SBS Movies is celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers and actors this NAIDOC Week with a collection of films featuring talents such as David Gulpilil, Rachel Perkins, Deborah Mailman and Ivan Sen. Each of the films listed below is available to watch for free at SBS On Demand (click the image to watch the film in full).
Walkabout
M
Australia, 1971
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Starring: Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, Luc Roeg
What's it about?
Starring David Gulpilil in his first major screen role, Walkabout chronicles the spiritual and emotional journey of a sister and brother abandoned in the Australian outback.
Watch The Movie Show original ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ review
Mad Dog Morgan
M
Australia, 1976
Genre: Drama, Action
Language: English
Director: Philippe Mora
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson, David Gulpilil
What's it about?
Daniel Morgan (Dennis Hopper) becomes a bushranger after hard times in prison and the Victorian goldfields. Saved by Billy, an Aboriginal outcast (David Gulpilil), the two men terrorise southern NSW, killing policemen and raiding farms, until the price on Morgan’s head reaches 1,000 pounds.
Dark Age
MA15+
Australia, 1987
Genre: Adventure, Horror
Language: English
Director: Arch Nicholson
Starring: John Jarratt, Max Phipps, David Gulpilil, Burnam Burnam
What's it about?
A favourite of Quentin Tarantino's, Dark Age stars David Gulpilil alongside Burnam Burnam as a pair of rangers helping park ranger Steve (John Jarratt) search for a giant crocodile on a killing spree up in the Northern Territory. Their mission? To try and safely relocate the sacred croc to a wildlife sanctuary before a bunch of bloodthirsty redneck poachers get their hands on it first.
Manganinnie
PG
Australia, 1980
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: John Honey
Starring: Mawuyul Yanthalawuy, Anna Ralph, Phillip Hinton
What's it about?
Through lyrical images, Manganinnie journeys across mountains towards the coast with Joanna, a white girl, in search of Manganinnie's vanished tribe. The poignancy of this film derives from the Aboriginal woman's gradual realization that her people and the tribal way of life are forever gone. It is the story of the Black Drive of 1830, the near-genocide of the Tasmanian Aborigines.
Blackfellas
MA15+
Australia, 1993
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: James Ricketson
Starring: John Moore, David Ngoombujarra, Ernie Dingo
What's it about?
Nyoongar Doug Dooligan (John Moore) has just got out of prison. He wants to remain law-abiding, but the pull of his old family and friends - who are deeply embroiled in a life of crime - is very strong. When Doug is asked to help a friend (David Ngoombujarra) pull off a robbery, he knows it's a bad idea but he goes along anyway, with tragic results.
Toomelah
MA15+
Australia, 2011
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Ivan Sen
Starring: Michael Connors, Christopher Edwards, Daniel Connors
What's it about?
In a remote Aboriginal community, 10-year-old Daniel yearns to be a 'gangster' like the male role models in his life. Skipping school, getting into fights and running drugs for Linden who runs the main gang in town, Daniel is well on his way to accomplishing his goal, when rival drug dealer Bruce returns from prison and a violent showdown ensues.
[link title="Toomelah Review" url="node/5465"]
Putuparri and the Rainmakers
M
Australia, 2015
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Director: Nicole Ma
Starring:
What's it about?
Tom "Putuparri" Lawford is a man caught between two worlds: his past and present in modern society, where he battles with alcoholism and domestic violence; and his future as a leader of his people, reconnecting with his ancestral lands and shouldering his responsibility to pass this knowledge on to the next generation. Director Nicole Ma spent more than a decade documenting Putuparri's journey, travelling with him and his family on numerous occasions as they fight for their native title claim over the area.
Radiance
Sunday 10 July, 9:10pm, NITV (Available after broadcast at SBS On Demand)
M
Australia, 1998
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Rachel Perkins
Starring: Deborah Mailman, Rachel Maza, Trisha Morton Evans
What's it about?
Three sisters reunite after some years apart, for their mother’s funeral. Cressy (Rachael Maza), the eldest of the three, is a diva – an opera singer who is reluctant to visit the past and definitely doesn’t want to share it with her sisters. Mae (Trisha Morton-Thomas), has stayed behind looking after mum, and believes that Cressy hasn’t shared enough. Nona (Deborah Mailman), the youngest and the party girl, just wants them to all be one happy family.
[link title="Radiance Review" url="node/3803"]
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