BLACKFELLAS

Student - Delta Skehill

Crew

Director – James Ricketson

1^st Assistant Director – Michael Faranda

2^nd Assistant Director – Peter T. Nathan

Producer – David Rapsey

Executive Producers – Paul D. Barron

Penny Chapman

Writers – Archie Weller (novel and screenplay)

James Ricketson (screenplay)

Music – David Milroy

Sound Mixer/Recordist – Kim Lord

Cinematography – Jeffrey Malouf

Editing – Christopher Cordeaux

Production Design – Rob Ricketson

Production Manager – Bernadette O’Mahony

Unit Manager – John Suhr

Cast

Doug Dooligan – John Moore

Floyd ‘Pretty Boy’ Davies – David Ngoombujarra

Polly – Jaylene Riley

Valerie – Lisa Kinchela

Detective Maxwell – John Hargreaves

Mrs Dooligan – Julie Hudspeth

Carey – Jack Charles

Hughie – Michael Watson

Willice – Kelton Pell

Kev – Mick Innes

Prison Officer – Andy King

Team Coach – Bill McClusky

Magistrate – Leslie Wright

Opposition Footballer – James Sollis

Awards – Won AFI Best Actor in a Supporting Role, David Ngoombujarra.

AFI Best Screenplay Adapted from another source, James Ricketson

Sydney Film Critics Award, David Ngoombujarra

- Nominated AFI Best Actor in a Lead Role, John Moore

AFI Best Director, James Ricketson

Production Company – Barron Entertainment Ltd.

Distributors – Ronin Films

21^st Century Video

Release Dates – Sydney, Melbourne opened on August 26, 1993

Perth opened September 2, 1993

Official national release date November 4, 1993

Bibliographical Details

1. McFarlane, B., Mayer, G., Bertrand, I. (eds) 1999, The Oxford Companion to Australian Film, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, ps 36 ,361, 410, 411, 460.

-This book gives information on important aspects of the Australian film landscape including; people, thematic concerns and particular films.

2. Murray, S. 1995, Australian Film 1978-1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, p 355.

-This book is a useful guide to the critical uptake of the film, subsequent to its release. Also gives other references to related articles.

3. Quinn, K. 1993, Blackfellas, Cinema Papers, no96 December, p 48-9.

-A critical review of the film, evaluating the success/failure in terms of the creative aspects of the film.

4. Weller, A. 1992, Films in Colour: or, Black and White Perspectives of Screenplay, Cinema Papers, no87 March, p44-5.

-An article by novelist Archie Weller on the particular aspects of producing cinema with such a rich source of indigenous talent.

5. Ansara, M. 1993, Blackfellas: a film that tackles the truth, Filmnews, August, p12.

-Another review of the film.

On-line Literature

1. http://us.imdb.com/Details?0106675

-The IMDb site provides information on cast and crew, any awards the movie won as well as the release dates.

2. http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1993/111/111/p26.htm

-The GreenLeft site has an interesting review of the film as well as some commentary by the director and principal actors.

3. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~davecb/felas.htm

-This is a review by Dave Burgess examining the thematic preoccupations of the film.

4. www.thei.aust.com/sydney/biographies/weller.html

-A short biography on Archie Weller and some background information on Blackfellas is available at the above address.

Due to the film being made locally, information is widely available from direct sources. David Ngoombujarra was a great help in analysing the films stylistic and cultural significance. He also gave a rare insight into the value of the film as an example of Australian cinema. Despite the film’s obvious critical success, the limited nature of its release and commercial success negates the film being referenced at an international level. The IMDb has very little information concerning box office figures and release dates. Much of this information came from cross referencing articles. Blackfellas is a well referenced film on a national level, the director and other creative talent involved in the film have been prolific since its release. Local film magazines in publication at the time of the film’s release are numerous with most giving a short background on the creative side of the film but very few containing actual interviews or details about the film. Reference books published subsequent to the film’s release were the most useful in giving the location of important material details, these provided details on the director and other important people involved in the film as well as some of the creative issues that arose in producing the film.

