In 1923 a policeman, Constable McLeay and a police boy came to the Dampier Peninsula WA to arrest a Bardi man, John Boxer, who had been accused of stealing from white settlers. They took him in a dinghy across rough tidal waters to an island in search of the stolen property. The boat got taken under in a whirlpool and the policeman drowned. John Boxer recorded his story in Bardi language in 1970 and this archival recording is used as the basis for a subtitled animation of the story.
“Whirlpool” is directed by his grandson, Kiefer Dann and includes a behind the scenes look into the production of the video made at the PAKAM hub in Broome.
12.53 min
Whirlpool won Best Animation Short at the 2017 Mud and Saltwater Short Film Fest
