A poetic cine-essay about race and Australia’s colonised history and how it impacts into the present.

The filmmaker, a descendant of convicts transported to Australia in 1788, goes on a journey to understand the disturbing history of colonial Tasmania, repressed during her own 1950s childhood there. Filming with family, newcomer Australians and First Australians, Island Home Country offers insights into how various individuals reckon with the legacies of British colonialism and its race based policies. The film’s consultative process suggests an evolving shift in Australian historical narratives from the frontier wars, to one of diverse peoples working through historical trauma. Island Home Country suggests ‘newcomer’ Australians acknowledge the First Australians and their sovereignty, learn to care for country and work together in a process of decolonization. 

Island Home Country recognises the protocols in Respecting Cultures, Working with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, and Aboriginal Artists, Arts Tasmania Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

There is a cathartic retelling and analysis of personal memories and collective histories in the film's movement from past to present and back again, as Thornley seeks a resolution to the ongoing ethical dilemma surrounding the occupation of Aboriginal lands.  Christine Peacock, Colourise, Brisbane International Film Festival, 2008

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