Critical Review (of film and its literature)

Blackfellas is the story of Doug Dooligan, a young indigenous male who, at the start of the film is released from jail where he was incarcerated for assault. As Doug is released he sees his father being brought into the prison. Doug leaves the prison where he is greeted by his long time friend Floyd ‘pretty boy’ Davies. Floyd was partially responsible for Doug’s incarceration. Doug gets a ride to the aboriginal camp where he meets Polly, the two are immediately attracted to each other and sexual tension between the two is obvious. Doug also realises that Floyd is still involved in criminal activities and decides to go to his mother’s house. Doug finds out that his family property ‘Yeeticup’ is up for sale. He resolves to buy the property back but Floyd and his mother create obstacles to hinder this. Doug eventually manages to get the property back, however, his father re-appears having escaped from jail. This involves Doug with the police and he narrowly escapes being incarcerated again, but at the expense of his friendship with Floyd. Doug’s father dies whilst in jail, as a result Floyd and Doug become friends again. When Doug tries to stop Floyd committing a crime Floyd is forced to sacrifice his own life so that Doug can escape.

Marginalisation and ‘wanting to belong’ are themes central to a critical understanding of the film Blackfellas. Doug is the very embodiment of marginalisation, a young indigenous male with a criminal record, such a person has every cultural stereotype imaginable applied to them. From the very beginning of the film indigenous society is contrasted with that of the larger community. Note the shot where the camera pans up from the scenes of Doug’s return at the aboriginal camp to the city sky-line in the background. The fact that the two cultures are contrasted in such a material way is evidence that, on this basis alone, they cannot be integrated it is either one or the other. This clashing of cultures is also played out in the roles of Floyd and Doug. Floyd has an utter contempt for rules of any sort, he lives outside his own community, knowing nothing about traditional ways. Floyd is seen playing football and being cheered by an onlooking crowd, however, he then starts fighting and gets kicked off the football team. This scene highlights the nature of indigenous relationships to the wider community. Floyd is valued as long as he plays by their rules, as soon as he breaks them he is subjected to generalisation. Doug on the other hand is well aware of his traditional roots yet the pull of the wider community forces him to relinquish his relationship to parts of the culture.

Initially critical assessments of Blackfellas focussed on the film’s ‘authenticity’. Blackfellas was the first commercial feature film that told the story of contemporary aboriginal life in an urban setting. Because of the domestic politics occurring at the time of Blackfellas release, the film was somewhat misunderstood. The then Labour government had recently passed the Mabo legislation. 1993 was also ‘The Year of Indigenous Peoples’, the film was subsequently seen as stereotyping aboriginal people by highlighting negative social aspects such as alcoholism, poverty and domestic violence. Critics of the movie seem to have wanted Blackfellas to be an overtly positive movie. The ending shatters any hope of this, instead the bleak reality is lying in front of them, disturbing in it’s ‘authenticity’.

Almost all of the cast of actors in Blackfellas are aboriginal. The non-indigenous actors, most notably John Hargreaves’ performance, have been described as somewhat ‘stiff and unnatural’. Of note here is the scene where John Hargreaves character is interrupted interrogating Doug by Doug’s mother (Julie Hudspeth). When Hudspeth and Hargreaves take control of the scene the emotion evident in previous scenes is missing. This becomes even more apparent when we see the character of Floyd and the ease with which he takes on a variety of roles within the character. Floyd is a believable protagonist whether he is instigating a car theft, playing football or abusing his wife.

Archie Weller wrote the novel The Day Of The Dog in 1980 after a stint in a Broome jail for what he considered a wrongful conviction. In 1991 James Ricketson adapted the novel into a screenplay with the assistance of Weller. The film was made in Western Australia with the involvement of the West Australian Film Council, the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Film Finance Corporation. Indigenous expertise was utilised both in front of and behind the camera. The result being that a unique style and view have been achieved. After being in pre-production for 3 years actual shooting occurred over approximately a 3 month period. Blackfellas was released at a tumultuous time in Australia. Indigenous issues were gaining notoriety. The film was released in Sydney and Melbourne followed by Perth then other states. Despite the limited nature of the release Blackfellas was fairly successful.

The film was lauded for it’s authenticity but at the same time attacked for being too stereotypical. Marketing of the film occurred in such a way that the symbolic value of the film interfered with the narrative. Rather than being a film about a boy coming of age, it was regarded as a film about aborigines. Ricketson himself has stated that this is not the case, preferring to see the film as applicable to any marginalised group. Blackfellas was made at a time when indigenous issues were said to be a matter of ‘national conscience’. Yet the wider community appear to have been unwilling to actually engage those issues. It seems that rather than provoke any change, films such as Blackfellas are said to have succeeded once the film is made.

