Butterfly Dreaming

Abstract

Research Background Since 2015, the Griffith Film School has been taking Australian and International students on fieldtrips 1100km northwest of Brisbane to the central Queensland town of Winton, to instil resilience, teamwork, cultural sensibilities, and importantly for these next generations, to develop an ongoing connection to, and regard for the Australian outback. In 2018, Aboriginal elders from the Koa mob, on whose country Winton is located, joined animation students and staff in a rare opportunity to initiate dialogue towards a shared understanding of culture within the broader national context of reconciliation. In 2019, a collaborative project was initiated between GFS and Falmouth University staff and students and the Koa mob, in response to the research question: How can animation production be employed as a vehicle for the interrogation and expression of cultural identity, specifically the articulation of First Nation Australians’ relationship to ‘place’? Research Contribution Creativity was wrought from the limitations of employing natural materials sourced from the local landscape, animated large-scale and on site, for an authentic expression of indigenous relationship to ‘country’. The innovation of animating in the field, under the guidance of elders Mick and Minne Mace, brought life, context and meaning to a dreamtime story voiced by Aunt Minnie. Research Significance Butterfly Dreaming > premiered at the 2019 Vision Splendid Outback Festival, Winton Qld; > included in the 2020 Vision Splendid Outback Festival online showcase; > selected for the 2019 ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d’Animation) International Animation Day Screenings, Brisbane and Cairns; > selected for 2020 International Animation Day: Encore Special streamed online with films from Finland, Greece, India, Iran, Switzerland, Taiwan and USA.