SPOTLIGHT: First Nations Resident Kiara Milera

Kiara Milera has a question: who is my mob? 

As part of ActNow’s ongoing First Nations Residency, Kiara, an exciting voice and emerging filmmaker from Adelaide, is setting out on an extraordinary journey to discover her own history.

A proposed four-part documentary series will take us along as Kiara connects with her grandparents' history and culture, documenting stories and memories through a series of trips to speak to elders and family members in each of her grandparents' respective communities. As she traces her bloodlines, explores her culture and unpacks her history, Kiara hopes to incorporate personal reflections alongside the achievements of the Narungga, Adnyamathanha and Kookatha peoples in her family and extended circles. While the series won’t be filmed during the Residency, Kiara will have a chance to conceptualise and lay a foundation for the work.

Ever since she can remember, Kiara has loved listening to her family’s stories. “I remember when we used to go out to my nana’s place and all the cousins would sit around and listen to stories,” she says. Kiara’s favourite? An oft-repeated tale of how her grandfather borrowed a milk truck and drove around the mission - even though his feet couldn’t reach the pedals.

Kiara’s sense of humour, so much on display in her writing for shows like ABC's Black Comedy, has been a coping mechanism, allowing her to approach some of the more painful parts of her community’s past: “It’s always been there, it’s simply been a natural way of dealing with things,” she says.

With Who is My Mob? Kiara will have a chance to develop her voice, and explore new facets of her art in collaboration with a mentor and the team at ActNow Theatre.

Kiara is no stranger to us and she began as an assistant and now leads sessions on our successful multi-year Pathway Program, which offers a calendar of activities that respond to the changing landscape of First Nations theatre in South Australia.

“The First Nations residency program is such a rich addition to the ActNow Theatre year ahead. The creatives we work with bring so much our company and the arts in South Australia and I am so keen to see 'Who's my mob?' come to life in the near future,” says Louise Wellington, ActNow’s First Nations Emerging Producer. Having worked with Kiara on Decameron 2.0 and the 2020 pathway program, Louise is enjoying working with her again in 2021.

“First Nations storytelling is a powerful, invaluable asset and resource to our community, next generations and nation as a whole and we are privileged to be a platform in this space.”

Find out more about our First Nations Residency here.