Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Of The Land, For The Land tells the story of NORFORCE; a unit within the Australian Army, who covers the largest land mass of any military unit in the world; 1.8 million square kilometres. They conduct covert surveillance to prevent illegal fishing, drug trafficking and native animal smuggling. The majority of the unit consists of Indigenous personnel. They have unique skills and abilities that allow them to excel in their roles, such as living off the land, knowing local customs and languages of the areas they patrol and an innate ability to detect incredibly subtle details in the natural environment than others wouldn’t notice. The soldiers describe how their roles in the army reflects their ‘warrior spirit’; an inherited responsibility to protect the land, just as their ancestors have done for 80,000 years.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

Indigenous Australians have had a close connection to the land for tens of thousands of years. Their relationship to the land is ingrained in their culture and the responsibility of protecting it is passed down from generation to generation. Information is passed on through songlines; paths across the land which mark a route to follow communicated through traditional songs, stories, dance, and painting. Indigenous people are able to navigate across the land by repeating the words of the song, which describe the location of landmarks, waterholes, and other natural phenomena. By singing the songs in the appropriate sequence, Indigenous people can navigate vast distances, often through the deserts of Australia's interior. Australia contains an extensive system of songlines, some of which are of a few kilometres, while others traverse hundreds of kilometres through lands of many different Indigenous peoples.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

We noticed that Indigenous Army personnel were joining for several reasons; but one of them is unique to people of their cultural background. The connection to the land and the responsibility to protect it for future generations as their ancestors had done for them is a primary driver of their reasons to join the Regional Force Surveillance Group. We also noticed that the most effective recruitment advocates for the RFSU were the Indigenous personnel themselves, as they were recruiting friends and family from their own communities. So in making the film, we asked them to tell their personal stories about why they joined, what they do, and what they would say to someone who was thinking of joining from their own community.