''Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)'' is a 2022 Australian docu-fiction film, voiced entirely in

Yankunytjatjara The Yankunytjatjara people, also written Yankuntjatjarra, Jangkundjara, and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. Language Yankunytjatjara is a Western Desert language belonging to the Wati lan ...

, an

Aboriginal Australian language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

that is the first language of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n artist and performer Derik Lynch.

Synopsis

The film centres on Lynch, a queer

theatre artist, as he returns to his hometown of

Aputula Aputula, alternatively spelt Apatula (formerly Finke until the 1980s), is a remote Indigenous Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is south of Alice Springs and east of Kulgera roadhouse on the Stuart Highway, near ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

to perform an

inma Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. The words "law" and "lore", the latter ...

Production

''Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)'' is co-written and co-directed by Matthew Thorne and artist and performer Derik Lynch. It was produced by Patrick Graham of Switch Productions and Thorne, of Other Pictures. It was partly funded by the

Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund The Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund was established in 2003 by the South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, to boost the local production of films. When the American festival director Peter Sellars was director of the 2002 Adelaide Festival o ...

and the

South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...

(SAFC). A series of photos taken during filming by Thorne was published online.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2022

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

at the opening night gala on 19 October 2022. It was then screened at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the 70th in 2020. The fe ...

in February 2023, It was screened at the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

in June 2023, and opened the Darwin Film Festival. Internationally, it also screened at

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

Doc NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...

, and

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

, and in total was officially selected for over 40 international film festivals. A special screening was held by the SAFC at the

Piccadilly Cinema Piccadilly Cinema(s), formerly Piccadilly Theatre and Forum Cinema (The Forum), and also known as The Piccadilly, is a cinema located on the corner of O'Connell Street and Childers Street in North Adelaide, South Australia. History 1940: o ...

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

in May 2024, at its inaugural Screen Circle event. A Q&A was held afterwards with Lynch and composer Jed Silver, hosted by playwright Verity Laughton. The event is attended by a group of influential screen sector advocates who have promised to support the SAFC in its efforts to develop and expand the film industry in the state. The guests included politicians

Kyam Maher Kyam Joseph Maher is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been Attorney-General of South Australia and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since March 2022. He was appointed to a casual vacancy in the South Australia ...

Sarah Hanson-Young Sarah Coral Hanson-Young (née Hanson; born 23 December 1981) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since July 2008, representing the Australian Greens. She is the youngest woman to be elected to federal parlia ...

Tammy Franks Tammy Anne Franks (; born July 1968) is an Australian politician who was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council for the SA Greens at the 2010 state election. Franks has sat as an independent since May 2025. Early life Born in Dub ...

, as well as filmmakers and industry executives and administrators such as Kate Croser,

Kirsty Stark Kirsty Stark is an Australian film producer based in Adelaide, South Australia. In 2010 she established a production company called Epic Films, and in 2023, an online platform called CrewHQ, which provides an online jobs market for freelancers i ...

, and Peter Hanlon.

Accolades

''Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)'' won the

Silver Bear for Best Short Film The Silver Bear for the Best Short Film is the second most prestigious prize awarded in the short films competition at the Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an a ...

and the Teddy Award for best LGBTQ-themed short film at the BerlinaleScott Roxborough
"Berlin: Teddy Award for Nigerian Drama ‘All The Colors in the World Are Between Black and White’"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', February 25, 2023. It was the first film to ever have won both awards. It also won the Documentary Australia Award at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival, and Best Short Documentary at 2023

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

. In March 2024 it was announced as the winner of the annual SDIN Award, at the 22nd Annual SPA Awards. This award is a joint initiative between the

Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing or ''silkscreening'', a printing method * Big screen, a nickname for motion pictures * Split screen (filmmaking), showing two or more images side by side * Stochastic screening and Halftone ...

and

Screen Producers Australia Screen Producers Australia (SPA), formerly the Screen Producers' Association of Australia (SPAA) and earlier names, is a national organisation representing film production businesses, emerging producers, service providers and screen industry supp ...

. Other awards include Best Short Documentary at the 2024

Australian International Documentary Conference The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is an Australian conference for the promotion of documentary, factual and unscripted screen content, regarded as one of two major national conferences for filmmakers. History First esta ...

and the 2023 Ruby Award for Outstanding Regional Event or Project, with its total wins numbering around 12.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 21815342
Director Statement and Biography
2023 films 2023 short documentary films 2023 LGBTQ-related films Australian short documentary films Australian LGBTQ-related short films Drag (entertainment)-related documentary films Documentary films about Aboriginal Australians 2020s English-language films 2023 multilingual films Australian multilingual films 2020s Australian films Australian LGBTQ-related documentary films English-language short documentary films