Winton has proved a magnet for Australian film-makers. ABC RN's on-air writers' festival is back! If you could recommend just one film from your careers that you want people to see above any others, what would it be and why would it be that? He's currently working on a three-part documentary about the reef, which will airon ABC TV next year. "I never had a desire for a public life, never Set across three distinct time periods that sees Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue also play Abby at different points, Bana lends support as the roguish abalone diver Macka, who ends up having a huge impact on the inspiring conservationist. 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Eric Bana: We didnt even cross over because of isolation periods, we didnt get to meet on-set at all. journalism, Blueback: There's magic in this film, especially in the relationship between a little girl and the big, wild fish she befriends. I thought I might be good," Winton says. I think that they teach it in a lot of school curriculums at the moment, actually. But theres a twist in the lead role. And it was so emotional. He had just completed his recently-published Lockie Leonard ms, and sat down to "scribble some notes on a yarn that had half-formed in my head". (Blueback, . Tim Winton's narrative 'Blueback' is set in Longboat Bay, Robber's Head. When she realizes that the fish is under threat, she takes inspiration from her activist mum, Dora (played by Mitchell), and vigilantly takes on poachers to save her friend. All of it sparks her life-long journey to save the world's coral reefs. Connolly oscillates between three versions of Abby: child, teen and adult. So it was it was a bit of a mission to get there. 1. Star of this marine parade is a huge western blue groper christened Blueback by eight-year-old Abby (Ariel Donoghue) who befriends the fish after being persuaded its not about to swallow her whole. A simple but effective way of saying: she is remembering. In an early scene, after examining a piece of coral, she delivers sad news to fish on her boat: Your home is dying and I dont know how to help. It signposts the film as an environmentalist statement you could describe as a little on the nose, though it (like the Avatar movies) has good reason to be bold with its messaging, given our dramatically escalating climate crisis and a myriad reasons to be concerned about the state of our oceans. But we were very lucky, because Western Australia where we filmed was completely separated from the rest of the country. He would have discovered an unpretentious And Dora is no more convincing. Only the fishs eyes were CGI. [The bay] is beautiful one day, muscular and tough and visceral another day I didnt want the film to be set in a sweet, nostalgic fishing village, Connolly says. I was Winton draws his main inspiration from the landscape he knows well. Erik Thomson is selfless as the villainous developer and the marvellous Eddie Baroo turns up as school bus driver Merv, investing "tell your mum I said hello" with more pathos and backstory than you'll believe six simple syllables could carry. BLUEBACK Review January 5, 2023 Written by Dave Griffiths My love affair with the work of Australian author Tim Winton began way back in my first year in High School. It's a quite a stressful environmental world at the moment, and I think anything that reconnects us to the natural environment is really important, said Wasikowska about the perfect moment in time when this film is being released. Support independent It should be required reading in creative writing classes: Winton is Mitchell imbues Dora with headstrong warmth, humanity and vividness as she engages in direct action including chaining herself to a truck in front of a crowd chanting, Save our bay. We did as best we could to made sure that didnt happen. "There are accumulated losses we have suffered in Australia over His reviews and interviews with TV and film personalities have appeared in USA Today Network, Huffington Post, The Advocate, and other media outlets. Its absolutely stunning; theres absolute magic in it.. The talented writer he has published 29 books for adults and children including Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath says he wrote the bestseller Blueback within a week. up; talk about sacred links and the New Age is just so much baloney if it by Tim Winton December 1, 2022. I also hope that, especially for young girls, the film really inspires them, because a lot of women really are kind of leading the climate movement at the moment. udiences open to an ecological ocean drama thats gentler, more grounded and certainly more Strayan than James Camerons. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. The joins feel fluid, sometimes seamless. Blueback is a story about love, loss, growing up, and above all, living with respect for our beautiful and natural environment. Neither Mitchell and Wasikowska can do much to enliven dialogue that is more bound up with the life cycle of a groper than the shifting emotions involved in being human. So it is universal, and then also quite focused locally. Eric Bana: I got to meet the fish in its early gestation period, as a polystyrene cut-out while it was being developed, and saw all the work that was going in by the amazing company that brought Blueback to life. Publisher's Summary. I felt surrounded by nature. Tim Winton knew that humans were damaging the sea when he wrote his 1997 novel Blueback, even while he did nothing about it. Blueback stars an animatronic fish but its the humans who are floundering. I hope Blueback inspires people to contribute positively to our world. * preventing people from overfishing in the area that they own. I mean, its a bigger topic that hopefully inspires people, especially the younger generations to sort of be a bit more conscious and use their energies in a positive way for the for the whole environment. Why indeed? We meet the pair when Abby is an eight-year-old, obsessed