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The Nightingale,Jennifer Kents follow-up toThe Babadook, is not an easy film to watch.
Youre from the Northern Territory, which is not a part of Australia I know very much about.
What is it like?Where Im from in Australia, its pretty remote.
I live on a small island called Elcho Island, which is far northeast from Darwin.
Its a small island of about 3,000 people, and everyone pretty much knows each other.
Its pretty lovely out there: blue and green seas, so many great fishing spots.
Back home we do dancing in ceremonies, because we still have secret mens business.
We also do dances at funerals, as respect and farewell.
Our cultures pretty tight.
Now Im with this dance group calledDjuki Mala.
Were an Aboriginal dance company.
Shes like 12 years older than me, and shes been dancing her whole life, too.
From there she started off into acting, and shes pretty well-known in Australia now.
[Ganambarrs sister, Rarriwuy Hick, is an actress who currently stars in the Australian prison dramaWentworth.]
An Aboriginal kid from a small island coming to a big city was a huge change for me.
It was scary: how crowded it was, the traffic.
And then thats when I met my sister.
I didnt know her growing up, because she lived in Sydney her whole life.
I met her, and she said, Im your sister.
I was like, What?
From that day on, were so inseparable.
Our sister and brotherly love was so strong and perfect.
I was like, Hey, sis, I got a lead role in a feature film.
She was really proud of me.
Its been an incredible journey.
I wasnt trying to be anyone, I was just being myself.
Id be like, Okay, stop it, Jen.
Shes been giving me so many amazing compliments.
I reckon I wouldnt be able to do that without her pushing me.
Whats Jennifer Kent like as a director?Shes really strong.
She believes in the story that shes telling.
Thats what makes me really proud of her.
Because most people think its a bit weird, a white woman directing an Aboriginal film.
Most people wouldnt do this.
She did all that.
Stories like this have to be told.
The history depicted inThe Nightingaleis only scratching the surface.
Its the first, but its definitely not the last.
Theres more to come.
How much of the history were you aware of growing up?
But its good to have movies like this, or even dancing, as a platform.
Where are you from?
Wed actually tell them were Australians.
Are you from Africa?
No, were Aboriginal.
This is such a brutal movie.
For Aisling it was really, really hard.
Not watching, just listening, and it was so hard to listen to.
But everyone was there for each other.
Sam and Damon [Herriman], too.
How did it feel when you put on the body paint at the end?I felt strong.
In dancing, we always use our paint.
We call it ochre.
It makes us real proud, like a strong warrior.
Our ancestors used it to go to war.
I just love the feeling.
In Venice when I saw it, I teared up.
I couldnt hold back the tears.
Everybody else was tearing up at that moment, too.
Youve said that there are more stories that need to be told.
Im thinking of getting into directing in a couple of years if I actually achieve my acting career.
[Laughs]
