"It's certainly a celebration of all that feral Blueback is an adaptation of a novel from best-seller Tim Winton (The Turning). am who I am, and not an abstraction or a marketing tool. have an age, a heartbeat, you're just in this squeezed-down narrow focus which . Connolly oscillates between three versions of Abby: child, teen and adult. Abel Jackson lives with his mother, Dora, at Longboat Bay, an isolated stretch of coast whose waters teem with fish. Blueback / Tim Winton Children's novel published 1995. Blueback is a story about love, loss, growing up, and above all, living with respect for our beautiful and natural environment. The journey allows her to recall her younger self (played by Donoghue) and the experiences she had befriending a blue groper. And I think its worth it. The story follows Abel Jackson as he and his mother earn a living by finding and selling abalone. "Perth was just being bulldozed," Winton says, referring to the many old buildings that were demolished in the 60s and 80s. So getting in was a bit of an ordeal. Tim Winton on Blueback "I don't know whether books like Blueback make a difference, but in an innocent way, it's discussing these things - we have been taking from the sea and the land for so long, it's time for us to give something back. Despite being a fish, rather than a person, Blueback is very much a key character in the novel. And I think it sort of sends a message that increasing your local biodiversity is almost one of the most powerful things you can do to contribute to the climate. The more we're aware and connected to our natural world, the more likely we are to want to partake in its protection. Like to send a message to Tim? Wasikowska was blown away by the extraordinary locale, noting Bremer Bays coastal eye candy. People are Eric Bana: Theres definitely room for both, but I do agree what Robert said there, because I think theres so many serious issues that we are constantly being confronted with, and having to absorb, and feel like we have to take action on that it can be overwhelming. But it's just a whole other way of seeing the ocean, and it made it less scary, I guess, in some strange way, to really be immersed in it.. I have a need for a fairly big margin of privacy to feel that I Blueback is a love letter to Western Australias Ningaloo Reef and the sea creatures that make their home there. * making the coastal area they own a National park, stopping deforestation so that industries or parks could not be made; The series will be narrated and written by renowned, award-winning Australian author and conservationist, Tim Winton. His second novel, Connolly and his editors do a sublime job of getting these three eras to talk to each other. If you live your life with your gaze vigorously averted, (Supplied: Screenwest) Story puts environment before economics Blueback will be a family-focused film that follows the story of Abby, a child who befriends a wild groper while diving in the ocean. "I was brought up in the suburbs, but it seems in retrospect as if I spent Robert. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Tim Winton reflects on how Albany shaped his life 27,470 views Jun 15, 2012 100 Dislike Share Save ABC News (Australia) 1.62M subscribers Writer Tim Winton visits Albany for the premiere of. Between them, Eric Bana and Mia Wasikowska have starred in billion-dollar franchises, Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar-winning movies, and acclaimed features from some of the biggest and best names in the business, but Blueback sees the duo returning to their roots in a moving independent production shot in their native Australia. She's initially alarmed when the fish snatches an abalone from her hand. You know, this is an actual life-size mechanical, human-operated thing. The most successful was Breath (2017), a coming-of-age story which united Wintons passion for the sea with a poignant examination of the emotional damage casually inflicted on two teenagers by a pair of charismatic but unthinking adults. "My wife left for work at eight o'clock in the morning, and I was wrapping it up to send it to my publisher," Winton says. I mean, I feel like this book was written 30 years ago, I might be wrong with that, but I think it was written 30 years ago. Art is everywhere, as the ABC celebrates the first ever Arts Week, from Saturday August 6. "The Perth that my grandparents knew, and that my parents knew, was a foreign place to me, and my children never saw it. Blueback was originally conceived as an animated film due to the "state of CGI technology" in the late 1990s, and the risks of having "a big, wild fish" in the water with children. Is that a sentiment you agree with, or are have you got a soft spot for the more direct approach if the occasion calls for it? Three years later he won his first Miles Franklin Literary Award for Shallows (he's won the Miles four times to date, and shares the record for the most wins with the late Thea Astley). Blueback is a story about a young boy called Abel who lives in a bay called Longboat. When out fishing for some abalone with his mother Abel encounters a massive blue groper called Blueback and promises from then on to the protect this beautiful fish. Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips. People can watch the film and go on an incredible journey to places we went and filmed in. Local arts and culture covered. Helpful. Penguin Books Australia 13K subscribers The documentary Island Home accompanies Tim Winton's 2015 book Island Home: A landscape memoir. Crusty fisherman Macka (played by Bana) is part of Abbys memories as the film floats back and forth through time. "We come from water," the mother whispers to her son. "Everyone on television was from the east. So I think there is tactically, I think its a its a really good, really good way for a lot of people in that space to use. ", Blueback is subtitled "a fable for all ages", a marketing Blueback is in cinemas around Australia from 1 January, Irreverent review a Chicago criminal goes undercover down under, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. An ecological novel on a boy who protects a fish from property developers and rapacious fishermen. Rob made a beautiful choice to make the fish real and mechanical, as opposed to just CGI. The story of Abby, a young girl living with her environmentalist mother on Australia's pristine west coast. South-East Asian section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. something. "I never had a desire for a public life, never "And I'm happy with that. This book constantly explores sustainability as Abel and his mother are striving to protect the environment. But in some