Questions of authenticity and authorship in cinema – who gets to tell what stories — are thorny ones. With his trilogy of films on the Aboriginal experience, The Tracker, Ten Canoes and Charlie’s Country, Dutch-born white Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer has managed to avoid charges of cultural appropriation. This is due in large part to de Heer’s obvious respect for Indigenous culture and traditions and to his working method, which involves deep collaboration with the communities involved, as well as the on-screen talent, most famously with the late, great Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil.
For his new film, The Survival of Kindness, De Heer again takes on the ugly legacy of racism and colonialism. The film, which premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, is the story of a Black woman (identified in the credits only as Black Woman) and her harrowing odyssey out of captivity. Shot entirely without intelligible dialogue,...
For his new film, The Survival of Kindness, De Heer again takes on the ugly legacy of racism and colonialism. The film, which premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, is the story of a Black woman (identified in the credits only as Black Woman) and her harrowing odyssey out of captivity. Shot entirely without intelligible dialogue,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Visionary Dutch-Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer, known for several landmark films including “Ten Canoes” and “Charlie’s Country,” is in competition at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival with “The Survival of Kindness.”
An allegory for racism, the film follows BlackWoman, who is abandoned in a cage on a trailer in the middle of the desert. She escapes and walks through pestilence and persecution, from desert to canyon to mountain to city, on a quest that leads to a city, recapture and tragedy.
Many of de Heer’s films are born with a single image in his mind. In the case of “The Survival of Kindness” this was an image of Peter Djigirr, the filmmaker’s closest Indigenous friend, who co-directed “Ten Canoes” and co-produced “Charlie’s Country” and acted in both of them, locked in a cage on a trailer abandoned in the desert.
“In the same way that the image of...
An allegory for racism, the film follows BlackWoman, who is abandoned in a cage on a trailer in the middle of the desert. She escapes and walks through pestilence and persecution, from desert to canyon to mountain to city, on a quest that leads to a city, recapture and tragedy.
Many of de Heer’s films are born with a single image in his mind. In the case of “The Survival of Kindness” this was an image of Peter Djigirr, the filmmaker’s closest Indigenous friend, who co-directed “Ten Canoes” and co-produced “Charlie’s Country” and acted in both of them, locked in a cage on a trailer abandoned in the desert.
“In the same way that the image of...
- 2/7/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Look into the series Criterion Channel have programmed for August and this lineup is revealed as (in scientific terms) quite something. “Hollywood Chinese” proves an especially deep bench, spanning “cinema’s first hundred years to explore the ways in which the Chinese people have been imagined in American feature films” and bringing with it the likes of Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly, Cimino’s Year of the Dragon, Griffith’s Broken Blossoms, and Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet—among 20-or-so others. A three-film Marguerite Duras series brings one of the greatest films ever (India Song) and two lesser-screened experiments; films featuring Yaphet Kotto include Blue Collar, Across 110th Street, and Midnight Run; and lest we ignore a Myrna Loy retro that goes no later than 1949.
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
- 7/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The late David Gulpilil will receive Aacta’s highest honour, the Longford Lyell Award, for his outstanding contribution to Australian cinema on Wednesday.
The legendary actor died on Monday, aged 68, four years after a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Aacta began work on the tribute and award six months ago, with Gulpilil accepting the honour a few weeks ago from South Australia as he was unable to travel.
First presented in 1968, the award honours Australian film pioneer Raymond Longford and his partner in filmmaking and life, Lottie Lyell. Previous recipients include Cate Blanchett, George Miller, Paul Hogan, Jack Thompson and Jacki Weaver.
Aacta has said this year’s prize acknowledges not just Gulpilil’s incredible body of work, but his role in creating more diverse, inclusive, and truthful Australian stories.
A Mandjalpingu man from Ramingining, Arnhem Land, Gulpilil’s first role was in Nick Roeg’s 1971 film Walkabout as a teenager.
The legendary actor died on Monday, aged 68, four years after a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Aacta began work on the tribute and award six months ago, with Gulpilil accepting the honour a few weeks ago from South Australia as he was unable to travel.
First presented in 1968, the award honours Australian film pioneer Raymond Longford and his partner in filmmaking and life, Lottie Lyell. Previous recipients include Cate Blanchett, George Miller, Paul Hogan, Jack Thompson and Jacki Weaver.
Aacta has said this year’s prize acknowledges not just Gulpilil’s incredible body of work, but his role in creating more diverse, inclusive, and truthful Australian stories.
A Mandjalpingu man from Ramingining, Arnhem Land, Gulpilil’s first role was in Nick Roeg’s 1971 film Walkabout as a teenager.
- 12/2/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
David Gulpilil, an actor who who lit up the screen in his 1971 debut film “Walkabout” and recently starred in a biographical documentary about his remarkable life, has died. Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer four years ago. He was 68.
The Australian actor was a pioneering indigenous performer with talents including acting, singing and painting. His film credits include “The Last Wave,” “Crocodile Dundee,” “The Tracker,” “Rabbit-Proof Fence,” “Ten Canoes,” “Goldstone” and “Charlie’s Country.” TV credits include “Pine Gap” and “The Timeless Land.”
“It is with deep sadness that I share with the people of South Australia the passing of an iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen – David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu (Am),” said South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall in a statement.
“David Gulpilil was from the Mandhalpingu clan of the Yolŋu people, and was raised in the traditional ways in Arnhem Land.
The Australian actor was a pioneering indigenous performer with talents including acting, singing and painting. His film credits include “The Last Wave,” “Crocodile Dundee,” “The Tracker,” “Rabbit-Proof Fence,” “Ten Canoes,” “Goldstone” and “Charlie’s Country.” TV credits include “Pine Gap” and “The Timeless Land.”
“It is with deep sadness that I share with the people of South Australia the passing of an iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen – David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu (Am),” said South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall in a statement.
“David Gulpilil was from the Mandhalpingu clan of the Yolŋu people, and was raised in the traditional ways in Arnhem Land.
- 11/29/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The actor starred in films including ‘Walkabout’, ‘Crocodile Dundee’ and ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’
David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s most recognisable actors both locally and abroad, has died at the age of 68.
In a statement issued today, the premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall, described him as an “iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen”.
