Janet CollinsAboriginal Film Wins at Cannes
May 25th 2009 07:57
Warwick Thornton on set
Australian movies don’t often attract the audiences they deserve. Before this decade, films based on stories about Aboriginals and Aboriginal life in Australia had an even harder time getting people to see them, despite often receiving great critical acclaim.
That turned a sharp corner back in 2002 when Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit Proof Fence was still showing in many cinemas seven and eight months after its release.
What may just move stories about our indigenous people more into the mainstream is the success of Warwick Thornton’s debut feature, Samson and Delilah, at Cannes. Thornton has taken the coveted Camera d’Or prize at the Festival for his story of a romance set in a harsh, remote, indigenous community. It is a love story in a community stricken with poverty, violence and substance abuse.
Long before Cannes, Samson and Delilah was being hailed by some of our most respected critics as a masterpiece. The film won the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival and opened the Message Sticks Film Festival in Sydney.
Thornton, who also wrote the script, admits the story is confronting and one that he hopes all Australians will see. It takes us on a dark journey of two teenagers and most of the film is without dialogue.
The film was made on a budget of $1.6 million, a small amount for a major feature but an amount the director was more than happy with. Rabbit Proof Fence which was released early in 2002 by comparison had a reported budget of $8.5 million. More money, Thornton believes, would have caused problems and limited his control of the final cut.
The film’s entry into the Cannes Festival and the honour of the Camera d’Or prize may give this film valuable publicity and an audience that may be much wider than even its director could have hoped for.
Sourced: www.abc.net.au
Image credit: www.abc.net.au
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It certainly is!
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I'll look forward to your review though.
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I am looking forward to seeing it. All the reviews on it that I have seen have unanimous in their praise and being in Cannes alone took it to an international audience. I hope it goes a lot further.
Thank you.
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Thanks for dropping in.
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Sounds like it's not one for the faint hearted but really worth a look. Good on Thornton for taking it to the world.