Metro Australia — January 2018

http://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 195 • 83

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• is a stirring portrayal of Yolngu elder and yidaki (didjeridu)
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  reality expansion entitled 'TMSENQSGD8HC@JH%HQ6PLWK 
  In fact, more broadly, there was a strong shift in how and
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  worked particularly well to showcase impressive musical
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  The affective potential of this coupling of music and cinema
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  #NBTLDMS@QXNE#Qŭ&8TMTOHMFTR+HED, Paul Williams’ highly
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  of the title, premiered across three different theatres, with each
  introduced by special guests including members of Yunupingu’s
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  most commercially successful Aboriginal artist to date^2 – high
  lighted the importance of acknowledging his work in the public
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  documentary was announced well before its subject’s death
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  the festival would hold the screening. The decision to proceed
  was made after careful consultation with Yunupingu’s family
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  Indigenous people living in remote communities.
  A beautiful elegy for a very private man, and a testament
  to the powerful bonds of his family and community, Williams’
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  Yunupingu himself. It provides fascinating insights into his
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  solo album, &TQQTLTK, a complex and powerful debut that
  garnered widespread critical acclaim.^4 'XULQJWKHWRXU6HQ
  created and operated impressive visual projections that ac
  companied Yunupingu’s live performances, and she collected
  exclusive footage and interviews with his family for her short
  documentary 2SNQHDR3GQNTFG2NMFUHOHDVHGLQ6HQ
  later worked as the associate producer and cinematographer
  for the ABC’s 2010 TRSQ@KH@M2SNQXSURĺOHRQ<XQXSLQJX
  ‘You’re the Voice’.
  In a similar way, Williams’ documentary features many
  interviews with family members and musical collaborators,
  emphasising the networks of support and creative partner
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  show Taratata in 2009. In the scene, Yunupingu has been
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Sen’s film quite literally gives

voice to these hymns and

stories. If songs allow these

women to preserve and pass

on their knowledge, culture

and language, then The Song

Keepers – and the filmmaking

tradition more generally – is a

valuable extension of this aim.

This spread, clockwise from left: The choir

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