Law And Order

Coming hot on the heels of Rabbit Proof Fence, Craig Lahiff's Black and White is another film that addresses injustices against the Australian aboriginal people. But, in this case, it is the institutional racism within the 1960s legal system that comes under fire. Aboriginal actor David Ngoombujarra puts on an emotionally stirring performance as Max Stewart, a man who is arrested for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old white girl in this true story. "I think it's got a resonance that carries across many cultures," said Lahiff at the LFF gala for his film. "It sort of depicts a South Australia at the time, which was very racist, very class-driven and very sexist. Other countries, who have had indigenous elements to their culture, will find a resonance with this film. It's a story of injustice and it's relevant in any society." Put on trial with questionable evidence in this landmark case, Stewart is championed by underdog defenders, played by Robert Carlyle and Kerry Fox and prosecuted by a suitably loathsome Charles Dance. "Adelaide at the time in the 1960s was a very class-driven society, they prided themselves on saying 'I'm British' and hence the casting of Charles Dance. O' Sullivan, who took up he defence, was an Irish-Australian-Catholic, he was an outsider to the system. So it occurred to me to use somebody like Robert who was Scottish and could play an Irish part. Also they strongly resemble the real characters." Exploring the issue of institutionalised racism in Australia - unsettlingly, it was actually a young Rupert Murdoch who, working for the Adelaide News helped expose the issue at the time - Lahiff took pains to avoid the impression of preaching and did his level best to represent every aspect when telling the story. "We do give the two different points of view - just as this was a story that split society in two, we wanted to tell a story that told two different points of view - so the film is a little unusual in its structure. Its up to the audience to make up their own minds and discuss the issues the film raises afterwards."