The Colleano Heart

Before Hollywood, the circus was the world’s grandest stage, and the Colleano family were international stars. The Colleano Heart follows descendants reuniting across continents to reveal their family's secrets, including concealing their Aboriginal identity to survive. Through remarkable home movies, never-before-seen footage, and interviews, this extraordinary history is brought to life.

Australia | 2025 | Documentary | 85m | English

Director: Pauline Clague (Yaegl)

Pauline Clague has worked for over 30 years as a storyteller and producer, championing First Nations voices in Australian media. She founded the Winda Film Festival, co-created NativeSLAM, and created NITV’s Our Stories, Our Way, Everyday. Pauline won the 2015 AIDC Stanley Hawes Award for her contribution to Australian documentaries.

Producers:

  • Bettina Dalton

  • Kate Pappas

  • Alan Erson

International Sales: Jambika Docs (Worldwide, except Australia)

Contact:

Andrew Arbuthnot andrew@jambikadocs.com

  • "The decade-long research that has gone into this film is impeccable and trans-continental, bringing two halves of a story together – and indeed climaxes with a moving family reunion. It’s the kind of storytelling that blows your mind, leaves you with a thousand questions and the longing to watch it again. It’s a Hollywood hit at the fringes."

    Gina Fairly, ArtsHub

  • An Aboriginal circus act loved by Hitler? This new doco will stun you.

    Sydney Morning Herald

  • "The Colleano Heart is the kind of documentary that makes you want to re-watch it straightaway. Filled with emotion, mystery, adventure and a timeline spanning colonisation to the present day, it’s a riveting story that, somehow, has eluded the mainstream – until now."

    Megan Spencer, InDaily

Through the Colleano family's remarkable home movies, never-before-seen footage, family interviews and archive, their extraordinary story is revealed. Rooted in humble beginnings from the Australian bush, the family outmanoeuvred punitive Australian laws and prejudice to travel the world, concealing their Indigenous heritage and reaching the highest echelons of circus stardom.

The film shows the resilience of an extraordinary self-made, elite Aboriginal family whose legacy was concealed but now stands ready to be reignited in the Colleano Heart.

Circus was once the world’s grandest entertainment and the Colleano Family reached the highest echelons of circus stardom. When the Colleanos reunite they reveal family secrets and showbiz lives that intersect with iconic moments in history. As the Colleanos rise to international stardom, they also conceal their Australian Aboriginal identity to keep their family together. Through the family's remarkable home movies and never-before-seen footage, their extraordinary story comes to life.