Rabbit-Proof Fence
Short description
In 1931 in Western Australia, an official policy allows Aboriginal children to be taken from their families and placed in a settlement where they are to be trained for domestic service. Molly, her younger sister Daisy and their cousin Gracie are removed from their home at Jigalong and sent to the Moore River camp, far away on the other side of the continent. The three girls run away and set out to walk home, using the long fence built to keep rabbits out of farmland as their guide across the Outback, while the authorities search for them.
Phillip Noyce directed, and the screenplay is by Christine Olsen. It is the ninth of the sixteen films Noyce has directed, following The Bone Collector and preceding The Quiet American. Everlyn Sampi plays Molly, with Tianna Sansbury as Daisy, Laura Monaghan as Gracie, David Gulpilil as Moodoo, and Ningali Lawford and Myarn Lawford as Molly's mother and grandmother. The cast runs to forty-two credited performers.
Made for about six million dollars, the film took roughly sixteen million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from 145 reviews, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from 404 votes, an audience figure that is lower and based on many more responses.
What's left behind the scenes
- The mother of Doris Pilkington, the author of the book on which the film is based, along with two other girls, ran away from the Moore River settlement after authorities placed them there in 1931.
- Everlyn Sampy, who played Molly, ran away twice during filming. After one such escape, she was found in a phone booth, where she was trying to buy a ticket to Broome (a town in the state of Western Australia).
- The film premiered as an outdoor screening in Jigalong, from where the girls were taken and where their families still live.
- The final scene of the film, showing the real Molly Craig leaning on a cane while walking, was filmed first. According to director Phillip Noyce, this was better considering Molly’s age and health condition.
- During filming, it was necessary to take into account the cultural characteristics of Australian Aboriginal people. For example, it was necessary to obtain permission from tribal elders to film the story of Western Australia in another region of the country, as well as to speak in that region in the dialect used in the film.
- Many animals were brought to Australia, but the most frightening and devastating consequences were caused by the introduction of rabbits. The Australian government ordered the construction of a fence from the southern to the northern coast across the entire country. The construction of the fence was completed in 1907, and the fence became the longest continuous fence in the world. The fence was built to prevent rabbits, in search of food, from traveling across the country westward. For almost half a century, the fence served as such a barrier. Even today, long sections of the original fence are often used as a barrier against wild animals, in particular, emus.
- When the phone rang at three in the morning at the home of director Phillip Noyce in Los Angeles, he thought something had happened. It turned out it was screenwriter Christine Olsen calling, who claimed to have a great script specifically for him. Noyce replied that he was told that every single day and asked her to call him during the day, suspecting that he would never hear from the woman with the Australian accent again, but she did call, and then sent him the script.
- Phillip Noyce and casting director Christine King were responsible for searching the country for three children for the filming. Along with assistants armed with portable video cameras, they interviewed at least 1,200 candidates for the roles of Molly, Daisy, and Grace.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