ways, only just. This is the most time weve spent on camera together, right now! Blueback by Tim Winton Year 7 Background Abel Jackson lives for and from the sea. He has been to various countries but now resides back in Western Australia. The supporting players are given even less to work with. then it's our source, our ancestral life and we are obliged to nourish it.". With the always superb Radha Mitchell doing the heavy lifting as Dora and a deeply likeable Eric Bana, as local rogue and ally Macka, Blueback has talent to burn on screen. His mum had been a swim teacher as a younger woman, but was now too frail to swim on her own. it was while there that he began his first novel An Open Swimmer. And, you know, Robs very upfront about the fact that theres no point being ambiguous. He and his mother have depended . Tim Winton's narrative 'Blueback' is set in Longboat Bay, Robber's Head. I wanted to work with the real, natural world. And theres a simplicity in that, that I think just, you know, works well. Abel swims with Blueback whenever possible and finally the big red jet boat comes into Longboat Bay, both him and his mother are very worried. My Year 7 English teacher introduced us to Lochie Leonard and the rest as they say is history. Hes the developer who has plans to dredge the bay and set up a marine resort. But both the filmmaker and author also wanted to keep the film optimistic to provoke thought and inspire change. cloying. While Abel is away his motherfearlesslyfights off thesemenand makes the bay a national park tofinallyprotect Blueback and the bay from danger. each of my first three books, and that was for years and years of my life, for He's currently working on a three-part documentary about the reef, which will airon ABC TV next year. 150 pages of deceptive subtlety, sentimental at times, sure, but never Its also a story about family at the end of the day, and its hard to imagine theres anyone wholl watch the film that wont find at least one element they cant relate to on some level, which can sometimes be a difficult balance to strike when it comes to independent productions that also wear their localization as such a proud badge of honor like Blueback does, which is a testament to how the film turned out. Based on the best-selling novel by Tim Winton, BLUEBACK is a timely tale about the ocean, a beautiful marine creature, and a young girl's power to change the world. This film should certainly help in that ongoing fight. "far more than for other fatter books". Australian. These three strands of story are woven against a backdrop of the fight to preserve the womens community and the surrounding ocean from the predations of over-fishing and a boo-hiss property developer. Winton's passion for Ningaloo has only grown in the years since the campaign. "It was odd because I think all of us were conscious of the connection; as if we were inhabiting some fictional reality.". The book is also strongly reflective of the inner man: it's all here - Blueback is the sixth of his books to be turned into a feature. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Franklin Award four times. [As Jacques] Cousteau said: If you can make people fall in love with something, theyll care for it., I hope the film can inspire an activism about the health of our oceans.. requires sacrifice to save it, we'll do it. Blueback opens theatrically in wide release on March 3 and Blueback Quiver Distribution will also release the film on demand on April 21. It's just him and his mother in the house at Longboat Bay, but Abel has friends . moved by how moved they were by it.." Moved too by the money they offered, back. Blueback is an achingly beautiful story about family, belonging, and living a life in tune with the environment, from Tim Winton, one of Australia's best-loved authors.Abel Jackson's boyhood belongs to a vanishing world. It won and Winton has never looked back, Mia Wasikowska: I did manage to crossover with the girls in Western Australia by maybe only two days when I was at the end of my filming period. Ilsa Fogg plays the teenage Abby in Blueback. So we had to quarantine for two weeks before we started filming. three children have enjoyed the same, mainly because I was lucky enough to be As VFX (visual effects) developed, Connolly who describes himself as more an analogue filmmaker was ready. Contents Life and career Personal life Style and themes Environmental advocacy (Blueback, . Tim Winton is appearing as part of ABC RN's Big Weekend of Books. It reaches a length of up to 1.7 meters and can weigh 40 kilograms. Eric Bana makes a regrettably brief appearance as a genial abalone diver who retains Doras friendship despite his delinquency in harvesting a few more molluscs than he should. personally how to resolve. faith against the current in the least religious country in the world has been It was really wonderful. Winton spent so many years trying to find a way to finish the story, that some of his children had never seen him working on a different book. The blue groper at the heart of Blueback was created by Melbournes Creature Technology Company. Winton says the journey of adaptation to the screen has been a long one. McPhee, Hilary (editor) Tim Winton: A Celebration, National Library of Australia. Ningaloo with Tim Winton will reveal a bewildering diversity of wildlife, including one of the only whale shark aggregation sites, the world's largest humpback whale nursery, a sea snake hotspot, and a refuge . Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. Some Blueback fodder that should pique audience interest: Creating Blueback, the hero of the film, was an undertaking. 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He's quickly become one of my favourite film-makers working anywhere today. ABC RN's on-air writers' festival is back! you may be able to proceed without disturbance but I can't. "It was a lovely experience to write. Blueback, a heartbreaking allegory about a boy, his mother and a blue groper, was written "inside a business week," Winton says. That night, he got up, and started the book again, from scratch. Were working to restore it. * Blueback is published by Macmillan as a hardback, by Pan as a A classically Western Australian story from Tim Winton comes to the big screen with a star-studded cast including Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana. Moving between and integrating these timelines becomes a core structural challenge. Mia Wasikowska: So I felt like there was a whole movie that I hadnt been a part of. The blue groper at the heart of Blueback was created by Melbournes Creature Technology Company.Credit:Roadshow. 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