Local film producer led campaign to bring film to NSW town after learning its cinema will not screen it

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The filmmaker Warwick Thornton will hand-deliver a copy of his critically acclaimed western, Sweet Country, to the community of Dubbo this Friday, following a months-long campaign to bring the film to the regional New South Wales city.

More than 400 tickets have been sold to a one-off screening at the Dubbo Regional Theatre & Convention Centre, to be held on 27 April. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Thornton.

A campaign to bring Sweet Country to Dubbo was spearheaded by Kellie Jennar, a local screenwriter, producer and cinema enthusiast. She became determined to bring the film to the city after discovering the only cinema in the area, Reading Cinema Dubbo, would not be screening it.

“This is a culturally important film and they are the closest cinema within a three-hour round trip,” Jennar told Guardian Australia.

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“Sweet Country is a cinematic experience that should be seen on the big screen, in order to do it justice. I felt this was important particularly for the Dubbo community, due to our high Indigenous population. People really want to see the film. Why don’t they want to show it?”

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Jennar says she has been asking this question for months. According to the local resident, who has lived in Dubbo for the previous eight years, her emails to Reading remain unanswered. Sweet Country has not screened at any of the 20 cinemas operated by the company.

In a post published on Facebook in February, a social media coordinator for the company wrote: “Sweet Country is on a very limited release and as such we are unable to show it.”

Reading told Guardian Australia that nobody from the company was available for comment.

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In February, Jennar created the Bring Sweet Country to Dubbo Facebook page. She reached out to the film’s producers, Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey, who were happy to assist.

“We were delighted to help arrange the screening in Dubbo,” says Simpkin. “In fact we have been contacted by a number of communities requesting a screening of Sweet Country in their region.

“These have included a special screening with local schools and young people for Reconciliation week, and a ‘healing’ event between local police and the Indigenous community. We find it both moving and hopeful that Sweet Country has sparked community interest in this way.”

Once Jennar identified the Dubbo Regional theatre as a potential venue, the process of screening Sweet Country encountered technical limitations. The venue is not equipped with the technology required to receive or screen encoded digital films.

When this news was relayed to Thornton, the director offered to visit Dubbo and personally deliver the film.

“Warwick will get to see the excitement and passion from the community about it,” says Jennar. “I’ve had a huge response from the local Indigenous community. I’m expecting about a 40-60% ratio, of Indigenous to non-Indigenous people, which I think is amazing engagement.”

Sixty of the seats for Friday’s screening have been donated to local Indigenous elders. Some are expected to travel from as far as Brewarrina, more than 400 kilometres away.

Dubbo has a small but devoted film community. The annual One Eyed film festival showcases locally-made short films, and the Dubbo Film Society (which has approximately 200 members) arranges monthly screenings of recent productions not included on the program at Reading.

“It’s a pretty striving little place,” says Jennar.