Catriona McKenzie Satellite Boy

Catriona McKenzie Satellite Boy

Cast: Cameron Wallaby, Joseph Pedley, David Gulpilil
Director: Catriona McKenzie
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG
Running Time: 86 minutes

Synopsis: Catriona McKenzie&rsquos directorial feature debut is a heartfelt, moving and uplifting story about a young boy&rsquos journey to save his home and ultimately himself.

Satellite Boy follows Pete (Cameron Wallaby), a 12 year old Aboriginal boy who lives with his elderly grandfather, Old Jagamarra (David Gulpilil). Home is the abandoned outdoor cinema in the outback town of Wyndham. When it is threatened with demolition, Pete sees his world in jeopardy and sets off for the city. He is joined by his friend Kalmain (Joseph Pedley), who has his own reasons for leaving town. Together the boys travel through epic and stunning Kimberley country and when they get lost in the bush, Pete has to remember some of the old Aboriginal bush skills his grandfather taught him for them to survive.

Fable-like in its storytelling, it shows a world torn between old and new, tradition and progress, nature and technology. Celebrating the importance of family, true friendship and cultural and spiritual identity, Satellite Boy is captivating and affecting.

Satellite Boy
Release Date: June 20th, 2013

About the Production

Culturally specific - yet a universal story - and set in the wild and unspoilt &lsquoKimberley&rsquo of North Western Australia, Satellite Boy is a special film from a special place. Writer/director Catriona McKenzie developed the screenplay, supported by the Aurora Screenplay Development Program with producer and former Commissioning Editor of Documentaries at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC TV), David Jowsey.

Steeped in Aboriginal law and culture, the Kimberley was the perfect setting for Satellite Boy - to highlight the immense value and beauty of Australia&rsquos ancient Indigenous heritage, whilst showcasing the stunning and spiritual country around Wyndham and the Bungle Bungles. The picture is the first feature to be given permission to film in the world heritage listed area and for producer David Jowsey, consulting with the traditional owners of the Bungle Bungles was a long but ultimately rewarding and important process.

Realising that the value of traditional Aboriginal culture was innate to the story, the film garnered support from the owners. Shooting in remote Aboriginal communities, it was of utmost importance to be culturally correct. Out of respect for the communities the production was deemed a &lsquodry-shoot&rsquo for the duration, and in order to minimise impact on their surroundings, the crew lived in tents. Despite being very &lsquolo-fi&rsquo there was never a complaint - a testament to both the calibre of people who worked on the film, and the support the filmmakers had from the community. &ldquoIt was rewarding at the end of the filming to be stopped in the street by strangers who thanked me for showing respect to the traditional owners, and the community&rdquo said McKenzie.

The desert, however, was not always the easiest of locations to shoot in. Members of the crew regale stories of driving over 200km in search of a pack of screws to assemble the abandoned cinema in which Jagamarra (David Gulpilil) lives. With motor vehicles not allowed within 2 kilometres of the Bungle Bungles, the team had to carry all the equipment in on canvas stretchers, with the camera department alone having six stretchers and twelve people to carry all the camera pieces, steadicam, sound equipment and water.

Shot on the ARRI Alexa by award-winning director of photography Geoffrey Simpson ASC &ndash director Catriona McKenzie wanted his classic formal eye over what would be a shoot with mostly first time actors. Internationally renowned for his work on films such as Sleeping Beauty, Under the Tuscan Sun and Romulus My Father, Simpson captured not only the unspoilt beauty of the land but the emotion and life within it &ndash which is so important to Aboriginal culture and so important to the story of Satellite Boy.

Sam Hobbs (September and as Art Director: The Bet, Beneath Hill 60) production designed the film, and his ingenuity and tenacity saved the day on many occasions, having to build some of the film&rsquos major sets, including the outdoor cinema and satellite dish, on a literal shoe string. &ldquoCrewing up for a film is like putting a great dinner party together &ndash you want to be with great talent but have a good time too&rdquo says McKenzie.

AFI Award-winner David Gulpilil returns from his traditional Aboriginal lifestyle in North Eastern Arnhem Land with an intuitive performance. Growing up in the tribal lifestyle environment of Marwuyu in an area north east of the world famous Kakadu National Park, David learned the traditional ways of a warrior in the Mandalpingu Tribe of North East Arnhem Land where his ancestors lived for thousands of years. David&rsquos unique upbringing and cultural heritage is central to each of his roles from Walkabout and Crocodile Dundee, to Philip Noyce&rsquos Rabbit Proof Fence and his AFI Award-winning role in The Tracker, and now to his role as Jagamara in Satellite Boy. Just like his character Jagamara, David&rsquos wisdom and guidance was instrumental to the outstanding performances given by the two lead boys.

Both first time actors, they were cast from an Australia wide search, with director Catriona McKenzie and casting director Jub Clerc, spending months driving from remote community to remote community looking for the right boys to play the lead roles of Pete and Kalmain. From Balgo to Broome, Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek, to Kununurra and Wyndham they drove across the vast country &ldquocamped with our swags by the side of the road at night with a fire and sparks sailing up to the Milky Way, it was easy to feel the film that was about to be made&rdquo says McKenzie. The lead role of Pete is played by 10 year old Cameron Wallaby from the remote Kimberley Aboriginal community of Yiyili and his best buddy Kalmain is played by Joseph Pedley. Joseph shares a special connection with the Satellite Boy story having grown up in the small Kimberley town of Wyndham, featured in the film.

Filmed entirely on location in the Kimberley region of North Western Australia. Satellite Boy was made in consultation with Ballangarra Aboriginal Corporation and the Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation. Starring Australian living legend David Gulpilil (Walkabout, The Tracker, The Man from Snowy River, Rabbit Proof Fence, Crocodile Dundee) and newcomers Cameron Wallaby and Joseph Pedley, the film assembles some of Australia&rsquos finest filmmakers. Written and directed by Catriona McKenzie (Redfern Now, Dance Academy, Satisfaction, The Circuit, RAN), produced by David Jowsey (Mad Bastards, Toomelah) and Julie Ryan (Red Dog, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories) and executive produced by Colin McCumstie and Troy Lum, the film exhibits beautiful work from director of photography Geoffrey Simpson ACS (Sleeping Beauty, Under the Tuscan Sun, Romulus my Father), production designer Sam Hobbs (September) AFI Award-winning editor Henry Dangar ASE (The Crossing, Bangkok Hilton, Kiss or Kill) and composer David Bridie (In a Savage Land, Proof, Bran Nue Dae, The Straits).