Ten Canoes

Ten Canoes takes place in northern Australia long before Europeans arrived, among a people living in the Arafura swamp region of Arnhem Land. A group of Aboriginal men sets out to hunt goose eggs on the wetlands, and an elder named Minygululu notices that his younger brother Dayindi desires the youngest of his three wives. To guide him, Minygululu tells him a tale from the mythical past, a story of forbidden love, abduction, sorcery and vengeance in which a young man faces similar temptation. The film moves between these two eras, with the narrator's voice framing the older story, and dialogue is spoken largely in the Ganalbingu language.

Rolf de Heer directed, co-directing with Peter Djigirr, and wrote the screenplay; de Heer and Julie Ryan produced. It followed de Heer's earlier features Bad Boy Bubby and Alien Visitor in his filmography. The cast is made up of Aboriginal performers from the region, most of them without previous acting experience, including Crusoe Kurddal as Ridjimiraril and Jamie Gulpilil as Dayindi and Yeeralparil, alongside David Gulpilil as the storyteller and Peter Minygululu as Minygululu. It runs 90 minutes.

Made for about 2 million US dollars, it mixes adventure, comedy and drama. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 81 votes, indicating a modest but positive response from those who have logged it.