By ANEEKA SIMONIS
CAMEO Cinemas in Belgrave is saddling up for its debut screening of award-winning feature film The Man From Coxs River.
Showing for a week starting on 15 June, the film documents the journey of an experienced horseman as he sets out to save a pack of wild brumbies inhabiting the Burragorang Valley wilderness.
Considered feral pests, the wild horses live along a sealed catchment area that provides Sydney’s water supply.
In the film, the National Parks head office commissions Megalong Valley horseman Luke Carlon with the difficult task of safely relocating the brumbies from the catchment area.
Luke spends four months gaining the trust of the wild horses before he successfully traps and begins to take them on their dangerous, long journey to safety.
Directed by Russell Kilbey and his wife Amy Scully, the hour and a half feature film is about more than just the difficult journey at hand. It also deals with reconciliation.
Luke grew up taking tourists on horse trips along the Coxs River, a place where his family had ridden since the 1820s.
The area was declared a wildness area about 20 years ago which killed off his family business and gave birth to a difficult history between the Carltons and the National Parks office.
But when park ranger Chris Banffy needs Luke’s help, the pair begin to see the world though each other’s eyes as they work together on a joint effort to help protect the land and wildlife.
The film also asks a lot of difficult questions about ownership and belonging, Mr Kilbey said.
“The brumbies themselves are almost a metaphor for white settlement… do we belong here?”
Mr Kilbey will hold a popular question and answer session after the screening in Belgrave to allow the audience to unpack and discuss the dense themes of the film.
The Man From Coxs River has already screened to sold-out audiences at cinemas across NSW – in the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, as well as the Byron Bay International and Young at Heart film festival.
Mr Kilbey said he is proud that, last month, his production was the first feature film to win the Heritage Award from the National Trust.
“It’s just so amazing to get that recognition.”
For information about viewing times, visit the Cameo Cinemas website at www.cameocinemas.com.au.
