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form y separately published work icon Toomelah single work   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 2011... 2011 Toomelah
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The film is set entirely in the remote Indigenous community of Toomelah, located on the NSW, QLD border. It was created as a mission during the 1930s, bringing together Gamilaroi and Bigambal people from the surrounding area.

'The story centres on Daniel, a small ten year old boy who dreams of being a gangster. He is kicked out of school and befriends a local gang leader, until a rival gangster arrives back from jail to reclaim his turf. A showdown ensues and Daniel is caught in the middle, leaving him with a choice to make about his uncertain future.

'Toomelah is a deeply personal story, that intimately depicts mission life in contemporary Australia. The film reveals the challenges facing the young Gamilaroi people of the Toomelah Community. Robbed of much of their traditional culture by Government policy, it is a community on a cultural edge, struggling for an identity. It is a provocative and yet comic story that transports audiences inside the community, creating an authentic world and way of life that is Toomelah.'

Source: Toomelah website.

Notes

  • For further information, see the Toomelah website, www.toomelahthemovie.com

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Here and Now Sylvia Lawson , single work review
— Review of The Tall Man Tony Krawitz , 2011 single work film/TV ; Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV ; Burning Man Jonathan Teplitzky , 2011 single work film/TV

'TWO of the best films made in Australia, in this and most other years, are now finishing short runs at marginal sites in our cities. Many who care for cinema per se, and others who see these stories as central in the landscape, are likely to miss them altogether. They can be sought on DVD, but they repay the big-screen impact and should be allowed more of it, with more talk around them, more energetic promotion.' (Introduction)          

The Past, Present and Future of Toomelah (Ivan Sen, 2011) Nicholas Bugeja , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , October no. 92 2019;

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV

'The bulk of Ivan Sen’s cinematic oeuvre – documentary and fiction (not that there is always great disparity between the two) – converges around a set of core themes: the intractable legacy of British colonialism and racism; the complex inscriptions on, and meanings of, landscape; the resilience of Indigenous Australia; the importance of cultural connection; and a quiet optimism for a just, caring Australia – one in which historical wounds can be healed.' (Introduction)

Meet the Woman Bringing Aboriginal Cinema to the Screens of Paris Sandra R. Phillips (interviewer), 2016 single work interview
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 June 2016;

'In a tiny cinema in the Latin Quarter of Paris, something very unusual for French filmgoers is on display. For five days, the programme at Cinema La Clef is devoted not to the latest Hollywood blockbusters, nor to the finest French cinema, but to the best examples of Australian Indigenous film-making.'

'The first Festival of Australian Aboriginal Cinema (La Festival du Cinéma Aborigène Australien) will showcase films that may have garnered awards at Cannes, but are nonetheless unfamiliar to audiences in one of the world’s capitals of cinematic culture. It is the first festival of its kind in Europe.'

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)
Case Studies 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Indigenous Film and Television Digital Bibliography 2014;

'Synopsis and bibliographies for selected Indigenous Australian films from locations across Australia including: Samson & Delilah, Beneath Clouds, Bran Nue Dae , The Sapphires, and Toomelah. '

Darkly Amusing but Dangerously Close to the Bone Garry Maddox , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 June 2011; (p. 11)

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV
Untitled Stephanie Bunbury , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 7 July 2011; (p. 16)

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV
New Release Tom Ryan , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 20 November 2011; (p. 17) The Sun-Herald , 20 November 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV
Intimate Glimpse into Rugged World Paul Byrnes , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24 November 2011; (p. 20)

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV
Violence Disguised as Myth Evan Williams , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 26 - 27 November 2011; (p. 16-17)

— Review of Toomelah Ivan Sen , 2011 single work film/TV
A Fairytale Existence Andrew L. Urban , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 1 May 2011; (p. 8)
Two Aussies Find They Really Cannes Michael Bodey , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16 -17 April 2011; (p. 5)
Untitled Michael Bodey , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 April 2011; (p. 15)
Local Work Makes Top Tier after a Lean Decade Michael Bodey , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 11 May 2011; (p. 29)
Director Ducks to the Mainstream Shoot Toomelah Stephanie Bunbury , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 May 2011; (p. 10)
Last amended 9 Sep 2019 14:03:28
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