According to a close friend...this is a must-see documentary.
He was RIGHT!
I saw "The Songkeepers" today at the Elsternwick Classic - one of the very few cinemas in Melbourne to give it a run. It is a superb piece of documentary cinema!!
What an inspiring combination of cross-cultural collaboration between the aboriginal choir members and their choir leader Morris Stuart. The beauty of the barebones, beautiful landscapes in the vicinity of Alice Springs with their originally Lutheran mission settlements, when contrasted against the lushness of the German landscapes & townscapes documented through which their concert tour passed, was amazing to them - and to us as viewers of them.
The cinematography of this documentary was FABULOUS! The colours and textures were shown with sufficient time to take them in fully; the close-ups in particular were stunning - whether of the soil, the flames of a fire or of the faces of the individuals who formed part of this very well-told story.
The strong relationships of the choir members to Morris Stuart their choir leader, who was originally Guatemalan was obvious, unforced and simply heart-warming to see. The commitment of current-day settlement staff-members to supporting the choir's tour to Germany was clear and the settlement Archivist's background stories of the German Lutheran missionaries work in nineteenth and early twentieth century outback Australia were really well told.
The up-close interviews with the choir members from the three settlements were among the best and least self-conscious on-screen-portraits I've witnessed. Told simply and clearly, their stories were of lives not lived easily - particularly in the transition from traditional aboriginal law to somewhat less exacting, but sometimes mis-guided white governance. But the many human kindnesses and protections afforded the aboriginal families by the missionaries and government workers were a pleasure to hear of.
The traditions of Gospel choirs as a community activity across the aboriginal communities and the obvious joy and pride taken in it was illustrated as part of the background story to the present day choir's continuation of that tradition.
This documentary is the story of the a initiative which preserved aboriginal language by embedding it into gospel hymns - a seriously visionary initiative of the Lutheran missionaries of the late nineteenth century. We and they are their beneficiaries!
I am fortunate to be able to see the Australian Aboriginal Womens Choir perform in Melbourne in a few weeks time. I am so looking forward to seeing them sing live.
It's up there with "Finding Vivian Maier" as a quality piece of documentary work.
