Arabic version: ألان كلارك يقود مهرجان باريس لأفلام السكان الأصليين
According to ABC News, Bourke filmmaker, writer and investigative journalist Allan Clarke has been named artistic director of the Festival du Cinéma Aborigène Australien in Paris. The Muruwari and Gomeroi filmmaker will lead the 11th edition of Europe’s only Australian First Nations film festival.
The festival is scheduled to run from December 4 to 6 at the Cinémas l’Arlequin et Reflet Médicis in Paris. Its 2026 theme is Kinetic — Tradition in Motion: Cinema in Revolt, and the program will include films by First Nations filmmakers Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair and Danielle MacLean.
Clarke, who directed documentaries The Dark Emu Story and The Bowraville Murders, said he wanted to highlight filmmakers challenging the status quo and subverting genres to tell First Nations stories. He said conversations in France had helped provide context that many portrayals of Indigenous people were not authentic.
Festival founder Greta Morton-Elangué said there had been no dedicated platform in France or Europe for Australian First Nations cinema, despite films being selected for major festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Toronto. This will be the first year she is not responsible for programming the Paris festival.
Screen Australia’s head of First Nations content, Gillian Moody-Ardler, said international audiences were eager to connect with First Nations cinema and described Clarke as a strong fit for the role. Clarke said the opportunity to show an international audience the breadth of Indigenous cinema meant everything to him.
