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Adnyamathanha Elder Roy Coulthard is The Mulka Man, the last wood carver of the Flinders Ranges. With time against him, Uncle Roy is determined to see his tradition live on. From the rich ochre sands outside Port Augusta in search of the perfect Mulka tree to a firelit camp back-dropped by the stunning Flinders Ranges, Uncle Roy passes his expert carving knowledge to the next generation. But to do so, he must bravely cross traditional conventions and gender lines, teaching women the art of Mulka wood carving in order to keep Adnyamathanha culture alive.
Change Media partnered with the City of Port Augusta to deliver a series of media literacy workshops with First Peoples participants from a wide range of communities in and around Port Augusta.
The first production resulting from the workshops is ‘The Mulka Man’, a short documentary following Adnyamathanha Elder Roy Coulthard, the last wood carver of the Flinders Ranger, as he passes on his skills to a new generation of Mulka carvers, crossing traditional conventions and gender lines in the process.
We worked with Wangkangurru woman Marika Davies as the co-director/ co-producer and mentored participants across all stages of production.
Festival updates: The Mulka Man has been invited to screen at The Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival in Queensland, Oct 2021. In 2021 The Mulka Man was selected to screen at Koori Mail’s/ First Nations Media’s Blak Cinema Festival in Lismore, NSW. And in 2020 the Nunga Screen film festival toured the film throughout regional locations in South Australia.
The project has been funded by the Port Augusta City through the Regional Arts Fund and Country Arts SA and the South Australian Film Corporation grants for an Aboriginal screen initiative, with additional support from the Australia Council for the Arts through Change Media’s What Privilege initiative 2019.
Change Media acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land in Australia on which this program was filmed.
Credits:
Writers: Marika Davies, Piri Eddy, Johanis Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Steven Fatt-Lang, Paul Tanner, Lyall Campbell-Ware, Bonita Leahy, Bessy-May Taylor-Haseldine, Denise Champion, Donny McKenzie, Roxanne Lawrie
Directors: Johanis Lyons-Reid and Marika Davies
Producers / mentor: Carl Kuddell and Jen Lyons-Reid
Associate Producer: Marika Davies
Director of Photography / mentor: Johanis Lyons-Reid
Camera Operators: Steven Fatt-Lang, Marika Davies, Paul Tanner
Sound Recordist / mentor: Piri Eddy
Sound operators: Steven Fatt-Lang, Marika Davies
Editor: Johanis Lyons-Reid
Composer and Sound Mix: Justin Pounsett
BTS Stills Photographer: Carl Kuddell
Mulka Arts interviews:
Uncle Roy Coulthard – Adnyamathanha Elder
Marika Davies – Wangkangurru woman
Mulka Arts participants:
Roy Coulthard, Marika Davies, Matthew Davies, John Davies, Phillip Naylor
Colleen Naylor, Anisha Davies, Flynn Spencer, Lahni Von Senden, Kellie Von Senden, Tweedy Martinot, Maya Fettke, Jakai Page, Georgia Keenan, Shayleigh Cooper, Casey Green
Thanks to:
Mulka Arts crew and their supporters
Stirling North Primary School
City of Port Augusta – Maria Anderson
Country Arts SA – Sam Yates and Josh Barbo
South Australian Film Corporation – Lee-Ann Tjunypa Buckskin and Nara Wilson
DEVELOPED AND FINANCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF:
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FILM CORPORATION
Country Arts SA
The City of Port Augusta
Australia Council for the Arts
©2019 Change Media, Mulka Arts and the City of Port Augusta