Documentary: Message from Mungo
Lake Mungo is an ancient Pleistocene lake-bed in south-western New South Wales, and is one of the world’s richest archaeological sites. The film focuses on the interface between the scientists on one hand, and, on the other, the Indigenous communities who identify with the land and with the human remains revealed at the site. This interface has often been deeply troubled and contentious, but within the conflict and its gradual resolution lies a moving story of the progressive empowerment of the traditional custodians of the area. The film tells a new story that has not been represented in print or film before, and is told entirely by actual participants from both the science and Indigenous perspectives.
This landscape served as inspiration for Andreia Pinto Correia’s piece Pleistocene Landscapes, programmed on July 10.
Free | Tickets not required
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About Pleistocene Landscapes (2018 / Cello Version 2026)
Originally written for solo alto flute or solo bass flute, Pleistocene Landscapes is a reflection on deep time and the metamorphosing of landscapes through history. The work unfolds sonically and atmospherically, evoking the erosion and geomorphology of Lake Mungo in Australia, an active and vibrant site during the Pleistocene Era. As the piece develops, layers of musical narrative rise to the surface, only to be subsequently submersed by sounds evoking wind and erosion. Pleistocene Landscapes is an homage to an extraordinary ancient historic site and its culture.
Pleistocene Landscapes was written with the generous support of the Australian National University (ANU) and was premiered in 2018 at the Symposium Understanding the Deep Past Across Language and Culture — ARC Laureate Program for the Deep Human Past and the Indigenous Linguistics Alliance.
The cello version is dedicated in friendship and with admiration to Jeff Zeigler.