Film: Rabbit-Proof Fence

Before watching the film, you should acquaint yourself with the following terms and events. Do some quick research and write down five facts about each. Discuss in groups / class what you have found.

• Aboriginal Australians

• rabbit-proof fence

• Stolen Generations

• National Sorry Day

The film Rabbit-Proof Fence is set in Western Australia in the 1930s. It is based on the true story of three Indigenous Australian girls, Molly (10), Gracie (8), and Daisy (6), who are taken from their families and placed in an internment camp for Aboriginal children. The film follows the girls' courageous journey as they escape the camp and make their way back to their families, using the rabbit-proof fence as a guide.

It also tells the larger story of Australia’s Stolen Generations. The ‘Stolen Generations’ refers to the many Indigenous Australian children who were forcefully removed from their families between the late 19th century and the 1970s. This policy aimed to assimilate Indigenous children into white Australian culture, and it resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents and communities, causing lasting trauma and affecting future generations. Many of these children never saw their parents again.

The film is based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara, Molly’s daughter.