When Australia’s most renowned Indigenous actor David Gulpilil passed away far from his Homeland, his family worked tirelessly to fulfill his dying wish, to reunite him with his country and bury him on his Homeland. Gulpilil, the star of box office hits Crocodile Dundee, Storm Boy, The Tracker and Walkabout, was often cited as a man who walked in two worlds, Western and Indigenous, but the deeper side of his Yolŋu culture was rarely in the spotlight. As his family take on this huge logistical challenge to fulfill their promise, they traverse over four and a half thousand kilometres, from South Australia to the Northern Territory’s Arafura Swamp by vehicle, light aircraft, river barge and helicopter. Each step of the way ceremony leaders aligned to the Marwuyu Clan Nation where he was raised in the Arafura Swamp and schooled in Yolŋu lore, enact the timeless song cycles to guide his spirit home, finally invoking their ancestral Djan’kawu sisters to mark the spot for his grave. This final chapter of David Gulpilil’s remarkable story, is a rare insight into one of the oldest living cultures on earth, and a remarkable homecoming.
After an award-wining stint as Artistic Director of Corrugated Iron Youth Theatre (NT) Maggie wrote/directed documentary Dare to Be Different aka Class Act for ABC Compass. She co-wrote and produced feature documentary GUILTY, Good Pitch Australia 2016 & Adelaide Film Festival’s HIVE Initiative, winner Best Docudrama ATOM 2018. Maggie was a script editor and producer on High Ground, 2021 winner Best Film, Film Critics Circle of Australia, Screen Producers Australia & ATOM Awards.
Trisha is a First Nations Anmatyerr woman and co-founder of Brindle Films in Alice Springs. She has produced award-winning documentaries and dramas, including MaveriX (AACTA nom, ABC, Netflix), 8MMM Aboriginal Radio (ABC, Netflix, co-creator/writer) and feature documentaries Audrey Napanangka (theatrical release May 2023), Finke: There and Back (AACTA nom, Madman, Stan) and The Song Keepers (Walkley/Banff/Film Critics Circle of Australia noms). She wrote, directed, produced, and presented Occupation Native.
