High Hopes For Samson and Delilah At Cannes

Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah has been officially selected to screen in this Saturday’s coveted opening weekend slot as part of the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes.

The film is the debut feature from indigenous director Warwick Thornton, which has achieved enormous critical acclaim in Australia, opened locally to sold-out cinemas last weekend.

It is a portrayal of teenage love in the Outback, and forms a moving snapshot of the harsh everyday realities – including petrol sniffing, violence and destitution – faced by the those living in the hundreds of small, remote Aboriginal communities which surround Alice Springs.

Samson and Delilah was filmed on an abandoned community mission in Alice Springs for a minimal budget of $AU1.2million (£600,000), and with a small cast and crew.

Like the Stolen Generation drama Rabbit Proof Fence and Aboriginal-language Dreamtime film Ten Canoes (which won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize at Cannes in 2006), there is hope in Australia that Samson and Delilah will be well received internationally.

Posted on May 12, 2009 | Filed Under Movies