Gulpilil was first cast in Walkabout (1971), directed by Nicolas Roeg, and has been a feature of Australian cinema for the past 50 years, including roles in two local films that are among the highest-grossing releases ever in Australia: Crocodile Dundee...
David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s most recognisable actors both locally and abroad, has died at the age of 68.
In a statement issued today, the premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall, described him as an “iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen”.
Gulpilil was first cast in Walkabout (1971), directed by Nicolas Roeg, and has been a feature of Australian cinema for the past 50 years, including roles in two local films that are among the highest-grossing releases ever in Australia: Crocodile Dundee...
- 11/29/2021
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Six films are set to vie for this year’s Aacta Award for Best Documentary, with voting for the winner open from today until August 2.
For consideration are Christopher Nelius’ Girls Can’t Surf, the highest grossing feature doc of the year so far; Sally Aitken’s Sundance-selected Playing With Sharks, and Molly Reynold’s My Name Is Gulpilil, a portrait of one of Australia’s leading actors, David Gulpilil.
They will compete against Matthew Walker’s I’m Wanita, about to premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival following a HotDocs bow; Tosca Looby’s examination of the attacks that faced Julia Gillard in office, Strong Female Lead; and Jane Castle’s portrait of her mother, filmmaker Lilias Fraser, When The Camera Stopped Rolling.
‘Strong Female Lead’.
As If has reported, Aacta has adjusted its voting framework this year, with rounds per category staggered throughout the year.
The Best Documentary...
For consideration are Christopher Nelius’ Girls Can’t Surf, the highest grossing feature doc of the year so far; Sally Aitken’s Sundance-selected Playing With Sharks, and Molly Reynold’s My Name Is Gulpilil, a portrait of one of Australia’s leading actors, David Gulpilil.
They will compete against Matthew Walker’s I’m Wanita, about to premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival following a HotDocs bow; Tosca Looby’s examination of the attacks that faced Julia Gillard in office, Strong Female Lead; and Jane Castle’s portrait of her mother, filmmaker Lilias Fraser, When The Camera Stopped Rolling.
‘Strong Female Lead’.
As If has reported, Aacta has adjusted its voting framework this year, with rounds per category staggered throughout the year.
The Best Documentary...
- 7/26/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
From Walkabout, Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee and Rabbit Proof Fence, to Australia, The Proposition and Charlie’s Country, the work of David Gulpilil forms a throughline in modern Australian cinema.
Knowing that his career has touched Australians far and wide and across generations, distributor Abcg Films wanted to ensure documentary My Name Is Gulpilil was accessible and could reach audiences across the country.
Directed by Molly Reynolds, the film sees the legendary Indigenous actor, who has terminal lung cancer, tell his story in his own words – there are no talking heads from anyone else.
The film was originally intended to exist as a posthumous tribute, though Gulpilil has defied the odds. Indeed, despite his illness, he was even able to be there in person for the film’s premiere at the Adelaide Festival in March.
Abcg Film, led by Alicia Brescianini and Cathy Gallagher, has a long history of working with...
Knowing that his career has touched Australians far and wide and across generations, distributor Abcg Films wanted to ensure documentary My Name Is Gulpilil was accessible and could reach audiences across the country.
Directed by Molly Reynolds, the film sees the legendary Indigenous actor, who has terminal lung cancer, tell his story in his own words – there are no talking heads from anyone else.
The film was originally intended to exist as a posthumous tribute, though Gulpilil has defied the odds. Indeed, despite his illness, he was even able to be there in person for the film’s premiere at the Adelaide Festival in March.
Abcg Film, led by Alicia Brescianini and Cathy Gallagher, has a long history of working with...
- 6/29/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories, David Gulpilil, now nearing the end of his life, generously shares his own story in My Name is Gulpilil.
The actor, dancer, singer and painter takes audiences on the journey that is his most extraordinary, culture-clashing life.
From his breakthrough performance in 1971’s Walkabout to today, Gulpilil is known for performances across films such as Storm Boy, Mad Dog Morgan, Crocodile Dundee, The Last Wave, The Tracker, Rabbit Proof Fence, Australia, Charlie’s Country, and Goldstone.
Early in 2017 Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months, but David being David, was always likely to defy the odds.
Directed by Molly Reynolds, and produced by Gulpilil, Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Reynolds, My Name is Gulpilil marks the culmination of a 20 year creative collaboration.
A Vertigo Production, My Name is Gulpilil was commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival...
The actor, dancer, singer and painter takes audiences on the journey that is his most extraordinary, culture-clashing life.
From his breakthrough performance in 1971’s Walkabout to today, Gulpilil is known for performances across films such as Storm Boy, Mad Dog Morgan, Crocodile Dundee, The Last Wave, The Tracker, Rabbit Proof Fence, Australia, Charlie’s Country, and Goldstone.
Early in 2017 Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months, but David being David, was always likely to defy the odds.
Directed by Molly Reynolds, and produced by Gulpilil, Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Reynolds, My Name is Gulpilil marks the culmination of a 20 year creative collaboration.
A Vertigo Production, My Name is Gulpilil was commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival...
- 3/11/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
David Gulpilil in 'Another Country'..
Molly Reynolds' feature documentary Another Country, starring David Gulpilil, has collected three gongs at the Atom Awards, held in Melbourne last night.
The Vertigo Productions film, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, picked up Best Documentary — General; Best Documentary — Social & Political Issues and Best Documentary — History.
Keryn Nossal.s Yiramalay, about the Aboriginal people of the Fitzroy Valley Community in the Kimberley, was named Best Documentary — Short Form.
Best Factual Television Series went to the.two-parter Becoming Superhuman, which aired on ABC's Catalyst earlier this year..
Nel Minchin and Rhian Skirving.s Matilda and Me, chronicling Tim Minchin.s journey to compose a musical based Roald Dahl.s 'Matilda' for the Royal Shakespeare Company, has won Best Documentary — Biography and Best Documentary — Arts.
Sensible Film.s Sperm Donors Anonymous won Best Documentary — Science, Technology & The Environment.
Molly Reynolds' feature documentary Another Country, starring David Gulpilil, has collected three gongs at the Atom Awards, held in Melbourne last night.
