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Much of the cast, including Rhae-Kye Waites, were
Brewarrina locals who had little or no acting experience, some of whom were also family members of Waites. Waites' grandmother Mary Waites played Gemma's grandmother in the film, her grandfather Lindsay Waites played Gemma's uncle, and her cousin,
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Heidi attempts to remove Gemma from her family but after being forced to take a detour on an unsealed backroad due to an accident on the highway, she and Gemma become stranded after almost colliding with an emu, which damages the car. After spending the night together on the deserted road, Heidi
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for being a "serene and finely detailed coming of age tale" and credited Thomas for her "deep, rich meditation on family on family, community, country and racial tensions". He also praised cameraman
Michael Gibbs for capturing the "magisterial vastness of the plains surrounding the town" with a
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school to spend time with the emu, stealing food for the emu to eat, which brings her to the attention of local police officer Stan (Carlton) and social worker Heidi (Blizzard) who make their own assumptions about Jay Jay's ability to look after his family. Gemma's older brother Ecker is facing
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said that "in an ostensibly simple story, Thomas subtly explores complex themes of family and identity". Bunbury singled out Blair for praise describing him being "at his brusque best as Jay Jay" but also praising the
Brewarrina locals who played their roles with "tremendous feeling".
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351:. She said despite there being few surprises and "a slightly heavy-handed predictability in the way the denouement plays out", the viewer gains "a clear insight into the way racial prejudice can precipitate a rush to judgement by even the seemingly enlightened".
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social worker and the film's white director Imogen Thomas. Black also wrote that the film's biggest fault was that "it takes more than it gives back" and suggested that it may have fared better if it had been directed by an
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issues of his own when he develops an alcohol problem, gets involved in drugs and is hospitalised after being assaulted, which leads to Jay Jay becoming involved in a scuffle outside the local hotel and arrested for
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The film was made with a very limited budget and relied on two crowd funding campaigns, and a "goodwill arrangement" of much of the cast and crew. More than $ 40,000 was raised on crowdfunding platform
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s Sarah-Tai Black said that the film "stalls out" because of the lack of a "stronger directional construction". Black also described the presence of an "unfortunate parallel" between the idealistic
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begins to understand Gemma's behaviour and realises that she belongs with her family. The following morning, Gemma sprints the long distance back into town to get help for Heidi.
262:. Additional post production funding consisted of grants from the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation and individual donations. Blair worked on the film between shooting days for
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into town to get help from her father Jay Jay (Blair) and older brother Ecker (McHughes), there is little they can do.
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girl Gemma "Gem" Daniels (played by 11-year-old Rhae-Kye Waites) who lives in the remote New South Wales town of
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was commercially released in a small number of
Australian cinemas more than a year later on 7 November 2019.
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As the family grieve following
Darlene's death, Gemma finds comfort by spending time and bonding with a wild
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with her mother
Darlene (Spearim) and older sister Valerie (Boney), Darlene unexpectedly collapses. Despite
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Despite having great potential at being a junior athletics champion as a talented runner, Gemma begins to
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The film won the Best
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621:"'It was her ancestors calling her': How Emu Runner took flight"
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Frayne Barker. Thomas co-produced the film with Victor Evatt.
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on 7 September 2018, prior to its
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It was nominated for the People's Choice Award at the 2018
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Ferguson, Kathleen; Saunders, Dugald (26 September 2017).
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Production of the film commenced in
Brewarrina in 2017.
305:The film was released on DVD on 5 February 2020.
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852:"Family and identity at the heart of Emu Runner"
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1052:English-language independent films
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823:"TIFF 18 Acquisitions: Emu Runner"
650:Collins, Gillie (2 October 2018).
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166:. It was written and directed by
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491:"Completed Projects: Emu Runner"
180:The film stars Rhae-Kye Waites,
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319:awarded the film four stars in
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412:Hamburg Film Festival
385:Indigenous Australian
361:Stephanie Bunbury in
296:on 14 October 2018.
567:. 19 September 2018
530:(5 November 2019).
495:Imogen Thomas Films
354:In her review for
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973:. 23 October 2019
712:. 29 January 2020
175:script consultant
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890:Cinema Scope
888:
885:"Emu Runner"
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131:Running time
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977:14 December
949:14 December
940:"Festivals"
924:14 December
918:IF Magazine
896:14 December
863:14 December
832:14 December
827:Seventh Row
806:14 December
775:14 December
744:14 December
716:14 December
687:14 December
661:14 December
656:Seventh Row
632:14 December
604:14 December
598:IF Magazine
571:14 December
543:14 December
500:14 December
475:14 December
387:filmmaker.
356:Seventh Row
343:Sandra Hall
337:Tooraweenah
186:Rob Carlton
182:Wayne Blair
112: (TIFF)
88:Rob Carlton
84:Wayne Blair
70:Produced by
52:Directed by
46:Film poster
1017:2018 films
1011:Categories
997:Emu Runner
944:Emu Runner
442:References
428:Emu Runner
414:, and for
300:Emu Runner
286:Emu Runner
246:Production
202:Brewarrina
172:Indigenous
162:is a 2018
159:Emu Runner
135:95 minutes
119:2019-11-07
108:2018-09-07
62:Written by
35:Emu Runner
438:in 2019.
399:in 2019.
309:Reception
213:sprinting
143:Australia
506:Key Cast
469:ABC News
148:Language
78:Starring
857:The Age
800:Variety
434:at the
417:The Age
364:The Age
331:Variety
276:Release
256:Pozible
151:English
140:Country
117: (
106: (
236:affray
198:Ngemba
380:white
1002:IMDb
979:2020
951:2020
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280:The
192:Plot
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220:emu
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