Broken Rainbow

USA 1985, 70 minutes
Dir. Victoria Mudd
Genres: Documentary

Topics: Indigenous & Minority Cultures, Politics.

Aroview: This 1985 Oscar-winning documentary, narrated by Martin Sheen, deals with the forced relocation of the Desi (Navajo) people from their ancestral land by the twin forces of government and big mining interests.

This documentary seriously pre-dates the most recent revolution in the genre, and contemporary audiences may be disappointed with its rough structure, simple politics and occasionally amateurish editing.

Nevertheless, it remains valuable for the light it shines on the harrowing injustices inflicted on the Desi, past and present, as well as the parallels New Zealanders will draw with our own land rights history.

NZ International Film Festival 1987