Cleared Out: First contact in the Western Desert + 'Contact' DVD
Summary
In 1964, a group of 20 Aboriginal women and children in the Western Desert made their first contact with European Australians. They had been pursued by patrol officers for several weeks.
Yuwali, 17 at the time, remembers every detail of the drama. Her sharp recollections sit alongside the colourful official reports of the patrol.
Multiple perspectives are reveals through one extraordinary episode.
This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to read and see a first contact encounter in Australia. DVD includes film footage of the 1964 contact with Yuwali's group.
Awards
Cleared out: Winner, WA Premier's Book Awards, 2005; Winner, WA Premier's History Awards, 2005; Winner, Stanner Award, 2006
Contact: Winner, Best Documentary Sydney International Film Festival 2009; Winner, Best Achievement in Directing for Documentary, Australian Directors Guild 2009; Nominated, Best Documentary, ATOM awards 2009; Best Achievement, Sound for a Documentary, Australian Screen Sound Guild; Bronze award, Cinematography Documentaries-Cinema and TV, Australian Cinematographers Society
Reviews and endorsements
‘Contact’ could be the most profoundly moving film this country has ever made…a movie-going experience I will never forget.'
— Simon Foster, SBS
'This extraordinary documentary looks at some of the last Aborigines to meet the modern world…tell(s) an emotional and historic story with a light touch…beautifully shot.'
— Garry Maddox, SMH