Dark Mofo dares to dabble with banned film about Aboriginal identity
Hobart’s annual winter festival will screen a once-banned short film about a “fake Aborigine”, prompting claims of cultural violence and threats of potential legal action.
Hobart’s winter festival Dark Mofo will screen a once-banned short film about a “fake Aborigine”, prompting claims of cultural violence and threats of potential legal action.
The annual celebration of the winter solstice promises an impressive array of diverse music performances, large-scale art installations and communal feasting, but is again courting controversy.
This Dark Mofo is the last to be curated by creative director for the past decade, Leigh Carmichael, whose previous programming choices have attracted the ire of various community groups. He and his colleagues have once again run toward a contentious artwork rather than away from it.
A recent addition to the program is My Journey, a nine-minute film centred on a fictitious white woman who claims to be of Tasmanian Aboriginal descent, as she prepares to deliver her first Welcome to Country.
As reported by The Australian last month, the work was banned from the GRIT short film festival in Hobart due to concerns about defamation and cultural “harm”.
However, creators Nathan Maynard and Adam Thompson found a new ally in Dark Mofo, which will premiere the film at the Odeon Theatre on June 17, followed by a public Q+A with the filmmakers.
“I dislike seeing any work that isn’t illegal censored,” Carmichael said. “I feel that Dark Mofo is a festival that likes to present – and should present – work that other festivals find difficult to do. I was more than happy to offer a platform to show the work. I’m really pleased that we are able to provide a place for people to present works that are challenging, difficult and may disrupt.”
The Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation, based in the northwest town of Smithton from which the film’s character hails, is often at loggerheads with more longstanding organisations, such as the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC).
CHAC spokeswoman Rochelle Godwin said there was concern the film – which she is yet to see – was part of a campaign to deny the Aboriginality of CHAC’s members.
“It is disappointing that Dark Mofo is choosing to become part of that (cultural) violence by choosing to screen it to such a massive audience,” Ms Godwin said.
“It is scary. We are called ‘white pretenders’ by that group (the TAC) every other day… What led Dark Mofo to make the choice to show the film after the GRIT festival determined it had defamatory concerns?”
The Circular Head Aboriginal community was “a proud one who knows its identity”, she said, and would consider legal action if anyone was defamed.
Nathan Maynard said Dark Mofo’s embrace of the film, for which he was “very grateful”, showed GRIT’s concerns were unfounded, while denying it targeted individuals.
“It’s a satirical piece – it’s not about any particular person or group of people; just a type of person,” Maynard said. “It’s a satirical piece – it’s not about any particular person or group of people; just a type of person,” Maynard said.
“In this state, there are 32,000 people who tick a box (by identifying as Aboriginal). We can’t account for more than 12,000,” said Maynard, who with Thompson co-founded the Tasmanian Aboriginal screen company Kutikina Productions.
“There are thousands of people falsely claiming Aboriginality in this country,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of white people realise this is a problem. We live in a really politically correct, charged environment. A lot of white people don’t think they can ask the question.”
Dark Mofo runs until June 22, when the festival will conclude with its annual nude solstice swim on the River Derwent.
