Galup VR Experience
Aboriginal Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts shares a buried history hidden for nearly 200 years.
Interview with Writers/Directors Ian Wilkes and Poppy van Oorde-Grainger
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Galup is the original name for Lake Monger and means "place of fire" in Noongar.
Noongar Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts asked us to record a story that’s been passed down through her family about what happened at the lake 200 years ago. Her story is about one of the first massacres in Western Australia, May 3rd 1830, one year after first contact.
Aliwah, djinang, djinang ngallaniny, dabarkan koorliny nidja.
This history belongs to all of us.
Galup boodja baal karla-boort, yeyi karla ngalla koort nyinning.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We want everyone to share this story so Galup can become a place of healing.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
These are the themes of the work:
● Galup/Lake Monger is a culturally and historically significant site
● Australia’s settler colonial history continues to negatively impact the present
● Truthfully acknowledging violence in the past, enables a more just future
● Arts can create spaces where connection and healing can happen
● Building positive relationships between First Nations and other cultures takes time, respect and understanding
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Galup VR Experience is based on the on-country lakeside performance Galup that we presented at the 2021 Perth Festival.
Production of both the performance and film have been guided by a team of supportive Noongar Elders; Nan Doolann-Leisha Eatts, Aunty Liz Hayden, Aunty Glenda Kickett, Uncle Ted Wilkes, Uncle Darryl Kickett and Aunty Lois May.
Initially we planned to create a virtual reality film to document the performance but then we did some testing and figured out we'd need to write a script designed specifically for stereoscopic 360.
We decided to focus on the massacre story and oral histories. The interview with Nan Doolann, stories Ian was told as a child and the location its-self became the core as well as highlighting how past injustices continue to echo today.
At its heart, we wanted to talk about the importance of truth-telling and bringing people together for connection and healing.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
"I was genuinely moved - such an important story and just beautifully told - it was spot on - nothing more and nothing less. I think you’re setting the bar for how truth-telling can be done in this country."
"I have walked around Galup/Lake Monger many times and have told others of its tragic history, but to hear it told by a descendant of the Whadjuk people who were massacred was a profoundly affecting experience.
"Thank you for showing this difficult story"
"Very sad story and moving to hear it. Wish more people knew this history. Thank you for making this film and sharing your truth, culture and history."
"Incredibly powerful documentary of our local Lake Monger. We hope the awareness raising of Indigenous history at the lake encourages more acknowledgement."
"Very sad emotional story but I'm glad it was told. It has enriched my understanding of the history of Galup. Also having the story told in VR makes the story come to life. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share the story and experience."
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has been incredible. It is so good to see the shift as the community living near the lake becomes more aware of its history and significance.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The project has the following impact goals:
● Increase awareness of Galup/Lake Monger’s history and significance
● Increase understanding of how the violence of settler colonisation continues to impact Australia today
● Promote the transformative impact of truth-telling as a tool for healing and justice
● Embed the history of Galup/Lake Monger in the curriculum of local schools
● Advocate for a permanent legacy that tells the stories of Galup/Lake Monger e.g. a memorial, signage and/or an annual event
● Encourage positive collaborations between First Nations people and other Australians by sharing the story of how this project was made
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Buyers - especially universities, schools, museums, libraries and galleries; as well as film festival directors, journalists, sale agents and distributors
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why don't people living near the lake know about the massacre that happened there in 1830?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Ian is directing the Perth Festival opening event Djoondal. https://www.perthfestival.com.au/events/djoondal/
Poppy is managing the marketing and distribution of Galup VR Experience.
Interview: January 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Galup VR Experience
Aboriginal Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts shares a buried history hidden for nearly 200 years.
Length: 8:46
Director: Ian Wilkes & Poppy van Oorde-Grainger
Producer: Poppy van Oorde-Grainger
Writer: Ian Wilkes & Poppy van Oorde-Grainger with an oral history from Doolann-Leisha Eatts
About the writer, director and producer:
IAN WILKES is a Noongar theatre-maker, dancer and performer and the current artistic associate for Perth Festival. He has directed several plays including Black Swan State Theatre’s York and Yirra Yaakin’s Boodjar Kaatijin and has performed in Yirra Yaakin’s Hecate, Ochre’s Kwongan, CO3’s The Line and Yirra Yaakin’s Honey Spot at the Sydney Opera House. He is also a regular performer in the long-running WA show Binjareb Pinjarra and a founding facilitator of Culture 2.0, Yirra Yaakin’s regional youth engagement program. Ian won Perth NAIDOC Award for Artist of the Year in 2021. Recently Ian co-wrote and co-directed Ngaluk Waangkiny for Community Arts Network in partnership with ABC, which screened at imagineNATIVE and won first prize for short documentary at Bronx Social Justice Matters Film Festival.
POPPY VAN OORDE-GRAINGER is an artist, filmmaker and producer. She works across a range of mediums and specialises in collaborative work with social justice outcomes. Poppy has written, directed and produced projects for ABC, SBS and Nickelodeon and her short film Two Sands (2021) won first prize at Port Shorts and screened at several Academy-qualifying festivals. Poppy has worked on visual arts projects for London International Festival of Theatre, Japan Media Arts Festival and Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and previously won the Fremantle Print Award and Australia Council Kirk Robson Award for young leaders in Community Cultural Development. She recently co-wrote and co-directed Ngaluk Waangkiny for Community Arts Network in partnership with ABC.
DOOLANN-LEISHA EATTS was a Whadjuk Bibbumen Noongar Elder and writer, storyteller and teacher of Noongar language. She was author of Our Country, My Nyungar Home and co-author of Australia Through Aboriginal Eyes and The Stories of the Aboriginal Urban Services. In 2011 Doolann was awarded the Torch-Bearers Medallion in recognition of 40 years of creating harmony within the northern suburbs among people of all nationalities and in 2015 she was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame. She also received four NAIDOC Perth Awards including the 2016 Female Elder of the Year. She was Vice-Chairperson of Aboriginal Urban Services and a member of the City of Perth Elders Advisory Committee.
Key cast: Doolann-Leisha Eatts, Ian Wilkes, Calven Wilkes, Glenda Kickett
Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, film festival directors and buyers
Facebook: Same Drum
Twitter: @same_drum
Instagram: @same_drum
Hashtags used: #Galup #LakeMonger #TruthTelling #virtualrealityexperience
Website: www.samedrum.com/galup
Other: Same Drum's Vimeo, Ian's IMDb and Poppy's IMDb
Made in association with: Same Drum
Funders: Assisted by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Slamdance Film Festival
21st-24th January 2023 - In-person screenings in Park City during Slamdance
Bookings: https://bit.ly/galupvr
23rd - 29th January 2023 - Watch a 2D version of the experience and a behind the scenes video: https://slamdancechannel.com/