Singing One's Story: Keeping Custom and Country in 'Westwind: Djalu's Legacy'

Song plays a vital role in Indigenous cultures, functioning as map, amusement and vessel of history. In Ben Strunin's revelatory documentary, we see how it also places a burden on eponymous elder Djalu Gurruwiwi, who – enlisting the help of global pop star Gotye – contends with the exacting task of passing on millennia's worth of knowledge, law and custom to his reluctant musician son, writes Lauren Carroll Harris.

Additional keywords:
collaboration, Aboriginal, songline, tradition, Galpu, Bärra West Wind, NITV, Wally De Backer.