Namarali

Namarali charts artist Donny (Yorna) Woolagoodja’s quest to rekindle deep connections with his traditional ancestral culture. Yorna’s spiritual beliefs revolve around the wandjina – creator beings whose images adorn the caves and rock ledges throughout the Kimberley in Western Australia. Refreshed with new ochre each year by his ancestors the wandjinas are now fading away with the absence of Yorna’s people. But the community’s decision to allow one of Yorna’s designs to appear at the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening ceremony opens new possibilities for restoration. We follow Yorna as he is compelled to visit Namarali, the big-boss wandjina, to repaint and bring back to life, the imposing 4 metre figure. Part lament for things lost, part road map for future cultural rebirth, Namarali is a film that shows us a radical gesture of cultural reclamation and along the way takes us into a world that is rarely seen.