Film Information
Year: 2018
Duration: 95'
Language: VOSC
Genre: Drama, Family
Synopsis
Faced with grief over the death of her mother, 8-year-old Gem forms a special bond with a wild emu. The animal’s apparitions serve the girl as spiritual illumination, and she will do her best to protect them. Yet social services, and the adult world, do not understand the symbolism of the apparitions of a mythical bird to Indigenous ancestors and impose their restrictions. Emu Runner (2018) is a lyrical story about the impact a mother’s death has on an Aboriginal family living in an isolated community, perched on an ancient river and surrounded by vast plains. This spiritual infatuation is a bond she will do her best to maintain, but one that confronts her to the new social worker. The film claims both Indigenous culture and the power of imagination in childhood.
Director
Imogen Thomas is an Australian filmmaker known for her focus on stories that explore the identity, culture and experiences of Indigenous communities in Australia. Her film Emu Runner (2018) was shot in the Indigenous community of Brewarrina, a place Thomas first met in 2003 when she worked with a non-profit organization on an arts initiative. This experience allowed her to connect and exchange with women in the community, particularly Indigenous women, which marked the start of her career as a filmmaker. From this connection, Thomas created her first short film, Mixed Bag (2008). The deep connection to the Brewarrina community and the willingness of its people to share their culture prompted Thomas to explore topics such as the impact of loss on the individual, family and community at large. This focus on how bereavement spreads across the region, due to the interconnectedness of families in Brewarrina, culminated in his most recent work, Emu Runner (2018).
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