Putuparri and the Rainmakers (ATOM Study Guide)

Putuparri and the Rainmakers delivers to our screens a documentary about the power of people, place and spirit in the face of physical alienation from their country. Set in the remote north-west of Australia, Tom 'Putuparri' Lawford, a Wangkajunga man living in Fitzroy Crossing, shares his personal journey to becoming a cultural leader of his people.

Putuparri and the Rainmakers is a story about why connection to their country of birth is so important to Aboriginal people. Students will hopefully realise the complex diversity of Aboriginal groups, cultures, languages and custodianships of country through experiencing Wangkajunga song, dance and law, specific to the Kimberley region. So often the idea of Indigenous culture is a frozen one that is denied the freedom to evolve dynamically as all living cultures do. Putuparri lives within this contested space of a two-way life, where at the beginning of the film he is torn between the traditional and contemporary lifestyles of his people.

Curriculum Links

This film can be used in conjunction with senior secondary students studying Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, Modern History and Literature.