Ringtone

'Welcome to the once-remote Aboriginal community of Gapuwiyak in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, where individual ringtones reveal rich insights into lives of the Yolngu people. From ancestral clan songs, animal calls and birdsongs to hip-hop artists and gospel tunes, a Yolngu ringtone always comes with a great story. It might be the music a young woman dances to in a city nightclub, or a clan song invoking memories of ancestors and country.Yet, at the same time, these phones make Yolngu vulnerable to a range of threats, from sorcerers to tele-scammers, creating new pressures and dislocations in a society already living with profound loss and intergenerational change. In Ringtone, Yolngu Aboriginal families offer glimpses into their lives and relationships through their choice of ringtone …

Made collaboratively by Miyarrka Media, a new media arts collective of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal filmmakers, Ringtone is a beautiful, funny and surprisingly moving film about the connections, intrusions and demands brought by mobile phones to a once remote community in northern Australia.'

The film is available from Ronin Films