Each year when 26 January arrives, many non-Indigenous Australians wonder how best to approach the day in a way that is respectful to the First Nations peoples of Australia. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander folks, it’s .
One way we can all come together to celebrate First Nations brilliance is through the remarkable contribution to this country’s cinematic legacy by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander actors and filmmakers.
SBS World Movies’ ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ collection has been curated to highlight stories that foreground Indigenous voices.
Satellite Boy, SBS World Movies, 26 January at 6pm
David Dalaithngu as Jagamarra in ‘Satellite Boy’. Source: Distributor
From that very moment, Dalaithngu was an unforgettable trailblazer. As notes of the great man’s five-decades long career, “I call him the Black Superman, he could do everything… such a beautiful human being… At that time [1970s], a lot of Aboriginal characters were still being played by non-Indigenous people in blackface, so really, he broke the mould.”
Coming later in his storied career, debut writer/director Catriona McKenzie’s beautiful Satellite Boy casts Dalaithngu as Jagamarra, a loving Elder passing on lore to his grandson Pete (an also brilliant Cameron Wallaby).
In a gorgeous nod to the craft itself, they live in an abandoned drive-in cinema that, in a great Australian movie tradition, is threatened by the menace of a greedy mining corporation set on tearing it all down. You’ll cheer for success in their quest to avert disaster. As Jagamarra says, “This is our land; it’s alive, it feels you, it knows you.”
Satellite Boy is also now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Storm Boy, SBS World Movies, 26 January at 7.40pm
David Dalaithngu and Greg Rowe in ‘Storm Boy’. Source: NITV
Another seminal hit of Australia’s celebrated New Wave period, director Henri Safran’s movie is adapted from Colin Thiele’s beloved book of the same name.
It cast a mesmerising as ever Dalaithngu as Fingerbone Bill, living in the vast beauty of the Coorong lagoons in South Australia. He forges a life-changing friendship with a gentle lad named Mike (Greg Rowe), whom he dubs Storm Boy, and together they rescue a trio of baby pelicans to care for together, promptly naming one Mr Percival.
An emotionally sweeping film and an environmentally conscious story, it hangs on this central partnership that plays out in a heart-tugging way prompting many a tear-stained tissue ever since.
Samson and Delilah, SBS World Movies, 26 January at 9.20pm
Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson in ‘Samson and Delilah’. Source: Supplied
Co-written with Beck Cole, a fellow Indigenous filmmaker of the Warramungu and Luritja nations, it is a powerful love story tinged with tragedy. Introducing us to a teenage couple (played by Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara), they hail from a remote community in the Central Australian desert.
Sharing a powerful bond that is truly remarkable, we are transfixed by their slow dance towards one another, even as the film languorously flows by without dialogue for the most part.
A tough but important watch, the way Thornton’s astounding film traces the complicated contours of their young lives and the hurdles they face left an indelible mark on the cultural fabric of Australian cinema. A masterpiece, it has and always will stand the test of time, as will Satellite Boy and Storm Boy.
Samson and Delilah is also now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Tune into this unmissable triple bill at SBS World Movies from 6pm on 26 January.
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