Crocodile Dreaming

Crocodile Dreaming is a project developed by Darlene Johnson and the legendary Australian actor—and winner of AFF’s inaugural Don Dustan Award—David Gulpilil. It tells the story of two estranged half-brothers, Burrimmilla and Charlie, who must struggle against their own jealousy and distrust for each other. A violent death upsets the spiritual world, and Burrimmilla is called upon to fulfill an ancient tribal obligation. He must find the sacred stone which holds the power of his mother's dreaming and return it to its secret belonging place. When the brothers finally come together, they are confronted by the spirit of their mother, who leads them to the special creation place, and opens up the possibility of restoring harmony in the natural world. The film not only stars Gulpilil but also Tom E. Lewis, the star of The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and more recently, the subject of Ivan Sen’s Yellow Fella. If Ten Canoes showed the importance of films which explore indigenous cosmology, Crocodile Dreaming represents a bold step forward in the telling of distinctively Australian stories.

Darlene Johnson, Sue Milliken, David Gulpilil and Tom E. Lewis are Guests of the Festival

Crocodile Dreaming is important to me because of the journey it has allowed me to make, a journey that is not yet over, nor probably ever will be--a spiritual journey to connect with the origins of what I am, and why I am.

Darlene Johnson