Spear

Dance as an art form plays the most central part in Stephen Page’s film about the aboriginals in Australia. The film focuses on a young man, Djali (played by the director’s son, Hunter Page-Lochard) who observes the aboriginals and how the culture has to interact with the modern society.

The film doesn't have a straightforward narrative, but is instead built up by fragmented sequences focusing on the aboriginals. The film is nearly dialogue-free and choreographed dance sequences are present in almost every scene, performed by the Bangarra Dance Theatre where Page works as an artistic director. It isn’t always easy to understand what's a dream and what's reality, and the visually beautiful composed scenes in Spear leaves the audience with a big responsibility to interpret what they see. The result is a remarkable and unique film experience.

Stephen Page is a dancer and choreographer. He has since 1991 been the artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre. Descending from the Aborigines has in a big way affected Page’s artistic work. Spear, from 2015, is his directorial debut and premiered during the Toronto Film Festival in 2015.