Title from title frames

Adrian Wagg arrived in Arnhem Land in the 1970s, a young man newly wed and looking for adventure. He soon fell in love with the place and its people, helping the Yolngu to build homes on their ancestral lands and establish their own airline. The Pilot's Funeral recounts the life of this gentle giant of a man. But more than this, it tells of the extraordinary ten-day funeral ceremony that followed his tragic death in a helicopter accident. Not since the arrival of missionaries in the 1930s had the Aboriginal people of northeast Arnhem Land buried their dead in a dhakandjali, a sacred painted hollow log. But on a June afternoon in 2002 in the remote Northern Territory community of Yirrkala, the Yolngu people revived this ancient practice - not for an Indigenous person, but for this white man who they embraced as one of their own. The ceremony, captured in this moving documentary, celebrates a remarkable bond, connecting black and white, people and land, past and future. A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Copyright - 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Executive Producer: Penny Robins Producer: Denise Haslem, Trevor Graham Director: Rose Hesp Writer: Rose Hesp DOP/Cinematographer: Graham Steele Featured People: Sally Wagg, Daniel Wagg, Tim Wagg, Baluka Maymuru, Nuwandjali Marawili, Dhunggala Munungurr, Galuma Maymuru, Wukun Wanambi, Bob Wagg, Jonetani Rika, Mick Helms, Klaus Helms, Raymattja Marika, Gawarrin Gumana

In Process Record

Originally produced by National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in 2005

Mode of access: World Wide Web

In English