| November 5, 2009 | ||
| 8:15 pm | to | 9:50 pm |
Australia
2009/digibeta/100mins PG
THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER 8.15 PM – Dendy
Director Martin Butler will be available for a Q&A after the screening.
Using one of the most extraordinary pieces of film footage in Australian history, this is the story of a group of women and children who walk out from their nomadic existence and into modern Australia.
In 1964 Yuwali was 17 when her first contact with white men was filmed. Her mob of 20 women and children were the last aboriginal people living traditionally, without any knowledge of modern Australia. Patrol officers were sent to evacuate their desert home ahead of rocket tests. Yuwali gives a riveting account of being chased hundreds of kilometres to escape the ‘devils in rocks that move’ (trucks). Now 62, she tells the story behind this incredible footage.
Director’s Statement “When we first started filming with Yuwali we realised immediately that we had a truly unique storyteller with us. Her account is so detailed and so fresh that it dominates and drives the film. We can’t recall from anywhere in the world such an accessible and perceptive account of the ‘first contact’ experience.” Martin Butler and Bentley Dean
Sydney Film Festival – Best Documentary
Directors/Producers Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Cast Yuwali Print Source Contact Films Australia
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
What an amazing documentary!
Sensitively shot. Yuwali’s recollection and account of the events is incredible.
Personally, I find the attitude of the patrol officers back then more open hearted than people today.
Fantastic documentary shot against the backdrop of the Blue Streak missile test project in 1964. The film gave a really food insight into the personal stories of Yuwali’s mob and the “whitefellas” with some trackers that eventually found them.
I am still amazed that even later than 1964 groups of people in the western desert were still being found who never come across white people.