My Name is Gulpilil

WARNING: this article may contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

‘My Name is Gulpilil’, tells the story of one of Australia’s most renowned actors, David Gulpilil.

Gulpilil has changed the way the Australian screen represents Aboriginal peoples and their cultural heritage. There is a realism of ethnography in his body of work that has replaced earlier derogatory and degrading representation of his people within Australian feature films and on stage. Gulpilil’s presence on screen and stage also ended the reign of non-Aboriginal actors playing Aboriginal character roles.

Born into one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures, Gulpilil spent his childhood submerged within the customs and traditions of his peoples, the Yolngu, from Arnhem Land. Here he gained the skills, knowledge and expertise to take custodial responsibility for his country, to care for his family and to participate in cultural activities and ceremonies. Credits include principal roles in award-winning films such as Walkabout (1970, directed by Nicolas Roeg); Storm Boy (1976, Henri Safran); and The Last Wave (1977, Peter Weir). He also starred alongside some of the best actors in the world, including Dennis Hopper in Mad Dog Morgan (1976, Philippe Mora). During this time, Gulpilil travelled the globe and mixed with world icons including Bruce Lee, Marlon Brando, John Lennon, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix.

Gulpilil’s legacy extends beyond that of actor. As a traditional dancer, Gulpilil adapted the precision, grace and agility of this art form into his acting. Gulpilil infuses his own cultural knowledge and identity into his characters for screen and stage. He portrays the demeanour, skills and knowledge of a man of high degree within an Aboriginal cultural context. He introduced audiences to traditional practices and familiarised them with Aboriginal forms of inter-personal communication.

In The Tracker (2002, Rolf de Heer), Gulpilil displays a mastery of silence. He uses Aboriginal sign and body language including subtle eye and facial expressions to convey meaning and sentiment. It is through this film and Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002, Phillip Noyce) that Gulpilil presented a new way of seeing and understanding Aboriginal peoples and their cultural heritage.

Gulpilil achieved formal recognition of his services to the arts in the 1987 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, being awarded the Member of the Order of Australia. In 2001 he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for his service to Australian society, through dance and acting, in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

You can view clips from some of Gulpilil’s many acting roles, as well as see him performing as an actor, dancer, storyteller and musician, via the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s curated collection.

A new documentary directed by Molly Reynolds ‘My Name Is Gulpilil’ is set for release later in 2021. It is Gulpilil’s story in his own words. It covers his life and his half-century career in cinema, performance and art.  The Yolngu man is more than 3,000 kilometres from his Arnhem Land home and has been living in the South Australian town of Murray Bridge while he battles lung cancer and emphysema.

Gulpilil says in the documentary: “I don’t have to go and act. I just jump in and stand there, and the camera sees me”. It’s a presence that has earned him respect from the likes of actor Hugo Weaving, who hails Gulpilil as his favourite actor.

“He had a sort of natural grace and a such a powerful presence on screen, and as a human being, that for the first time I think we were able to look at Indigenous people beyond the caricatures and the stereotypes,” says long term collaborator and film director Rolf de Heer. “He smashed the stereotypes, in performance and in our perceptions.”

The film has been premiered in March 2021 – celebrate the journey of the remarkable Gulpilil.