• 13340 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 16:15:00 @ ACMI 1
• 40184 Sat, 19 Aug 2023 12:00:00 @ MIFF Play (Streaming)
• 13811 Sat, 19 Aug 2023 13:45:00 @ ACMI 1

Key Cast: Andrew Young, Brenna Harding, Ella Mason, Johnny Carr, Niouoolya Koorongyu Kami Terare, Zalhi Hayden
Director: Joanna Joy
Producer: Elizabeth Simard, Lelarnie Hatfield-Yasso
Screenwriter: Aunty Nicky Hatfield, Elizabeth Simard, Joanna Joy, LeLarnie Hatfield, Margaret Hornagold
Cinematographer: Sean Ryan
Composer: Joe Goddard

Viewer Advice: Strong impact themes.

A haunting revisionist western inspired by the family history of poet/author Judith Wright – the first narrative work to feature the Barada and Darumbal languages.

May Downs, 1859. A white family making an overland journey to Rockhampton, with the assistance of Aboriginal staff, is stalled when the mother goes into labour. This loose adaptation of Wright’s eponymous historical account focuses on the female experience of colonisation, revealing the human costs of masculine avarice.

Director Joanna Joy made her film in collaboration with the Barada and Darumbal peoples – the traditional owners of the land where it was shot – who advised on language and cultural protocols, and perform as crucial characters. Majestic cinematography highlights their Country’s beauty, which the white family are seemingly wilfully blind to.