Darlene Johnson is from the Dunghutti people of NSW. She loved hearing her mother's stories of life as Obelia the Mermaid in the travelling sideshows of the 1950's. Darlene knew she would be part of the showbiz life somehow! She also credits George Street cinema for her love affair with film. "When I was a child the cinema became my de facto babysitter and cinematic pre-school!" Her career as writer/director started in 1996 with her short film "Two Bob Mermaid" - a story inspired by her mother's experiences of growing up in the 1950's. It deals with the effects of racism on a fair-skinned Aboriginal teenager, and struck a chord nationally and internationally. Darlene has continued exploring race, identity and perception - mainly in documentaries - from "Stolen Generations" which was nominated for an International EMMY Award, to "Stranger in my Skin" and the making of Phillip Noyce's "Rabbit-Proof Fence". Ten years later Darlene made her second short "Crocodile Dreaming," then the moving portrait, "River of No Return," a documentary about the complexities of living in a remote Indigenous community. Darlene has recently been producing documentaries for the Message Stick series at the ABC. She is currently writing her first feature film "Obelia" produced by Phillip Noyce.
Mill Valley Film Festival
