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Yolngu Boy (2000)

play May contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
clip Three friends reunited education content clip 1, 2

Original classification rating: M. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Lorrpu (John Sebastian Pilakui) dreams of when he and his friends were initiated, as Botj (Sean Mununggur) arrives back from three months in jail. Their friend Milika (Nathan Daniels) is a young football star, but he and Lorrpu have been chosen for 'ceremony’, a great honour that Botj will not share. Botj’s uncle Matjala (Makuma Yunupingu) warns Botj to leave his mother alone.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

The film opens with great energy and contemporary reality, and sense of optimism. Stephen Johnson’s filming techniques are percussive and surprising, very different to the way stories in this milieu are usually filmed.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows three teenage Yolngu boys, Lorrpu (John Sebastian Pilakui), Milika (Nathan Daniels) and Botj (Sean Mununggurr), all of whom live in north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The clip opens with Lorrpu dreaming about the first initiation ceremony the three friends were involved in as young boys. Lorrpu then introduces Botj who is seen returning home after a period in prison, and Milika who wants to be a football star. At a local football match, the narration implies that Lorrpu is being singled out for final initiation by an Elder, Dawu (Nungki Yunupingu). The soundtrack includes narration from Lorrpu and music featuring a didgeridoo.

Educational value points

  • The clip presents three ‘Yolngu boys’, Lorrpu, Botj and Milika. They are together in Lorrpu’s dream, but the clip then indicates the diverse paths that they will follow later in the film as a result of life experiences and choices. The various concerns that challenge the boys and that will shape the film’s narrative include Lorrpu’s desire to maintain the traditional ways of his Yolngu ancestors, Botj’s alienation, which leads to his antisocial behaviour, and Milika’s obsession with becoming a football star.
  • The sequences in the clip point to the central issue explored in the film Yolngu Boy, the quest for identity by Indigenous male adolescents. Lorrpu, Botj and Milika are portrayed as beginning to make the transition from childhood to adulthood. The boys must negotiate their way into adulthood through a complex array of opportunities and decisions presented by both their Indigenous culture and Western culture.
  • The opening sequence of the clip shows a group of Indigenous men and boys moving through the landscape wearing ceremonial dress. It becomes apparent that this is Lorrpu’s dream of the initiation ceremony that the three friends were involved in as young boys. Later in the clip Lorrpu is chosen by the Elder Dawu to participate in a further initiation ceremony. Elders prepare those being initiated for their ceremonial obligations and their role as adults within the community.
  • The clip uses the device of the boys facing different challenges to introduce some of the personal and social issues encountered in contemporary Indigenous communities. Milika’s dream of becoming a football star suggests the potential upheavals as well as the success experienced by talented Indigenous footballers. Botj’s story hints at the wider story of disadvantage often experienced by young Indigenous men returning from the prison system, as in this scene he appears to be alienated from his own community.
  • The film techniques used by director Stephen Johnson propel the story forward and make the issue of Indigenous identity accessible and contemporary. Johnson, who has directed video clips for the band Yothu Yindi, includes rapid camera movements, sudden zooms, fast edits and freeze frames, as well as a driving soundtrack that combines contemporary music with Indigenous chants to appeal to a young audience.
  • The film’s title, Yolngu Boy, refers to the Yolngu people of north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The Yolngu people have only had sustained contact with Europeans since 1935, first through Methodist missions and more recently with the establishment of mines owned by multinational companies on their land. English is a second or third language for Yolngu people, and they have a rich linguistic background that includes complex traditional language with several dialects or separate languages.
  • Yolngu Boy was supported by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, which was set up by the band Yothu Yindi and Yolngu community leaders to support and promote Yolngu cultural life. Songwriter and lead singer of the band Mr Yunupingu and his brother Galarrwuy Yunupingu were associate producers of the film and helped to provide an insight into difficulties faced by teenagers in Arnhem Land. Members of the community at Yirrkala, the locale for much of the film, were involved in the production as advisers, prop makers and actors.