A Samaya Wives film created in collaboration between DRILL Performance Company Inc. and the Bob Brown Foundation.
A dance film that traverses the landscapes of Takayna; from rugged coastline to the deep ancient temperate rain forests, exploring through movement, the embodied effects of its landscapes and the sensation of its contrasting strength and fragility. A CALL TO ARMS is both a statement and a literal call out to the public for action, made through the body and collective energy – to listen to and to protect these incredible places.
Takayna is Australia’s largest temperate rainforest and the second largest temperate rainforest in the world and has one of the highest concentrations of Aboriginal sites in the southern hemisphere. These magnificent forests and rivers are home to many rare and endangered species. The logging and mining of this precious region is sending many species to the brink of extinction.
One of Earth’s last great wild places, it deserves secure, permanent protection.
We are grateful to have partnered and worked closely with the Bob Brown Foundation (BBF) to have created and presented this film. Their support behind the scenes and on the ground during filming was integral to this dance film being made. We would also like to deeply thank Sharnie Read, palawa woman and Aboriginal Heritage Officer, who was our guide across the creation and filming period in January to ensure best practice to work considerately and carefully when on Country. We learnt a lot through this process and cannot thank her enough for her contributions to our process and for the knowledge shared.
Conversations and planning for this project began in 2019 between the then DRILL Artistic Director, Joshua Lowe and Events Manager for BBF, Molly Coburn, pitched as a satellite project of Art for takayna.
The film features eight local performers who were involved in the creation in January 2022, between studio practice in nipaluna/Hobart and filming on location within takayna/Tarkine. The rigor and commitment of the performers and the volunteers and staff from both organisations was enormous.
A CALL TO ARMS is assisted through Arts Tasmania and the Bob Brown Foundation.
To read more about the range and scale of the work the Bob Brown Foundation is doing visit their website bobbrown.org.au/campaigns/takayna/