The Vertigo Productions film, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, picked up Best Documentary — General; Best Documentary — Social & Political Issues and Best Documentary — History.
Keryn Nossal.s Yiramalay, about the Aboriginal people of the Fitzroy Valley Community in the Kimberley, was named Best Documentary — Short Form.
Best Factual Television Series went to the.two-parter Becoming Superhuman, which aired on ABC's Catalyst earlier this year..
Nel Minchin and Rhian Skirving.s Matilda and Me, chronicling Tim Minchin.s journey to compose a musical based Roald Dahl.s 'Matilda' for the Royal Shakespeare Company, has won Best Documentary — Biography and Best Documentary — Arts.
Sensible Film.s Sperm Donors Anonymous won Best Documentary — Science, Technology & The Environment.
- 11/25/2016
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
David Gulpilil in Another Country.
Australian documentary Another Country has been selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The film, directed by Molly Reynolds and starring David Gulpilil, will screen as part of Cannes Cinéphiles, one of four sidebar sections of the festival along with Critic.s Week and Director.s Fortnight, in the Cinéma des Antipodes strand programmed by Bernard Bories.
The selection comes two years after David Gulpilil won Best Actor (Un Certain Regard) at the festival for Charlie.s Country, a film from the same suite of projects.
Gulpilil is also a writer on the film along with Reynolds and Rolf de Heer.
Cannes Cinéphiles is an event organised by Cannes Cinéma and the Festival de Cannes to provide public screenings from the Official Selection, as well as films from the parallel sections.
In Another Country, Gulpilil (Walkabout, Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Australia, Rabbit Proof Fence,...
Australian documentary Another Country has been selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The film, directed by Molly Reynolds and starring David Gulpilil, will screen as part of Cannes Cinéphiles, one of four sidebar sections of the festival along with Critic.s Week and Director.s Fortnight, in the Cinéma des Antipodes strand programmed by Bernard Bories.
The selection comes two years after David Gulpilil won Best Actor (Un Certain Regard) at the festival for Charlie.s Country, a film from the same suite of projects.
Gulpilil is also a writer on the film along with Reynolds and Rolf de Heer.
Cannes Cinéphiles is an event organised by Cannes Cinéma and the Festival de Cannes to provide public screenings from the Official Selection, as well as films from the parallel sections.
In Another Country, Gulpilil (Walkabout, Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Australia, Rabbit Proof Fence,...
- 4/29/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Hollie Fifer's The Opposition.
Thirteen Australian documentaries will be shown at the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, taking place in Toronto from April 28 to May 8, including eight feature documentaries and five shorts - as well as a music video from Fell screenwriter and director Natasha Pincus..
Putuparri and the Rainmakers, winner of the 2015 CinéfestOZ Film Prize, will have its international premiere at the festival and will be shown as part of the Made In Australia program..
The other Australian documentary features in the festival program are.Hotel Coolgardie, from director Peter Gleeson and producers Melissa Hayward and Kate Neylon; Chasing Asylum, from director-producer Eva Orner; In the Shadow of the Hill, from director Dan Jackson; The Opposition, from director Hollie Fifer and producers Rebecca Barry and Madeleine Hetherton; Zach's Ceremony, from director Aaron Peterson, writer/producer Sarah Linton and producer Alec Doomadgee; and Another Country, from writer/director/producer Molly Reynolds,...
Thirteen Australian documentaries will be shown at the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, taking place in Toronto from April 28 to May 8, including eight feature documentaries and five shorts - as well as a music video from Fell screenwriter and director Natasha Pincus..
Putuparri and the Rainmakers, winner of the 2015 CinéfestOZ Film Prize, will have its international premiere at the festival and will be shown as part of the Made In Australia program..
The other Australian documentary features in the festival program are.Hotel Coolgardie, from director Peter Gleeson and producers Melissa Hayward and Kate Neylon; Chasing Asylum, from director-producer Eva Orner; In the Shadow of the Hill, from director Dan Jackson; The Opposition, from director Hollie Fifer and producers Rebecca Barry and Madeleine Hetherton; Zach's Ceremony, from director Aaron Peterson, writer/producer Sarah Linton and producer Alec Doomadgee; and Another Country, from writer/director/producer Molly Reynolds,...
- 4/4/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards today announced the nominees in the youth, animation and documentary feature film categories for the 9th annual awards.
Also announced was the international jury who will determine the winners in these three categories before the November 26 ceremony at Brisbane.s City Hall.
The Australian contenders are Deane Taylor's Blinky Bill: The Movie and Molly Reynold's feature documentary Another Country,. in which David Gulpili. attempts to make sense of the contradictions of the modern Aboriginal experience. The nominees for best youth feature are Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada), Set Me Free (Geo-in, Republic of Korea), A Corner of Heaven (Tiantang jiaoluo, People.s Republic of China, France), Mustang (Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany), and River (Gtsngbo, People.s Republic of China), a recipient of the Apsa Academy Children.s Film Fund, written and directed by Apsa Academy member Songtaijia. Vying for best documentary feature are The Look of Silence (Indonesia,...
Also announced was the international jury who will determine the winners in these three categories before the November 26 ceremony at Brisbane.s City Hall.
The Australian contenders are Deane Taylor's Blinky Bill: The Movie and Molly Reynold's feature documentary Another Country,. in which David Gulpili. attempts to make sense of the contradictions of the modern Aboriginal experience. The nominees for best youth feature are Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada), Set Me Free (Geo-in, Republic of Korea), A Corner of Heaven (Tiantang jiaoluo, People.s Republic of China, France), Mustang (Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany), and River (Gtsngbo, People.s Republic of China), a recipient of the Apsa Academy Children.s Film Fund, written and directed by Apsa Academy member Songtaijia. Vying for best documentary feature are The Look of Silence (Indonesia,...
- 9/29/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
Charlie.s Country was named best film and Rolf de Heer best director at the 2014 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards presented on Tuesday night.
The Water Diviner scored five gongs, for best actor Russell Crowe, supporting actors Yilmaz Erdoğan and Jacqueline McKenzie and David Hirschfelder.s score. The Babadook nabbed three awards, for Jennifer Kent.s screenplay, Noah Wiseman for best performance by a young actor and Simon Njoo.s editing, shared with Predestination.s Matt Villa. Sarah Snook was named best actress for Predestination and the prize for best cinematography went to Mandy Walker for Tracks.
