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Warwick Thornton’s ‘Wolfram’ Premieres in Berlin Competition to Strong Early Reviews

The 1930s outback Western draws on family oral histories to confront colonial violence through an Aboriginal lens.

Overview

  • Screening in the Berlinale main competition, Wolfram is contending for the Golden Bear following its world premiere in Berlin.
  • Set in early‑1930s Australia, the film follows two children who flee forced wolfram (tungsten) mining as they are pursued across the outback by violent outlaws.
  • Thornton describes the film as part of Aboriginal filmmakers reclaiming their stories, with the script shaped from oral histories in his and co-writer David Tranter’s families.
  • Early critics highlight the film’s striking visuals, noting that Thornton again serves as his own cinematographer to capture the harsh beauty of the Red Centre.
  • Reviews emphasize themes of separation and the brutality inflicted on Indigenous people, with Deadline calling the film a potential modern Australian classic.