NFSA's Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection: Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy

Tracey Moffatt's films give prominence to issues of Aboriginality – in this matter, she is a serious precursor to such recent films as Warwick Thornton's Samson & Delilah and Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country – but she is also a fascinating stylist, no doubt drawing on her international reputation as a photographer. Deane Williams' thoroughly researched essay examines Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy from both perspectives, places the film firmly in several important contexts, and explores several aspects of its themes and style.

Additional keywords: Aboriginal, Indigenous, identity, racism, oppression, Marcia Langton, Jimmy Little, Nice Coloured Girls, Otherness, Stolen Generations, foster parents, Jedda, Albert Namatjira, Aranda/Hermannsburg School, beDevil.