meeting ground, centred on Mt Annan but included the upper reaches of Bunbury Curran Creek, the lands north of Razorback Range, west of the Georges River, east of the Wollondilly/Nepean River, and south of Prospect Creek.
Yandel’ora has been encroached upon by developments in Camden, Narellan, Campbelltown and other surrounding suburbs. The national importance and symbolism of the Yandel’ora needs to be publicly recognised and preserved.
Image above: Yandel’ora, also known as the Scenic Hills of Campbelltown. Mt Annan can just be seen in the distance.
Credit: Simon Ozolins.
Behind the scenes with artist and director, Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman.
Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman is a multi-disciplinary artist who works with writing, theatre, film, animation, painting, sculpture, spatial design and installation.
”Working with this amazing Dreaming story was a great privilege. I'd spent a lot of time with lyrebirds where I was staying in the Kangaroo Valley so I had a good sense of their splendid character, song, movement and habits.
After Mark invited me to work on the animation, the process began by meeting Aunty Fran at the place where the story originates on Dharawal Country, Mount Annan. It was really important to get a sense of the place, Aunty Fran's connection to it and also her history, which is so rich. I was super lucky to have that opportunity as I'd escaped a second lockdown in Melbourne two months beforehand. Then I began breaking down the transcribed Yandel'ora story into scenes, storyboarding and painting the backgrounds and characters.” - Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman
Read the full Lyrebird profile article on Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman
Image Above: Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman painting the Bunya scene in Yandel'ora
Yandel’ora “The Land of Peace Between Peoples”
Story by: Frances Bodkin, Gavin Andrews & Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews
Artist & Director: Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman
Producer: Mark B Pearce
Executive Producers: Mark B Pearce & Louisa D Pearce
Storyteller: Aunty Fran (Frances Bodkin)
Narrator: Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews
Cinematographers: Simon Ozolins & Nick Hayward
Music: Matthew Doyle, Colin Offord & Riley Lee
Sound mix: Michael Slater
The Yandel’ora animation is part of the project "The Message of the Lyrebird"