Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

River of No Return (2008)

play May contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
clip Maintaining cultural traditions

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

Clip description

Frances Daingangan sees the influence of Bollywood and western culture on her children and grandchildren and wants them to also be exposed to Indigenous traditions. She goes to see Uncle Phillip Gudthaykudthay, a famous artist and traditional sorcerer, who also appeared in Ten Canoes (2006). He has decided that he won’t be passing on his traditional knowledge to his grandchildren.

Curator’s notes

This clip highlights the changes faced by Frances’s family and her people struggle to maintain their traditions in an ever faster changing world. Frances and her family stand at the crossroads between their traditional lifestyles and the encroachment of contemporary world culture.