Morning Star

This film will tackle generational disinterest in the practice & preservation of sacred traditions of Yolngu people. Djalu succeeded in engaging the next generation to keep the tribe’s rituals alive, and now the baton is squarely in his son, Larry’s, hands as he steps up to the role of custodian. This film will support Larry in his quest to engage the next generation & show his people that the old and new world can coexist harmoniously, and that their culture is globally celebrated.
Indigenous health and traditional healing practices will also be a focus, this film will endeavour to shift attitudes towards traditional healing by exploring the benefits of traditional vibrational sound ceremonies through medical research. Depression and anxiety are prevalent in Arnhem Land, and plagues the wider Indigenous community. This film will explore Larry’s recovery as a means to empower his community to take the stigma out of talking about mental health issues.

We want our film to create a sense of pride in the Yolngu people, and inspire the next generation to want to keep their traditions alive and re-evaluate the power and relevance of Indigenous culture not only in Australia, but globally. Through this film we want to reach audiences worldwide to educate them on Indigenous culture and share the challenges and successes of keeping the world’s oldest surviving culture alive and unbroken through the generations.

Short term, we want this documentary to encourage audiences to come away with a broader understanding of Indigenous traditions, culture and Galpu healing practices.
Medium term, we hope that Larry and his brothers feel validated and supported in their roles as ambassadors for Yolngu culture, and will continue to proudly share their songlines, knowledge and healing techniques with the world. We also want audiences to re-evaluate the power and relevance of Indigenous culture in Australia; and we will participate in medical research to quantify the effects of the yidaki vibrational sound, working with medical researchers to publish the findings.
Long term, we want Larry to inspire his sons to continue the generational passing down of knowledge, and for this knowledge to be available to the youth of Arnhem Land. We also hope that through the medical research, there will be more integration of Indigenous healing practices into Western medical practices.

Due to the success of Westwind, we have pre-existing relationships with the local community in Arnhem Land including the Gurruwiwi family, which is informing the story of the film. Garma Festival, which is geared toward the corporate world, screened Westwind in 2019, sharing Galpu songlines with attendees of the event. This exposure helped us with not only sharing Djalu and Larry’s message but has facilitated discussions for private investment opportunities to support this project.
Our goal to record Djalu and Larry’s stories for future generations can be achieved through our relationship with the Mulka Community Arts Center. They have archived and translated footage of Djalu’s stories from the Westwind shoot which are accessible to the community, and we will continue to record, translate and archive these stories for this project.
The festivals and organisers who have booked Malawurr (WOMAD, Rêve de l’Aboriginè, Small World Theatre and Ondrej Smeykal) are supportive of the artists.

1. Spread understand that Indigenous culture is deeply sophisticated, with practices that are highly relevant to modern struggles.

2. Share what you’ve learnt about Yolngu culture on social media – get this knowledge out there. Let’s celebrate this rich and vibrant culture! Tag Malawurr and Larry Gurruwiwi – let them know you care about their message and their culture. This will encourage them to keep going, and it will have a trickle down effect on the next generation.

3. The film will work help Larry Gurruwiwi with his career as a touring and recording musical artist.

4. Help us get this documentary in front of students in both western classrooms and Indigenous communities.