with diving, then again when she is a teen - ditto,. Blueback was shot on location in Australia's pristine Bremer Bay, a picturesque locale with crystal clear turquoise water and sublime ocean views. His boks have been published around the world. We meet the pair when Abby is an eight-year-old, obsessed with diving, then again when she is a teen ditto, just deeper and then with Abby in her 30s or so, working as a marine biologist, when she learns Dora has fallen in ill. Abel realises his mother is looking older; she asks him does he think she should sell up and he is shocked. Two jam-packed days of conversations with writers you love and others you're going to love, on August 6 and 7 on your radio, online and ABC listen. The acting is mostly great, the underwater cinematography is superb and the selection of songs on the soundtrack suggest that Robert Connolly's record collection would be an agreeable place to spend a couple of hours. Tim Winton born on 4 August 1960 in Western Australia is a famous Australian author. yearning for yesteryear perhaps? And there have been plenty of those: his 15 books On an idyllic stretch of coast whose waters teem with fish, he lives a simple, tough existence. Uploaded by Carys Arnold. He's written bestselling novels for adults and children, short stories, plays, essays and memoirs. And I love the dynamic between between Macka and Abby. Bluebacks tone is warm and earnest, with a meditative vibe helped by Nigel Westlakes ruminative orchestral score and Andrew Commiss uncluttered cinematography. World War I and the Depression, but I don't believe we need some hideous Crusty fisherman Macka (played by Bana) is part of Abbys memories as the film floats back and forth through time. "We belong to it, Abel.". We havent seen Eric do this for a while. am who I am, and not an abstraction or a marketing tool. I wanted to work with the real, natural world. When I look back and see how hard I worked when I a pragmatist than anything, but I believe these things in the face of pretty 37, the Fremantle-based author has always been an enigmatic figure in Ozlit. Like in Connollys previous feature The Dry, theres plenty of air in the frame and space for contemplation. The film crew on location at Bremer Bay in Western Australia. Adapted from the acclaimed book, Blueback follows the story . There are so many different messages in the film, and I loved being a part of it.. Blueback. Adapted from Tim Wintons best-selling 1997 novella of the same name, co-writer and director Robert Connolly tells the environmentally-conscious and emotionally-driven story of the unlikely lifelong connection forged by young activist Abby and the titular wild blue grouper, which goes on to inform, inspire, and define her entire life. Connolly and his editors do a sublime job of getting these three eras to talk to each other. Mia Wasikowska plays a marine biologist in the latest Australian film about interspecies mateship, which is broadly appealing if a little on the nose. BLUEBACK A CONTEMPORARY FABLE by Tim Winton RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1998 The prolific Winton (The Riders, 1995; etc.) And after others told him they were moved to tears by the tale, he thought "I'm in the business of useless beauty," he says. oily self-interest in Government, in terms of reconciliation, and the He helps his mother each day and loves to dive. In terms of how it pushed me personally, I got to do a crash course in scuba diving, which I'd never done before. But both the filmmaker and author also wanted to keep the film optimistic to provoke thought and inspire change. The plot is driven by just one desire an overwhelming urge to save the wonders of the marine world from climate change and over-fishing. Like the groper, which will spend its life in one place if it can, Dora is devoting her life to the welfare of her own home. I mean, its one of the great things about when you really come in and do a supporting role is you dont get to see the rest of the film. he'd better have another look at it. At eight, shes already mastered the art of free diving. Blueback, a heartbreaking allegory about a boy, his mother and a blue groper, was written "inside a business week," Winton says. This article was first published in The Weekend Yet, at An ecological novel on a boy who protects a fish from property developers and rapacious fishermen. Nor is there anything surprising in the fact that his workers are a callous bunch with a taste for illegal spearfishing. Blueback is a 2022 Australian drama film directed by Robert Connolly, from a screenplay written by Connolly and Tim Winton, based on Winton's 1997 novel of the same name.The film centres on a young girl who befriends a wild blue groper while diving, and becomes a passionate activist for protecting the ecosystem of Australia's coral reefs from destruction. And more. "It was odd because I think all of us were conscious of the connection; as if we were inhabiting some fictional reality.". When Abel first meets Blueback, Winton writes he was 'the biggest fish he had ever seen. something. Throwing plastics or other rubbish on the ground leaving them to make their way to the ocean, Using water to clean the drive way and other paths around the house, Throwing things that could be recycled into the dump, Pouring chemicals or paints down the drain. Tim Winton reflects on how Albany shaped his life 27,470 views Jun 15, 2012 100 Dislike Share Save ABC News (Australia) 1.62M subscribers Writer Tim Winton visits Albany for the premiere of. sometimes sulkily terse communiques. field-worker in literature's pr harvest. the kind of money most people toss aside for their drinks bill. behave; the other is in terms of community - what are we prepared to give up People are you be a fool to discuss such ideas. "I've had a great experience working with Tim in the past, and his work, and I feel like this is a novella he wrote over 20 years ago that remains on the school syllabus around Australia and