Elizabeth Gentle

A short film about the relationship between an Aboriginal daughter and her white mother. The daughter, now the sole carer of her dying mother, dreams of far away places, the haunted look in her eyes loaded with a sense of what could have been. Famous Aboriginal singer, Jimmy Little, sings 'Royal Telephone', evoking the presence of Christianity and its role in the assimilation of Aboriginal people. The final scene sees the daughter lying in a foetal position next to her mother, crying. Assimilation, then, can be understood as a pain experienced by both the Aboriginal daughter as well as the white mother.

The story of the end of a friendship between two teenage girls, told backwards over the course of nine months.

Ann (Kerry Walker) cleans for a living. She confronts problems like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dirt from the carpet. She shares everything she has with her two moody children (Noah Taylor, Sarah Hooper) and her equally erratic neighbours. She also shares everything her rich and constantly out-of-town employers have. While Ann vacuums her clients’ penthouses, her friends enjoy the million dollar views, luxury appointments, home gyms, cocktails by the pool - the things they have always wanted, but could never in their wildest dreams afford.