Churches

In Your Church

Healing is hidden in the past

“The truth has set me free, and I can just walk in that freedom now.”

3

In Your Church

healing is hidden

in the past

Bring this healing story to your church

Why?

Sharing this story with your church will create empathy, awareness and understanding for First Nations People and their perspectives, and inspire your congregation to discuss our shared history and cultures.

Brenda invites you to watch to her story, reflect on yourself, and respond in your own context.

Ways to screen the film

Bring the film to your church through screenings in your location or in a local cinema. Register below to access resources including discussion guides to reflect after watching the film.

In Your Location

Community Screening Licence

  • Host Buys a Screening Licence Online
  • Host Organises Venue & Internet Connected Screen
  • Host is Permitted to Sell or Gift Tickets
  • Optional Fundraising: Set Your Own Ticket Price
  • Minimum Licence Size Applies

Screening Licences are priced per person, starting at a minimum audience size of 50.

first 50 ppl +1 person (over 50)
$150 +$3 

In a Cinema

Closed Group Booking

  • Host Pays to Book Out the Cinema
  • Host Liases with Cinema to Plan Event
  • Tickets Sold (or Gifted) by Host
  • Optional Fundraising: Set Your Own Ticket Price
  • No Minimum Audience

Cinema on Demand

  • Host Registers a Screening (No Upfront Cost)
  • Fan-Force Books Cinema & Creates Event
  • Tickets Sold (& Price Set) by Fan-Force
  • Optional Fundraising: Fee Added to Ticket Price
  • Pre-Sold Tickets Must Pass a Tipping Point

Closed Group Booking

  • Host Pays to Book Out the Cinema
  • Host Liases with Cinema to Plan Event
  • Tickets Sold (or Gifted) by Host
  • Optional Fundraising: Set Your Own Ticket Price
  • No Minimum Audience

Cinema on Demand

  • Host Registers a Screening (No Upfront Cost)
  • Fan-Force Books Cinema & Creates Event
  • Tickets Sold (& Price Set) by Fan-Force
  • Optional Fundraising: Fee Added to Ticket Price
  • Pre-Sold Tickets Must Pass a Tipping Point

Dear Australia…

We’re a nation of dual identity.
Blackfellas and Whitefellas.

I’m on a quest to help bring our two worlds together.
Two halves, that together, can create a powerful whole.

The Last Daughter isn’t about a change of plans, it’s about a change of heart.

From hurting to healing.
From rejection to belonging.
From disconnection to truth.

We all have a story that connects us to this Country.
In uncovering my own story, I found healing and a place to belong.

I don’t want to walk this road alone.
Will you be part of the change and walk with me to experience collective healing?

We can all find a place to belong, together.

Aunty Brenda

Watch the Trailer

The Story

After being raised by a white family, a young girl is taken away and returned to the Aboriginal family she didn’t know. Decades later, she’s on a journey to discover where she truly belongs.

Synopsis

Brenda’s first memories were of growing up in a loving white foster family, before she was suddenly taken away and returned to her Aboriginal family.
Decades later, she feels disconnected from both halves of her life. But the traumas of her past do not lie quietly buried. So, she goes searching for the foster family with whom she had lost all contact.

Along the way she uncovers long-buried secrets, government lies, and the possibility for deeper connections to family and culture. The Last Daughter is a powerful and inspiring documentary about Brenda’s journey to unearth the truth in her past, and reconcile the two sides of her family.

Our Goal

Share The Last Daughter with 1 million Australians in 2023 (a nation-wide seed of change, bringing people together).

Church Impact

NCLS Research found, 70% of church leaders think that, to contribute to reconciliation, the church needs to build intentional relationships with local Indigenous people. But 76% of churches have no direct relationship with Indigenous people.

The Last Daughter is a powerful story that can offer churches a glimpse into the life of an Aboriginal woman who straddles two worlds and is connected to both Black and White Australia. Both sides of Brenda’s story are shared with Brenda sharing her deeply moving story alongside Nan, her Aboriginal mother, and Mac and Connie, her white adoptive parents. Together, they share a story of loss and reconciliation without passing blame.

Faith is integral to Brenda and her Aboriginal family’s life. You’ll learn in the story that Brenda’s father was a pastor, travelling the country, sharing the Gospel. It’s this faith that gave Brenda the strength to go on the journey, and share this healing story with the world. The film portrays a strong message around forgiveness which is displayed by both sides of her family.

The themes of the story are a starting point for conversation and deeper discussions. Discussion guides are available for churches to use in small groups. These guides will help spark meaningful conversations and reflections on the themes explored in the film, and encourage your congregation to engage with the story in a thoughtful and respectful manner.

The Last Daughter invites us to LISTEN to Brenda’s story, REFLECT on ourselves, and RESPOND to the challenges of reconciliation and
healing in our own context.

Churches can play a critical role in sharing this story with their congregations, embedding that learning, and inspiring change.

We invite you to join us on the journey of The Last Daughter and share in this powerful story as a community. Together, we can reflect and respond to the challenges facing our nation.

The Book

Dive deeper into the story of The Last Daughter and read the book. Written by Brenda Matthews, uncover more of this healing jounrey.

About Brenda Matthews

Brenda is a mother, a grandmother, a storyteller, a writer, a speaker, co-founder and Indigenous Director of Learning Circle Australia and an emerging film director, making her feature film debut with THE LAST DAUGHTER, a documentary about Brenda’s life.

“I’ve had to go back, so I could move forward.”
– Brenda