''Blackfellas'' is a 1993 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

James Ricketson James Staniforth Ricketson is an Australian film director, known for the feature film ''Blackfellas''. He became more widely known when he was charged with espionage for flying a drone in Cambodia in 2017. Film career Ricketson studied at the ...

and starring John Moore, David Ngoombujarra,

Jack Charles Jack Charles (5 September 1943 – 13 September 2022), also known as Uncle Jack Charles, was an Australian stage and screen actor and activist, known for his advocacy for Aboriginal people. He was involved in establishing the first Indigenous t ...

, John Hargreaves and

Ernie Dingo Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

. It is an adaptation of Archie Weller's 1981 novel ''The Day of the Dog''. The film won two AFI Awards and had its premiere at the Valhalla Cinema in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

on 26 August 1993.

Plot

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, Doug Dooligan (John Moore), a young

Nyoongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the ...

man, is released from prison, where he was incarcerated for assault. Outside, he is picked up by his charismatic childhood friend Floyd "Pretty Boy" Davies ( David Ngoombujarra), who was partially responsible for Doug's incarceration, and taken to a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia. He becomes attracted to a local girl Polly (Jaylene Riley) and, upon learning that Floyd is still involved in criminal activities, decides to leave and visit his mother. Determined to stay out of trouble, Doug buys back his father's old property, Yetticup, which has traditional roots. Polly joins him at Yetticup and not soon afterward, Doug's father reappears after he had escaped from prison. Doug narrowly escapes the police when his father is apprehended, and the latter dies in prison. Distraught, Doug meets Floyd, and the two become friends again. When Doug tries to stop Floyd from committing a crime, Floyd sacrifices his own life so that Doug can escape and avoid arrest.

Cast

* John Moore as Doug Dooligan * David Ngoombujarra as Floyd "Pretty Boy" Davies * Jaylene Riley as Polly * Lisa Kinchela as Valerie * John Hargreaves as Detective Maxwell *

as Percy * Julie Hudspeth as Mrs. Dooligan *

as Carey * Michael Watson as Hughie * Kelton Pell as Willice * Vivienne Garrett as youth worker

Production

James Ricketson became interested in the story in the early 1980s when he was directing an episode of ''Women of the Sun''.

Reception

According to Ozmovies:

Proving once again that reviews can’t be banked, the film opened to generally positive reviews amongst mainstream newspaper reviewers but this didn't help at the box office.'Blackfellas'
a
Ozmovies
accessed 26 October 2017.

Awards

References

External links

*
Blackfellas
a
Ozmovies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackfellas (Film) 1993 films 1993 drama films Australian drama films Films based on Australian novels Films set in Western Australia Films about Aboriginal Australians 1990s English-language films