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National Film and Sound Archive of AustraliaNational Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive

Two Laws: ‘You gonna stay here with me?’

1981

Two Laws: ‘You gonna stay here with me?’

1981

  • NFSA IDGXRJT05B
  • TypeFilm
  • MediumMoving Image
  • FormDocumentary
  • Duration2 hrs, 13 mins, 2 secs
  • GenresIndigenous themes or stories, Indigenous as subject
  • Year1981
  • WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons

In a re-enactment, Constable Stott menaces Dolly, who is tied up to a tree. An elder now directs the action of the re-enactment, and the group collectively decide the details of the events and how they unfolded.

Summary by Romaine Moreton

CURATOR'S NOTES

The story of Dolly, how she was beaten and given salt instead of water, is what the community have chosen to tell. Dolly's surviving siblings are involved in the reconstruction, making it the more profound in how the details are negotiated. Two Laws offers an incredible accomplishment in the re-telling of the story, the negotiations that make this possible, and the procuring of spatiality for something that would otherwise remain without physicality. In other words, Two Laws offers physical dimensions to a story that would have otherwise been relegated to the imagination alone.

CREDITS

Filmmakers Carolyn Strachan, Alessandro Cavadini, Borroloola Tribal Council

Courtesy of
  • WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons

In a re-enactment, Constable Stott menaces Dolly, who is tied up to a tree. An elder now directs the action of the re-enactment, and the group collectively decide the details of the events and how they unfolded.

Summary by Romaine Moreton

CURATOR'S NOTES

The story of Dolly, how she was beaten and given salt instead of water, is what the community have chosen to tell. Dolly's surviving siblings are involved in the reconstruction, making it the more profound in how the details are negotiated. Two Laws offers an incredible accomplishment in the re-telling of the story, the negotiations that make this possible, and the procuring of spatiality for something that would otherwise remain without physicality. In other words, Two Laws offers physical dimensions to a story that would have otherwise been relegated to the imagination alone.

CREDITS

Filmmakers Carolyn Strachan, Alessandro Cavadini, Borroloola Tribal Council

Courtesy of
  • Filmmakers
    Carolyn Strachan, Alessandro Cavadini, Borroloola Tribal Council
  • The story of Dolly, how she was beaten and given salt instead of water, is what the community have chosen to tell. Dolly’s surviving siblings are involved in the reconstruction, making it the more profound in how the details are negotiated. Two Laws offers an incredible accomplishment in the re-telling of the story, the negotiations that make this possible, and the procuring of spatiality for something that would otherwise remain without physicality. In other words, Two Laws offers physical dimensions to a story that would have otherwise been relegated to the imagination alone.

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