Connect to the
beating heart of Australia
Australian Geographic: Our Country
Our Country is a multi-sensory, 360° cinematic experience providing a never-before-seen perspective on Australia’s breathtaking landscapes and natural wonders. Large format multi-screens take us on a captivating and emotive journey traversing Australia’s land, sea and sky in all its breathtaking beauty.
Our Country is a moving meditation on Australia’s epic landscape.
Brought to life from
over 100,000 hours in the field
Built on the expertise of aerial, underwater, macro, timelapse, low light and animal behaviour specialists, the experience was brought to life from more than 100,000 hours in the field.
Footage is drawn from every ecosystem in Australia, encompassing every state and territory.
CREATIVE VISION
KARINA HOLDEN
Producer
Sydney City of Film, UNESCO Film maker of the Year (2021)
BSc PGDipConsBio
Australian Geographic: Our Country is a work of imagination, grounded in the most breath-taking of places. As we allow ourselves to be swept away by elemental forces, we are transported from Australia’s lush rainforests to its snowy peaks, red deserts to its aquamarine seas. The experience is intended to be deeply personal, as each viewer makes their own discoveries, surrounded by the sights and sounds of Nature.
I am a firm believer that before we learn, we need to feel. Our Country sets out to create a deep connection to our natural world; to heal our minds and nourish our souls.
Tune into the
sounds of Country
The soundtrack for Our Country allows the audience to experience full, intense immersion through a deep, evocative soundscape. It draws on sound recorded from natural environments, creatively mixed with a musical score built from a collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous composers, sound designers and performers.
Violinist Simone Slattery and cellist Anthony Albrecht, co-founders of The Bowerbird Collective, have been recognised as two of Australia’s most adventurous and acclaimed musicians. Their virtuosity takes on a rare quality, evoking the natural world through their effervescent string playing.
The music they perform in Our Country includes both original compositions by Simone Slattery as well as unique performances of Vaughan Williams, Arvo Pärt, and Australian composers Sarah Hopkins and Chris Williams.
Tune into the
sounds of Country
Within the soundtrack, violin and cello intermingle with the breath work of Indigenous singing, chanting and the sounds of the Yidaki (didgeridoo).
To record the sound of the Yidaki, musician Si Mullumby covered the studio floor where he was recording in Perth with 30kg of granite, so that the didgeridoo would be sitting on stone and connected to Country.
These recordings were then used as the inspiration for multi-disciplinary artist Gambirra Illume, a Yolŋu (Yolngu) from the Gumatj Clan of Northeast Arnhem Land. Gambirra composed, arranged, produced, and breathed life into the opening and closing tracks; interweaving strings, breath, yidaki, foley and singing. Gambirra’s emotive and soulful singing in Yolŋu Matha, ‘Yolŋu tongue’, binds the words and meaning translates to:
This is yours and my Country,
Let us work together to look after this Country
Acknowledging all living things
This is our Country.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Motion-controlled timelapses of stars and storms were captured by Kununurra-based Ben Broady. Underwater, Jon Shaw filmed footage of sea lions, cuttlefish and humpback whales, while in the tropics Dean Miller covered the expanses of coral reefs and World Heritage rainforest. Stephen Pearce and Robin Brown filmed scenes in the Central Deserts. Wildlife legends Wade Fairley, Ben Cunningham and Peter Coleman trained their lenses on Australia’s marsupial life. Steve Axford created specialist camera systems to film fungi in time-lapse.
Planet Earth cameraman Mark Payne Gill covered many of our bird stories, along with Jan Wegner and Aaron Smith. Ralph Bower, famous for his work on Meerkat Manor, applied his natural history nous to crocs. Dom West brought us vision from within the blizzard and along our coastline.
David Attenborough’s favourite macro-cameraman, Peter Nearhos, filmed life in Australia’s undergrowth. Aerial cinematographers Dan Proud, Sean Scott and Jaimen Hudson captured extraordinary landscapes and wildlife events from the air. Toby Ralph and Simon Morris filmed our moments with First Nations people.
EXPLORE
LOCATIONS FEATURED IN OUR COUNTRY
Our Country celebrates Australia’s breathtaking landscapes and natural wonders. Explore the destinations featured throughout the experience and gain inspiration for your own journey through Australia.