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Rowan McNamara as Samson photo by Mark Rogers |
Individual filmmakers have been aided in successive stages of their careers by the Indigenous Branch of the Australian Film Commission (now Screen Australia) with advice, workshops, funding and the regular release and marketing of clusters of short films, the Drama Initiative Series (the latest, The New Black, will be reviewed in RealTime 94). More than a few filmmakers have gained experience and inspiration working with CAAMA Productions (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) in Alice Springs, one of several Aboriginal-led media organisations.
Sydney's Metro Screen and FTI (Film and Television Institute, Fremantle, Western Australia) have, over many years, triggered filmmaking careers through training and mentoring. FTI, with the ABC, has produced several collections in their Deadly Yarns series of short films. State film bodies have contributed funds towards the making of numerous Indigenous films, while the Adelaide Film Festival invested in the making of Samson and Delilah.
Tracey Moffat (Bedevil, 1993), Rachel Perkins (Radiance, 1992) and Ivan Sen (Beneath Clouds, 2002) made their acclaimed feature films across almost a decade; these few were precursors to what now seems likely to be a wave of features, three premiering in 2009 alone—Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah, Richard J Frankland's Stone Bros and, soon to be released, Rachel Perkins' Bran Nu Dae and Ivan Sen's Dreamland. And there are more on the way in 2010, including Beck Cole's The Place Between.
Not every filmmaker aspires to make narrative feature films: many will continue to focus on creating finely crafted, idiosyncratic short dramas and documentaries, and a small, but significant number, are now involved in exploring the potential of animation and digital media.
In 2007, RealTime edited and produced, Dreaming in Motion, A Celebration of Australian Indigenous Filmmakers. The book was published by the Australian Film Commission. It includes a brief history of Indigenous filmmaking and detailed profiles of 26 filmmakers along with production credits, festival screenings and awards. You can download the book as a PDF from http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/about_us/Publications.asp. Alternatively, copies (including DVD) are available free of charge by emailing publications@screenaustralia.gov.au.
In OnScreen, our film and digital media supplement, RealTime has extensively reviewed Indigenous films and interviewed the filmmakers. The following is a selection going back to 2002. It seems timely, with the recent success of Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah and the release of many more Aboriginal films, to look back over the achievements, large and small, of a determined and creative body of filmmakers.
Keith Gallasch
commentary
Editorial: lessons from the indigenous sector: dan edwards
interviews
warick thornton interview: keith gallasch
beck cole interview: lisa stefanof
david tranter interview: lisa stefanof
feature film reviews
richard j frankland’s stone bros: keith gallasch
warwick thornton’s samson and delilah: keith gallasch
rolf de heer-peter djigirr, ten canoes: sandy cameron
ivan sen’s beneath clouds: mike walsh
short film & animation reviews
aboriginal animation: danni zuvela
deadly yarns: keith gallasch
the AFC’s bit of black business: keith gallasch
short film at the melbourne film festival: simon sellars
the art of 5-minute statements: sarah-jane norman
angie abdilla’s wanja: keith gallasch
first hand: michelle moo
michael riley
NGA michael riley retrospective: dan edwards
part 1: spirit, land, image
part 2: the films—buried histories
michael riley, obituary: djon mundine
message sticks festival
finding the words: jane mills
breaking the silence: dan edwards
new blak films: dan edwards
colourised festival
the medium as a messagestick: eric roberts
mirrors on aboriginality: erik roberts
caama
CAAMA: lisa stefanof
© Keith Gallasch; for permission to link or reproduce apply to realtime@realtimearts.net
