Jordan-Luke McDonald talks to director Victoria Wharfe McIntyre about her debut feature film, The Flood.
The film examines the appalling plight of Indigenous Australians after World War Two and the rip-roaring revenge taken against a cruel enemy all too close to home. Heartbreaking cruelty is superseded by gut-wrenching violence, in this shockingly relevant story of injustice and the need for compassion. With most of the shooting locations destroyed in the January 2020 megafire, the film is now a visual archive of an ancient Australian rainforest world that no longer exists.
This is the story of Jarah’s coming-of-age in a brutal and lawless land – growing from a sweet child to a strong, independent and ferocious woman taking on Australia’s corrupt and bigoted system one bad guy at a time. In the best tradition of the gunslinging outlaw, when the enigmatic Jarah is pushed to the limit, she explodes in a fury of retribution. But for a revenge western, there is a surprising series of twists and turns that lead us closer to redemption and reconciliation.
Take a look at the trailer in the player below:
In the interview below, the pair take a deep dive into various aspects of the film’s production, from the incorporation of Snow White’s birds and Mad Max’s V8 engines into the score, to the balancing act of writing and directing magical realism alongside brutal authenticity.
Of its time but contemporary, geographically specific but universal, McIntyre explains that “Australia probably isn’t even ready for [this film] yet. We’re not ready to really confront what it’s talking about yet. But hopefully we will be soon and making films like this sort of pushes us closer towards that.”
The full interview is available to listen to in the player below, you can also find it available on all major podcast platforms:
The Flood is available now on digital platforms.
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