Best documentary was Nick Torrens. China.s 3 Dreams, which follows the attempts of Zhang Lei, a troubled young café owner and single mother in Chongqing, central China, to unravel her family.s traumatic history, contrasted with another Chongqing couple as they struggle to buy an apartment on minimal wages.
The awards were...
The Water Diviner scored five gongs, for best actor Russell Crowe, supporting actors Yilmaz Erdoğan and Jacqueline McKenzie and David Hirschfelder.s score. The Babadook nabbed three awards, for Jennifer Kent.s screenplay, Noah Wiseman for best performance by a young actor and Simon Njoo.s editing, shared with Predestination.s Matt Villa. Sarah Snook was named best actress for Predestination and the prize for best cinematography went to Mandy Walker for Tracks.
Best documentary was Nick Torrens. China.s 3 Dreams, which follows the attempts of Zhang Lei, a troubled young café owner and single mother in Chongqing, central China, to unravel her family.s traumatic history, contrasted with another Chongqing couple as they struggle to buy an apartment on minimal wages.
The awards were...
- 3/10/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner is in the running for nine awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia.
The Babadook and Predestination each scored eight nominations for the awards which will be presented on Tuesday 10 March in Sydney.
There are five nominations apiece for Charlie.s Country, Felony, The Rover and Tracks. Some 12 films released in calendar 2014 got nods.
Up for best film are The Babadook (producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere), Charlie.s Country (Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Nils Erik Nielsen), Predestination (Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan and Michael Spierig), Tracks (Iain Canning, Emile Sherman) and The Water Diviner ( Troy Lum, Andrew Mason and Keith Rodger).
Unlike the Aacta Awards, Crowe was nominated for best director alongside John Curran, de Heer, Jennifer Kent and the Spierig brothers.
Fcca president and ABC Radio host Rod Quinn said, .This year.s nominees show the diversity of the Australian...
The Babadook and Predestination each scored eight nominations for the awards which will be presented on Tuesday 10 March in Sydney.
There are five nominations apiece for Charlie.s Country, Felony, The Rover and Tracks. Some 12 films released in calendar 2014 got nods.
Up for best film are The Babadook (producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere), Charlie.s Country (Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Nils Erik Nielsen), Predestination (Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan and Michael Spierig), Tracks (Iain Canning, Emile Sherman) and The Water Diviner ( Troy Lum, Andrew Mason and Keith Rodger).
Unlike the Aacta Awards, Crowe was nominated for best director alongside John Curran, de Heer, Jennifer Kent and the Spierig brothers.
Fcca president and ABC Radio host Rod Quinn said, .This year.s nominees show the diversity of the Australian...
- 2/4/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Russell Crowe-Directed Movie Up for Australian Film Award; Crowe Shortlisted Only in Acting Category
Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...
- 12/3/2014
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Rolf de Heer.s Charlie.s Country has been selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards®.
The entry is a tribute to the creative team and more broadly for the Australian film industry. If the film is nominated it would be the first official Australian entry to do so.
De Heer said, .David [Gulpilil] and I are delighted that Charlie.s Country is Australia.s nomination. For me, it.s a privilege; for David, it.s the crowning achievement in an extraordinary 44-year acting career..
Charlie.s Country was developed, written, produced and directed by de Heer, and co-developed by Gulpilil. The story centres on the character of Charlie (played by David Gulpilil) who decides to make a stand following the new invasion of his Aboriginal community. and finds he still has a long way to fall.
Following the international premiere at the...
The entry is a tribute to the creative team and more broadly for the Australian film industry. If the film is nominated it would be the first official Australian entry to do so.
De Heer said, .David [Gulpilil] and I are delighted that Charlie.s Country is Australia.s nomination. For me, it.s a privilege; for David, it.s the crowning achievement in an extraordinary 44-year acting career..
Charlie.s Country was developed, written, produced and directed by de Heer, and co-developed by Gulpilil. The story centres on the character of Charlie (played by David Gulpilil) who decides to make a stand following the new invasion of his Aboriginal community. and finds he still has a long way to fall.
Following the international premiere at the...
- 10/1/2014
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
David Gulpilil gives a bravura performance in Rolf de Heer.s powerful new drama according to the first reviews of Charlie.s Country, which had its world premiere in Un Certain Regard in Cannes.
The Hollywood Reporter.s David Rooney hailed a .delicate but powerful film that functions as both a stinging depiction of marginalization and as a salute to the career of the remarkable actor who inhabits almost every frame..
Variety.s Eddie Cockrell lauded an .atmospheric and cautionary tale of a .Blackfella. caught between two cultures [which] has all the makings of a solid art house performer."
Co-written by the director and the actor while he was in jail and then in a drug and alcohol rehab centre, the semi-autobiographical film stars Gulpilil as an aging man who struggles to understand how he should define himself as an Aboriginal in modern Australia.
Entertainment One will launch the film produced by Nils Erik Nielsen,...
The Hollywood Reporter.s David Rooney hailed a .delicate but powerful film that functions as both a stinging depiction of marginalization and as a salute to the career of the remarkable actor who inhabits almost every frame..
Variety.s Eddie Cockrell lauded an .atmospheric and cautionary tale of a .Blackfella. caught between two cultures [which] has all the makings of a solid art house performer."
Co-written by the director and the actor while he was in jail and then in a drug and alcohol rehab centre, the semi-autobiographical film stars Gulpilil as an aging man who struggles to understand how he should define himself as an Aboriginal in modern Australia.
Entertainment One will launch the film produced by Nils Erik Nielsen,...
- 5/22/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Visit Films has come on board to handle world sales excluding Australia, New Zealand and Italy on the Un Certain Regard selection.
Charlie’s Country marks the fourth film by Rolf de Heer to premiere in official selection at Cannes after competition contenders The Quiet Room in 1996 and Dance Me To My Song in 1998 and Ucr 2006 special jury prize winner entry Ten Canoes.
de Heer and David Gulpilil co-wrote Charlie’s Country, about an Aboriginal warrior torn between his community’s traditional way of life and his new modern existence.
