“Tonight I see you and you see me,” says David Gulpilil, addressing a full house at the world premiere of the documentary My Name is Gulpilil in Adelaide.
“This is a message from me to you and your family. And you are to pass it on,” he tells the 1,500 people in front of him. Minutes earlier, they gave him a standing ovation.
The Yolngu man is more than 3,000 kilometres from his Arnhem Land home and has been living in the South Australian town of Murray Bridge while he battles lung cancer and emphysema.
A reception to honour David Gulpilil (centre) in Adelaide. Source: Naomi Jellicoe
The film, by director Molly Reynolds, is Gulpilil’s story, told in his own words. It covers his life and a half-century career in cinema, performance and art.
“I’m proud that I brought it [the documentary] to the world,” the 67-year-old tells SBS News.
“I had a long career and I really appreciate that I got really good things done for the nation, for the world and for Australia.”
“I went further than any Australian Aboriginal to have our culture recognised around the world.”
After a childhood in the bush, his performance in the 1971 survival film Walkabout catapulted him to stardom and he was soon mingling with Hollywood stars and music industry legends. But most of all, he says he is proud of introducing the world to his ancient and enduring Indigenous culture.
“So that people will see it and recognise it and understand,” he says. “So the young and old could share from my knowledge.”
His role in Walkabout is credited with bringing an end to the custom of white actors playing Indigenous characters.
“He had a sort of natural grace and a such a powerful presence on screen, and as a human being, that for the first time I think we were able to look at Indigenous people beyond the caricatures and the stereotypes,” says longterm collaborator and film director Rolf de Heer.
The Adelaide Film Festival premiere for My Name is Gulpilil. Source: Naomi Jellicoe
“He smashed the stereotypes, in performance and in our perceptions.”
Gulpilil says in the documentary: “I don’t have to go and act. I just jump in and stand there, and the camera sees me”.It’s a presence that has earned him respect from the likes of actor Hugo Weaving, who hails Gulpilil as his favourite actor.
David Gulpilil receives a standing ovation. Source: Naomi Jellicoe
“He’s got such a strength, such a presence on film that he draws you into him and you’re forced to recognise who he is and what his culture is,” Weaving says.
Aboriginal actor Natasha Wanganeen, who starred with Gulpilil in 2002’s Rabbit-Proof Fence, says he inspired her whole career.
“He was the first Aboriginal actor I saw on TV and I said to my dad, ‘he looks like us’, and Dad was like, ‘that is us, that’s our people.’”
My Name is Gulpilil will be released later in 2021.
