AustLit

'The Torres Strait Islanders are Australia’s ‘other’ Indigenous minority, Melanesians living on islands north of Cape York and now scattered all across Australia.

'This is a culture rich in customs, myth and legends. The Tombstone Opening is a joyous ceremony performed years after the funeral to release the spirit of the deceased. Also called an Unveiling, it has nothing to do with exhumation, but refers to the moment when the last veil is unsheathed from the tombstone for everyone to see for the first time.

'Frances Calvert, long-time friend and film-maker to Torres Strait, returned to Thursday Island at the request of the family of Ephraim Bani, protagonist of her award-winning film ‘Cracks in the Mask’, to record this unique if costly ceremony. Lyrically narrated by Ephraim Bani's grandson, the film explains and contextualises the ceremonies, protocols and songs for an outside audience. The film explores traditional obligations, attitudes to death and hopes for Torres Strait culture to survive in modern, secular Australia.'

Source: Ronin Films (distributor).

'Over the last 100 years, the Torres Strait Islanders in far north Australia have been the subject of many anthropological expeditions. The resulting depletion of their cultural artefacts has left them with nothing but a history of remembered loss. The only people in the Pacific to make elaborate turtleshell masks have none left; all their material culture now resides in foreign museums.

'In a quest to reclaim the past, Ephraim Bani, a wise and knowledgeable Torres Strait Islander, travels with his wife to the great museums of Europe where his heritage lies. Ephraim unburdens himself to his diary in moments of poignant revelation: the artefacts made by his ancestors have undergone a transformation as museum displays. When Ephraim asks for the return of some objects, the resulting debate exposes wider questions about contemporary museum culture as well as the complexity of international and Indigenous politics. They thought it would be easy to talk to the curators about the restitution of some objects; but to his mind, museums were in competition with each other to own the greatest treasures.

'As the title suggests, even the thickest of masks can crack when the original owners come to visit.'

Source: Ronin Films (distributor).

'The Torres Strait Islanders are Australia’s ‘other’ Indigenous minority. They remained virtually unknown until 1988 when they made their brief claim for independence. Since first contact with whites in 1871, they have been controlled by benign but effective colonisers, which has left these islands between Papua New Guinea and the tip of the Cape York Peninsula curiously poised between the First and Third Worlds.

'TALKING BROKEN is a portrait of these Islanders which goes beyond a description of colonialism. The ‘broken’ of the title refers to Broken English, a pidgin spoken only by the Torres Strait Islanders. It also pinpoints another major problem experienced by most Indigenous cultures. Although they appear to keep up with ‘the system’, the hidden language of authorities from the mainland means that it is almost impossible to overcome welfare dependence.

'TALKING BROKEN is the result of three years research. Based on a relationship of friendship and trust, several Islanders talk with humour and intelligence about subjects as wide-ranging as independence, culture, tourism, sex, adoption and sorcery. The filmmakers were allowed to enter the Torres Strait reserves and filmed for two months with the support of many individual island communities. The film is a record of the encounter.'

Source: Ronin Films (distributor).