My Home the Block

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My home the Block is an intimate portrait of Aboriginal Elder, Joyce Ingram living in the first inner-city land grant allocated to the Indigenous people that would become a symbol for Indigenous land rights - the infamous Redfern Block. As an elder, Joyce has a strong sense of community and her values and faith fuel a determination to save her people from the drugs, crime and loneliness that inhabit this urban landscape. We will witness her struggle over several years to save her place and her community. At 80, Joyce is aware that she may not have many years left and she carries with her the heavy burden of despair. The reasons for this dismal outlook can be found not only in the irrevocable destruction of her community and heritage through cultural decay but also in the physical demolition of her neighborhood by opportunistic developers within her own community. Her strong religious beliefs and defiant spirit compel her to oppose this development, which has left her with the last home left on Eveleigh Street. Her neighbors have all been relocated and she is now left to contend with an increasing drug problem as squatters move into the empty buildings around her. As viewers, we are witness to her spiritual connection and the tragedy of what 'The Block' has become. We see the delicate path she treads and the sacrifices she makes for her people culminating in her battle to keep her home as she fights all the powerful external forces.