The Forgotten

Glen Stasiuk
Australia 2003
40 min

The Forgotten examines the prejudice faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait soldiers in the armed forces and the honour they felt representing their nation. It is also a work that explains what prompted Indigenous people to risk their lives fighting to defend Australia even though they had every reason not to, given the backdrop of racism and intolerance they and their family members were forced to endure at home.

Glen Stasiuk was inspired by his family's own history and the respect he felt for the Anzac "black diggers". Consequently, The Forgotten contains a personal story about four Nyungar brothers from the South-West of Western Australia, one of whom is acknowledged as the first Aboriginal Soldier to receive a military medal in the First World War.

The Forgotten features war veterans and family member's personal experiences and thoughts from both World Wars, as well as veterans who served in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and East Timor.

[The Forgotten] is for [Aboriginal soldiers] and all the other Aboriginal people who have fought for our country and not gotten the recognition that they deserved.—Glen Stasiuk

Cast	Aboriginal veterans and family (WA) Bevan Rankins themselves narrator
Release dates	2003 - Australia
Video/DVD Release Date	not available
Awards	Award for Excellence - Achievement in Documentary, 2002 Screen Academy Festival Best Documentary Production award, 2003 West Australian Screen Awards
Rating	not available
Language level	not available
Distributor	not available
Soundtrack	not available
Genre	Documentary
Notes	Glen Stasiuk is a maternal descendent of the Minang-Wadjari Nyungars (Aboriginal peoples) of the South-West of Western Australia and his paternal family are immigrants from post-war Russia. Glen Stasiuk is director of the Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre at Murdoch University in Perth. The Forgotten was part of Stasiuk's honors project at Murdoch University in 2002. Glen Stasiuk's great uncle Augustus 'Peg' Farmer was one of the first Aboriginal soldiers to receive a war medal. Also by Glen Stasiuk: Weewar, which dramatises the first Nyungar man to be tried under white law.

The Forgotten is probably the first serious work committed to film that explains the contribution of Indigenous men and women for Australia during times of conflict.—National Indigenous Times

Where to from here?

• Learn about Anzac Day and the Coloured Diggers March
• Read how Aboriginal people still suffer from racism
• Explore Aboriginal culture