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Tudawali

Steve Jodrell | Australia 1987 | 97 min

Ernie Dingo delivers an outstanding portrayal of Robert Tudawali, the first Aboriginal film star, whose lead role in Jedda is iconic in Australian cinema.

The film traces the life of Tudawali from the moment he's selected to play the lead in Jedda, right through until his premature death at around age 40 from severe burns. It also portrays the stark contrasts between Tudawali's home outside Darwin, and his life in Sydney, where he did most of his filming for movies and TV series.

This powerful and important story also stars Charles 'Bud' Tingwell and serves as a vital document on Australian film history and Aboriginal culture.

According to some reviewers, Tudawali is Ernie Dingo's finest acting performance.

Tudawali is a powerful and important story: we're now over fifty years on since Jedda, and many attitudes toward Aboriginal people—particularly in the Northern Territory and Queensland—have not changed.

Cast
Ernie Dingo
Peter Fisher
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
Bill McCluskey
Frank Wilson
Suzanne Peverill
Michelle Torres
Shane Wynne
Chris Sampi
Michael Carman
John Low
Colin McEwan
David Hough
Sid Plummer
Matt Hayden
Murray Dowsett
Julie Hudspeth
Rod Hall
Tolis Papazoglou
Robert Tudawali
Harry Wilkins
Dr. Rayment (as Charles Tingwell)
Jack Everett
Charles Chauvel
Elsa Chauvel
Kate Wilson
Jimmy Deakin
Willy
Conroy
Detective
Harper (as Colin McEwen)
Tough Cop
Spruiker
Reporter
Editor
Sarah Watkins
Jedda 1st AD
Greek in Pub
Release dates 1987 - Australia
Video/DVD Release Date 7 July 2010
Awards not available
Rating M
Language level not available
Distributor not available
Soundtrack Raphael Apuatimi
Genre Documentary
Notes
  • In 1952 Charles Chauvel and his wife Elsa chose Tudawali as the first Aboriginal film actor for the leading male role in Jedda (1955), a full-length colour motion picture filmed in the Territory and in Sydney.
  • The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) sponsors the Tudawali Award for contributions to Indigenous media.
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