ABLAZE

Opera singer Tiriki Onus sets out to solve the intrigue surrounding a mysterious 70-yearold

film recently discovered inside a vault believed to be made by his charismatic Aboriginal

grandfather William Bill Onus. A Yorta Yorta/Wiradjuri man from Victoria, Bill Onus used

his enormous talents as entertainer, entrepreneur, theatre impresario, the first Indigenous

television host and filmmaker in service of winning racial equality and justice. As Tiriki

journeys across Australia and pieces together clues to the film’s origins, he unearths dark

conspiracies that shape the story into a real-life thriller. Through rare archival

footage, state-of-the-art animation, motion graphics, dramatic recreations, ABLAZE tells the

compelling tale for all generations – part detective story, part contemporary opera – of how

Bill and a handful of passionate supporters sought to change the course of history and the

murky campaign to stop his rising international influence.