Women of the Sun

Episode 1

Alinta, the Flame

This story brings its audience closest to the customs and culture of tribal Aborigines, and gives a fascinating insight into rituals and legends which has no previous screen counterpart. The lives of the Nyari people are completely disrupted when two convicts are washed up on the beach of their tribal lands. This initial encounter between the two peoples highlights the unique customs and culture of tribal Aborigines. They provide food and shelter to the convicts despite the possible threat to the tribe and the warnings of some of the tribe's elders. The Nyari people subsequently meet other white settlers who arrive with the intent of settling their land. The episode emphasizes the spiritual and ancestral value of land to the Nyari people, in sharp contrast to the importance of land as a source of wealth and power for the white settlers. In the end, the settlers annihilate the tribe and only Alinta remains with her child.