Gulpilil, whose credits include Australia, Rabbit-Proof Fence and Crocodile Dundee, plays the protagonist who heads into the wild to live life the old way after his gun, spear and best friend’s jeep are confiscated.
Charlie’s Country also stars Peter Djigirr, Luke Ford and Gary Sweet. Nils Erik Nielsen, Djigirr and de Heer produced.
The Vertigo Productions and Bula’Bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation coproduction is presented...
Charlie’s Country marks the fourth film by Rolf de Heer to premiere in official selection at Cannes after competition contenders The Quiet Room in 1996 and Dance Me To My Song in 1998 and Ucr 2006 special jury prize winner entry Ten Canoes.
de Heer and David Gulpilil co-wrote Charlie’s Country, about an Aboriginal warrior torn between his community’s traditional way of life and his new modern existence.
Gulpilil, whose credits include Australia, Rabbit-Proof Fence and Crocodile Dundee, plays the protagonist who heads into the wild to live life the old way after his gun, spear and best friend’s jeep are confiscated.
Charlie’s Country also stars Peter Djigirr, Luke Ford and Gary Sweet. Nils Erik Nielsen, Djigirr and de Heer produced.
The Vertigo Productions and Bula’Bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation coproduction is presented...
- 4/23/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Rolf de Heer and David Gulpilil's latest collaboration is a slow indictment of the colonialist relationship between white law and Indigenous people
Premiering at the Adelaide film festival, Charlie's Country is the third film in an informal trilogy of collaborations between writer/director Rolf de Heer and actor David Gulpilil. Ten Canoes (2006) showed Aboriginal culture before white settlement, and The Tracker (2002) explored the relationship between white and Aboriginal men in the early 20th century. Now Charlie's Country explores the ongoing repercussions in contemporary Australia.
Charlie (Gulpilil) lives in a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, where he and the other men of the community struggle with cultural ties in world dominated by white law and both deliberate and incidental racism. With the primarily white police force, Charlie is congenial, fooling them into thinking he is an expert tracker. He uses cultural misunderstandings to his advantage, but then is obligated...
Premiering at the Adelaide film festival, Charlie's Country is the third film in an informal trilogy of collaborations between writer/director Rolf de Heer and actor David Gulpilil. Ten Canoes (2006) showed Aboriginal culture before white settlement, and The Tracker (2002) explored the relationship between white and Aboriginal men in the early 20th century. Now Charlie's Country explores the ongoing repercussions in contemporary Australia.
Charlie (Gulpilil) lives in a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, where he and the other men of the community struggle with cultural ties in world dominated by white law and both deliberate and incidental racism. With the primarily white police force, Charlie is congenial, fooling them into thinking he is an expert tracker. He uses cultural misunderstandings to his advantage, but then is obligated...
- 10/15/2013
- by Jane Howard
- The Guardian - Film News
Screen Australia says it has not mismanaged its finances by spending its annual production funding in just six months - a state of affairs which it says reflects the strength of the local film industry.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
- 2/6/2013
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
The 17th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) has announced its lineup. The festival will run from 7th to 14th December, 2012 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.
Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.
Complete list of films:
Competition Films
Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.
Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)
Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)
A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)
Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)
Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)
The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)
Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)
Present Tense...
Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.
Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.
Complete list of films:
Competition Films
Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.
Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)
Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)
A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)
Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)
Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)
The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)
Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)
Present Tense...
- 11/2/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The sequel to a successful Australian horror film looks to be back on track after it was postponed due to investor issues.
Wolf Creek 2 written, directed and produced by Greg McLean, has received production funding from Screen Australia.The film about the return of pig shooter and serial killer Mick Taylor is one of three projects to receive a share of $5.5m from the funding agency and is expected to trigger $17m in production.
The sequel to the 2005 film hit financial difficulties in 2011 when private investor Geoffrey Edelsten agreed to put in $5m toward the sequel but was later accused of failing to honour his commitment, according to the Australian Financial Review.
In a counter-suit, Edelsten claimed he was misled into being the major private investor.
The original film made $27.762m at the worldwide box office, according to tracking site Box Office Mojo.
Ruth Harley, CEO of Screen Australia...
Wolf Creek 2 written, directed and produced by Greg McLean, has received production funding from Screen Australia.The film about the return of pig shooter and serial killer Mick Taylor is one of three projects to receive a share of $5.5m from the funding agency and is expected to trigger $17m in production.
The sequel to the 2005 film hit financial difficulties in 2011 when private investor Geoffrey Edelsten agreed to put in $5m toward the sequel but was later accused of failing to honour his commitment, according to the Australian Financial Review.
In a counter-suit, Edelsten claimed he was misled into being the major private investor.
The original film made $27.762m at the worldwide box office, according to tracking site Box Office Mojo.
Ruth Harley, CEO of Screen Australia...
- 9/7/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia plans to invest $5.5 million in three new feature projects: the Spierig brothers' Predestination, Rolf de Heer.s Charlie.s Country and Greg McLean's Wolf Creek 2.
Predestination is a film-noir, science-fiction, crime-thriller from writer/directors Michael and Peter Spierig (Daybreakers) while indigenous tragi-comedy Charlie's Country will once again pair director Rolf de Heer with Australian actor David Gulpilil (The Tracker).
Screen Australia also re-confirmed its previous commitment to the horror feature Wolf Creek 2, from director Greg McLean, after the film was delayed following a disagreement with major financier Geoffrey Edelsten.
.These three diverse feature projects supported by Screen Australia today come from some of the most exciting filmmaking teams in Australia,. said Screen Australia.s chief executive Ruth Harley in a statement.
.Predestination is a strong script which will be executed by a proven and talented team passionate about the sci-fi genre. Charlie.s Country continues...
Predestination is a film-noir, science-fiction, crime-thriller from writer/directors Michael and Peter Spierig (Daybreakers) while indigenous tragi-comedy Charlie's Country will once again pair director Rolf de Heer with Australian actor David Gulpilil (The Tracker).
Screen Australia also re-confirmed its previous commitment to the horror feature Wolf Creek 2, from director Greg McLean, after the film was delayed following a disagreement with major financier Geoffrey Edelsten.
