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David Gulpilil (Gurlpiril is linguistically correct though he is sometimes credited as David Gumpilil) (b. July 1, 1953), is an indigenous Australian traditional dancer and actor. He is a Yolngu man of Mandhalpuyngu language group.
His first starring role was Walkabout.
Early life
As a young boy, David Gulpilil was an accomplished hunter, tracker and ceremonial dancer. Unlike many indigenous people of his generation, Gulpilil spent his childhood in the bush, outside the range of Anglo-Australian influences. There, he received a traditional upbringing in the care of his family. He attended the mission school at Maningrida in Australia's North East Arnhem Land. When he came of age, Gulpilil was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. His skin-group totemic animal is the eagle and his homeland is Marwuyu. After appearing in his first film, he added English to several tribal languages in which he was already fluent.
His First Film
Gulpilil's extraordinary skill as a tribal dancer caught the attention of British filmmaker Nicholas Roeg, who had come to Maningrida scouting locations for a forthcoming film. Roeg promptly cast the fifteen year old unknown to play a principal role in his internationally acclaimed motion picture Walkabout, which first screened in 1970. Gulpilil's on-screen charisma was such that he became an instant celebrity. He traveled to distant lands, mingled with famous people and was presented to heads of state. During these travels to promote the film, he met and was impressed with John Lennon, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Muhammed Ali, and Bruce Lee.
edit] Life in the Arts
After his high profile performance in Walkabout, Gulpilil went on to appear in many more films and television productions.
Perhaps the most renowned traditional dancer in his country, he has organized troupes of dancers and musicians and has performed at festivals throughout Australia including the prestigious Darwin Australia Day Eisteddfod dance competition, which he won four times.
In addition to his career in dance, music, film and television, Gulpilil is also an acclaimed storyteller. He has written the text for two volumes of children's stories based on Yolngu beliefs. These books also feature photographs and drawings by Australian artists and convey Gulpilil's reverence for the landscape, people and traditional culture of his homeland. Gulpilil's latest artistic triumph is his appearance in an autobiographical stage production in March of 2004 at the Adelaide Festival of Arts 2004.
Struggles Between Two Worlds
During his career, Gulpilil has encountered racism and discrimination at the hands of some of the agencies and individuals that have employed him. His talent as a dancer and film actor has proved lucrative to others, yet he himself has failed to receive financial compensation equal to that of other featured players. For instance, he played a substantial speaking (and dancing) role in the film Crocodile Dundee but he was only paid $10,000 total for his work. This film went on to earn millions in worldwide distribution and is still bringing in cash for its producers.
Gulpilil has struggled personally with alcoholism and depression. After a period of incarceration for substance abuse-related offences, Gulpilil returned to his family and friends at Ramingining in the Northern Territory and reconnected with his spiritual roots.
Gulpilil Today
David Gulpilil continues to find himself torn between two worlds. On the one hand, he is said to have committed the worst of tribal offences and is banned from returning to his community. On the other hand, he has shown glimmers of hope and salvation in recent years. For example, he is said to have rededicated himself to the service of his community with particular focus on the problems of Aboriginal youth. He has given much of his earnings to the Aborigine tribes. At a conference in Adelaide in the summer of 2000, Gulpilil performed traditional dances and shared his recovery story with hundreds of indigenous young people. He continues to provide much-needed mentorship to them, while lending his support to social and political causes such as the pursuit of tribal land claims for indigenous people. He joins other Australian artists in calling for government recognition of and compensation for the suffering of the "Stolen Generation" - children of mixed European and Aboriginal parentage who were forcibly removed from their indigenous families and placed in mission schools or with white adoptive parents far from their kin and homelands.
A documentary about his life, Gulpilil: One Red Blood, was aired on ABC in 2003. The title comes from a quote by Gulpilil: “We are all one blood. No matter where we are from, we are all one blood, the same”.
Gulpilil's latest film, Ten Canoes, won the Cannes Special Jury Prize award at the 2006 Cannes Festival. The prize-winning, low-budget film, based on 1,000-year-old traditional story of misplaced love and revenge, features non-professional indigenous actors speaking their local dialect. Gulpilil collaborated with the director, Rolf de Heer, urging him to make the film, and although he ultimately withdrew from a central role in the project for "complex reasons," Gulpilil also provided the voice of the storyteller for the film. De Heer directed Gulpilil in another film, The Tracker (2002).
Selected filmography
* Walkabout (1971)
* Storm Boy (1976), Fingerbone
* The Last Wave (1977), Chris Lee
* The Right Stuff (1983)
* Crocodile Dundee (1986), Neville Bell
* Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Moodoo
* The Tracker (2002)
* The Proposition (2005)
* Ten Canoes (2006)
Television
* The Timeless Land (1980), Bennelong
* Naked Under Capricorn (1989), Activity
| Latest news about David Gulpilil |
The Girl Who Wished She Was Australian: David GulpililI think David Gulpilil is an Aboriginal Actor--the one who has been in a bunch of movies. I might be wrong though. Was he in Crocodile Dundee? Maybe Storm Boy? I'm seeing his photo on Google as I search for Lord Wiki. ... Continue reading
Download The Last Wave - Criterion Collection OnlineThis dream unexpectedly and dramatically takes human form the next day when he meets Chris Lee (David Gulpilil), one of the murder suspects. Chris just happens to be the aborigine in his dream. David invites the young man to his home ... Continue reading
The Girl Who Wished She Was Australian: David GulpililI've heard this is a good movie . Here's the trailer . It looks really good. Here is the original post: The Girl Who Wished She Was Australian: David Gulpilil. Continue reading
DVD Times - Mad Dog MorganThe soundtrack is mono, as the film always has been, and its suitably balanced with dialogue, Patrick Flynn's orchestral score and David Gulpilil's aboriginal songs and didgeridoo playing, and the sound effects. ... Continue reading
Ten Canoes review and you can watch it online « margarita7218258The tone of the film is set when narrator David Gulpilil (Crocodile Dundee) says, “Once upon a time in a land far, far away….†He stops himself with a warm, hearty chuckle and adds, “I'm only joking.†Director Rolf de Heer does a fine ... Continue reading
Watch The Tracker Online « harper8000842It's impossible not to be a David Gulpilil fan…he can do no snide in any film. He exudes an aboriginal dignity in the same intention that Toshire Mifune exudes a samurai dignity. This is a film about his assignment as a tracker hired to ... Continue reading
Two Cultures, One Red BloodThe tag line from David Gulpilil on the cover of the DVD of Darlene Johnson's film One Red Blood (2002) reads "...my life and how I really live it." And so this promises to be as much autobiography as biography, blending Gulpilil's own ... Continue reading
Catching the Classics: The Last Wave (1977)He is intrigued nonetheless, and invites one of the Aborigines named Chris (David Gulpilil) over for dinner. Realizing that Chris is the man from his dreams, Burton begins to suspect something supernatural at work. On top of all this, ... Continue reading
Review: Mad Dog Morgan (1976)Starring an infamously rum-soaked Dennis Hopper as an audacious, impetuous bushranger, supported by a selection of Australia's finest actors including David Gulpilil, Bill Hunter and Jack Thompson, Mad Dog Morgan is a wild and savage ... Continue reading
Download The Tracker OnlineI have been a big fan of Australian movies since '71 when I first saw a very young aborigine named David Gulpilil in 'Walkabout' and have followed his film career ever since. He had a major role in one of my all-time favorite movies ... Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba David Gulpilil pictures and David Gulpilil biography
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