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Rabbit-Proof Fence
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Title:
Rabbit-Proof Fence
NFSA ID
534077
Year
2002
Courtesy
Phillip Noyce
Warnings
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons
This portrait featuring Tianna Sansbury as Daisy, Laura Monaghan as Gracie and Everlyn Sampi as Molly, poignantly conveys the physical and emotional journey in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, Australia, 2002).
The image was captured by photographer Matt Nettheim between takes while the girls were still in costume.
Daisy and Gracie are led forward hand-in-hand by the eldest girl Molly, representing the unbreakable bond between family and their determination to return home to country.
Director Phillip Noyce remarked that despite being amateur child actors, these girls were perfect for the role as he could see 'the history, the heartache, the struggles and the triumphs of Indigenous Australia in each one of them'.
The film is based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Molly's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara.
It introduced many people to the concept of the 'stolen generations’: Aboriginal children who were removed from their families as the result of government policies.
Photographer
Matt Nettheim
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.