Manganinnie
- Ken Kelso
- Beth Roberts (novel)
- Mawuyul Yanthalawuy
- Anna Ralph
- GUO
- Umbrella Entertainment
- 15 August 1980 (1980-08-15) (Australia)
Manganinnie is an AFI Award-winning 1980 film which follows the journey of Manganinnie, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman who searches for her tribe with the company of a lost white girl named Joanna. Based on Beth Roberts' novel of the same name, it was directed by John Honey and was the first feature film to be financed by the short-lived Tasmanian Film Corporation.
Synopsis
During the Black War of 1830 in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, Manganinnie survives a raid on her village. She finds the body of her husband, Meenopeekameena, and builds him a funeral pyre.
The grieving Manganinnie journeys across vast mountains and rivers towards the coast in search of the rest of her tribe. She finds Joanna, a lost white girl, along her way. The pair develop a bond for each other despite not having a common language. Manganinnie teaches Joanna some of her traditional knowledge, and eventually initiates her into her tribe.
Ultimately however, Manganinnie comes to realise that her people and way of life has been destroyed by encroachment from white settlers. When Joanna is asleep, she carries the girl back to her family.
Joanna struggles to adapt back to life with her family. One day Manganinnie's body is found, and Joanna gives her old friend a traditional funeral using the lessons she has learned.
Production
Filming took place in the West Coast Range and started on 12 November 1979 and ran for five weeks.[2]
Anna Ralph (aged 7 at the time), who played the little white girl Joanna, is now an Associate Professor of infectious diseases working at Royal Darwin Hospital looking after patients, including Aboriginal peoples.[3]
Reception
The State Cinema hosted the Australian premiere of Manganinnie in August 1980. The event was attended by Mawuyul Yanthalawuy and Ralph, as well as the Governor of Tasmania Sir Stanley Burbury and Tasmanian Premier Doug Lowe.[4]
Despite the grim subject matter the film recovered its costs and made a small profit.[5]
Awards
- Won AFI Award, Peter Sculthorpe – Best Original Music Score (1980)[6]
- Won AWGIE Awards – Best Screenplay (1980)
- Winner 12th Moscow International Children's Film Festival – Best Production Design (1980)
- Winner Festival International de France (1980)
See also
- Cinema of Australia
References
- ^ Connolly, Keith (1994). Oxford Australian Film 1978–1994. Oxford University Press. Page 62
- ^ a b David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p320
- ^ "Making Manganinnie". ABC listen. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Anna and Mawuyul-shy stars of a world premiere". The Australian Women's Weekly. 13 August 1980. p. 28. Retrieved 25 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p35
- ^ afi.org.au – AFI AWARD WINNERS: FEATURE CATEGORIES 1958–2010 Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Manganinnie – Archives Office of Tasmania
- Manganinnie at IMDb
- Manganinnie at Oz Movies
- v
- t
- e
- The Cars That Ate Paris and The Great McCarthy – Bruce Smeaton (1975)
- No Award (1976)
- The Picture Show Man – Peter Best (1977)
- The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith – Bruce Smeaton (1978)
- Mad Max – Brian May (1979)
- Manganinnie – Peter Sculthorpe (1980)
- Fatty Finn – Rory O'Donoghue and Grahame Bond (1981)
- The Man from Snowy River – Bruce Rowland (1982)
- Phar Lap – Bruce Rowland (1983)
- Street Hero – Garth Porter and Bruce Smeaton (1984)
- Rebel – Ray Cook, Chris Neal, Peter Best, Billy Byers, Bruce Rowland (1985)
- Young Einstein – William Motzing and Martin Armiger (1986)
- The Tale of Ruby Rose – Paul Schütze (1987)
- The Lighthorsemen – Mario Millo (1988)
- Dead Calm – Graeme Revell (1989)
- The Big Steal – Phil Judd (1990)
- Dingo – Michel Legrand and Miles Davis (1991)
- Romper Stomper – John Clifford White (1992)
- The Piano – Michael Nyman (1993)
- Traps – Douglas Stephen Rae (1994)
- Hotel Sorrento – Nerida Tyson-Chew (1995)
- Shine – David Hirschfelder (1996)
- Doing Time for Patsy Cline – Peter Best (1997)
- Oscar and Lucinda – Thomas Newman (1998)
- In a Savage Land – David Bridie (1999)
- Bootmen – Cezary Skubiszewski (2000)
- The Dish – Edmund Choi (2001)
- Rabbit-Proof Fence – Peter Gabriel (2002)
- Japanese Story – Elizabeth Drake (2003)
- Somersault – Decoder Ring (2004)
- The Proposition – Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (2005)
- Suburban Mayhem – Mick Harvey (2006)
- The Home Song Stories – Antony Partos (2007)
- Unfinished Sky – Antony Partos (2008)
- Mao's Last Dancer – Christopher Gordon (2009)
- Animal Kingdom – Antony Partos and Sam Petty (2010)
- The Hunter – Andrew Lancaster, Michael Lira and Matteo Zingales (2011)
- Not Suitable for Children – Matteo Zingales and Jono Ma (2012)
- The Great Gatsby – Craig Armstrong (2013)
- The Railwayman – David Hirschfelder (2014)
- Mad Max: Fury Road – Tom Holkenborg (2015)
- Tanna – Antony Partos (2016)
- Lion – Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran (2017)
- Ladies in Black – Christopher Gordon (2018)
- Judy and Punch – François Tétaz (2019)
- Babyteeth - Amanda Brown (2020)
- June Again - Christopher Gordon (2021)
- Falling for Figaro - Cezary Skubiszewski (2022)