Director of Kangaroo Kate Woods on the filming of the movie and falling in love with Alice Springs and the Australian outback.
Kangaroo is a heart-warming film inspired by real events and the work done by the founder of the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns. The Studiocanal film version tells the story of ex-TV personality Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr) who becomes stranded in a town outside Alice Springs (Mparntwe) where he forms an unlikely friendship with 12-year-old Indigenous girl Charlie (Lily Whiteley). The pair work together to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned joeys in the remote but stunning outback community, an endeavour that proves life-changing for them both. We spoke to director Kate Woods about the making of the film.
What was it that jumped (pardon the pun) out at you about this film?
When I read that first scene, which is word-for-word what Harry Cripps wrote on the page, I just thought, ‘Oh my god, this is gorgeous!’. The fact that you get to spend time with these little creatures in a very personal way is very special. But essentially, it was that there is a lot of depth and meaning within this really great story that is both funny and heartfelt.
The film highlights the work done by the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs. It’s also billed as a comedy. What is the film’s broader message?
For me, the broader message is about community. Both of the main characters, Chris and Charlie, are sort of lost at the beginning of the film. Chris has kind of lost his whole life in the city. And, you know, Charlie’s lost her dad. And together they find a family within this community that envelops them. The broad message is really that we can’t live without each other. It’s as simple as that. That’s what I love about the film. And funnily enough, it really wasn’t until we put it all together that you see how strong that theme is in the film. And I’m thrilled about that.
Most of Kangaroo is filmed in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory. What did filming here teach you about the destination and the people who live there?
That Alice Springs and the Northern Territory are amazing. As Australians, we have seen so much imagery of the outback. But until you get there, you cannot believe the vastness of it, the redness of it. I mean, there really is no place like it on Earth. And it’s the colour of that Earth and the age of it. It has been there so much longer than we could even possibly imagine. And it’s the community. A lot of the film was shot around Alice Springs and we got to know many of the Arrernte people. We learned about what is important to them, their traditional places, their spiritual places, and how they look after them. It gives you a whole different perspective on what’s important. You stand in the middle of that kind of environment, and the weight of the spirituality is just mind-blowing. It makes you feel differently about being on the planet. It really does.
What aspects of the Australian wilderness do you think will inspire viewers’ sense of wanderlust?
The sunsets. Every single one of them. They are indescribably beautiful. It sounds kind of wanky to say but it really does something to your soul, to your very being. The colours are amazing, and the quiet of it all is amazing. We usually visited the Kangaroo Sanctuary at around dusk and to be with the animals and see them come alive at that time, with all the different colours in the sky, is incredibly moving. I can’t say there was a singular experience that stood out because there were many. I hope it gives people a different perspective on travelling to the Australian outback. We could not have made that movie without the Traditional Owners. I hope that when people visit this part of the world, they keep in mind who was there first and what it means to them. That’s incredibly important to me. We had a make-believe community in the film but there we were, black and white, working together and that was really special.
You are based in LA. What did you learn during your time filming in outback Australia that surprised you or changed your perspective on the land or our wildlife?
We have a lot of myths and, dare I say, cliches about kangaroos with images of the boxing kangaroo and that kind of thing. By default, the kangaroo has become our national symbol. It’s unique because it’s only in Australia. And this film was an opportunity to show adult kangaroos and joeys exactly as they are in a really intimate way. I mean, what Chris Brolga Barns (founder of the Kangaroo Sanctuary) does is amazing. And the experience of going there and walking among the kangaroos is very moving. There are some of the older kangaroos that Chris keeps at the sanctuary because he doesn’t feel comfortable about letting them back into the wild. They come up close to you and you feel like you have a connection with them. And those little babies. They are wild animals and they’re traumatised. They’ve lost their mum and they are orphans, yet they are so affectionate and so communicative.
What do you hope viewers take away from Kangaroo, both in terms of the film’s message and their appreciation for the Australian environment and wildlife?
I’m hoping it’s going to change a lot of people’s perspective about kangaroos, Central Australia and the outback. I hope it makes audiences think very differently about kangaroos and change their perspective about our native fauna and the wilderness.
Australia is known for its incredible biodiversity. Did you or any of the actors develop any deeper connection to the animals or nature in general during the production?
It wasn’t just the actors. It was the crew as well. We were mesmerised by the kangaroos. Holding one of those little orphaned joeys was a really moving experience. The amazing thing is that the little kangaroo who played Liz was the same kangaroo all the way through until she got too big, which was about three-quarters of the way through the film. She was so great. She knew how to look at the camera. She kind of reacted to things in a beautiful way. You can’t train them. It was her personality, her willingness to trust humans, and that really says a lot about Chris and the Kangaroo Sanctuary and the way he looks after them.
Kangaroo will be in Australian cinemas from September 18. To learn more about the work being done by Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns and his team at the Kangaroo Sanctuary, visit the website .
