Wayne Blair & Nel Minchin | Australia | 2020
96 min | Partial Subtitles
Supported by Guelph Dance
Firestarter marks Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 30th anniversary. Taking us through Bangarra’s birth and spectacular growth, the film recognises Bangarra’s founders and tells the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. But as Firestarter reveals, the company’s (inter)national success came at a huge personal cost. As it enters its fourth decade Stephen must lead the company alone, finding a way to channel grief and sorrow into the strength to forge ahead, with a new generation of Indigenous dancers relying on his genius to tell their stories. Through the eyes of the brothers and company alumni, Firestarter explores the loss and reclaiming of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and – crucially – the power of art as a messenger for social change and healing.
DIRECTOR BIOS
Wayne Blair
Wayne Blair, of Batjala, Mununjail and Wake Waka descent, is an acclaimed film, television and theatre director/actor. Wayne’s debut feature film, The Sapphires, a musical comedy, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. The film has since played at festivals including Telluride, Toronto, Aspen, Zurich and Hamburg, earning him worldwide recognition. The Sapphires was the highest grossing Australian film of 2012 and won eleven AACTA Awards, including Best Director and Best Film. In 2013 Wayne directed Septembers Of Shiraz, which featured at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
Nel Minchin
Nel Minchin is an arts, entertainment and comedy producer and director. After graduating from the Broadcasting program at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Nel moved to London. Highlights from her time there include her work on BAFTA nominated factual series Blood, Sweat and Takeaways for BBC3 and its spin offs, Britain’s Next Big Thing for BBC2 and her role as Assistant Producer in the Google Creative Lab in 2010. In recent years she has turned to directing, joining In Films in 2016 under Screen Australia’s prestigious Enterprise Programme.
