form y separately published work icon The Balanda and the Bark Canoes single work   film/TV  
Alternative title: 18 Canoes; The Making of 'Ten Canoes'
Issue Details: First known date: 2006... 2006 The Balanda and the Bark Canoes
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The Balanda and the Bark Canoes is a 52 minute documentary that is concerned not only with the day to day production issues, including the practicalities of working with non-professional actors in crocodile infested Arnhem Land, but also the complex consultations with the Aboriginal cast and community members (many who speak little or no English) and who put forth views on the path Ten Canoes ought to follow. The film similarly explores the cross-cultural issues tackled by directors Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and their Aboriginal collaborators, while illustrating storytelling methodology on both sides of the cultural divide.

Notes

  • Originally titled 18 Canoes, the documentary was re-named The Balanda and the Bark Canoes when it premiered at the 2006 Sydney Film Festival. The title was again changed (to Making Ten Canoes) when broadcast on SBS Television in July 2006.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Respecting Protocols for Representing Aboriginal Cultures Jared Thomas , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014;
'This essay undertakes a detailed discussion of how respecting protocols for representing Indigenous cultures supports the interests of Indigenous communities and producers of stories with Indigenous content. To highlight the importance of Indigenous protocols I review the prominence and reception of Aboriginal stories in Australian film and literature and discuss how protocol guidelines can prevent problematic representations. I demonstrate how protocols influenced writing Calypso Summer (2014), a novel exploring issues relating to my cultural group, the Nukunu, to illustrate the challenges encountered and benefits gained from employing Indigenous representation protocols. ' (Author's introduction)
Reel Indigeneity : Ten Canoes and Its Chronotopical Politics of Ab/Originality Cornelis Martin Renes , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 28 no. 6 2014; (p. 850-861)
'The awarded film Ten Canoes (2006) broke new ground in the cinematic representation of Indigenous Australia. Indigenous life in the remote area of Arnhem Land's Arafura Swamp was both documented and fictionalized in collaboration between the independent Dutch-Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer and the Yolngu community in Ramingining. This essay draws on Homi Bhabha's work on the articulation of cultural difference in his essay ‘DissemiNation’, published in his volume Nation and Narration (1990), Martin Nakata's work on the Indigenous/non-Indigenous contact zone in the Australian context (2007), and the film's accompanying documentary, The Making of Ten Canoes, to analyse the eventful process of Ten Canoes' creation. The questions and doubts raised about the film's structure and content inside and outside the Aboriginal community reveal a dynamic yet tense ‘Cultural Interface’ of cross-cultural collaboration. Its very nature issues a call to veer away from a nostalgic search for Indigenous-Australian ‘authenticity’, ‘fidelity’ and ‘originality’ when Indigenous-Australian cultural dynamics inevitably move towards the incorporation of new, hybrid means of cultural production, as Ten Canoes' fruitful spin-off activities amongst the Yolngu prove.' (Publication abstract)
Working Together : Two Cultures, One Film, Many Canoes Therese Davis , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , October - December no. 41 2006;
'An examination of director Rolf de Heer's unique collaboration with the Yolngu people of Ramingining of Northern Australia on Ten Canoes and the behind-the-scenes documentary Balanda and the Bark Canoes.' (Publisher's abstract)
Working Together : Two Cultures, One Film, Many Canoes Therese Davis , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , October - December no. 41 2006;
'An examination of director Rolf de Heer's unique collaboration with the Yolngu people of Ramingining of Northern Australia on Ten Canoes and the behind-the-scenes documentary Balanda and the Bark Canoes.' (Publisher's abstract)
Respecting Protocols for Representing Aboriginal Cultures Jared Thomas , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014;
'This essay undertakes a detailed discussion of how respecting protocols for representing Indigenous cultures supports the interests of Indigenous communities and producers of stories with Indigenous content. To highlight the importance of Indigenous protocols I review the prominence and reception of Aboriginal stories in Australian film and literature and discuss how protocol guidelines can prevent problematic representations. I demonstrate how protocols influenced writing Calypso Summer (2014), a novel exploring issues relating to my cultural group, the Nukunu, to illustrate the challenges encountered and benefits gained from employing Indigenous representation protocols. ' (Author's introduction)
Reel Indigeneity : Ten Canoes and Its Chronotopical Politics of Ab/Originality Cornelis Martin Renes , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 28 no. 6 2014; (p. 850-861)
'The awarded film Ten Canoes (2006) broke new ground in the cinematic representation of Indigenous Australia. Indigenous life in the remote area of Arnhem Land's Arafura Swamp was both documented and fictionalized in collaboration between the independent Dutch-Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer and the Yolngu community in Ramingining. This essay draws on Homi Bhabha's work on the articulation of cultural difference in his essay ‘DissemiNation’, published in his volume Nation and Narration (1990), Martin Nakata's work on the Indigenous/non-Indigenous contact zone in the Australian context (2007), and the film's accompanying documentary, The Making of Ten Canoes, to analyse the eventful process of Ten Canoes' creation. The questions and doubts raised about the film's structure and content inside and outside the Aboriginal community reveal a dynamic yet tense ‘Cultural Interface’ of cross-cultural collaboration. Its very nature issues a call to veer away from a nostalgic search for Indigenous-Australian ‘authenticity’, ‘fidelity’ and ‘originality’ when Indigenous-Australian cultural dynamics inevitably move towards the incorporation of new, hybrid means of cultural production, as Ten Canoes' fruitful spin-off activities amongst the Yolngu prove.' (Publication abstract)
Last amended 23 Mar 2017 09:59:09
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