Film
Internationally Screened
“CRY OF THE GLOSSY”
An award-winning short documentary by Grassland Films - this trailer provides a sneak peek at a journey through the forested hills of NSW Southern Highlands, with poet and Gunai woman Kirli Saunders as she reflects on the special place the endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo holds in her heart and culture.
Wallflowers & Evergreens
Created with Tad Souden, a celebrated filmmaker and advocate for mental health awareness. Wallflowers & Evergreens is a poem from Kirli’s collection, Returning, centring lived experience with mental health, and the power of connection to Country and Community in healing. Honouring journeys across Yuin, Gundungurra, and Dharawal lands, this short film focuses on caring for people and place.
Kirli Would like to thank Jesse, Pippin & Joyce Saunders, Dylan, Brittany, Charlotte, Marley & Bailey Russell, Adrian Webster & the Cultural Burn project Participants for their time and talent as well as Aunty Shas Robinson for her cultural guidance. Kirli also thanks Tad Souden, Bèla Hajdu, Chris Peruch, Wes Grant, Dear Gravity Jamie Lepree & Mane Collective for their artistic wisdom & generousity.
Wallflowers & Evergreens has been generously supported by Oranges & Sardines Foundation, Illawarra Women’s Health Centre & Red Room Poetry. Screening at SHAC Gallery, Yours & Owls Festival and Sydney Writers Festival.
Sundowns and Seasons
Sundowns and Seasons from Kirli’s collection, Returning, was commissioned for Red Room Poetry's New Shoots project on Dharawal lands, and filmed by Tad Souden in the Wollongong Botanic Gardens. Poems from the project were released for NAIDOC Week, Tree Planting Day and Mental Health Month.