lends itself wonderfully to a screen adaptation," the director said. Robert said not too long ago that the environmental movement has really embraced the idea of activism through optimism, which is a fascinating way of looking at it, and something Blueback deals in from start to finish. While diving, Abby forms a bond with a. paperback. Three years later he won his first Miles Franklin Literary Award for Shallows (he's won the Miles four times to date, and shares the record for the most wins with the late Thea Astley). Read more. Winton is clear-eyed when it comes to the urgency of environmental action, declaring that a "clock is ticking" on human existence. If there's something ahead that then it's our source, our ancestral life and we are obliged to nourish it.". "It's a period of Between them, Eric Bana and Mia Wasikowska have starred in billion-dollar franchises, Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar-winning movies, and acclaimed features from some of the biggest and best names in the business, but Blueback sees the duo returning to their roots in a moving independent production shot in their native Australia. When the film opens, the adult Abby (Mia Wasikowska), now a professor of marine biology, is at sea on a research boat when she receives word that her mother has suffered a stroke. environment everything is about balancing the books, of looking after waking up, but it's a question of whether it's fast enough to maintain the His father was killed by a tiger shark when Abel was young. Mia Wasikowska: No, no, no, no, no, you go first! . This beautiful story about a child, their activist mum, a wild blue groper, and the fight to save a reef from commercial fishing operators and developers has now been adapted by filmmaker Robert Connolly (director of Balibo, Three Dollars and The Dry, and producer of Romulus, My Father and The Boys) into a coming-of-age family film for the big screen. Blueback is an achingly beautiful story about family, belonging and living a life in tune with the environment, from Tim Winton, one of Australia's best-loved authors.. Abel Jackson lives with his mother, Dora, at Longboat Bay, an isolated stretch of coast whose waters teem with fish. secular cesspool, environmentalism. Blueback is a love letter to Western Australias Ningaloo Reef and the sea creatures that make their home there. "I feel very specifically that I benefited from growing up where I did, He's quickly become one of my favourite film-makers working anywhere today. can". Connolly and Winton stay close to the original. But no really, really excited. But as the story unfolds, a metaphor emerges. Blueback is a Young Adult novel by Tim Winton, published in 1997. It's pretty special, and it was a great choice on Robs part., I just saw a blue groper 10 minutes down from where I live in the bay there, so they're around, Wasikowska pointed out. Thats really important. Incredible actors at the beginning of epic careers who learnt how to do their own free diving, learnt how to swim in the ocean, Connolly says of the newcomers. I just love the film. . Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email. At minute 25 [underwater], I had to go up because I realized Ive never been out of my element for so long. Rob made a beautiful choice to make the fish real and mechanical, as opposed to just CGI. cover-awkward-bases tactic. Tempting to dismiss as Winton Peter Pan-ing on again about his lost Thank you to Penguin Books Australia. Connolly spent over 20 years developing the project, which he also co-wrote. And, you know, Robs very upfront about the fact that theres no point being ambiguous. And I probably would have been sort of nervous to scuba dive if I wasnt pushed to because of this film., She went on to say how surreal it felt to be underwater for 20 to 30 minutes, likening it to going into outer space. The boy befriends the fish, a blue grouper while diving for abalone, his family's trade. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. "We come from water," the mother whispers to her son. winner of the 1981 The Australian/Vogel Award. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he's . She asks him isn't he sick of never having money . Its a scenario taken from Tim Wintons 2009 young adult novel, Blueback with one or two changes. "I was brought up in the suburbs, but it seems in retrospect as if I spent The family film will be produced by Arenamedia and directed by Robert Connolly as the follow up to his award-winning box office hit . (including five prize-winning children's novels) have been critically and Blueback was shot on location in Australias pristine Bremer Bay, a picturesque locale with crystal clear turquoise water and sublime ocean views. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). Its a family-friendly, broadly appealing film that expands the canon of coastal Aussie pictures involving interspecies mateship the original and remade Storm Boy, featuring Mr Percival the pelican, and Oddball, featuring a very photogenic Maremma sheepdog that saves a colony of penguins in Victoria. Audiences open to an ecological ocean drama thats gentler, more grounded and certainly more Strayan than James Camerons squillion-dollar screensaver can find an appealing if slight companion piece in the latest Tim Winton adaptation, brought to the screen by writer-director Robert Connolly. This is comic; a heartfelt role. Blueback is a novel written by Australian author Tim Winton. I am delighted by the magic that those performers were able to give., Young actors Ilsa Fogg and Pedrea Jackson on set. These three strands of story are woven against a backdrop of the fight to preserve the womens community and the surrounding ocean from the predations of over-fishing and a boo-hiss property developer. A feature film adaptation of Tim Winton's 1997 novella Blueback (Penguin) has received production funding from Screen Australia in its latest funding round.. 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