The Sydney Film Festival is about to open and those with deep pockets and days off will invest in a season ticket. I'll just be seeing the odd flick including this one...

The exciting news is the Opening Night screening of a new indigenous film with all dialogue in Ganalbingu language w English subtitles.


OPENING NIGHT - TEN CANOES
ROLF DE HEER / PETER DJIGIRR
Feature / 90 minutes / In English and Ganalbingu language with English subtitles
SYNOPSIS

Our Opening Night feature is a very special movie indeed: a beautifully poetic, multi-layered film that is sensual, humorous, tragic, intriguing and utterly unique. The first major Australian feature to be filmed in an indigenous Aboriginal language (predominantly Ganalbingu), and shot around the Arafura Swamp in north-eastern Arnhem Land. Ten Canoes is set before the arrival of white people to Australia, and in the mythical past. Filmed magnificently in black and white is the story of Dayindi (Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) who covets one of his older brother's wives. To teach him the proper way, he is told a story - filmed in glorious colour - from the ancestral past about wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong.

Acted by a cast of newcomers and narrated by David Gulpilil Kidjimiraril Dalaithngu Ten Canoes draws from the deep well of indigenous storytelling traditions and conveys the richness of the culture that has existed here for tens of thousands of years. To watch it is to see something ancient that, in cinematic terms, is bracingly fresh - a feast for the eyes and the ears.

Don't miss The Balanda and the Bark Canoes, http://sydneyfilmfestival.org/plugins/filmmanager.cgi/main/view?id=187 a documentary on the fortunes or misfortunes of the filming of Ten Canoes.

If it ever gets to the USA go see it!

http://www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/



...if that isn't a powerful picture, then I don't know what is.

Ten Canoes goes to the USA!!

I only recently got to see this film on the big screen ~ and what a delight!

It is cheeky, funny, serious, and yes... this really sums it up:

quote:

To watch it is to see something ancient that, in cinematic terms, is bracingly fresh - a feast for the eyes and the ears.

It is playing over in the USA now, so I'd love to hear your views on it.