Cannibal Story | The Animated Paintings of Billy Yunkurra Atkins
Kumpupirntily (Lake Disappointment) is the dangerous heart of Martu country in the Western Desert, Western Australia – it is a place where cannibal beings live beneath the surface of the salt lake, a place where Martu fear to tread. Yunkurra Billy Atkins is the great animator of the dark narratives that score this country, and his beguiling paintings have intrigued and challenged art lovers for many years. Now new audiences are invited into the world of his art, his imagination and his country, as Yunkurra’s paintings are brought to life through a unique collaboration with award-winning animator Sohan Ariel Hayes. Cannibal Story gives sound and motion (and a touch of violence) to the beauty and danger of Yunkurra’s wondrous, original paintings.
Beyond its inclusion in We don't need a map, Cannibal Story has also screened in a number of highly celebrated film festivals and screen events around the globe:
Experimenta Recharge 6th International Biennale of Media Art, Melbourne (2014/2015)
We are in Wonder LAND: New experimental art from Central Australia, UNSW Galleries, Sydney (2015)
Aesthetica Short Film Festival , UK (2014)
DESART. FRAGRANT LANDS: Exhibition of Chinese and Australian Indigenous Art, Shanghai, (2014)
12th Bogotá Short Film Festival, Colombia (2014)
Impakt Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands (2014)
Desert Animations, Charles Darwin University, Darwin (2014)
A Night of Horror International Film Festival, Sydney (2014)
Short Film Festival Winterthur, Switzerland (2014)
Eerie Horror Film Festival, UK (2014)
Angaelica/Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, USA (2014)
Marfa Film Festival, Texas USA (2014)
Revelation Perth International Film, Australia (2014)
St.Kilda Film Festival, Australia (2014)
Tampere Film Festival, Finland (2014)
Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, Germany (2014)
Flickerfest Official Selection, Sydney (2014)
Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, Melbourne (2014)
Boomtown Film and Music Festival, Beaumont, Texas (2014)
Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh (2013)
Same but Different: Experimentation and Innovation in Desert Arts II, COFA UNSW (2013)
Origins: Festival of First Nations, London (2013)
ISEA2013| 19th International Symposium on Electronic Art, Sydney (2013)
Production Credits:
Narration: Yunkurra Billy Atkins
Director: Sohan Ariel Hayes
Script Editor/Screen Writer: John Carty
Translation: Desmond Taylor
Animation: Sohan Ariel Hayes, Juan Zubiaga, Guy Pendergrast, Toby Smith-Tan, Michael Lightfoot
Animation Production Manager: Sue Italiano
Storyboards: Michael Lightfoot
Sound design: Roly Skender
Producer: Erin Coates
Executive Producer: Gabrielle Sullivan
Language: Martu with English subtitles
This is a co-production of Fremantle Arts Centre, City of Fremantle and Martumili Artists, Shire of East Pilbara. Supported by Martu People Limited and BHP Billiton