Warwick Thornton is the man of the hour, with his multi-award winning new film, the outback western Sweet Country, set to premiere on SBS Australia and NITV on January 26.
His personal essay about Australia's relationship to the Southern Cross, We Don't Need A Map, has screened on both NITV and SBS as part of our You Are Here strand of documentaries, examining what it means to be Indigenous in modern Australia. You can watch the searing, cheeky, provocative film on NITV, along with a number of other acclaimed Australian films that Thornton has directed, or has shot in his other day job - as an award-winning cinematographer.
Explore the entire collection below, and click the images to watch the film in full at SBS on Demand (where indicated).
Samson and Delilah NITV (Ch. 34) - Wednesday 23 January, 11pm
MA15+, 2009
This is the movie that made the world stand up and take notice, when it scored Warwick Thornton the coveted Camera d'Or for best first feature film, at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It offers a window into the private universe of two lovebirds in a small, community in the Central Australian desert.
[link title="Samson and Delilah Review" url="node/4587"]
First Australians
Director Rachel Perkins tells the original history of Australia with her extraordinary seven-part documentary series. The landmark program explores the long and complex story of Indigenous people on the Australian continent, and invites a fuller understanding of people and events that have been overlooked by the colonial narrative but which shaped Australia's past. The series showcases the work of a number of Australia's leading Indigenous filmmakers, not least its cinematographer - one Warwick Thornton. The complete series is available at SBS On Demand, and you can stream episode one below.
We Don't Need a Map NITV - Wednesday 23 January, 9.30pm
M, 2017
When Warwick Thornton made some off-the-cuff comments in an interview about the recent appropriation of the Southern Cross as a symbol of rising nationalism, the tabloids came for him and the blowback was immense. A couple of years on, he has returned with a unique personal essay that examines the conflicting relationships of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to the Southern Cross. We Don't Need A Map is a no-holds-barred look at some uncomfortable truths, that's sometimes playful, spiritual and thought provoking, look at Australia's cultural and political landscape.
The Point: Warwick Thornton is Here
Required viewing after We Don't Need A Map. The Point's Karla Grant goes 1:1 with Warwick Thornton to talk about the questions raised in his documentary, and to gain insights into his passion for telling stories.
Radiance NITV - Thursday 24 January, 9.30pm
M, 1998
Go back to the first collaboration between director Rachel Perkins and her trusted cinematographer, Warwick Thornton. In her first feature, Perkins injects heart and humour into the story of three three estranged sisters reuniting for their mother’s funeral. There's light and shade as the women reminisce, and allow old tensions to simmer to the surface, and Thornton's camerawork follows suit.
[link title="Radiance Review" url="node/3803"]
Here I Am
M, 2011
Warramungu woman Beck Cole developed her first feature over five years, during which time she also collaborated on Perkins' First Australians, and she produced films with her creative (and life) partner, Warwick Thornton. He does the lensing here on Cole's story of a woman fresh out of prison, and determined to forge a new life on the outside. Shai Pittman holds her own against the mighty Marcia Langton as they play an estranged mother/daughter trying to plaster over the cracks in their relationship.
[link title="Here I Am Review" url="node/5482"]
Here-I-Am_627_706717529
Sweet Country SBS / NITV (Special presentation) - Saturday 26 January, 9.30pm
MA15+, 2018
Warwick Thornton's multi-award winner depicts the knock-on effect of an Indigegous man (AACTA best actor, Hamilton Morris) shooting a white man in self defence. An all-star cast heads the cross-country hunt for the runaway fugitive, and the ensuing trial has ramifications for all who bear witness.
[link title="Warwick Thornton’s 'Sweet Country' comes to SBS and NITV for a special event screening" url="node/179018"]