.These three diverse feature projects supported by Screen Australia today come from some of the most exciting filmmaking teams in Australia,. said Screen Australia.s chief executive Ruth Harley in a statement.
.Predestination is a strong script which will be executed by a proven and talented team passionate about the sci-fi genre. Charlie.s Country continues...
- 9/7/2012
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
By Aaron Hillis
Lists are breezy reads, but there can be an unfortunate disposability to the data because arbitrarily numbered "Ten Best" somethings or "Five Things You Should Know About" whatevers literally demonstrate quantity's domination over quality. And now that I've sucked all the fun out of the room, here's a practical but otherwise unranked list of ten auteurist gems . nine of which are already on DVD . that deserve their layers of dust blown off. (Sorry, "Zero Effect" and "11 Harrowhouse," but the list dictates the rules!)
"One From the Heart" (1982)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
The fires of over-ambition still smoldering in his belly after "Apocalypse Now," Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up was a decadent fiasco that bankrupted him, and might have seemed at the time as if the director had returned half-mad from the Filipino jungles. Epically staged on the Zoetrope studio lot, Coppola's hypertheatrical Vegas romance-cum-musical fantasy stars...
Lists are breezy reads, but there can be an unfortunate disposability to the data because arbitrarily numbered "Ten Best" somethings or "Five Things You Should Know About" whatevers literally demonstrate quantity's domination over quality. And now that I've sucked all the fun out of the room, here's a practical but otherwise unranked list of ten auteurist gems . nine of which are already on DVD . that deserve their layers of dust blown off. (Sorry, "Zero Effect" and "11 Harrowhouse," but the list dictates the rules!)
"One From the Heart" (1982)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
The fires of over-ambition still smoldering in his belly after "Apocalypse Now," Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up was a decadent fiasco that bankrupted him, and might have seemed at the time as if the director had returned half-mad from the Filipino jungles. Epically staged on the Zoetrope studio lot, Coppola's hypertheatrical Vegas romance-cum-musical fantasy stars...
- 7/31/2008
- by Aaron Hillis
- ifc.com
- Ten Canoes, the most critically acclaimed Australian film of the year, swept the Australian Film Institute awards last week. The film depicts the cautionary tale of lust and loyalty that an Aboriginal tribe recounts to a young member. Incredibly it is first feature from Australia made in a language indigenous. The film, directed by the experienced Rolf de Heer and newcomer Peter Djigirr, has been generating award buzz since it was selected, and won a Special Jury Prize, at Cannes earlier this year. On Thursday the film won, Best Direction, the much deserved Best Cinematography for Ian Jones, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Original Screenplay. Unsurprisingly Ten Canoes also managed to secure the L’Oreal Paris AFI Award for Best Film. De Heer was further honoured with the Brian Kennedy Award, an award that is given in respect of a filmmaker’s relentless pursuit of excellence in filmmaking.
- 12/12/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
SYDNEY -- Boosting its Oscar hopes, Rolf De Heer and Peter Djigirr's bawdy indigenous-language feature Ten Canoes dominated at Thursday night's Australian Film Institute Awards, Australia's most prestigious film and television prizes.
Ten Canoes picked up the three key awards at the black-tie ceremony: best film; best director, for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr; and best original screenplay, for de Heer. The three nods joined awards for best cinematography, best editing and best sound that Ten Canoes picked up in a special presentation Wednesday night (HR 12/06).
The plaudits didn't stop there. Writer-director De Heer also was honored with the prestigious Byron Kennedy award for excellence in filmmaking, while Ten Canoes cinematographer Ian Jones received the Longford lifetime achievement award for his enduring contribution to Australian screen culture.
The awards have been mounting up for Ten Canoes since it won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize at the Festival de Cannes in May. Last month, it took home the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for best film.
Ten Canoes picked up the three key awards at the black-tie ceremony: best film; best director, for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr; and best original screenplay, for de Heer. The three nods joined awards for best cinematography, best editing and best sound that Ten Canoes picked up in a special presentation Wednesday night (HR 12/06).
The plaudits didn't stop there. Writer-director De Heer also was honored with the prestigious Byron Kennedy award for excellence in filmmaking, while Ten Canoes cinematographer Ian Jones received the Longford lifetime achievement award for his enduring contribution to Australian screen culture.
The awards have been mounting up for Ten Canoes since it won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize at the Festival de Cannes in May. Last month, it took home the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for best film.
- 12/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SYDNEY -- Boosting its Oscar hopes, Rolf De Heer and Peter Djigirr's bawdy indigenous-language feature Ten Canoes dominated at Thursday night's Australian Film Institute Awards, Australia's most prestigious film and television prizes.
Ten Canoes picked up the three key awards at the black-tie ceremony: best film; best director, for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr; and best original screenplay, for de Heer. The three nods joined awards for best cinematography, best editing and best sound that Ten Canoes picked up in a special presentation Wednesday night (HR 12/06).
The plaudits didn't stop there. Writer-director De Heer also was honored with the prestigious Byron Kennedy award for excellence in filmmaking, while Ten Canoes cinematographer Ian Jones received the Longford lifetime achievement award for his enduring contribution to Australian screen culture.
The awards have been mounting up for Ten Canoes since it won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize at the Festival de Cannes in May. Last month, it took home the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for best film.
Ten Canoes picked up the three key awards at the black-tie ceremony: best film; best director, for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr; and best original screenplay, for de Heer. The three nods joined awards for best cinematography, best editing and best sound that Ten Canoes picked up in a special presentation Wednesday night (HR 12/06).
The plaudits didn't stop there. Writer-director De Heer also was honored with the prestigious Byron Kennedy award for excellence in filmmaking, while Ten Canoes cinematographer Ian Jones received the Longford lifetime achievement award for his enduring contribution to Australian screen culture.
The awards have been mounting up for Ten Canoes since it won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize at the Festival de Cannes in May. Last month, it took home the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for best film.
- 12/7/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SYDNEY -- The mockumentary "Kenny", a local boxoffice champion, dominated Australia's peoples choice film nods, the IF Awards, handed out at Friday on Queensland Gold Coast.
