From Sand to Celluloid – No Way to Forget
Clip 2: Spirit work
2 min 56 sec
Taken from the short film From Sand to Celluloid – No Way to Forget (1996)
Original title classification M – this clip chosen to be PG
Availability of the complete title
Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.
This clip contains a still photo recreation of a hanged man in a cell.
Curator’s clip description
Night-time. A man behind the wheel of a car. A desolate road. In voice-over, Shane Francis (David Ngoombujarra) talks about the spirits that are present in the work he does as a field officer for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Flashback: Francis walks into the office. A solicitor (Molly Brumm) seated at her desk, watches Francis cross the floor with a towel in one hand and a towel rack in the other. Francis attempts to tie the bulky towel into a knot by weaving it through the towel rack. He glances to his side. Beside him is a black-and-white photo that depicts a young man (Caine Muir) hanging by a towel tied in a knot. Francis is disturbed by not being able to imitate the technique by which the young man alleged hanged himself.
Curator’s notes
The Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody became necessary because of the high incidence of Indigenous peoples dying in custody in suspicious circumstances, as depicted here.
Romaine Moreton, curator
