Afterburn: In the Tiger's Jaws (ATOM Study Guide)

Afterburn: In the Tiger's Jaws, a feature-length documentary produced, written and directed by Moira Fahy, follows the stories of three families in one small Victorian community in the aftermath of 2009's devastating Black Saturday firestorm.

On 7 February 2009, the most lethal firestorm in Australia's history tore through seventy-eight Victorian communities, killing 173 people. In the wake of these fires, Steels Creek was a community in crisis, and as they began the long task of rebuilding, this community approached a trauma specialist, historians and a filmmaker – who had previously captured survivor stories from the 1939 Black Friday firestorm – to help them understand the perils of recovery, history and location following the worst bushfire disaster in Australia since 1939. They wanted to know how to learn to live with the legacy of fire and how to reimagine their future.

Afterburn: In the Tiger's Jaws is the result of a five-year collaboration with the people of Steels Creek who survived the firestorm, and chose to rebuild their lives and sense of community identity in a place where they now know a lethal, devastating, unstoppable fire will visit them again.

Curriculum links

Afterburn: In the Tiger's Jaws can be linked to the following subject areas within the Australian Curriculum:

• Year 8 Geography
• Years 8–10 English
• Years 8–10 Science
• Years 9–10 Media Arts
• The cross-curriculum priority Sustainability

The documentary can also be used as a supplementary text in senior-secondary English, Psychology, Media Arts and Environmental Science.