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In 1969 David Gulpilil, then an unknown 15 year-old Aboriginal boy from Arnhem Land, was chosen by director Nicholas Roeg to play the lead in the film Walkabout Groundbreaking performances in Storm Boy (1976), Mad Dog Morgan (1976) and Crocodile Dundee (1986) followed, and Gulpilil emerged as one of Australia's greatest actors when he won the Best Actor AFI for The Tracker (2002). Amid the fame, Gulpilil never left his tribal roots, and when filming Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) he approached Aboriginal writer and director Darlene Johnson (Stolen Generations)"to show people my life and how I really live it." One Red Blood is his story.

First screening on the ABC TV, this fascinating documentary traces the twin lives of David Gulpilil - one as an A-list actor in award-winning films from Walkabout to Ten Canoes (2006): the other as an elder of an isolated Arnhem land Aboriginal community.

The film begins with David on the set of The Tracker, and follows him back to his community in Ramingining, where we get a candid insight into his complex responsibilities as a tribal elder. Along the way we hear from acclaimed directors Philip Noyce and Rolf De Heer, and many other of Gulpilil's closest colleagues, including Justine Saunders and Jack Thompson.

"I walk on red carpets and eat caviar but this [Arnhem Land] is where my paradise is, where I was born. I'm the same person in both worlds. I wanted the documentary to show how I live and where I hunt." David Gulpilil

Director:

Darlene Johnson [1],

Starring:

David Gulpilil [13],

Screen Formats:

Widescreen 1.78:1

Language and Sound:

English Dolby Digital Stereo

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