Due to new Government public gathering restrictions, the NFS screening of Emu Runner on Wednesday 25 March has been cancelled. The AGM has been postponed. Our next scheduled screening is 22 April – Honeyland.
We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause but the health and safety of our members is paramount.
Please note that Noosa 5 will remain open but trading with reduced operating hours and within the new restrictions of less than 100 patrons in individual theatres. Please visit their website for updates on session times and content as these are changing daily.
Emu Runner is the first feature from writer/director Imogen Thomas, a frequently moving character drama led by a pleasingly natural performance from newcomer Rhae-Kye Waites.
Working well opposite Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding, The Sapphires), Waites holds the film together and brings a lot of unpolished honesty to the role of nine year old Gem.
In the outback town of Brewarinna (500 miles northwest of Sydney) Gem is seen happily at the side of her Mum Darlene (Maurial Spearm) during a bushwalk. When Darlene suddenly dies, her family is left to mourn and try to heal. Gem’s Dad Jay Jay (Blair) attempts to keep everyone together with help from her grandmother and siblings
Gem becomes concerned with the plight of an emu (her mother’s traditional totem animal) and starts stealing food to feed it, which leads to a series of misunderstandings with the local police and social worker. Her talent for running links her to the beast, but also demonstrates her need to escape from the pain. But where can she go? Obviously Brewarinna is in the middle of nowhere.
Resisting the urge to make grand pronouncements about Indigenous themes, Thomas instead presents us with what is essentially a study of loss from a child’s melancholy perspective, with the socio-political edges simmering quietly in the background.
Emu Runner was clearly a labour of love for everyone who worked on it. It’s a small film but one that can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. David Stratton, The Australian
There are few surprises here… But by the time it’s done, you’ve gained a clear insight into the way racial prejudice can precipitate a rush to judgment by even the seemingly enlightened. Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald
While unapologetically a story about an
Indigenous Australian family in crisis … Emu Runner tells a bigger story
about how family and the natural environment have a grounding function … when
we are at our weakest, most fragile, and vulnerable. Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas, Flicks.com.au