"Kenny", a scatological comedy about the trials and tribulations of a portable toilet supplier, garnered four awards, including best feature, outstanding boxoffice achievement, best script and best sound. It narrowly edged out thriller "Suburban Mayhem" and indigenous-language feature "Ten Canoes", both of which earned three awards.
Key creatives on "Ten Canoes", Australia's Oscar entry for best foreign-language film, took home awards including best direction (Rolf De Heer and Peter Djigirr), best actor (Crusoe Kurdal) and best cinematography (Ian Jones).
Adding to the success of indigenous-themed films was "Kanyini", a documentary by Melanie Hogan and aboriginal leader Bob Randall, which picked up the award for best documentary as well as the Independent Spirit Award.
"Suburban Mayhem" won for best music and best editing, while lead Emily Barclay picked up her first award for best actress.
Other winners of special awards included Julius Avery's "End of Town", for the best unproduced screenplay; director Peter Templeman, for the Rising Talent Award; and producer Jan Chapman, who won the Living Legend Award.
"Kenny", a scatological comedy about the trials and tribulations of a portable toilet supplier, garnered four awards, including best feature, outstanding boxoffice achievement, best script and best sound. It narrowly edged out thriller "Suburban Mayhem" and indigenous-language feature "Ten Canoes", both of which earned three awards.
Key creatives on "Ten Canoes", Australia's Oscar entry for best foreign-language film, took home awards including best direction (Rolf De Heer and Peter Djigirr), best actor (Crusoe Kurdal) and best cinematography (Ian Jones).
Adding to the success of indigenous-themed films was "Kanyini", a documentary by Melanie Hogan and aboriginal leader Bob Randall, which picked up the award for best documentary as well as the Independent Spirit Award.
"Suburban Mayhem" won for best music and best editing, while lead Emily Barclay picked up her first award for best actress.
Other winners of special awards included Julius Avery's "End of Town", for the best unproduced screenplay; director Peter Templeman, for the Rising Talent Award; and producer Jan Chapman, who won the Living Legend Award.
- 11/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- It is award season in Australia again and the time for the small number of people in the Australian film industry to come together and pat each other on the back for a mostly mediocre job well done. The most prestigious of the three major award ceremonies that occur over the next month is the L’Oreal Paris Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. It is the ceremony that attracts big names and they like people to know that. Russell Crowe hosted last year. Who cares if he isn’t actually Australian? This year this ceremony has snagged Australian actor Geoffrey Rush to host, a step up from last year. Pleasingly there are a few nominated films that warrant the caliber of the host. Suburban Mayhem, Kenny and Ten Canoes stand out from the rest for varying reasons and look to be the big winners of the night. Suburban Mayhem
- 11/11/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
SYDNEY-- The first Australian film to be shot in an indigenous language, Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr's Ten Canoes, will be Australia's entry for the 2007 Academy Awards in the best foreign-language film category, the Australian Film Commission said Friday. Its Oscar hopes follow the film's jury prize in Un Certain Regard at the Festival de Cannes in May, while de Heer was awarded the Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend. Ten Canoes is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. AFC acting chief executive Chris Fitchett said of the selection, "'Ten Canoes' is exemplary in terms of the director's vision, the craft of filmmaking and presenting a uniquely Australian story. We are hopeful that the entry of 'Ten Canoes' results in an Academy Award nomination." Ten Canoes was written by de Heer in collaboration with the people of Ramingining, a community of Yolngu people in Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and was shot in the local Ganalbingu language. It tells the story of a young man who covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, tribal elders retell a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, mayhem and revenge gone wrong.
SYDNEY-- The first Australian film to be shot in an indigenous language, Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr's Ten Canoes, will be Australia's entry for the 2007 Academy Awards in the best foreign-language film category, the Australian Film Commission said Friday. Its Oscar hopes follow the film's jury prize in Un Certain Regard at the Festival de Cannes in May, while de Heer was awarded the Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend. Ten Canoes is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. AFC acting chief executive Chris Fitchett said of the selection, "'Ten Canoes' is exemplary in terms of the director's vision, the craft of filmmaking and presenting a uniquely Australian story. We are hopeful that the entry of 'Ten Canoes' results in an Academy Award nomination." Ten Canoes was written by de Heer in collaboration with the people of Ramingining, a community of Yolngu people in Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and was shot in the local Ganalbingu language. It tells the story of a young man who covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, tribal elders retell a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, mayhem and revenge gone wrong.
As business begun at the Festival de Cannes wraps up, Miramax Films has acquired North American rights to the comedy Eagle vs. Shark, the debut feature from New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi. Palm Pictures has acquired North American rights to Ten Canoes, an Australian feature directed by Rolf de Heer and co-directed by Peter Djigirr. Waititi's short film Two Cars, One Night was nominated for an Oscar as best live-action short in 2005, and his second short Tamu tu received the Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival that same year. His first feature Eagle, a comic account of two misfits searching for acceptance, was developed at the Directors and Screenwriters Lab at the Sundance Institute. Currently in postproduction after shooting in and around Wellington, N.Z., it stars New Zealanders Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement. Horsley developed the character while collaborating with Waititi on the script. Ainsley Gardiner and Cliff Curtis of Whenua Films are producers.
CANNES -- A joke about flatulence comes early in Australian writer-director Rolf de Heer's tragicomedy Ten Canoes, yet this richly layered film couldn't be further removed from the low-brow concerns of a Hollywood sex comedy.
Set a thousand years ago in Australia's far northern Arnhem Land, it manages to skirt the issue of race relations, a hot-button topic in a country where black and white Australians are still coming to grips with their recent disharmonious history. Yet, in telling this ancient story with style and humor, de Heer and his Aboriginal collaborators promote cultural understanding and acceptance by stealth, if you will.
The beauty of the otherworldly landscapes and the authenticity of the detail gleaned from anthropologist Donald Thomson's mid-1930s photographs will appeal to arthouse audiences, and the film should have legs on the international festival circuit. (It will open the Sydney Film Festival on June 9, ahead of its Australian release June 29.)
De Heer's latest outing -- co-directed by Peter Djigirr and written in collaboration with the Arnhem Land community of Ramingining -- is playful where his 2002 political allegory The Tracker was potent.
