''The Silver Brumby'' (also known as ''The Silver Stallion'' or ''The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies'' in overseas markets such as the United States) is a 1993 Australian

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films ar ...

, directed by

John Tatoulis John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director. Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', '' Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The S ...

, and starring actors Caroline Goodall, Russell Crowe and Amiel Daemion. It was based on the ''

Silver Brumby The ''Silver Brumby'' series is a collection of fiction children's books by Australian author Elyne Mitchell. They recount the life and adventures of Thowra, a magnificent palomino brumby (Australian wild horse) stallion, and his descendants, ...

'' series of novels by

Elyne Mitchell Elyne Mitchell, OAM (née Chauvel, 30 December 1913 – 4 March 2002) was an Australian author noted for the '' Silver Brumby'' series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture. Biography Sybil Elyne Keith C ...

Plot

A mother tells her daughter a fable about the prince of the brumbies- brumby being a term for the feral horses of Australia- who must find his place amongst his kind, while avoiding The Man who always seems to be hunting him. The plot shifts to the birth of the titular character. Bel Bel, a wild palomino mare, gives birth to a blonde colt during a nighttime thunderstorm. She names the newborn foal Thowra, after the strong winds that blew that night. His sire, a chestnut stallion named Yarraman, is the leader of their herd. The herd is under constant threat from being captured by men. One man becomes particularly obsessed with capturing Thowra, who is now a young stallion.

Cast

* Caroline Goodall as Elyne Mitchell * Amiel Daemion as Indi Mitchell * Russell Crowe as The Man / Egan * Johnny Raaen as Jock * Buddy Tyson as Darcy * Graeme Fullgrabe as Auctioneer * Gary Amos as Rider #1 * Murray Chesson as Rider #2 * John Coles as Rider #3 * Danny Cook as Rider #4 * Peter Faithfull as Rider #5 * Richard Faithfull as Rider #6 * Cody Harris as Rider #7 * Ken Mitchell as Rider #8 * Charles A. Harris as Rider #9

Production

John Tatoulis says he was attracted to the project because of the spirituality of the ''

'' books. The film was shot in the high country of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

around

Dinner Plain Dinner Plain is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, 13 kilometres from Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and 375 kilometres from Melbourne. At the , Dinner Plain had a population of 230, yet has over 200 lodges and chalets ...

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...

, Swindler's Creek and the Blue Ribbon ski area. A hut now known as the Silver Brumby Hut was built as a set prop at Mount Hotham and is now a tourist attraction.

Home media

The film was released in the United States on VHS in 1994 by

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

and on DVD in 2004 by

Artisan Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

Awards

Won

* Australasian Performing Right Association 1994: **APRA Music Award - Best Film Score: Tassos Ioannides *

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fil ...

1994: **Children's Jury Award - Feature Film *

Cinekid The Cinekid Festival is the largest international film, television and new media festival for children aged 4 to 14 held at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It started as a small children's film festival and has now grown into a lar ...

1994: **Audience Award -

Nominations

* Australian Film Institute 1993: **AFI Award - Best Screenplay:

References

External links

* *
''The Silver Brumby''
at Oz Movies 1993 drama films 1993 films Films about horses Films about dogs Films set in Victoria (Australia) Films based on children's books Films set in the 1950s Films directed by John Tatoulis Films produced by Colin South Australian drama films Roadshow Entertainment films 1990s English-language films 1990s Australian films {{1990s-Australia-film-stub