Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah has won the prestigious Camera d’Or for best first feature at the Cannes film festival.

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- Warwick Thornton with his prize. From the Sydney Morning Herald website.

I still haven’t seen the movie but I literally can’t wait. I’m jumping out of my seat to drive to the only cinema in Canberra showing it. It’s a shame it isn’t in every cinema because I imagine it’s one of those rare movies that every Australian should see. The fact it has been made by an Aboriginal director just makes it even better.

As I was reading all the articles about Samson and Delilah and it’s win, I couldn’t help but feel so proud at the talent in Aboriginal Australia. For a people numbering only about 500,000 we are incredibly talented.

In the arts, in sport, in academia… in practically every field. This comes despite years of oppression and dispossession. It comes despite the complete disregard of 40,000 years of culture by the mainstream Australian population. It comes despite the racism that Australia has been founded on.