Louis St John

Title:
Louis St John
NFSA ID
745061
Year
2007
Warnings
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons
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This excerpt from the documentary Liyarn Ngarn introduces Louis St John Johnson – a young Aboriginal man who was brutally murdered at age 19 by two white youths.

Later the murderers admitted that their only motivation was 'because he was black'. Louis is the subject of Archie's song 'Louis St John' from the 1997 album Looking for Butter Boy.

The documentary features English actor Pete Postlethwaite, Pat Dodson and Archie Roach, who also wrote the soundtrack. The man talking about Louis in this clip is Louis's foster father Bill Johnson, who approached Archie and Pete about making the documentary.

The title means 'a coming together of the spirit' in the Yawuru language of the West Kimberley region in Australia's far north-west. The documentary recounts personal stories of injustices suffered by the Aboriginal people since British settlement.

This segment features a compelling use of images and voice-over to tell an emotional story. In less than a minute, the viewer is hooked and wants to hear more.

Notes by Beth Taylor and Adam Blackshaw