SATELITE BOY

Australia, 2012, 92 minutes, Colour.
David Gulpilil, Cameron Wallaby, Joseph Pedey.
Directed by Catriona McKenzie?.

The best audience for this Australian story would be children. The story is principally about children and the events are experienced by children from their perspective. This is an Australian aboriginal story.

The film opens with a grandfather and his grandson walking through the sparse bush but feeling that it is alive and that it owns them. The grandfather is a wise old man who speaks his own language as well as English. So does the boy, but he is a modern boy from the technological age, a ‘satellite boy’, who needs to learn the lore and traditions from his elders. But, his mother has left with dreams of opening a restaurant and the boy lives in a derelict drive-in.

What gives the film some immediate gravitas is the fact that the grandfather is played by veteran David Gulpilil who, for more than 40 years, has been in key Australian films from Walkabout to Australia via Crocodile Dundee and Rabbit-Proof? Fence. His words about the land are completely convincing.

Pete and his friend Kalmain get into trouble, dream about being astronauts, play with modern robot toys. But, when a mining country starts to burn the grass around the drive-in for storing equipment and the family have to get out, he decides to go to see the bosses and argue his case. This means a 21st century walkabout. But, the boys are ill-equipped, have not planned and just go. The grandfather has a sixth sense about their travels and guides them. They fortunately come across a river, but Pete can’t swim and Kalmain helps him across. They find a satellite dish and sleep on it. Thy find a well-stocked house and find something to eat – and a gun.

When they do get to the company’s headquarters, they are eventually reunited with their mothers. Perth, new clothes (and ice cream) are an incentive to stay with him mother, but he hops out of the car, throws away his shirt and returns home, to an initiation, to walking the bush with his grandfather.

Children’s audiences can identify with Pete and Kalmain and learn about how aboriginal boys face the technological present while not losing the traditions. Adults will have a chance to reflect, via a story, about the implications for indigenous Australians and a changing landscape and the challenges of the modern world.

The setting is the Kimberley around Wyndham.



1. A film for children? Children’s perspectives? The impact for adults? Aboriginal and Australian issues?
2. The location filming, the Kimberly’s, around Wyndham, Kunanurra? The national parks, the desert, the mountains, river, the open skies? The towns, shops, the streets? The musical score?
3. Issues of development, companies taking over, mining, storing equipment, head offices, the development in action?
4. Issues of the land, country, the land owning and controlling the indigenous people? Issues of councils and decisions, permits? Taking of the property, bulldozing? The companies and ideas of development?
5. Indigenous Australians and the 21st century, the long heritage, belonging to the country, the opening with the grandfather and Pete, walking, drawing, the land alive? The grandfather and his singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in his own language? The lore, connections, traditions, corroboree iniation?
6. Indigenous Australians and the 20th century? Change, the old drive-in, television, DVDs, computer games, satellite dishes, modern toys, changes of language, wanting to be astronauts? Vs. the traditions?
7. Indigenous Australians and the 21st century? Grandfather, his getting older, his clothes, his languages, family, watching the television, but still belonging to the land of the land belonging to him? Pete’s mother and her leaving, wanting to go to the city, her dreams of a restaurant, being a beautician? Her partner and his car? The house? Dreams of Perth? The boys and the modern boyish style, language, technology, shops, clothes, ice cream?
8. Pete and Kalmain, friends, modern Australian boys, games, exploding the van, with the police, that office, the warning, the burning off of the land round the drive-in screen, Pete and his decision to appeal to the owners? The boys going on a 21st century walkabout?
9. Taking little for their walk, need for food and water, the terrain, the fire, belonging to the land, Kalmain wanting to give up, the river, Pete being unable to swim, his friend helping him? The satellite dish, standing on it, sleeping on it? The trip taking its toll, hard? Finding the house, eating the chicken, Kalmain finding the gun? Going into the town, the uncles telling them where to find the headquarters?
10. The headquarters, the guards, getting in? The office? Kalmain and the gun? The police taking them, in jail, their mothers coming to visit them?
11. Pete and his mother, joy to see her, the love, hopes, the going to the shop, the new clothes, the ice cream, going to the house, waking up?
12. Kalmain and his mother, previously seeing his family, the girl at the shop with the kindly shop owner, the family, the mother and hardship?
13. Driving to Perth, Pete changing his mind, farewell to his mother, throwing the shirt away?
14. His grandfather, watching a TV, being reunited? The power of the grandfather, guiding the boys in their trip?
15. The initiation ceremony? Pete with his grandfather, continuing to learn about the country?