Perth’s time has come to see the acclaimed documentary of David Gulpilil’s life at a special Perth Q&A screening with director Molly Reynolds at Luna Leederville on Tuesday 11 May, with tickets on sale now. The film looks back over a 50-year screen career that has unquestionably changed the face of Australian Cinema, as Gulpilil, now terminally ill, generously shares his story. And for the first time, that story is told entirely in his own words.
“I’m an actor, I’m a dancer, I’m a singer and also, a painter. This film is about me. This is my story of my story,” says David Gulpilil, Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu in what is likely final film (although it certainly may not be!).
Gulpilil is the only actor to appear in both of the two highest-grossing Australian films of all time, Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Australia (2008). He is known throughout the world for his unforgettable performances and enigmatic screen presence – from his breakthrough in Walkabout (1971) to films including Storm Boy (1976), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The Last Wave (1977), The Tracker (2002), Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), The Proposition (2005) and his Cannes Best Actor award winning role in Rolf de Heer’s Charlie’s Country(2013).
In My Name is Gulpilil, David holds the camera figuratively in the palm of his hand. He talks about what it is to stare down death, and what it was to live a life such as he did, a dizzying mix of traditional Aboriginal ways and modern Hollywood excess, and everything in between. It is pure, unmediated and unvarnished David Gulpilil, in which the great Australian actor shows what a survivor he is, and how he came to be the living legend we know him to be.
The film is directed by Molly Reynolds (Another Country and 12 Canoes) and produced by Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr, David Gulpilil and Molly Reynolds.
“When I embarked upon this film, I didn’t know where it would take us,” says director Molly Reynolds, who will arrive in Perth direct from the Darwin International Film Festival to present the Q&A screening on 11 May.
“It takes a certain fortitude to work with David. For all his charisma, magnificence and talent, he can still be mercurial, difficult and frustrating. But he is without peer; he was the first of his people to grace the Australian screen who was considered to be an actor, a true thespian.
“It was David’s culture, his prowess as a hunter, painter, singer and dancer, that gave him his screen allure and made him unique. With the erosion of deep culture in most Indigenous communities, however, the likes of Gulpilil will never exist again,” she reflects.
At the Adelaide Festival in March, the World Premiere of MY NAME IS GULPILIL was a momentous and emotional cinema experience. The ailing David Gulpilil walked the red carpet and introduced the film to an electric standing ovation from the sold-out theatre of 1500, with The Guardian calling the film “sublime, humane, elegant…an unforgettable film. 5 STARS”. Now the time has come for West Australian audiences to be enthralled by the great man and his career.
Perth Premiere Q&A screening
Tuesday 11 May, 6.00 pm arrivals for 6.30 pm proceedings
At Luna Cinemas Leederville
Welcome to Country with John McGuire
Screening of MY NAME IS GULPILIL (101 mins)
Followed by a Q&A in the cinema with Director Molly Reynolds
Hosted by Kylie Bracknell [Kaarljilba Kaardn]
TICKETS ON SALE NOW HERE
www.lunapalace.com.au
Normal ticket prices apply $20.50 full / $15.50 student / $14.50 conc (online booking fee $1.50)
My Name is Gulpilil is a Vertigo Production produced and filmed on Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Andyamathana Lands. It is produced with the assistance of the Adelaide Film Festival, financed with the assistance of the South Australian Film Corporation and Australian Broadcasting Corporation and filmed with the assistance of Screen Australia. Special thanks to our treasured cultural institution, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
