Australia’s first contemporary Indigenous dance film, Spear was originally created in 2000 as a dance theatre work for the stage by Bangarra Dance Theatre.
Stephen Page (Artistic Director, Bangarra Dance Theatre) has reimagined the performance piece as a contemporary hybrid feature film, dance performance and experimental art show. Spear is a coming-of-age tale which addresses the social challenges of today’s Indigenous youth through movement and dance. The film explores a young Aboriginal male struggling to come to grasps with his cultural identity in a society where ancient traditions often collide with a fast-paced modern world.
The majority of the indoor scenes of the film were shot at the empty shipyards on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. Our client, Jacob Nash’s spare, evocative production design impressively conjures an industrial underworld that lies in poignant contrast to the sun-drenched, water-side outback sequences. The production design reflects the continuing cultural connection between Aboriginal people and the land, as the film traverses outback Australia and the abrasive, gritty streets of urban Sydney.
SPEAR screened at the Sydney Film Festival on January 23 and 24 2016, with our client Jacob Nash (Production Designer, Spear), and our Greg Duffy (Partner, Frankel Lawyers) in attendance.
Photography by Jacob Nash