Hunter: A Wonnarua Story

HUNTER explores change and transition in Australia’s Hunter Valley, an urgent, global-facing story told through the eyes of a Indigenous Wonnarua man who has spent his life working both with *and* against the international coal giants that transformed this region.

The film addresses the need for a just and inclusive energy transition, one that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the fossil-fuel era. As pressure mounts on coal and a renewable energy transition gathers pace, HUNTER asks what the newcomers to this landscape might learn from the fossil fuel industry’s deep and lasting footprints.

Through the story of Scott Franks – an archaeologist, businessman, and the son of a Stolen Generations survivor – the film exposes the imbalance of power faced by Traditional Owners whose ancestral lands have been pockmarked by industry. It also highlights his lifelong effort to forge a path forward for Wonnarua culture with the cards his people were dealt.

HUNTER aims to ignite a national conversation about how Australia’s energy transition can honour First Nations knowledge, rights, and heritage. Through Scott Franks’ story, the film invites audiences to confront the true cost of progress, and to imagine a future where cultural survival and climate action go hand in hand.

By amplifying Wonnarua voices from the heart of coal country, HUNTER seeks to influence how governments, corporations, and communities navigate the shift to renewables, ensuring that Indigenous people are not sidelined, but leading the change on their own land.

On the global front we want to platform some of the difficulties in achieving equitable transitions when it comes to rural, Indigenous, or ‘working class’ communities, to ultimately aid the global movement against coal.

In Australia in particular we hope that HUNTER will spark a national conversation about Australia’s energy transition, and what a just transition really means for First Nations communities whose lands have carried the weight of extractive industries for generations, as well as the broader community in those regions truly at ‘the coalface’ when it comes to energy transitions. Without nuanced, brave conversation, the forces of ‘fake news’ and inaction will be left to fill the void.

The campaign will use the film and its educational outreach to bring together three key groups: First Nations and regional communities, policymakers and industry, and the broader public, to rethink how energy, culture and Country are connected, and how we can move forward more equitably.

HUNTER will be co-written and co-produced by Scott Franks, a Wonnarua Traditional Owner, archaeologist, and founder of the Indigenous-owned production company Kawal Pictures. Scott’s deep, lifelong connection to the Hunter Valley and his leadership within the Wonnarua community ensure the film is grounded in lived experience, trust, and cultural authority.

HUNTER will motivate audiences to think critically about how change happens, and who benefits. Policymakers and industry will be urged to commit to genuine First Nations partnership in all renewable and land-use projects, ultimately strengthening the movement towards clean energy and ‘net zero’. First Nations communities will be supported to use the film as a platform for advocacy and cultural protection. The public will be invited to back Indigenous-led environmental initiatives and join community screenings and discussions. Educators will be encouraged to include HUNTER in classrooms to explore Country, culture, and climate.