Stillness and bliss

We're nearing the end of making 'murundak'. I've blogged about it before. It's a feature documentary that follows a group of singers known as the Black Arm Band who are singing up songs of Aboriginal resistance, and taking these songs and stories out to as many audiences as they can. It's been so complex to tell the many layers of this story - character, history, songs, contemporary context - that it has been hard to do too much else in the last year or so... but, included below, is a small reminder of the moments of stillness and bliss you get along the way.

This rushes outtake was filmed at around this time last year. We had finished shooting some observational material for 'murundak' and wandered our way toward an abandoned rail bridge to get an elevated shot of the area around Nitmiluk. The quiet and stillness began to slowly fill with the dense sound of wings and cries and, as we climbed higher, we saw the sky darkening with the nightly migration of flying foxes from down river. I've looked at this shot numerous times - an anchor point for the kind of awe you should get every now and then when faced with both the natural world and the moving image - while editing and, even now, it creates a sense of intense calm for me.

Excuse the mutterings and discussions behind the camera and focus on the skyline.