Good things can come from difficult situations. Just ask Adam Goodes. The Aboriginal Goodes, an elite and accomplished Australian rules football player, endured shocking racism while he played, and his experiences — including his pointed and powerful pushback towards racists — changed the course of his life and sparked a long overdue national conversation in Australia. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Daniel Gordon, and written by Stan Grant (an Aboriginal journalist, most recognizable to Americans as the former Beijing correspondent for CNN), the film balances Goodes’ profound personal experiences with the larger social and political context. Cogent, compelling and deeply moving, The Australian Dream is universal in its themes and reach. Goodes emerges as a thoughtful, intelligent man who loved his game but whose life changed course, and who sees a future path of reconciliation and change.

In competition for the Best Documentary Award