Three Boys. Two Laws. One Country...

The Story
Caught in a collision between the brave new world of rap, football and street cred and the oldest living culture on earth, Lorrpu, Botj and Milika are three Yolngu teenagers who once shared a childhood dream of becoming great hunters together. However, things change, dreams become harder to attain. Botj is "walking on the wild side" a lost soul in search of a place. Milika is more interested in football, chicks and hot tracks than any of the traditional knowledge he is being taught. And only Lorrpu seems to care about the dream any more. Their paths are diverging, and he is the only one who can see it.

When Botj goes too far and finds himself on the wrong side of black and white law, Lorrpu must weigh up his own future against saving the future of his friend. He persuades the boys to trek to Darwin to argue Botj's case with Dawu, a tribal leader. Leaving behind their kinship and community, the boys journey through the unforgiving wilderness of North East Arnhem Land to Darwin. To survive, Lorrpu, Milika and Botj must draw on a combination of the ancient bush knowledge they were taught as boys, Botj's unique street instinct, and most importantly, on the bonds of their friendship.

As an educational resource it focuses on the search for identity, making the journey from adolescence to adulthood and the implications of belonging to a larger social group, whether it be a culture, a family or a group of friends.

For more visit the Yolngu Boy site

For educators, Yolngu Boy is an unique resource that provides an insight into aboriginal culture from the point of view of young aboriginal boys.
The Study Guide presents topics, issues and activities that are relevant across a number of senior secondary and tertiary subjects. For example, investigating rites of passage rituals in aboriginal and Australian societies, investigating the cultural relevance of dreams, the depiction of another culture through film, learning the skills of reviewing a film and creating a poster for the film.

Yolngu Boy is the Australian Children's Television Foundation's first feature film.