Gulpilil: one red blood

David Gulpilil is one of the most respected Australian actors of his generation. Born in 1953, he grew up on an Aboriginal reserve and worked as a stockman. Possessing exceptional talents as a dancer, at age 14 he was chosen to play the lead in Nicholas Roeg’s film ‘Walkabout’ (1970). He went on to act in a number of Australian feature films including ‘Mad Dog Morgan’ (1976), ‘Storm Boy’ (1977), ‘The Last Wave’ (1977), ‘Crocodile Dundee’ (1986) and ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ (2002). Most recently he won the AFI award for best actor for his performance in ‘The Tracker’ (2002). When he is not acting, Gulpilil lives a demanding traditional life in Arnhem Land, Northern Australia where he is an elder of the Yolngu clan. Following Gulpilil from the set of ‘The Tracker’ back to his community the film reveals how the actor negotiates the two very different worlds he moves between. Interviews with Phillip Noyce, Rolf De Heer, Marcia Langton, Gary Foley, Jack Thompson, and others, as well as with Gulpilil, are interspersed with clips from films in which the actor has appeared.