Frequent bursts of bawdy humor are as unexpected as they are welcome, leavening the ethnographic raw material and providing handy points of entry into the first Australian feature shot entirely in a number of indigenous languages, predominantly Ganalbingu.
This mythic history lesson also is buoyed by naturalistic performances from a cast of first-time Aboriginal actors and chatty narration by the legendary David Gulpilil.
Ten Canoes opens with a grand aerial swoop over the remote Arafura swamp region of northeast Arnhem Land while Gulpilil's Storyteller solemnly intones: "Once upon a time in a land far, far away ..." The spell is broken -- and a capricious tone set -- when the voice cracks up at the fairytale stereotype and says, I'm only joking.
Old Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) discovers that his younger brother Dayindi (played by Gulpilil's 22-year-old son, Jamie) covets his third and youngest wife, and decides to tell him an ancestral story to, in the words of the narrator, "help him live proper way."
The screen is saturated with color as this parable -- set in the mythical past -- begins. The action then switches nimbly between the two periods for the remainder of the film.
Minygululu's cautionary tale concerns Yeeralparil (also played by Jamie Gulpilil), a young single man who desires one of the wives of his older brother, Ridjimiraril (sculptor and dancer Crusoe Kurddal.)
The core story is a relatively simple one of forbidden love, made epic by the many narrative offshoots and asides that flesh out the meandering tale. Soon we are up to our ears in kidnapping, sorcery, murder and bloody revenge -- though de Heer always has time for a jokey aside about the rampaging sweet tooth of the Honey Man (Richard Birrinbirrin.)
Ian Jones' superb photography underscores the majestic beauty of the landscapes and leaves a lingering impression, while intuitive editing by Tania Nehme keeps the narrative threads from tangling. Kudos also to the cast and crew for enduring the hard slog of a weeks-long shoot fending off leeches, mosquitoes and crocodiles in the unforgiving swamplands of Australia's top end.
TEN CANOES
Vertigo Prods./Fandango Australia
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Rolf de Heer
Co-director: Peter Djigirr
Producers: Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan
Executive producers: Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci, Bryce Menzies
Director of photography: Ian Jones
Production designer: Beverley Freeman
Co-producers: Richard Birrinbirrin, Belinda Scott, Nils Erik Nielsen
Costumes: Beverley Freeman
Editor: Tania Nehme
Cast:
Ridjimiraril: Crusoe Kurddal
Dayindi/Yeeralparil: Jamie Gulpilil
Honey Man: Richard Birrinbirrin
Minygululu: Peter Minygululu
Nowalingu: Frances Djulibing
The Storyteller: David Gulpilil
The Sorcerer: Philip Gudthaykudthay
The Stranger: Michael Dawu
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 91 minutes...
Set a thousand years ago in Australia's far northern Arnhem Land, it manages to skirt the issue of race relations, a hot-button topic in a country where black and white Australians are still coming to grips with their recent disharmonious history. Yet, in telling this ancient story with style and humor, de Heer and his Aboriginal collaborators promote cultural understanding and acceptance by stealth, if you will.
The beauty of the otherworldly landscapes and the authenticity of the detail gleaned from anthropologist Donald Thomson's mid-1930s photographs will appeal to arthouse audiences, and the film should have legs on the international festival circuit. (It will open the Sydney Film Festival on June 9, ahead of its Australian release June 29.)
De Heer's latest outing -- co-directed by Peter Djigirr and written in collaboration with the Arnhem Land community of Ramingining -- is playful where his 2002 political allegory The Tracker was potent.
Frequent bursts of bawdy humor are as unexpected as they are welcome, leavening the ethnographic raw material and providing handy points of entry into the first Australian feature shot entirely in a number of indigenous languages, predominantly Ganalbingu.
This mythic history lesson also is buoyed by naturalistic performances from a cast of first-time Aboriginal actors and chatty narration by the legendary David Gulpilil.
Ten Canoes opens with a grand aerial swoop over the remote Arafura swamp region of northeast Arnhem Land while Gulpilil's Storyteller solemnly intones: "Once upon a time in a land far, far away ..." The spell is broken -- and a capricious tone set -- when the voice cracks up at the fairytale stereotype and says, I'm only joking.
Old Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) discovers that his younger brother Dayindi (played by Gulpilil's 22-year-old son, Jamie) covets his third and youngest wife, and decides to tell him an ancestral story to, in the words of the narrator, "help him live proper way."
The screen is saturated with color as this parable -- set in the mythical past -- begins. The action then switches nimbly between the two periods for the remainder of the film.
Minygululu's cautionary tale concerns Yeeralparil (also played by Jamie Gulpilil), a young single man who desires one of the wives of his older brother, Ridjimiraril (sculptor and dancer Crusoe Kurddal.)
The core story is a relatively simple one of forbidden love, made epic by the many narrative offshoots and asides that flesh out the meandering tale. Soon we are up to our ears in kidnapping, sorcery, murder and bloody revenge -- though de Heer always has time for a jokey aside about the rampaging sweet tooth of the Honey Man (Richard Birrinbirrin.)
Ian Jones' superb photography underscores the majestic beauty of the landscapes and leaves a lingering impression, while intuitive editing by Tania Nehme keeps the narrative threads from tangling. Kudos also to the cast and crew for enduring the hard slog of a weeks-long shoot fending off leeches, mosquitoes and crocodiles in the unforgiving swamplands of Australia's top end.
TEN CANOES
Vertigo Prods./Fandango Australia
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Rolf de Heer
Co-director: Peter Djigirr
Producers: Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan
Executive producers: Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci, Bryce Menzies
Director of photography: Ian Jones
Production designer: Beverley Freeman
Co-producers: Richard Birrinbirrin, Belinda Scott, Nils Erik Nielsen
Costumes: Beverley Freeman
Editor: Tania Nehme
Cast:
Ridjimiraril: Crusoe Kurddal
Dayindi/Yeeralparil: Jamie Gulpilil
Honey Man: Richard Birrinbirrin
Minygululu: Peter Minygululu
Nowalingu: Frances Djulibing
The Storyteller: David Gulpilil
The Sorcerer: Philip Gudthaykudthay
The Stranger: Michael Dawu
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 91 minutes...
- 5/19/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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