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Rabbit-Proof Fence

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For the actual fence, see Rabbit-proof fence
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Directed byPhillip Noyce
Written byDoris Pilkington (book),
Christine Olsen
Produced byPhillip Noyce,
Christine Olsen
StarringEverlyn Sampi,
Kenneth Branagh,
David Gulpilil
Distributed byMiramax Films
Release date
Australia 4 February 2002
Running time
94 min
LanguagesEnglish, Martu Wangka
Budget~ US$6,000,000
Map of the actual Rabbit proof fence showing the trip from Moore River to Jigalong

Rabbit-Proof Fence is an Australian film based on the book Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It concerns the author's mother, and two other young mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from a residential school that is located in Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, in which they were placed in 1931, in order to return to their Aboriginal families.

The film follows the girls as they walk for nine weeks along 1,500 miles (2414km) of the Australian rabbit-proof fence to return to their community at Jigalong.

The film formed a part of a major debate in contemporary Australia over the stolen generation - those Aboriginal children separated from their parents by the State. The film stirred debate over its historical accuracy. Some, like Andrew Bolt, criticised the portrayal of A. O. Neville, the Protector of Aborigines in Western Australia and responsible for removing the girls from their families (especially by banishing them to residential schools), arguing that he was inaccurately represented as paternalistic and racist. Bolt also stated that the film is biased because it did not demonstrate that the girls were not being cared for properly by their parents. Its supporters argue however that the film was a fair dramatic representation.

The soundtrack to the film is called Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Peter Gabriel.

How Phillip Noyce succeeded in finding Aboriginal actresses for the film is described in detail in the "Making Of" on the DVD.

Cast

The book

  • Rabbit-Proof Fence : The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time ISBN 0-7868-8784-2
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