New short film gives punters a peek behind the scenes at Wintjiri Wiru, Uluru’s drone and light show

A new doco is showing how two vastly different storytelling methods combined to create something unique to the Territory – and Australia. WATCH THE VIDEO.

Punters can now get a peek behind the scenes of how two vastly different storytelling methods combined to create an award-winning show at an iconic Australian landmark.

‘An Ancient Story Takes Flight’ delves into the creation of Wintjiri Wiru, the award-winning drone, light, and sound show held daily at Uluru.

The short doco gives a glimpse of how modern and traditional methods of storytelling combined to tell the Mala story – a cultural story for the Anangu people, the traditional owners of the lands of Uluru.

But the drone show is not just to educate tourists, Rene Kulitja from the Wintjiri Working Group said.

“We are thinking about our future; we are looking forward and have created Wintjiri Wiru for the next generation, for our grandchildren,” she said.

“People from every place have come to see Uluru. Now we want people to come and experience our story in a new way. We want visitors to know this is our story, to look and listen and feel with us. Our stories have been here since the beginning, and [we] want to share this story with the world.”

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia chief executive Matt Cameron-Smith said the documentary shows the respect paid to Anangu culture when developing the show.

Consultation with Wintjiri Wiru Working Group, L-R: Harry Wilson, Rene Kulitja, Denise Brady and Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia Director of Regional Engagement Phill Pallas. Picture: Supplied

“Cultural stories like the Mala story must be told on Country – which is what makes Wintjiri Wiru so special. We worked with Anangu and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property experts like Terri Janke to create this visual documentary record – and take the story to the world in a way that is culturally appropriate,” he said.

“We hope this new short film encourages travellers from all around the world to visit Uluru and experience these deeply unique and spiritual stories, right here on the land where they belong.”

Originally published as New short film gives punters a peek behind the scenes at Wintjiri Wiru, Uluru’s drone and light show