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Yellow Fella on a journey to Cannes

1 May 2005 - An Australian documentary about Tom E Lewis’ search for identity will become the first Indigenous (documentary) film to be shown at Cannes Film Festival.

Yellow Fella, based on the life story of the Indigenous actor and film-maker, known for his role in the 1978 film The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, has been selected for screening at the prestigious event next month.

The 25-minute documentary tells the story of Mr Lewis, whose mother is a traditional Indigenous woman of southern Arnhem Land and whose father is a Welsh stockman he never knew.

Mr Lewis, who wrote the film’s script, embarks on a journey through northern Australia and back into his past to learn about the relationship between his parents.

Yellow Fella includes 16mm footage taken of the 1950s Roper River mission in south-east Arnhem Land, where Mr Lewis grew up.

It was produced by Citt Williams from Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Promotions for SBS Television, and was directed by Aboriginal film-maker Ivan Sen.

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Mr Lewis, who is aged in his 40s, of the film’s selection in the French festival.

“I don’t know how to respond to it.

“All I can do is stay calm and just go ride the boat, you know.”

He said his story was one about learning how to survive in difficult times.

“You just learn to cope and stand on your feet and accept things,” he said.

“You’ve got to go through a lot of things to reach goodness, sometimes.”

Mr Lewis said he loved making the film in northern Australia, but the project had been tough.

“We have a saying in the family, you don’t turn back from halfway once you start.”

Ivan Sen, whose previous work includes feature film Beneath Clouds, short films Dust, Wind and Tears, and documentaries Who Was Evelyn Orcher?, The Dreamers, Shifting Shelter and Vanish, said he identified strongly with the issues Tom dealt with on this journey.

“I have a similar background to Tom, but for him, it is very extreme. He has a fifty-fifty mix of two incredibly different gene pools. And with that can come a lot of pain, but also an incredible view of the world through privileged eyes,” Mr Sen said.

Ms Williams, who was asked by the Australian Film Commission to submit the documentary to a Cannes selector visiting Australia, was notified a few weeks ago that it would be screened at the film festival, and said she was “stunned”.

“It’s a features and a drama festival, so for a documentary to be screening at Cannes is really unusual,” said the producer, who also made the documentary Cycling Mongolia.

She said Yellow Fella was a tale of a child “being thrown between two cultures”.

“It’s about Australia’s history and I think there’s a really strong message there for the Australian community about embracing our history,” Ms Williams said.

She said Lewis’ mother, a Ngungubuyu woman named Angelina George, was also an “amazing character”.

“She was a young woman when she went with her family to this stock camp where she got a job working as a cook and also she learnt how to ride a horse,” Ms Williams said.

Whether the documentary was successful at Cannes or not wasn’t important she said, as all that mattered was representing the Aboriginal community.

“I hope that we are able to represent the Indigenous community of Australia with pride,” she said.

The honour comes as CAAMA celebrates its 25th anniversary. CAAMA is owned by the Aboriginal people of Central Australia and was established in 1980. CAAMA’s founders framed its objectives on the social, cultural and economic advancement of Aboriginal people.

“In 2005 we celebrate 25 years of CAAMA giving Australia’s Indigenous people an authentic voice through music, film and television production, and giving them the skills and equipment to create and broadcast their work,” said CAAMA CEO Priscilla Collins.

“It is a major achievement to have our films recognised at such an elite festival. It has taken many years for CAAMA to break down the stereotype that Indigenous films don’t rate.”

Yellow Fella will be screened at Cannes in the Uncertain Regard category, a program which features films expressing a personal vision of the filmmaker and have an emphasis on cultural innovation.

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 11-22.

Yellow Fella will also screen on SBS later this year, and be shown at both the Melbourne and Sydney film festivals. - With AAP

Source: The National Indigenous Times Issue 79

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• Cannes Film Festival website
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