Jedda is Kunoth-Monks only film credit as an actress, while Tudawali has four to his name. Unearthing an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander star for a single performance or a short-lived screen career has long been an unfortunate trend in Australian cinema; it persists today. Brandon Walters, who starred as Nullah in Baz Luhrman’s Australia (2008), had to wait twelve years for his next gig (Mystery Road and Operation Buffalo, both 2020). Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, stars of Warwick Thornton’s award-winning Samson & Delilah (2009), both have only this one impressive credit to their name. Television drama shows such as Home & Away and Neighbours, which regularly foster new talent, rarely utilise the First Nations talent.

One actor to have bucked this unfortunate trend is David Gulpilil, the focus of a new documentary, aptly named My Name is Gulpilil. Gulpilil acts as producer for the first time alongside his frequent non-Indigenous working partner Rolf De Heer. His only credit here is as producer, but de Heer is a prolific writer and director in his own right. This duo, a personification of reconciliation, has produced Australian classics such as The Tracker, Ten Canoes, and Charlie’s Country.

My Name is Gulpilil is cleverly structured. The film explores a day in the life of Gulpilil: preparing for a hospital appointment; offering insights and anecdotes into his life, past and current. To break this up, there is further discussion of his long film career, which began fifty years ago. This narration breaks up the documentary, which runs for 101 minutes. Had the documentary been focused on someone we knew more about, it might have been off-putting, but director Molly Reynolds’s expertise in structuring the film ensures that it is interesting, likeable, and powerful.

Hearing about Gulpilil’s life can be both inspiring and frustrating. Gulpilil, born in 1953, lives in Murray Bridge, the regional South Australian city that sits along the Murray River on Ngarrindjeri country. Gulpilil moved there from his traditional home in Arnhem Land to take advantage of the superior medical care available in nearby Adelaide. Gulpilil has cancer. While access to Adelaide’s medical facilities are necessary, this relocation has caused hardship. A visit from Gulpilil’s sisters during the filming proved to be quite emotional, but it was also a powerful indicator of David’s will to survive. He longs to spend more time with his family back on Country.

A still from the documentary My Name is Gulpilil (ABCGFilm)

Most interesting are Gulpilil’s recollections of his time spent outside Australia. It is rare to hear of First Nations people abroad. Gulpilil’s time in Hollywood, meeting heavyweights such as Clint Eastwood and Muhammad Ali, is fascinating, especially the time he hung out with Bob Marley. Back in Australia, his anecdotes about working on the film Mad Dog Morgan (1976) with Dennis Hopper on director Philippe Mora are gold. What he describes as a ‘whitefella corroboree’ is of particular interest. Picture Gulpil and Hopper toking on a joint while drinking beer.

Gulpilil’s anecdotes are told over B-roll of his films and photographs, another technique used to relate his story. A brilliant addition is vision of a one-person play that Gulpilil once performed about his own life, retelling his stories in a humorous way. This mesmerising footage illustrates Gulpilil’s histrionic capabilities. He is not at the mercy of anyone but himself. Hear about the Queen, Ernie Dingo, and even more about Dennis Hopper.

My Name is Gulpilil does not gloss over David’s wrongdoings. It explores his darker moments, in particular when he was imprisoned after a domestic violence incident. Had the same incident happened today, there would be no doubt that Gulpilil himself would become a victim of ‘cancel culture’. Gulpilil has admitted that the assault followed a night on the booze, another issue that is explored in the documentary.

Gulpilil’s life has been one of wonder, especially from a First Nations perspective. His first role came in Walkabout, a 1971 release directed by British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg. As Gulpilil tells it, Roeg came to Arnhem Land to find an Aboriginal person to act in the film. The communities that Roeg visited in Arnherm Land told him that Gulpilil was his man. Interestingly, Edward Bond’s screenplay was only fourteen pages long. In screenwriting, on average one page of script is equal to one minute of film, meaning that the 100-minute film was potentially filled in with eighty-six minutes of improvised footage. Only someone with the creative genius of David Gulpilil could have helped make such a film work.

Knowing this, it is clear why David Gulpilil has been able to buck the trend and forge a career that now spans five decades. My Name is Gulpilil is a moving and heartwarming look into the life and career of a man who has not only defied expectations but has exceeded them in every way.

My Name is Gulpilil, 100 minutes, directed by Molly Reynolds. Now in cinemas.