"Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra" at the Pan African Film Festival
Company:
Directed by Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin
Featuring authentic storytelling, mesmerizing technique and deeply moving and spectacular performances, combined with inimitable soundscapes, candid interviews and a treasure trove of archival footage, this beautifully executed film evidences why Bangarra Dance Theater developed from a little-known Indigenous dance group into one the nation's most powerful cultural institutions.
Historically important, Firestarter explores the loss and reclaiming of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma and crucially, the extraordinary power of art as a messenger for social change and healing. Taking the viewer through Bangarra's birth and spectacular growth to where it is now entering its 4th decade, this historically important film recognizes Bangarra's early founders, telling the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers - Stephen, David and Russell Page - turned the newly born dance group into one of Australia's leading performing arts companies.
Awards: Feature Documentary Award and Inaugural Change Award, Adelaide Film Festival 2020; Best Documentary, Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts Awards cast Stephen Page, David Page, Russell Page, Frances Rings, Djakapurra Munyarryun, Carole Johnson, Cheryl Stone directed by Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin
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