Survival of Kindness, The (ATOM Study Guide)

The Survival of Kindness is a film inimitably of this time. It speaks to a world undergoing seismic change and facing radical difficulties. It speaks to a human society still entrenched in age-old hatreds and conflicts. The film is a visually stunning and at times brutal allegory for racism that takes its viewer on a thought-provoking and immersive journey. As part of the film’s journey to the screen, the circumstances of global disruption, reimagining and change led one of Australia’s most visionary and acclaimed filmmakers to revolutionise his approach to production.

The Survival of Kindness is an Australian film like no other in recent memory. It is bold, subversive, unsettling, anarchic and poetic. The film presents an allegorical story of our world that refuses to be boiled down to a simple explanation. It is a story that evokes universal themes of conflict, chaos and the human qualities that see us through the most brutal of times. To realise his strange vision filmmaker Rolf de Heer rejects the conventions of popular storytelling and realism, and in doing so reveals something deeper and more uncomfortable about our current chapter in the human story.

Curriculum Links:

The Survival of Kindness can be linked to the following learning areas within the Australian Curriculum. Please note, this list is not exhaustive. Teachers are encouraged to find other links using cross-curriculum priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories:

• Senior Secondary English
• Year 11 Modern History
• Media Arts