Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection

A scene from Night Cries

Night Cries - A Rural Tragedy (1990)

A new 35mm print of this feature is now available.
Courtesy of Penelope McDonald, Kodak (Australasia) and Atlab Australia

National Film and Sound Archive National Collection
Title Number 524741

Classification: G rating

Synopsis

"A middle aged Aboriginal woman nurses her old white mother. During her tending of the old woman we feel her frustrations of duty, her suppressed anger, her own need for warmth and love, her personal loneliness. Her memories and dreams invade her nerve fraying routine until the old woman dies and we share the daughter's immense sense of loss.

Shot entirely in a studio, the power of the film lies in the artificially treated vibrantly coloured landscape and carefully constructed soundscape. The environment contributes another personality...an unbending, unchanging force. Inspired by 'Jedda', Moffatt resurrects the two primary characters and propels them 30 years into the future, transforming the relationship between child and mother into carer and invalid."

Summary from http://www.chilifilms.com.au and 'The Oxford Companion to Australian Films'.

Marcia Langton in a scene from Night Cries

Background

Part experimental, part narrative, this short film was widely and successfully distributed on the film festival circuit. This highly stylised film recalls the paintings by aboriginal painter, Albert Namatjirra and references Charles Chauvel's feature film, Jedda.

Director
Tracey Moffatt

Year of Production 1990
Duration 17 minutes
Format 35mm, Colour
Soundtrack: Mono, remastered to Dolby® Digital

Production Company
Chili Films, with assistance from the Australian Film Commission

Distributor
Ronin Films

Producer
Penny McDonald

Screenplay
Tracey Moffatt

Director of Photography
John Whitteron

Production Design
Stephen Curtis

Editor
Phillippa Harvey

Composer
Jimmy Little

Cast
Marcia Langton
Agnes Hardwick
Jimmy Little

Further Information

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