TEN CANOES

Year: 2006
USA: Palm Pictures
UK: The Works UK Distribution
Cast: Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Minygululu, Frances Djulibin, Philip Gudthaykudthay, David Gulpilil
Director: Rolf De Heer
Co-director: Peter Djigirr
Country: Australia
Language: Aboriginal (Ganalbingu) (English subtitles)
USA: 90 mins
UK: 92 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains one scene of bloody violence
USA Release Date: 20 July 2007 (Limited Release - Los Angeles)
USA Release Date: 1 June 2007 (Limited Release - New York and Seattle, WA)
UK Release Date: 1 June 2007 (Limited Release)
UK DVD Release Date: 24 September 2007


US Distributor

Synopsis

It is a thousand years ago, tribal times in the north of Australia. Ten men, led by old Minygululu (Peter Minygululu), head into the forest to harvest barks for canoe making. It is the season of goose egg gathering, and the men are looking forward to getting out onto the swamp and hunting the magpie geese and their eggs.

Minygululu learns that young Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil), on his first goose egg hunting expedition, has taken a fancy to Minygululu's third and youngest wife. Tribal law is in danger of being broken: Minygululu decides to deal with the situation by telling Dayindi an ancestral story, a story that will take a very long time to tell, all through the next days of canoe making and swamp travelling and goose egg gathering.

He tells Dayindia about a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong. Just as Minygululu finishes telling his story, the goose egg hunters return home. Dayindi has learnt his lesson, and when opportunity presents, he declines...maybe some day he will have a wife, but it won't be someone else's.

DVD EXTRAS

Widescreen 1.78:1 Anamorphic
English - Dolby Digital (5.1)
English for the hearing impaired