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September
September
Directed by	Peter Carstairs
Written by	Ant Horn; Peter Carstairs;
Produced by	John Polson
Starring	Xavier Samuel; Clarence John Ryan; Keiran Darcy-Smith; Kelton Pell; Alice McConnell; Lisa Flanagan; Mia Wasikowska;
Cinematography	Jules O'Loughlin
Edited by	Martin Connor
Music by	Roger Mason
Distributed by	Hopscotch Films
Release date	29 November 2007;
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$2.4m

September is a 2007 Australian drama film, directed by Peter Carstairs and produced by John Polson. Set in Western Australia's wheatbelt in 1968 (though filmed at Harden, New South Wales),^[1] it stars Xavier Samuel and Clarence John Ryan as two teenagers whose interracial friendship struggles to withstand the expectations of their community. The film sensitively documents the disparity and discrimination faced by the country's Aboriginal people.

Plot

Rick and Eve Anderson are traditional wheat-and-wool farmers in Western Australia's drought-prone wheatbelt. Their 15-year-old son Ed enjoys a close friendship with Paddy, the son of Aboriginal labourer Michael Parker whose family lives in a shack on the farm and receives sustenance provisions in return for their labour. Ed attends school in a nearby township.

Paddy receives no schooling but Ed has taught him to read, and he aspires to more in life than his family's virtual slavery. One weekend, on a shopping trip to town, the boys go to the cinema, where the colour bar obliges them to sit in separate rows. They see a newsreel about the Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose who has won a world championship and is a national hero. The boys build an outdoor boxing ring in a field. As they engage in friendly sparring, Paddy forms the ambition of escaping slavery by joining Jimmy Sharman's fairground boxing troupe. Their relationship is also tested by Ed's adolescent attraction to a girl, Amelia, whose family has moved to the property next door.

In the previous year (1967), a federal referendum had overwhelmingly determined removal of official discrimination against Aborigines, and given the federal parliament power to make special laws with regard to them. There was simultaneous agitation for other rights, including equal pay for farm workers. However, when Paddy's father enquired whether he could be given wages, his boss Rick Anderson replied that he lacked funds. The Aboriginal family could either continue unpaid or vacate their home on the farm. Michael Parker, whose wife was caring for a new baby, saw no option than to go on working without pay.

The film concludes with Paddy's departure to seek his fortune in boxing, and a reconciliation as Ed apologises for former disloyalty to his friend.

Cast

Xavier Samuel as Ed Anderson
Clarence John Ryan as Paddy Parker
Kieran Darcy-Smith as Rick Anderson
Kelton Pell as Michael Parker
Alice McConnell as Eve Anderson
Lisa Flanagan as Leena Parker
Mia Wasikowska as Amelia Hamilton
Sibylla Budd as Miss Gregory
Anton Tennet as Tom
Paul Gleeson as John Hamilton
Tara Morice as Jennifer Hamilton
Morgan Griffin as Heidi
Bob Baines as Henry
Tom E. Lewis as Uncle Harold
Brady Kitchingham as Tom's mate
Harry Stewart as Wee Poor Boy
Bridie-Ann Perry as Towns person

Production

September was created as part of the Tropfest Feature Program and was shot over 25 days. Filming largely took place in rural NSW.^[2]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes lists 2 critics with both assessed as fresh.^[3]

Stuart Diwell of The Sunday Tasmanian gives it very bad review concluding "Director Peter Carstairs and his co-writer Ant Horn clearly think they have profound things to say about issues as varied as adolescence and race in Australia. Well, they don't. Instead what they deliver is a nicely photographed snail's pace bore."^[4]

The Australian's Evan Williams gave it 3 1/2 stars, stating "September is a delicate, touching and deceptively modest film about friendship and racial tensions in a remote West Australian community in the 1960s. "^[5] The Sun Herald's Rob Lowing gave it 7/10 saying "it is a delicate movie to be savoured, and admired for its rewarding last-minute plot moves."^[6] Writing in Variety Russell Edwards gave it a positive capsual review, stating the "script skillfully draws together its disparate elements and is powerful enough to transcend the film’s considerable limitations."^[7]

Accolades

Carstairs was the inaugural winner of the Tropfest Feature Program in 2006 for his screenplay for September. The prize included a A$1 million grant funded by The Movie Network, which went toward the film's total budget of $2.4 million.^[8]

September premiered at the 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival, and went on to screen at the Toronto and Berlin International Film Festivals of the same year.

In 2008, the film was nominated for the ASSG Feature Film Soundtrack of the Year award.^[9] It also won for Jules O'Loughlin the IF Award for Best Cinematography, as well as a nomination for Sam Hobbs (Best Production Design).^[10]

References

^ Filming locations at IMDb
^ "September the first", Herald Sun, 29 November 2007
^ "September". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
^ Diwell, Stuart (2 December 2007), "Time to grow up", The Sunday Tasmanian
^ Williams, Evan (1 December 2007), "September (M)", The Australian
^ Lowing, Rob (2 December 2007), "A delicate tale to savour of youth at crossroads – Reviews", The Sun Herald
^ Edwards, Russell (14 September 2007), "September", Variety
^ Interview Peter Carstairs Archived 11 October 2014 at archive.today at Melbourne International Film Festival, 2008
^ ASSG Awards 2008 at IMDb
^ IF Awards 2008 at IMDb

External links

September at IMDb
September At the Movies with Margaret and David
Siddiq Sulaiman Zainal Azhar. September, at Murdoch University Oz Film Database, 2008