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Director Stephen Maxwell Johnson and musician Witiyana Marika drew on three decades of friendship to create the Northern Territory action thriller High Ground. It is precisely this central place of songs in contemporary life (as well as Ancestral ceremony) that will be addressed in this presentation. .Mainsubmenu {
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. The same meaning-laden metaphors of ceremonial songs have accordingly found their way into Yolngu popular songs, most famously by the Band Yothu Yindi, but also by more recent bands and solo artists including East Journey, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, and Yirrmal Marika. border-right-style: none;
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Jacob Junior Nayinggul is a newcomer with a magnetic screen presence Source:The Australian ", Moran taunts Travis, in one of the film's more forced — yet no less provocative — moments. height: 5px;
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10 7.5 40 41 26. Catch the advance screenings of this stunning and highly acclaimed untold story from Australia's past, Tuesday 26 Jan at Luna Palace Cinemas. Witiyana�s son, Yirrmal has attended school in Geelong for several years. font-size: 14px;
This has helped to maintain continuity of structure and meaning even in cases where the outward trappings of ceremonies such as funerals have been modified and adapted to the modern context. padding-bottom: 10px;
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High Ground is in cinemas from January 28. High Ground Directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson Written by Stephen Anastassiades Starring Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Aaron Pedersen, Ryan Corr, Caren Pistorius, Sean Mununggurr, Witiyana Marika, Esmerelda Marimowa, Maximillian Johnson, Jack Thompson In cinemas. He is one of a dozen children of the late Rirratjingu clan and community leader (and 'father of Yolngu land rights') Roy D a d aynga Marika (MBE). width: 200px ;
High Ground highlights the power of storytelling to enable healing through truth-telling. border-right-style: solid;
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These scenes have clearly been made with care — the filmmakers received the blessing of the land's traditional owners — and with a view to giving the Indigenous performers a significant point of view in the film. height: 20px;
Indeed, one of High Ground’s chief virtues is its sense of place and authenticity, and this extends to the way Indigenous culture is depicted. border-bottom-style: solid;
In the Yirrkala area and surrounding region he has served as a song- and ceremonial leader for his own clan and related clans. As the two men set out across the landscape, High Ground seems to be establishing itself in the tradition of the unlikely-buddy Western, with Travis — the sympathetic, or at least sufficiently conflicted white man — bonding with Gutjuk, teaching the young man how to shoot a rifle, and in turn learning the lay of the land. font-style: normal;
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Here Galarrwuy alludes both to the continual process of (re)mapping Yolngu concepts onto an ever-evolving and increasingly global reality, and�importantly�to the essential role that songs play in providing a core basis for Yolngu life. -->
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Cast Simon Baker Jacob Junior Nayinggul Witiyana Marika Jack Thompson. var secsMain;
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As one of the founding members of the highly successful Yolngu band Yothu Yindi, Witiyana played a key role in ensuring the inclusion of traditional forms of expression within a popular music context.