Yolngu Boy
| Yolngu Boy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Stephen Johnson |
| Produced by | Gordon Glenn |
| Written by | Chris Anastassiades |
| Starring | Sean Mununggurr, John Sebastian Pilakui, Nathan Daniels |
| Music by | Mark Ovenden |
| Cinematography | Brad Shield |
| Edited by | Ken Sallows |
|
Release date
|
22 March 2001 |
|
Running time
|
85 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5.25 |
| Box office | $645,700 |
Patricia Edgar
M. Yunupingu
Galarrwuy Yunupingu
Yolngu Boy is a 2001 Australian drama film that follows three Yolngu teenagers as they make the transition from childhood to adulthood.
After being been initiated together and growing up together, troubled natural born leader Botj (Sean Mununggurr), conservative and traditionalist Lorrpu (John Sebastian) and football loving ladies man Milika (Nathan Daniels) are transitioning from childhood to adulthood.
Botj, who has recently been released from prison, decides to break into the local store to get cigarettes and he convinces Lorrpu and Milika to join him. Lorrpu and Milika decide to return home, but Botj remains and gets high by sniffing petrol. He makes his way to the Community Centre, where he lights a smoke, but as he does this, the petrol ignites and the building is burnt down. Determined to help Botj avoid imprisonment, Lorrpu and Milika trek with him from their home in north-eastern Arnhem Land to Darwin to plead his case before Dawu (Nungki Yunupingu), a Yolngu elder.
In Darwin, Lorrpu tries to convince Dawu that Botj is rehabilitated, but Dawu does not believe him. Botj fears he may be turned over to the police, so he leaves the group and attempts to find his father. When he finds his father, his father is so intoxicated that he is unable to recognize Botj. Following this, Botj turns to sniffing petrol once again and while under its effects, he falls to his death from a bridge. His body is discovered by Lorrpu and Milika later that day.
Lorrpu and Milika return to their original home and their old lives. For Lorrpu, the journey has been a rite of passage, and through it he has been able to gain the acceptance of his elders.
Sean Mununggurr is from Gapuwiyak in Eastern Arnhem Land and is a Gumatj dialect speaker, while John Sebastian Pilakui (Sebbie) and Nathan Daniels both hail from Bathurst Island in the Tiwi Islands. For all three, English is their second language, and all three were fifteen years old at the time of filming.
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Wikipedia