The director of Blackfellas, James Ricketson is well known as a director but he has also written and acted in films. Ricketson has publicly debated the success and failure of Australian cinema at large. It has been noted that Ricketson idealises a distinctly Australian look, at the expense of big budget mainstream cinema. His background in documentary making placed him in an ideal position to make Blackfellas. This style is evident in the use of music in combination with landscapes to produce powerfully emotive scenes. Negative criticism of Blackfellas has also alluded to the ‘choppy editing at times’. This disjointed narrative is most likely a reflection of the importance of the subject within documentary making. Without covering all aspects of the characters, how could Ricketson have made an authentic aboriginal story by limiting the narrative to the character of Doug. Ricketson’s first feature film was Third Person Plural (1978), this film was characterised by a disjointed narrative, The difficulty in following the story in Ricketson’s films is probably a result of a deliberate ploy by him to engage with the audience. As has been previously noted Ricketson favours a low budget film industry that focuses on producing original product.

David Ngoombujarra is an actor, dancer and musician. His performance in Blackfellas as Floyd ‘pretty boy’ Davies is the standout of the film. Ngoombujarra’s acting career started off by chance, he was approached by a casting director following a musical performance. His first role was in Philip Avalon’s 1988 film Breaking Loose, this was closely followed by a role in Young Einstein (1988). Blackfellas allowed Ngoombujarra to display his full range of abilities as Ngoombujarra himself notes “It isn’t so bad playing the baddy”. Winning an AFI award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as well as a Sydney Film Critic’s award was public recognition for an arduous role. In the wake of Blackfellas Ngoombujarra, Moore and other indigenous actors were lauded as being the face of indigenous film talent. Ngoombujarra has certainly been prolific with roles in everything from Kangaroo Jack (2002) and The Missing (1998) to television parts in Heartland, Janus and Corelli. After speaking to Ngoombujarra about the way the movie was received it is clear the movie was misconstrued. Rather than being a story about aboriginal people in white society, the film should be seen as a story from an aboriginal viewpoint, about society at large. Ngoombujarra refers to this misconception saying, “Blackfellas is not a film about blackfellas running amok, it is a story about the love between two brothers and how they are torn apart. One wants to evolve while the other just doesn’t care.” Ngoombujarra quotes the line from the movie ‘I never get caught. I’m the midnight panther’.

The nature of the environment in which Blackfellas was released was an important factor in the film’s make-up. The film industry during the early 90’s was suffering from the effects of the economic recession. Government agencies were, as they had during the bulk of the 70’s, directly funding film-makers and thus exorcising creative control over what was produced. The creation of films became more closely aligned to the creation of a national identity. Cultural diversity or ‘multiculturalism was seen as a way of connecting to international markets whilst still remaining integrally Australian. Examples of such films might include Strictly Ballroom (92) and Death in Brunswick (92). Blackfellas is characteristic of an Australian film. The thematic regularities are indicative of a unifying element within Australian cinema.

Blackfellas explores the relationship of two men within the confines of urban Australia, one ends up dying to protect the other. Indigenous representation in the Australian film industry has significant value. However, feature films such as Crocodile Dundee have provided indigenous actors with very little space in which to display their talent. Until recently indigenous auteurs have been non-existent, thus an indigenous perspective has been denied to the wider public With films such as Beneath Clouds (2002) being released recently there is evidence that indigenous talent is producing and evolving a distinct style. This style is similar to the documentary style in use in Blackfellas. The rich resource of narratives that is apart of aboriginal culture has also been recognised. Thus the value of films like Blackfellas is that they explore a marginalised group within an ordinary setting. The reality of the setting over rides all other motivating factors, we do not have characters who are inflexible rather they are characters who are at the mercy of fate, their fortunes can change quickly.

This film was produced in a national cinema which exists within a market dominated by Hollywood. To produce films that will be successful the industry has had to tread a fine line between presenting films that retain an ‘Australian look’ and films that are so parochial that they alienate foreign audiences. Blackfellas similar to movies such as Romper Stomper (92) and Priscilla (94) is able to present the story of a group that is inherently Australian yet in reality is marginalised to the point of obscurity. This then is the role of films like Blackfellas within the Australian film landscape, to tell the story of people who would otherwise be denied a voice.