Via Gary Foley:
PRESS RELEASE
23rd OCTOBER 2009
LEGENDARY ABORIGINAL ACTOR AND CULTURAL LEADER DENIED ACCESS THE UK
PRESS RELEASE
23rd OCTOBER 2009
LEGENDARY ABORIGINAL ACTOR AND CULTURAL LEADER DENIED ACCESS THE UK
Photos taken 20 years apart. From an exhibition by Fitzroy artist Rod McNicoll.
Aboriginal elder and film, television and theatre icon, Jack Charles is a national treasure.
Since founding the first Aboriginal theatre company in the 1970’s, Jack has performed with Australia’s most renowned actors (Geoffrey Rush, David Gulpilil, Bill Hunter) and directors in feature films (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Bedevil and Blackfellas) TV series and hundreds of plays.
The feature documentary Bastardy charts Jack Charles’ amazing life story as he has also overcome the adversity of heroin addiction and a life in and out of jail. At age 66, Jack is now a Koori community leader and a tireless believer in grass roots reconciliation.
Jack was recently invited to speak before a series of screenings of Bastardy at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival - one of the most prestigious documentary festivals in the world.
On the 22nd of October Jack was denied entry to the United Kingdom because of his previous criminal record.
Jack was meant to depart for the UK on the 1st of November and friends and supporters of Jack are now desperately seeking anyone who can leverage intervention on a federal government level (The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) to give Jack this incredibly important cultural opportunity to speak at this international forum.
CONTACT:
Amiel Courtin-Wilson (the director of of Bastardy) at
amiel@amielcourtin-wilson.
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