image of person or book cover 1644923593107903705.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
form y separately published work icon Sunny and the Dark Horse single work   film/TV   life story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1987... 1987 Sunny and the Dark Horse
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The story of an Aboriginal stockman and his family and their growing passion for “picnic racing” on bush tracks in New South Wales.'

'Sunny and The Dark Horse was filmed at Collum Collum, an Aboriginal-operated cattle station in north-eastern New South Wales. The film follows the Aboriginal manager of the station, Sunny Bancroft, and his non-Aboriginal wife, Liz, in their search for a winning horse to triumph on the local picnic racing circuit – but things don’t always go their way.'

'The story begins when Sunny buys a horse for his daughter to ride and races it at the Glenreagh Gallop. He then attempts to find a suitable stockhorse on the station to race at the local Baryulgil picnic races. But while training one of these he hears that a friend has a racehorse for sale and buys it to race at Baryulgil. The horse, King, wins at Baryulgil but loses at subsequent race meetings. Sunny determines to find another winner and buys a black horse, naming it Sambo.'

'With the end of the season, Sunny is persuaded by his family not to buy any more horses, but then he hears that a friend has another racehorse for sale ...'(Ronin Films website)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      1987 .
      image of person or book cover 1644923593107903705.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 86 minsp.
      Series: AIATSIS Collection Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies , collection

      'The Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later AIATSIS – the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) was established as a statutory authority in 1964. The Institute quickly established a film unit to act as an archive of filmed material and also to record material of ethnographic and historic significance. Part of this work also involved the preparation of films for public release, and until the early 1990s, the AIAS Film Unit became responsible for some of the most significant works of ethnographic film then produced in Australia. This collection of some thirty significant documentary works will be progressively released by Ronin Films in association with AIATSIS, where possible in re-mastered form and with associated interviews with filmmakers.' (Source: Ronin Films website)

Works about this Work

form y separately published work icon The MacDougall Tapes Andrew Pike , Mitchell : Ronin Films , 2017 11433482 2017 single work film/TV interview

'These extended conversations with David and Judith MacDougall represent an invaluable archival record and convey a wealth of ideas and information relating to their experiences as a highly influential ethnographic filmmaking team.

'The conversations cover their years with the Film Unit of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, 1975-1987. During this time, the MacDougalls made a series of eleven documentary films, many of them acknowledged world-wide as landmark achievements in ethnographic cinema. These films included TAKEOVER (1979), THE HOUSE-OPENING (1980), THREE HORSEMEN (1982), SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE (1987) and LINK-UP DIARY (1987). The MacDougalls discuss their approach to filmmaking and the circumstances of making each film. They also reflect on their body of work from the perspective of today, and discuss the work of other filmmakers who worked for the Film Unit, notably Kim McKenzie with films such as WAITING FOR HARRY (1980), and the work of Indigenous filmmakers Wayne Barker and Oomera (Coral) Edwards.' (Publication summary)

form y separately published work icon The MacDougall Tapes Andrew Pike , Mitchell : Ronin Films , 2017 11433482 2017 single work film/TV interview

'These extended conversations with David and Judith MacDougall represent an invaluable archival record and convey a wealth of ideas and information relating to their experiences as a highly influential ethnographic filmmaking team.

'The conversations cover their years with the Film Unit of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, 1975-1987. During this time, the MacDougalls made a series of eleven documentary films, many of them acknowledged world-wide as landmark achievements in ethnographic cinema. These films included TAKEOVER (1979), THE HOUSE-OPENING (1980), THREE HORSEMEN (1982), SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE (1987) and LINK-UP DIARY (1987). The MacDougalls discuss their approach to filmmaking and the circumstances of making each film. They also reflect on their body of work from the perspective of today, and discuss the work of other filmmakers who worked for the Film Unit, notably Kim McKenzie with films such as WAITING FOR HARRY (1980), and the work of Indigenous filmmakers Wayne Barker and Oomera (Coral) Edwards.' (Publication summary)

Last amended 18 Nov 2015 13:02:09
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