Tracks

Author: Robyn Davidson

Prior to arriving in Alice Springs, and beginning the journey documented by her autobiography Tracks, Robyn Davidson had already lived an interesting life. Raised on a cattle station in Queensland she suffered the tragedy of her mother’s death by suicide when she was eleven, being primarily cared for thereafter by her Aunt Gillian. Her later years of high school were spent in Brisbane at a girl’s boarding school. Following her decline of a scholarship, she lived in a share house with biologists and informally studied zoology before moving to a squat house in inner city Paddington, Sydney, where she lived what some would call a ‘bohemian lifestyle’.

In the 1970s Davidson left Sydney and travelled by train to Alice Springs – the heart of the country -inspired to capture and tame bush camels and travel with them to the west coast of Australia. She was 26 at the time. Tracks is the story of her time in Alice Springs, working with camel handlers, obtaining her camels and undertaking her journey. Tracks became a film in 2013.

After her Australian odyssey, Davidson travelled the world and spent time with various nomadic groups, travelling with them and writing about her experiences. Her time spent in India and Tibet was also the subject of a book and documentary series. After years of travel writing Davidson now calls Castlemaine, Victoria, her home.

Charlie’s Country

Writer and Director: Rolf de Heer

Born in 1951 in the Netherlands, Rolf de Heer is a producer, writer and director who has been involved in feature length films since the 1980s. Arriving in Sydney when he was eight years old, he was always interested in film and studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney where he focused on arthouse-style films. Although usually low budget, his films are geared for high impact and usually have a strong social message, delivered in a striking manner. He has directed fourteen films with a degree of success. His films, such as Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Ten Canoes (2006) and Charlie’s Country (2013) have enjoyed critical acclaim in the prestigious Cannes and Venice Film Festivals.

Writer: David Gulpilil

David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu is an Australian traditional dancer and actor born in Arnhem Land in 1953. He is a Yolngu man of the Mandhalpuyngu speech of the Djinba language who spent his childhood in the bush, outside the range of non-Aboriginal influences, and became a skilled hunter and tracker. As an actor, he won acclaim for prominent roles in films such as Storm Boy (1976), Ten Canoes, (2006), Australia (2008) and Charlie’s Country (2013).

As a writer, David Gulpilil collaborated with Rolf de Heer on the Charlie’s Country screenplay. Anecdotally, the description of the process sees Gulpilil talking and contributing a majority of the content with de Heer, the more formally trained writer, scribing and contributing as the process unfolds. Starring in the film after partially writing it, Gulpilil won a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1987 and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.