September

Peter Carstairs
Australia 2007
85 min

September is set in the Australian wheat belt in 1968 where two young boys who share a passion for boxing are firm friends. Sixteen-year-old Ed is the son of a white wheat farmer whilst Paddy is the son of an Aboriginal farm hand who works on the property.

The two boys have been friends for as long as they can remember. Their friendship is to be tested, firstly when Amelia comes to their town but even more so when new laws state that Indigenous workers must be paid the same wage as whites and Ed's father can't afford to do so.

In September Peter Carstairs has created a deeply humane and moving portrait of friendship, family and identity.

I never wanted to make an overtly political movie... I was interested in the idea of how political decisions, largely beyond our characters' control, affect their relationships and in particular, the relationship between two best friends.—Peter Carstairs, director

Cast	Clarence John Ryan Xavier Samuel Kelton Pell Lisa Flanagan Kieran Darcy-Smith Alice McConnell Mia Wasikowsa Tara Morice Paul Gleeson Sibylla Budd Paddy Parker (Aboriginal boy) Ed Anderson (White boy) Michael Parker, Paddy's father Leena Parker, Paddy's mother Rick Anderson, Ed's father Eve Anderson, Ed's mother Amelia Hamilton Jennifer Hamilton, Amelia's mother John Hamilton, Amelia's father Miss Gregory
Release dates	29 November 2007
Video/DVD Release Date	19 March 2008
Awards	not available
Rating	M - Infrequent moderate coarse language
Language level	not available
Distributor	21st Century Pictures
Soundtrack	Roger Mason
Genre	Drama
Notes	September is the first film to come out of the Tropfest feature program. September is also the debut from writer/director Peter Carstairs. The film was shot in Yass, NSW, and its surrounding areas Boorowa and Harden.

A beautifully photographed film, intent on using the changing light across the landscape to match the changing political climate.—The Age

Where to from here?

• Aboriginal people and their challenges
• How Aboriginal wages were stolen
• Timeline: the stolen wages