Indigenous film-makers, the Karrabing Film Collective, began creating films when some members were homeless and spoke of their dreams about being famous movie stars – and now they’re closer than ever before.
Two of their films, ‘When the Dogs Talked’ and ‘Windjarrameru, The Stealing C*nt$’, have been selected to show at the Melbourne International Film Festival, which begins tomorrow.
‘Windjarrameru, The Stealing C*nt$’, which is shot entirely on an iPhone, tells the story of a group of men wrongly accused of stealing a carton of beer. They hide from police in a contaminated swamp, while mining goes on around them.
Avani Dias via ABC News
The film was pitched by one of the actors in the film, David Bianamu, who said he wanted to show serious issues in the community, while still maintaining a sense of comedy, “to sort of make it a bit funny and exciting so you can see who goes to jail and who doesn’t.”
The members of the group, all from Belyuen community in the Northern Territory, all contribute to writing, producing, shooting, and acting in the films. By using iPhones to shoot the entire film, the Collective have found a way to modernise the community’s ancient tradition of story telling:
“It’s really important for us so we can teach our kids the same way we were taught as younger ones,” Collective member Linda Yarrowin said.“It’s strong in our culture too, [teaching] them what we do from generation to generation.”
Avani Dias via ABC News
The Melbourne International Film Festival is on from 30 July – 16 August. The two short films by the Karrabing Film Collective are showing on August 1st, and 4th.
via ABC
Image: Avani Dias via ABC News
