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A family Bible, a cane knife and a pice of sheet metal recovered from a downed warplane are just a few of the possessions highlighted by the film Heirlooms (2010), in which 10 men and women share their stories of the family objects – and, in one case, a song – they hold close to their hearts. As the film pairs these eclectic items with the narratives of struggle, persecution, war and strength that have brought them to Australia, a through-line emerges of a desire to remember the sacrifices of, and stay culturally connected to, the the lives of parents and grandparents. Endearingly crafted by the Australian animators Susan Danta and Wendy Chandler, the short documentary forms a poignant portrait of how and why people imbue family keepsakes with deep meaning.
Directors: Susan Danta, Wendy Chandler
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Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
5 minutes
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Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
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Cognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes
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Stories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
14 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes