Synopsis

Ties That Bind opens with Thomas, a sensitive mixed-race Aboriginal teen, who is being escorted home by police after an altercation which left him visibly injured.

When he arrives, Thomas is confronted by his abusive and domineering mother Marlene, who discovers that he didn't fight back.

As a form of punishment and a means to “man him up” she forces him to chop down a dead tree in the backyard. Punishment turns into reflection as Thomas questions his life and confronts his past which leads him to make a life changing decision.