'1931, Northern Australia. The destinies of Travis, a white bounty hunter, and Baywara, an Indigenous man trying to save what remains of his family, intersect. Twelve years after a tragedy that scarred them both, a manhunt pits them against each other.'
Source: Berlinale program.
'Producer and actor Witiyana Marika is a respected Rirratjingu (Yolngu) ceremonial leader. Witiyana was also Senior Cultural Advisor on the film, negotiating the nuanced and complex cultural elements and relationships between the different Indigenous clans who came together to work on different lands. All Traditional Owners of the land on which High Ground was filmed gave their blessing for the film and provided unprecedented access to country.'
Source: Cinema Australia (https://cinemaaustralia.com.au/2020/11/12/the-new-high-ground-trailer-puts-australias-dark-past-front-and-centre/). (Sighted: 23/11/2020)
'Held primarily at Palace Nova in the CBD’s Eastend, the Adelaide Film Festival was one of only a few festivals in Australia that were able to hold in-cinema events in 2020. The festival took extra precautions to hold a COVID-safe festival, something Variety dubbed a “pre-pandemic experience.” While there were post-film Q&As, red carpets and parties, there were also social distancing in theatres, hand sanitisers throughout the venues and strictly no dancing.' (Introduction)
'A white sharpshooter and an Indigenous survivor of a massacre reunite after 12 years in a gracefully directed but rather Anglo-centric western.'
'A Cast of renowned Australian movie stars including Guy Pearce, David Gulpilil and Jack Thompson will appear in a film set in Arnhem Land, it was announced yesterday.'
'High Ground will be directed by Stephen Johnson, the cinematographer for Yothu Yindi and director of breakthrough feature film Yolgnu Boy in 2001. ...'
'Australian actors Guy Pearce, David Gulpilil and Jack Thompson will star in a film exploring the Northern Territory's "confronting" history. ...'
'High Ground, set in Arnhem Land in the 1920s, is fictitious but inspired by true events, director Stephen Johnson says. ...'
'High Ground, the spectacular and confronting instant Aussie classic— "not a Western, but a Northern", as its director describes — first gripped audiences at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.'
'Arriving right on time for Australia's contested January 26 public holiday, the thorny new action drama High Ground is the latest in a growing body of local revisionist films to tangle with the racial violence that has become inseparable from the nation's troubled past.' (Introduction)
